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River Says Hi From Northern Virginia


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Hello! We recently adopted our first greyhound, River (JT Red River Blu), and are so excited to have this sweetheart as part of our family! He turned two in September and never raced (we're not sure why, he sure loves running with the local greyhounds!). Even so, he's learning that retired life is really great! He's been doing pretty well with the two resident felines (one of whom wants nothing to do with him and the other who's almost convinced River's a just a really big cat), and he's even coming to terms with the Evil Stairs of DOOM. We've gotten a lot of great information from the forums in the lead up to his adoption and now that we have him we're excited to introduce him to everyone!

 

Smiling Houndie!

River.jpg

 

 

 

Hmm, maybe if I lay right here, Daddy will trip and drop the chicken on the ground...

 

IMG_20131026_111732_489.jpg

 

 

 

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Hello and welcome to GT! Congrats on your very handsome boy! :confetti

Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgo
Always in my heart: Frostman
Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming

Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown

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Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! We just returned from our first "Pet Manners" class, and now he's totally zonked! So many new dogs and smells and people and activities :eek ... not to mention that agility class was going on next to us. He did really well for his first night, and we even proved that the elusive "greyhound sit" does exist (now we just need to learn to do it on cue).

 

you'll soon be introducing your second :bunny they're a joy and they love to be with their buddies...

 

Dangerous thinking! The thought's crossed my mind, especially since his brother is up for adoption in Daytona... I do see us with a second houndie some day, but right now we have our hands quite full with one! Maybe if we haven't broken this one in a year's time we can think about adding a second. He's such a sweetie pie, I can understand why people want a whole pack!

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Guest ayimera

I'm also in NoVA (Alexandria) and was wondering if you could tell me which adoption agency you used and your experience? I was pointed towards Greyhound Welfare, but I know there's several in the area :) Thanks, and lovely pup!

Edited by ayimera
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Welcome from a "neighbor" - I work in Tysons and live in Rockville!

 

Hiya! Neighbors indeed, we're up in the Sterling area! REM told me not to go back to Rockville... :flip Though in truth I can't fault Rockville since that's where River's foster was!

 

I'm also in NoVA (Alexandria) and was wondering if you could tell me which adoption agency you used and your experience? I was pointed towards Greyhound Welfare, but I know there's several in the area :) Thanks, and lovely pup!

 

Hi Ayimera! We used Greyhound Welfare and had a great experience. We met a few of the other adoption groups, and while everyone was really nice, what drew us to GW was their fostering program. I really liked that we could talk to the foster parents and find out about the different dogs' personalities, meet the dogs in person, and then choose which dog would be the best match for us. A couple of the other groups in the area pick a dog out for you in FL and then bring him up the coast, and while there's certainly nothing wrong with this, we liked the additional assurance that his personality would mesh with our lifestyle well. It was also really important for us to get a hound that could get along with our cats; one of our kitties has SA and dislikes change and the last thing we wanted was a bad experience between him and the dog and possibly have to return the dog to the group. It's paid off so far; Bruce and River get along pretty well, and I can see them being best buds in the not so distant future. Logan (our other cat) on the other hand will probably simply coexist with River and continue to think Bruce is crazy for associating with the giant sleeping monster-dog.

 

The application process took a little time (I think it seemed longer than it actually was because we were excited and wanted a dog RIGHT NOW). Once you submit your application they call your references (I almost feel sorry for the person who called my neighbor; she was so excited that there'd be another dog in the neighborhood that I think she talked the interviewer's ear off) and your vet to make sure everything checks out. The phone interview was more of a conversation really; asking some questions yes, but more to find out about the type of dog that would work best with you rather than the Spanish Inquisition we feared it could be. The home visit was the same; giving some helpful suggestions ("That tomato won't be safe on the counter") rather than an "inspection". Having not gone through a rigorous process like this (our previous animals were simply picked out from a shelter), we were concerned about being judged or not being good enough, but that wasn't the case at all. I thought I'd mention this in case anyone else shared the same concern going in (and it sounds like most groups share a similar process, so it's not unique to GW). Everyone was really nice and the process was a lot "easier" than we thought it'd be.

