My Greyhound Story, Continued

[Guest greytnana]

Although I still cry everyday for my babies, I came to know that I would never start to heal until I had another dog in my life. So, after two and a half months I am trying to put my grieving behind me.

 

On Friday evening, our new boy arrived. GS Georgio. Barn name: Citrine. I am calling him Sid.

 

He is very handsome. Officially he is "brindle", but I look at him and it is as if he could not quite decide whether he wanted to be black, fawn, or white: interestingly enough, the three coat colours of my lost ones.

 

He is very different from our brood. Quiet. Sleeps 23 hours a day. Is completely content to be inside his kennel all the time. I know it will take a certain amount of time for his personality to emerge. I wait patiently for him to reveal himself to me.

 

He raced in 134 races, so he lived a long time at the track and his kennel feels like home. Once he begins to understand the rhythm of life in our household he will, perhaps, become a little more animated. It's winter here, cold and snowy which probably is a little much for a Florida racer to digest! it is, quite frankly, a little bit much for me!!! Although I do not enjoy this season, we have been donning warm clothing and doing a short walk every day - well, almost everyday: it was minus 17 Celcius yesterday and I decided that neither one of us needed to pretend we were going to enjoy that. Upon two occasions he has been approached by other dogs and had been VERY growly. I am hoping that this will pass once he realizes that these are also dogs. Or maybe I should rephrase that: once he realizes he is a dog.

 

He won't eat in the kitchen. Again, he has always been fed in his crate, so we put his dish outside his kennel door and he is content to lie inside and eat his meals this way. It makes me feel really sad to see this but it is the life he has known.

 

I introduced him to the sofa. He absolutely adores it, of course. He appears to be unsure of the slate tiles on our floor. Again, another new thing to get used to. He has mastered the stairs, even the stairs to the second floor where the leather sofa in the family room is already a favourite. I have also brought him upstairs to cuddle in bed after breakfast (my husband is up at 4:15 week day mornings so breakfast is early). He was unsure about this at first but he really loves to get into bed for a cuddle now! It is so nice to feel the nudge of a greyhound nose again.

 

When I leave the house I put him in his kennel, which is just fine with Sid. When I return, he willingly comes out and gives me tail wags and kisses. This is absolutely heaven on earth to me.

 

Just looking at his handsome face brings me joy. The love previously bestowed upon three is now showered upon one.

[Guest buttonwillow]

Congratulations! He sounds awesome. Please to post pictures!

[mychip1]

We never forget....and the pain is always there....but an empty house only makes it worse....and the joy of having new arrivals is the best healing in the world.

 

I look forward to watching him as his personality reveals itself to you.

 

And yes...you hit it on the head....they really do not know that they are dogs!!

[Guest greytnana]

WE have had Sid with us for almost 3 weeks now. He is making progress! He will actually chose snoozing on the sofa over snoozing in his crate. And two evenings ago he chose to eat his dinner and drink from his water bowl on his raised table in the kitchen. He seems to really enjoy people - becomes very animated when our little grandson comes in to visit, and was positively joyful when our daughter came home for Christmas Holidays. She has a retired racer with her at school - they sure can tell greyhound people!

 

Sid is small, and has quite an athletic build as opposed to the usual long, willowy greyhound. The daughter took one look at him and called him "Stumpy". !!!!!! This did not go over well at all with me. I think he is just perfect!

 

WE had an "incident" in our drive last week. A neighbour across the cul-de-sac was getting out of her vehicle and her little grey and white fluffy dog came screaming across barking it's fool head off at Sid. After what I have been through, my heart just about stopped. I grabbed onto Sid's collar for dear life - but, bless his heart, he barely batted an eyelash! Calmly stepped forward to try to grab a sniff. The dog was retrieved by owner, we got into the Jeep and set off for our daily walk, and my heart eventually regained a natural rhythm.

 

Sid loves his daily walks. I have socialized all my previous hounds at horse barns. Our daughter rode Hunters for years, so the dogs always came with us to the barn. I found it to be a perfect venue for them to get used to people, kids, other dogs and, of course, the horses. The first time that Sid saw a horse in the paddocks he barked his head off. He has quite the bark! Now the horses whinny to him from their paddocks as he walks by. He is still not too sure what these enormous dogs are all about, but at least he has stopped barking at them.

