Wiscogreysmom

Thank you for adding our Stormy. The list is just too long, isn't it.

I am so saddened to see Saint's name here. May all the precious memories help your hearts to heal. Godspeed Saint.

It has taken me a while to come here to post this tribute to our boy, so soon after having to say good by to Andy. Stormy was born in Oklahoma, and was one of our racers. He came to Wisconsin on March 2, 2000, along with his partner in crime, ( though not a littermate ) Red. They stayed here until January of 2001 and then went off to racing school. He had a pretty decent racing career, starting out on Florida on the Jacksonville - Orange Park circuit, racing for B & J Kennel. ( for Bill & Cathy , who some of you recognize from here ) I guess that he must have been a somewhat memorable racer, as long after he retired, Bill would ask about him whenever we would happen to see him in Abilene at the NGA meets. After racing in Florida, he moved to Dairyland in Wisconsin and retired in 2004. His trainer from there would always ask about him too, whenever we would see him, either at the track or an adoption event. We brought him home, sort of intending to keep him here till he could be placed with a group, and he somehow just never went any further. He and Andy got to be buddies, and he learned to live with our two cats. He was always the more quiet and reserved one of the two. I have to think hard of the number of times that I ever heard him bark. Most of the time to get a "woof" out of him was doing pretty good. He loved to have people visit, and thought that if they were here at the house, it was just to see him. He would stand next to anybody and lean on them as long as they would pet him, or scratch his ears and so many people would comment on his soft, soft hair and say that he looked like a tiger dog. He had always been a happy, healthy boy until about a year and a half ago. He started to loose his toenails, and the vet figured it was SLO. We treated for that, and got the nails to grow back. Then in the early fall of last year, he developed what was eventually diagnosed as IBD. Poor boy spent a couple of nights at the University Vet Hospital, and that was the first that he had ever been away from home since he came. We made many trips back and forth, but got that under control. Through all of that I just never had a bad feeling that it wasn't something that we could treat and make better. Then this fall, he started to limp on his back left leg.He was having a little trouble with some of the toenails again, so I was hoping it was just that or that he had pulled or strained a muscle. It did not get better, and this time I had a bad feeling. X-rays comnfirmed that there was deterioration of the bone, and was most likely osteocarcoma. We made the decision that we would treat for pain, and give him the best life we could, for as long as we could. He had been doing well with the pain meds, but started to limp a little more just after Andy died. Saturday morning he woke me up and was a very sick boy. We went to the vet, and blood work showed pancreatitis. We also did an x-ray of the leg and the bone had deteriorated more. We went home to try to get the pancreatitis under control, but as the day went on, things just did not get better, and the pain meds seemed to not help. We made the heart breaking decision to let him go and join Andy at the bridge. Our house is so, so quiet now. I still am listening for the jingle of dog tags, or the sound of an animal stampede when I am downstairs. My floor is empty here in the computer room, and there are no noses poking around the corner to greet me when I come home at night. I know it will get easier, but right now it really sucks. Thank you Stormy for bringing so much joy to our lives and being such a good boy. We miss you very much, and you and Andy will always be in our hearts. When he first came to Wisconsin. April 2006 One of the few times he ever got in trouble December 2008 Christmas Eve this year Our boys are together again. Painfree, waiting at the bridge.

Thank you Ducky for adding our Andy to the list, even though I wish that he didn't have to be there. It is way to long. Missing him every day.

Rachel, I am so sorry. I know how your heart feels. Hugs to you.

No, it never will seem like enough time that we share their lives. Run pain free sweet girl.

