plepkowski
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Posts posted by plepkowski
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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
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Ryan
in Remembrance
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
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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
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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.
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Of course, it's laugh-your-butt-off funny, but is it dangerous? Should I put an end to it if I see it again? (I know- not until I can post video.)
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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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I'm in Fishkill Plains!
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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
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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
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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
Oh yeah, and the Pizza Hut in Kodiak...It looks like a Pizza Hut
It says Pizza Hut.
But it sure does not taste like Pizza Hut!
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Audrey,
It doesn't matter how long we have them with us, it just isn't long enough.
Thank you for taking such good care of Darius for so many years.
Paul & Sonja
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Hi Kristen,
I'm up in Dutchess County right around the corner from Celticfairiesmom.
Ladd is hunting. His mother told him to freeze and use his eyes to find something moving then go get it with a burst of speed. They all do it. When he figures out that there is very little prey around Forest Hills he will cut it out after a few seconds.
He might react if you chirp or squeek at him. If you can break his concentration he probably will move.
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Very nice work Giselle!
We used to use cocktail franks cut in pieces when I was training guide dogs fifty years ago. We couldn't expect a blind person to use a clicker so we found some sharp sounding foreign language words instead of clicks and then taught the blind person how to do it.
The training had to be maintained by the blind person for years after the dog left Seeing Eye.
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Don't let them gallop for two months!
Keep them alert by keeping them where they can socialize. If needed use an 3 foot high xpen to keep them from running around too much. An xpen which separates at the hinges is easier than one with a little door.
If you can get them into a warm pool or tank once a day for ten minutes it will help them stay limber. Give them some support if they don't float well. If immersion is not possible run a warm water hose on the leg for 3 minutes 3 or 4 times a day.
Keep it wraped for 4 to 6 weeks. A spoon splint might provide some support. Get a vet to teach you how to splint and wrap it.
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One can learn a lot from Paul, he knows a tremendous amount about greyhounds and other things
Wow, thanks a lot Audrey
.... but I'm so old now I've forgotten more than I once knew. Still, if you want to know anything about the electronics equipment on a Boeing 747 I can probably remember some of it.
Awww heck, if I can't remember it anymore I'll just invent something, nobody will ever be any the wiser!
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None of the Dutchess County vets are very knowledgeable about greyhounds.
Dr James Garner, Ark Animal Hospital, 188 Cottage St., Poughkeepsie, 845-486-7670, seems to be willing to listen and learn about them.
Hudson Highlands has an office manager named Cornell. She was active in adoption years ago. They also have one vet who is at least familar with sighthounds. If you go there try to speak to Mrs. Cornell and ask her which vet to get appointments with. They have three offices in Beacon, Wicopee and Hopewell and about a dozen vets.
For anything serious I go to Dr. Marty Freidman, A & A Vet Hosp, 414 Franklin Ave., Franklin Square, NY. This guy does neutering for both Grateful Greyhounds and Long Island Greyhound Transfer, two high volume groups on Long Island. He anesthetizes at least ten greyhounds every week and hasn't lost one to anesthezia shock or malignent hypo thermia in at least a year.
The former track vet at the Bridgeport track has a private practise down on the CT coast, but I'm not sure of his location.
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Hi Linda,
You and your husband are welcome to come over anytime too.
Elmo's name was Mo's Elmo, Bill was Arjo's Dollarbill.
I've never walked around at the park near the airport. I don't walk much at all anymore ... my legs no longer work very well. But my hounds go almost everywhere with me. If you see a Chevy Suburban, or a red Caddy or a black Caddy with a big white hound and a smaller brindle hound in the back ... that's me. Flag me down and say hello.
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Do you have a fenced in yard? If not you can always use our yard. Not huge but fenced!!
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not fenced - yet! the pool area is fenced but there is no grass and don't want her pads getting messed up. Dhand I are toying with the idea of fencing a part of the yard in. Thank you for the offer we'll have to get together with the greys.
Laurie,
I've got about 1/2 acre fenced in the back. Come on over any time. I'm retired and I'm around most of the time.
Paul Lepkowski
29 Brandy Lane
845-226-9059
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I'm in Fishkill Plains near the VanWyck middle school. Give me a ring or stop by, I'm in the phone book.
Paul Lepkowski
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Hi Paul, we live just past Brown Road, going down the road from Fishkill Plains. Have you checked out the rail trail yet? I see parts of it are paved. If we ever get nice weather again I'm heading up that way with Callie.
I use Brown Road to get down to the New Hamburg station whenever the high school has Myers Corners backed up.
The pavement and gravel on the rail trail will not be good for Callie's feet. She'll wind up walking in the grass. Like I said give me a ring, I'm in the phone book.
Paul
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Nancy,
I'm so sorry you lost Chance.
Paul Lepkowski
.... but I'm so old now I've forgotten more than I once knew. 
New Owner - New Poster - A Few Questions..
in Introductions & Biography
Posted
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