plepkowski

He certainly looks like a greyhound to me! I suppose you have picked him up already by now. Check his ears for tatoos carefully. They can be very hard to read. The left ear will have a litter number assigned by the NGA. The right ear has his month and year of birth and a letter which is the order in which the dogs in the litter were tattoed. If he is an NGA dog he will have been raised with his litter mates by his mother in a large run to the age of at least 8 months. He will be very well socialized with other greyhounds, will know how to read the body language of other dogs and will be very appreciative of human presence. If he was raised in a house he will be entirely different depending on the people who raised him. If he pokes you with that long nose begging for contact he probably is an NGA dog. He will likely be very timid when meeting your parents. Let him come to them. Warn them about that long nose being inserted into pockets and other inaccessible places. Wait until he meets Stover. You know, the dog you keep in your oven who can be seen in the door window. That will perplex him. He might be terrified of stairs. When he learns that he won't die instantly by climbing them be extra careful when he goes down. He might try to do it in one step. Paul in NY

Hello friends. I haven't had to post here for quite some time. The last time was on 10/16/01 when Happy went to the bridge. Arjo's Dollarbill, or simply Bill, was an enormous greyhound with the broadest chest of any greyhound I've ever seen. He weighed just about 100 pounds and seemed perfectly healthy. Then, on Monday 6/6 at 11 am, without any warning his left front humerus snapped while he was quietly walking across the kitchen. I got him to a local vet up here in Dutchess County, NY, within a couple of hours. They x-rayed the leg and found one small lyses indicating osteo-sarcoma, but they didn't feel good about amputating the leg. I got him down to my old friend, Dr. Marty Friedman on Long Island at 2 pm on Tuesday 6/7. Marty had the x-rays already so he anesthetized Bill, did a precautionary echo exam of his abdomen, and amputated the broken leg. As he was finishing the amputation at about 3:45 Bill went into cardiac arrest and Marty could not get his heart started again. Marty said he had lost a lot of blood into an edema at the fracture site. Bill was a soft, timid dog who was never certain that he should trust strangers. He would always stand a distance away and watch the other dogs poke strangers for rubs. But when he got to know you he turned into a giant love sponge. He would lay his head on your lap, lean his considerable weight into you and refuse to leave until you had rubbed every acre of him that you could reach. I had a real soft spot in my heart for this enormous guy. Goodbye my good friend and godspeed. Elmo is looking for you everywhere. Paul Lepkowski

Trudy and Jeff, Sonja and I are very sorry to hear that Ryan had to leave. Thank you for taking such good care of him. I have 4 jpg files here from when you visited us two years ago. They are too big for posting here. If you send me your email address I will attach them to an email. Paul and Sonja

Welcome back to the real world. It seems like just a few months since you left here to drop off your truck in NJ. Time sure goes by fast. Be sure to give Jeff's Mom my best wishes. I was hoping to see her again when you were in NY. Now I guess we'll never meet up. She moved away from my block in Woodhaven about 1952 so that's the last time I saw her. I hope Jeff likes working in the shop environment. Will he ever have to ship out again with his rank? Paul & Sonja

I'm very sorry this happened! Your son will eventually learn to respect the dog. But things might get worse before they get better. When he starts walking and running and falling down a lot then the dog will be even more alarmed. Make sure the dog has a safe place to retreat to!!! I didn't learn until I was about 4. I used to like to play with the Holstein bull. Mom, Dad, Uncle Harry and Aunt Janet all tried to explain that this wasn't a good thing to do. But I didn't understand. Then one day the bull explained it to me. He used his muzzle to toss me twenty feet into a pile of manure. It's now seventy years later and I still don't want to play with a Holstein bull.

It might be a little dangerous for the over door's paint job. I really don't think you can find a way to put an end to it. He figures that something is wrong with the Oven Dog, he doesn't have the right scent. Who ever heard of a dog smelling like a Rump Roast.

I'm glad to see that someone posted Kathleen Gilly's excellent piece about the adjustment retired track greyhounds go through when they find themselves in a home. Kathleen and Gil tour the nation in their Winnebago with their troupe of "Dancing Greyhounds". If you get a chance to see them up your way make sure you go. Al might as well be on a different planet! His whole life has changed. He doesn't recognize anything. But he is learning fast and he'll be fine. I wouldn't worry too much about the sleep startle growl you got as long as he turned it off as soon as he recognized you. The reawson it took a few days for this to show up is that it took a few days for him to feel relaxed enough to drop into really deep sleep. Then you made the bed bounce and he snapped awake and growled. If it was me I'd let him on the bed again. That's the only way he'll get used to being awakened. As to your midget pups, if Al hasn't shown any aggression, just some confusion trying to figure out what they are, I wouldn't worry too much about them either, as long as they aren't snappy with him. I've had greyhounds since 1962 and I've found that the only way they learn is by doing. If you restrict him too much he will not learn as fast. Just watch him intently.

Hi Audrey and Bob, Sonja and I are very sorry to hear about Asia's Mets. The vet is probably right, she is not in much pain. I know that Happy was not in any great pain toward the end. He was just increasingly tired and could not get his breath. I think she will pass very peacefully just like Happy did. If she is stressed out by the vet's office I doubt that you will have to subject her to that again. Just give her lots of love and chicken. Try a pot pie or some stew, it will be softer and easier to eat than the baked chicken. Happy liked being carried around in a warm swiming pool towqard the end. The water supported him and gave him a chance to relax. You can get an oxygen cylinder without a prescription. It will make it much easier for her to breathe. The non-medical type they sell as a welding gas will do. It will be very pure. You can adjust the regulator so that it bleeds out very slowly through a tube near her nostrils. When she inhales she will get it. You don't need a mask. If you would like us to visit tomorrow give me a ring. Aw heck, give me a ring anyway! Paul & Sonja 845-226-9059

Carla, thank you for taking such good care of Bart and Jiffy Mart. We're very sorry that they both had to leave you. They will be remembered here. Paul & Sonja

Would it help to relocate the relief server to my place? I've got a pretty good cable connection which could be easily upgraded. If you brought the thing to New London I could come get it. Or maybe we could substitute another box It's about time I learned ph;p. Mainframe stuff is getting very old. Paul.

WD-40!

I'm in Fishkill Plains!

Jeff and Trudy, If there is any way to ship stuff to you which costs less than the stuff does we'd be glad to go shopping for you and ship it. Just let me know. Have a nice boat ride Jeff. Will you have e-mail or internet access at sea? Paul & Sonja

Jeff, Boeings have real good WX Radar. I used to entertain myself 30 years ago at JFK on the midnight shift watching roll cloud formations progressing across Canarsie and Woodhaven. If you can wangle yourself into a cockpit I can tell you how to turn the aircraft on. That sign looks like the town line sign in the middle of my dairy farm in Walton. Let me know if you want me to buy anything here and ship it! Paul

What a letdown. That's what you get for visiting New Yawk City just before you left. Now you know what good Pizza tastes like. You and Trudy are welcome here anytime. I'll even take you to the good Pizza joints. When will your furniture and truck arrive? Paul & Sonja