 

We happened to be approved just as their new haul of dogs came available for adoption, so there was quite the flurry of activity. Other adopters were meeting the dogs at the same time we were so there was a little pressure to move quickly, but we just told ourselves that if we didn't find the right dog this time we'd find our new companion in the next haul. We actually thought someone would adopt River before we had the chance to meet him since there were three adopters who met him in his foster home before we did, but clearly it was meant to be because he ended up coming home with us! He's a little reserved at first which may have turned a few people off, but he's blossoming into a mellow kind of guy who is just as happy to nap as he is to go for a walk.

 

Anyway, sorry for the short novel! I think any group in the area you go with will be fine, but we really did like Greyhound Welfare. Good luck, and I hope to hear you have a new pup soon!

 

PS It might be a bit of a drive from Alexandria (probably not too bad from Tysons), but there's a greyhound playgroup at Frying Pan Park in Herndon that gets together on a Thursday evening mid- to late in the month (looks like it's happening on the 14th this month). There's a large indoor horse arena where the hounds can run around chasing a squawker and have a lot of fun. River was running around like a maniac with all the energy only a two year old has! We took some video, I'll post it when I get home! In the meantime, here's the calendar that shows when the playgroup is going on: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/fryingpanpark/equestriancal.htm

 

Kelly

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Guest ayimera

That was super helpful, Kelly, thank you! I've been a lurker here for about a year, but we just moved into a bigger house (this weekend actually) and we're so close to adopting... I'm thinking January after the holiday/moving craziness. Everyone I've talked to seems to be really happy with GW and they've been super responsive to my enquiries. And thanks for the link about the play group! Tysons isn't too far, but with traffic around here you never know what it's going to be like, hah.

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  • 4 months later...

Congratulations!

 

He's a very striking boy. And he sure does love to run. :)

Standard Poodle Daisy (12/13), Grey Toodles (BL Toodles 7/09)
Missing Cora (RL Nevada 5/99-10/09), Piper (Cee Bar Easy 2/99-1/10), Tally (Thunder La La 9/99-3/10), Edie (Daring Reva 9/99-10/12), Dixie (Kiowa Secret Sue 11/01-1/13), Jessie (P's Real Time 11/98-3/13), token boy Graham (Zydeco Dancer 9/00-5/13), Cal (Back Already 12/99-11/13), Betsy (Back Kick Beth 11/98-12/13), Standard Poodles Minnie (1/99-1/14) + Perry (9/98-2/14), Annie (Do Marcia 9/03-10/14), Pink (Miss Pinky Baker 1/02-6/15), Poppy (Cmon Err Not 8/05-1/16), Kat (Jax Candy 5/05-5/17), Ivy (Jax Isis 10/07-7/21), Hildy (Braska Hildy 7/10-12/22), Opal (Jax Opal 7/08-4/23)

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River, you are so handsome! :beatheart

Welcome to GT!! :welcome2

Rita, mom to Dakota (Dakotas Dream) & Wish (Kiowa Wish Wish) and my angels

Toby (Sol Marcus) and Robin (Greys Robin Hood)

Forever missing our beloved Robin and Toby

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

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Welcome to GT!!! River is a beauty!

Kyle with Stewie ('Super C Ledoux, Super C Sampson x Sing It Blondie) and forever missing my three angels, Jack ('Roy Jack', Greys Flambeau x Miss Cobblepot) and Charlie ('CTR Midas Touch', Leo's Midas x Hallo Argentina) and Shelby ('Shari's Hooty', Flying Viper x Shari Carusi) running free across the bridge.

Gus an coinnich sinn a'rithist my boys and little girl.

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:wave Hi Kelly and River - welcome to GT!

 

We adopted both of our hounds from Greyhound Welfare. We live across the river from you in Potomac.

 

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Humans Kathy and Jim with our girls, Ivy (Carolina Spoon) and Cherry (Fly Cherry Pie)

Missing our beautiful angel Breeze (Dighton Breeze) and angel Beka (BM Beko) - you are forever in our hearts.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Welcome!! I'm also across the Potomac, in New Carrollton.

 

I used to volunteer with GW - don't know any of their current volunteers but I think it's still a great group!!

Jeannine with Merlin, the crazed tabby cat and his sister, Jasmine, the brat-cat

With GTsiggieFromJenn.jpgAngel Cody(Roving Gemini), and Weenie the tortie waiting at the Bridge

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