It has taken me a couple of days before I could come here to post this. We had to say goodbye to Andy on Fridy morning, and though I have been trying to prepare myself for this since last March, it hasn't been any easier. As a few of you know here, we have racing dogs, and that is how Andy came into our lives almost 13 years ago. He was born in Oklahoma and he and his sister came to live here in April 1999. When we chose names for them, we picked Andy and Cleo, and they were registered as Andy's Alibi and Covergirl Cleo. We were lucky to have been a part of their lives from day one. They went off to school in December of 1999. Andy had a muscle injury which cut his racing career short and retired in June of 2001, then came home in the fall. It was like he knew this was where he belonged. He was a wonderful boy. I can't remember that he ever chewed up anything, ate anything that he wasn't suppose to, or really ever got in any trouble. The worst thing I can remember is one summer of digging up the same hole in the back yard over and over again, then laying down next to it like he was guarding it from me filing it in. He did not like to ride, and the only time he ever jumped into the car was when we left the vet's office, cause I think he couldn't wait to get the heck out of there and go home. He LOVED to be outside, and spent lots of time just lounging in the back yard, laying in the cool grass, or soaking up the sunshine. Our whole yard is fenced and he would spend hours outside with me while I was working in the yard. I think the only thing that he ever really annoyed me with was his wanting to go outside during the middle of the night. He always felt that everyone who came to the house came to see him, and everyone always commented on how tall and black and shiny he was. Eventually the gray slipped in, then sort of seemed to take over. He had slowed down this last year, and in March came a day that he had trouble getting up. He spent a night at the vet, which I think was the only night he had spent away from home since he retired. The vet diagnosed LS. We started meds, and with the help of a chiropractor, acupuncture and herbal supplements, I think we gave him a good quality of life through the summer and fall. December 8th, I came home and he seemed to have a set-back. We upped the meds a little, and had another acupuncture treatment, but I knew that we were going day by day. He rallied a little bit and was able to be up and outside a little bit at a time. We had our Christmas, and he got lots of treats to enjoy. I was home most of the week, so we got to spend a lot of time together, and Friday morning it was time to say our goodbyes. We have hundreds of pictures and thousands of memories, but they just never seem to be enough. We were very lucky to have shared so much of his life, and I know that he knew how much we loved him. He had a good, and long life, and I think got to do everything he ever wanted to do, except maybe catch the squirrels in the back yard. Andy at 3 months old, when he first came to Wisconsin. He was always a good sport. He loved to be outside, even in the snow. One of my favorites of the white face. Christmas 2011. I know that Cleo met you at the bridge and now you will be able to run and play together again. We love and miss you. I am sorry that I couln't fix it anymore.

This is so sad. I am so very sorry.

I am so sorry and my heart goes out to you. Thank you for sharing Bee Wiseman's life with us all. She will be missed by so many.

So sorry to see his name in Rememberance. My heart goes out to you.

I am so sorry for your loss. You have given her a beautiful tribute, and I know that she has given you many, many memories that will never be lost.

Sending many healing thoughts and prayers your way.

Have been away from GT for a couple of days and just seeing this now. Sending good thoughts for everyone.

So sorry for your loss. God-speed Rainey.

This is very sad news. Having always wanting to see the Gilley Girls, we decided to go to the Northern Lights Picnic last fall. We had a great time, and really enjoyed meeting them and watching the performance. My deepest condolences to Gil and the family.

My heart dropped when I saw Harley's name here. You all fought such a hard fight. Godspeed Harley.

I am hoping that there are lots more good days than bad ones, and things will start to even off for you. It is hard when you feel lost that you try so many things and come up against the wall. Hang in there. There are lots of folks sending you good thoughts.

Sending good thoughts and prayers.

Just checking on updates on Harley. Glad to hear that things are slowly getting a little better. Will keep you in my thoughts.

Mr Dillon was truely a kind and wonderful gentleman, and I am very happy to have had the chance to meet him. He made many great contributions to the greyhound industry, and will be missed by many. Condolences to his family.

So sorry for your loss Pam. He will certainly be missed.

Pat, I am so sorry. All the special memories will forever keep her close in your heart.

Sending prayers to all of you.

Trying .....

We are going through nail issues with one of our boys too. I thought at first he had just ripped a couple of nails, till I noticed that there were several that were just splitting on the bottoms and pulling up and off. Our vet feels that it is lupoid onychodystrophy, and also sent in a nail sample for a fungal culture. The culture did come back positive for the fungus, but she feels that that is a secondary to the lupoid. She has prescribed Doxycycline, niacinamide and massive dose of Welactin ( fatty acid) for the lupoid, which he will continue to take from now on. The dosages may be adjusted depending on how he responds. He is also going to be put on fluconozole for the fungus. Thank goodness he is so good about taking meds. I can mix them in with his food. The Welactin is a really nasty fish oil, that he loves, and I think he would eat cardboard if I put it on it. She does not want to put him on prednesone unless absolutely necessary, so hope that he will respond to this other stuff. He has only been on these meds for about 2 weeks, and has lost all of the nails on one front foot, 2 on the other front and 1 each on the back. Poor boy was walking around pretty careful, I know it was pretty sore. Oh, and we were also doing rimadyl for the pain... He has his own shelf in the cupboard for his meds, and I had to follow the list to make sure I got them all straight. This of course freaked me out from having him have to go through all of this, and I thought I might have to have the vet prescribe meds for me too. We are to have a check up in a month after the floconozole is done, and see how he doing. She is hoping to see the nails growing back, though said that they will most likely be deformed. As long as he feels better, and we can control this, that is all I care about.