Khan- the first 12 hours

Khan’s first hours of retirement in a house were pleasant.  He and his 7 companions arrived just after 5 p.m., after traveling for approximately 20 hours.  They were all happy to get out and stretch.  Fortunately, there were plenty of volunteers on hand to help get them off the hauler and attached to leash with a human at the other end.  All was well. 

After a couple hours of microchipping, bathing, pictures, romping in the yard, and food and water, 7 dogs and their responsible humans, departed to start their retirement life, leaving Khan with us. 

River of course was snarky.  Ace was tired cause he had been with Bill at Petco for 4 hours, leaving Macho to fend for himself with this dog, that is a skinny version of Macho.

Khan is not shy.  He is just not brave.  Any sudden movement, or unusual noise sends him 20 feet away from the fearful thing.  Tail tucked and a look of panic in his eyes.  A simple gentle touch and some kind words relax him and all is well. 

I fed him last night after the people left.  He ate 2 cups of food and drank a tablespoon of water.  Then he ate the rest of Aces food and then polished off Macho's.  He would take a break between eating.   He is eerily thin, so he can gain 20 pounds.  Soon he needed to go somewhere to poo. Ace came and yelled at me, so I figured Ace wanted to go out.  I got up and the 3 boys followed me:  only Macho and Khan went out.  Macho showed Khan all the good spots for a guy to pee, and then Macho showed Kahn, Macho's favorite place to Poo.  Since it was dark, Macho waited for Khan and they came running back.  Good Macho.

Bill carried Khan up the stairs so Khan could sleep with the pack.  Eventually, after River snarked and Macho growled, Khan laid down on the bed I had shown him after he got upstairs.  At 3 this morning, all  four dogs started moving around, which woke Bill up.  He got up, carried Khan down the stairs, waited for him to finish his dog business, and then, carried him back up the stairs. Once Khan got settled, they all slept till 730 this morning.  Yay!

Ace and River bounded down the stairs this morning.  Khan stood at the top of the stairs, so I decided to see if he could come down without waking the elevator.  Sure enough, Khan let me move each of his feet, down each stair, and together we made it to the main level, which allowed him to happily trot outside with the others.

No one wants to eat this morning.  Macho and River abandoned us and went back upstairs to sleep with Dad.  Ace claimed his downstairs bed and has not ventured off of it. Khan, well, he paced, he snacked, he drank 3 cups of water, he marked, he paced, he went out and in 20 or more times, drank some more water, and finally laid down next to me and appears to be nearly asleep.I think he is waiting for Macho to tell him what is happening but Macho is still sleeping!

Kahn will not leave my side. He will stay with Bill, but he knows who has the softest heart, and 

he can wrap me around his toe.  I can't get a good body shot cause he is with me when I am moving.For those that know Macho, this is NOT Macho.

Coming Soon!

Tomorrow afternoon, around 5 the new foster dogs arrive!

I am getting a black greyhound whose racing name is PG Khan.  He is roughly 3 years old.  I looked him up on some racing greyhound website and his racing weight was 71 pounds.  This tells me he is a big guy, just the way I like them.  I believe he may be between 27 and 30 inches tall at the shoulder.  We’ll see.

PG Khan

When he retired, nearly 2 years ago, he was what is defined as a Spook.  As near as I can tell a Spook is so afraid of everything he/she rarely seeks attention, and actually shuns it.  The kennel manager tells me they worked with him for a year and a half, and he is no longer a spook.  So, we’ll see.

Ace was defined as Shy when we got him.  We couldn't pet him, when he walked by I would touch him.  Eventually he would let me pet him.  A lot of patience and love along with Oliver and Mindy, brought him out of his shell.  I am hoping that a lot of patience and love and my three dogs allow Khan to become the confident dog that lives within all of the greyhounds.

I asked the kennel manager what they did to help him, assuming they had a dog psychologist or pet psychic work with him.  She tells me that lots of attention and treats brought him around.  No outside help.  She said just give him treats and talk to him, he should be fine. Well then, he is coming to the right place.  My dogs almost live on treats!  They prefer treats over dinner, but I make them eat most of their food before they get a treat. So, free-flowing treats it will be.   I asked the kennel manager what she thought the trip in the trailer would do to him.  She said he should be ok. 

We are looking forward to having another foster dog.  He may be more challenging than Fog was.  The next blogs will be about Khan.  Here is the picture they kennel sent me of Khan, the foster dog.