 

He still sleeps 23 hours a day. I cannot believe how much he sleeps! He is all curled up next to me on the sofa right now, head tucked up against my leg, snoozing his little heart out. I found an old posting for him from a N.E. Florida adoption website and they stated that he loved to play with toys. Not here he doesn't! Shows absolutely no interest in playing with anything so far. But I am thinking that that too will happen as he settles into this new life.

 

He is just the perfect dog for us!

 

I am going to keep trying to download some photo's. Hasn't worked for me thus far. And, of course, I am just busting to share pics of my handsome boy!

Edited December 22, 2011 by greytnana

[TwiggysMom]

Congratulations on your wonderful boy! I'm glad to hear he is making progress. Good for him ignoring the crazy barking little one! I know from experience that is difficult (especially for newly retired hounds) to ignore.

 

As for posting pictures, have you tried uploading them to Photobucket? If you put pictures in there, you can just click the tag that says IMG, it will automatically copy it and you can paste it into your post. (Or as I often do, paste a bunch of them into a Word doc, and then paste the whole thing into my post).

 

Can't wait to see your boy!

[Guest RaznNik]

Congratulations on bringing home Sid!!

[djsgreys]

Just seeing this now. Sid - what a handsome, sweet boy. I am so glad that I was able to meet him and be a part of his journey to his forever home to you. He's a heart healer - one look into those beautiful eyes and you can never doubt it.

 

As he settles in, I think you will see more and more of his personality emerge and will wish that he would go back to sleeping and cuddling 23 hours a day. :lol

 

Always here for you if you need anything.

 

Deb

[Guest betheab199]

 

 

I found an old posting for him from a N.E. Florida adoption website and they stated that he loved to play with toys. Not here he doesn't! Shows absolutely no interest in playing with anything so far. But I am thinking that that too will happen as he settles into this new life.

 

 

It took one of out greys many months before she played with toys. By the time she was 9, she treated us to dinner entertainment every night by tossing her stuffies around while we ate! Can't wait to see your pics!

[Guest greytnana]

Well, Sid seemed to go backwards for a while. After Christmas he retreated to his cage. We still can't figure that one out. Maybe he missed all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season. We go for walks everyday. Some days we go for long tramps! I take him up to a big, fenced dog park some afternoons and he seems to quite enjoy that as well. I watch him and it is quite obvious that he knows they are dogs, but he still does not understand that he is also a dog. Yesterday he actually showed some interest in playing with the other dogs which made me happy. I think he is probably lonely. I am sure that he misses the companionship of the other hounds with whom he has spent his life. It is pretty wuiet in our house. He doesn't beg, or counter surf. .i can, infact, sit right beside him on the sofa and eat my lunch and he shows no interest whatsoever. Very odd! I have never had such a well mannered dog in my life! He loves his dinner - but waits patiently on the sofa for it to be put down on his table for him. Notice the repetitive use of the word, "sofa"? He loves the sofa. I'm sure he thinks this is the most wonderful kennel in the world - because there is a sofa for him on every floor. And he loves tv time after dinner. That is when we cuddle! Still won't play. Looks at me like I am a crazy woman when I haul out the toys and try to get him interested. I am really looking forward to warmer weather because I think he will like being out in the yard.

 

Still haven't figured out the photo upload!

[Guest greytnana]

Sid has a new pal! His name is Tigger - aptly named by our daughter because he is a lovely, stripy brindle boy. I call him my clown because he is very goofy!

 

Our daughter took Tigs from someone who had adopted him, but just was not dealing well with trying to teach a retired grey to live as a pet. Tigs adored her from the very beginning, even before they became a family, and having grown up with retired racers, she knew exactly what to expect on the greyhound front. What a great job she did with him! He was so timid that he would only approach from behind,quickly nudge your hand, then turn and run for the hills! He was terrified when people hugged him (peed on my foot once!). Was afraid of men. And constantly retreated to his bed on the dark bedroom. Now he is loving and social, listens to "wait" and "stay", is no longer terrified of men - intact, he absolutely adores "the boyfriend", and even taught himself to play ... With a dryer ball, of all things!!! Now he is king of the toy box and I have toys strewn all about the house just like I did when my children were wee ones!

 

They lived together as a family for a year, but when the daughter graduated and relocated back here, her new landlord did not want a dog on the premises, so Tigger came to live with Nana and Sid. Of course, he gets to see his mom all the time because she and the boyfriend are always dropping in to visit, have dinner, dig through the house to see what they can talk me into passing on to them, etc. it is quite interesting to see the boys together. They are rather like bookends, both being red fawn brindles

[Guest greytnana]

Hmmm. Not sure what happened there! Anyway, both boys were only children and now they are brothers and doing very, very well together. They both like to lounge in the yard - something we have all got to do a lot of during this summer of wonderful weather. Sid likes to run like stink around the yard, Tigger likes to throw toys around and chase them. They keep each other company. We all know how much they enjoy being in the company of other greyhounds!

 

Tigger still has some hang ups. He doesn't like strollers - although he loves kids! And he is terrified of thunder, so terrified, in fact, that he starts to shake and tremble when it is just plain ole raining outside. I got him a Thundershirt which seemed to do the trick through all the Stampede fireworks, but does not seem to do too much with all the thunderstorms we seem to be having on an almost daily basis this summer. So, something to work on. I have decided to treat it as "no big deal". When the storm warnings are posted and the thunder is approaching, I put on his shirt and go on about my business. I talk to him in a firm and reassuring voice, but I have decided that maybe if I act like it is no big deal, maybe it will, sooner or later, start to rub off on him. He seems to have made himself a little thunderstorm nest down in the basement amongst the Christmas decorations. It's kinda cute. Because I work downstairs, I make sure I carry on a running commentary with him and Sid during the loudest booms, but I keep painting, or rug hooking just like nothing is going on. When the storm has passed, I open the door so they can go out into the garden if they wish. Tig usually wishes to stay in his nest. Poor thing. I think the anxiety exhausts him. Only time will tell.

 

Sid's favourite pastime is still sleeping. He has, upon a few occasions, tried to play with some toys in the yard but he looks like he feels foolish and embarrassed in doing so. Racing around the yard is still the thing that gives him pleasure. He always looks to me for praise and approval after one of his personal races. You can tell that he regards me as his person. He is very willing to share me, as long as I don't forget to give him that recognition. When I have been out for a few hours, he runs to the sofa and talks to me when I come in. He is so endearing.

 

One of these days I am going to figure out how to upload a photo. Why can't it be as easy as FB!!!

 

In the meantime, I am contemplating how I ended up being the only girl in the house!

[Feisty49]

Lovely story. I'm glad you picked up the thread.

[Guest miasmom]

Sid and Tigger sound like wonderful boys. I'm so glad they seem to have settled in. We have a dog here (not a grey) who was so afaid of thunder and rain that he would pee every time it rained. We have had storms almost every day this summer as well. He has a thundershirt which stopped the peeing but not the shaking and hiding. We just added our greyhound recently and since she has been here, he hasn't tried to hide during storms. Hopefully Tigger will eventually become less anxious over the storms.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Thanks for keeping us updated ....and how nice that Sid has a brother!

 

You need to load your pictures into Photobucket..it's free.

Then you copy the IMG code and then pasting them here.

[Guest greytnana]

We took the boys on a camping trip this past November. We had planned a trip to see Bryce, Zion & Grand Canyons. We soon started to refer or our journey as "The Great Greyhound Tour of 2012".

 

It never ceases to amaze me how interested people are in greyhounds. The first question we were usually asked was, "are they whippets?" No, we tell them, they are greyhounds. That is usually met with astonishment. Greyhounds are those crazy wild dogs that race at tracks. These beautiful, calm canines can't possibly be greyhounds! You know this is what is going through their minds. We patiently explain that greyhounds are not wild and crazy guys, but gentle, loving and very, very lazy by nature. We tell how they are often adopted out when their racing career is over or shows no promise. We tell how old they are, and where they came from, where they raced. People are always so interested! The boys, of course, stand patiently during our discourse, soaking up all adoration like dry sponges. We stop again and again and again during our walks.

 

While in Zion Canyon we faced a bit of a dilemma: we must split up and do our tours and hikes independent of each other because someone must stay with the boys. It was hot! So, I set off first on the bus with my camera in tow. I was in complete awe of this beautiful canyon. When I returned, I found my husband and the boys relaxing on the grass in the shade of a tree. All three of them looked so pleased with themselves! What could they have gotten up to while I was gone? Well, the first thing was a car that made a mad turn into the parking lot behind them. Then a young man got out, strode over and asked if he could get a greyhound hug. Turned out his mom had two greys at home and he missed them! So he got his greyhound fix and the boys got some more good lovin.

 

Then a family came up and wanted to see the dogs. Dad was keen on adopting from their local track. Kids were on board. Mom was hesitant. She was thinking they were wild and crazy guys. Dad had lots of good, informed questions. My husband answered all questions and added more personal info for them. The whole time, the boys were lounging on the grass in the shade. Then, all of a sudden, our Sid stood up, stretched, sauntered over to Mom, stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on her and bestowed one ginormous greyhound lick upon her face. Then he got down and laid back down on the grass. We are hoping that won her over. We are hoping that a grey found his forever home.

 

Our whole trip was like that! We met another greyhound called "Mr" who was a real, handsome, laid back dude. We talked to many people in the campgrounds we stayed in. Everyone wanted to know about the greyhounds. We met some Italian greyhounds and a couple of whippets as well.

 

While we were in Santa Fe a lovely woman came out of her art gallery and invited us inside. Sid strolled on like he owned the joint and made himself right at home. She gave them biscuits and showed us where she keeps her water bowl for dogs to drink. What a great city! We had a tour group engage us in conversation, and a woman shouted to us from her vehicle, "are they whippets?" We also met a couple who waited patiently for us to finish our conversation on the sidewalk so they could have a big greyhound hug because they had left their girl at home and missed her terribly.

 

Tigger is very timid. But he is such a striking looking fellow that he usually is the first to catch people's eye. When he shrinks back, Sid steps in to take over. And when Tigger sees that it is safe he comes forward to share in the attention. It is like they have their routine all sorted out.

 

And we hope that a few more dogs will find their way to new homes because of our travels and visits on our trip.

 

The boys adored travelling in a camper. Can you imagine? A sofa surrounded by windows and the world going by outside? Does it get any better than that for a sight hound?

 

We are looking forward to camping with them again next year!

[Guest dmt]

Sounds like a great trip.

[djsgreys]

Would love to see pictures of them together. I am so glad that Syd has company - I know you worried.

[dante2zoe]

I did that trip several years ago, but left the dogs home. Your way was better! Glad all is working out for you.

[Guest greytnana]

My heart is breaking again. My Sid has lung cancer. He was not himself for a little over a week, so I took him to the vets today. I had taken the boys for a walk and Sid had an episode of watery diaharria. Very dark. The vet did not feel optimistic as he is a young dog. Pale gums, platelets very low, especially for a greyhound who are great blood donors. X-ray showed spots on the lungs. Which usually means it has matasicised. As my husband is out of town we are trying, via telephone, to decide how to handle the situation. Almost had Sid for a whole year. Keep trying to remind myself that I have him the best almost year of his life. My heart, however, is not listening. Tears are falling like raindrops. And Tigger is upset because he knows something is wrong. I don't think this is going to be a very enjoyable Christmas.

[Guest RMarie]

So sorry to hear this. It has been such a pleasure reading your posts. My heart goes out to you!

[4greyhounds]

I am so very Sorry. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I too have enjoyed reading your stories. Many hugs to you.

[greytpups]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this...how heartbreaking.

[GreyPoopon]

I'm so sorry.

[Guest SeeJoy]

Wrapping my arms & heart around you and your boys..

[Guest mld]

So sorry to hear this, sending prayers your way!