They're coming!

Blaze

Foster dogs are coming.  7 no, wait 8, foster dogs are coming to Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio on October 26.  And yes, I volunteered to foster again.  Since River doesn't like girl dogs, we are gonna get another boy.  Probably a black greyhound. Ollie was my first official greyhound, and he was black.  Macho was one of my foster dogs, a black greyhound. I sorta have a soft spot for the black dogs.  Since adopting Macho, I've had 2 other black greyhounds, one for maybe a month and one for a week. And I believe the black greyhounds are more centered, and confident  and just want to make the humans happy.  Maybe it is just what I expect out of them. They are also very attentive and need human touch.  I like that in a dog.  The other greyhounds I've had in my life that weren't/aren't black don’t seem to have the passion that a black greyhound has.

Macho

My dogs adjusted pretty well to Fog.  But he worked real hard on River.  I am not sure she will feel the same about another foster dog.  Especially a black one, she really doesn't like Macho.  But time will tell.

So I am again going through the feelings of OMG what did I get myself into, and Oh boy another dog to love and find a good forever home for.   In my heart and head, I am hoping for a big boy.  I like the big ones; I treat them like spoiled dogs. The smaller greyhounds, I treat like baby dogs.  

Since I don’t know too much about the dog I may be getting, I have posted pictures of the black dogs that have been in my life.

Olliver (Ollie)

How I started Fostering

In 2004, the e-mail from Sally, the director of Lake Erie Greyhound Rescue read, something like:

“Winnie has been diagnosed with cancer. She has been undergoing chemotherapy for 6 weeks.  Her greyhounds, Twiggy (11) and Kacey (7) have been at the vet in the kennel for 6 weeks at a cost of $1500.  Winnie is getting ready for a second round of chemo.  The vet has said the dogs can stay there again, but Winnie is hoping they be fostered while she goes through this chemo.  She has had Twiggy for 7 years and she would like to occasionally be able to see both dogs, but specifically Twiggy. They live in North Olmsted.  If anyone can foster for her, please let me know.” With tears in my eyes I read this message to Bill.  I said, can we take them? He said yes.

Twiggy

I cannot imagine what those  dogs thought while they were at the vets office kennel.  Those cages are meant for short term stays.  So I called Sally. Told her we would foster.  She was silent, then she said, ‘thank you so much.  Winnie will be delighted.”  So after a few more calls, we went to get Twiggy and Kacey.  Twiggy I learned from Winnie, was a champion and retired at the age of 5, and she and her husband got Twig about a year before he unexpectedly died.  Kacey she got to keep Twiggy company about 3 years ago.  Twiggy was a tiny previously Champaign brindle, but at the age of 11 was now gray and black, brindle.  Spunky as could be but was on Rimadyl for pain as needed.  Kacey, was a stunning boy. He had the markings of a husky, but the body of a greyhound.  He was an incredible dog.

Kacey

We arranged to keep them for at least 6 weeks with weekend visits, when Winnie felt good enough.  I talked to Winnie every week.  The 6 weeks turned into three months, with a couple of visits.  I almost had to insist they go home, but they did.  She called one day, a few months later and said she was going on vacation and could the dogs stay with me.  Of course they can.  I went to get them and when I walked in, they were very glad to see me.  Winnie said they had not greeted anyone like that in many years.  They liked what I came to call their Country home…

About 6 months later, Winnie called, another cancer.  “Can you take them?”  Of course we can.  I really don’t remember too much about them, except Kacey was a very nice dog.   But when there was snow, he was a coward.  Ollie, Kacey and Ginger would look outside and see the snow and turn around.  Twiggy, the tiny old greyhound, would go out without a coat, and put her head down in the snow and just plow through it and return.  Then the others would go out.  She was the leader of the pack; although, she let Kacey think he was.  But when he failed to lead the way she wanted, she would yell at him.  And he would hang his head and tuck his tail and scamper away.  She was an amazing dog.

Winnie died while the dogs were here.  Twiggy knew when Winnie died.  At 1038 p.m. Twiggy stood up and just started howling.  I looked at the clock, and thought ‘that is weird, she’s never done that before’.  Then I thought, uh oh.  Winnie must have passed.  The next morning, Winnie’s son called and said she died last night.  I asked what time, and he said it was around 1035. 

In one of many conversations, Winnie had told me that if she died, her son was coming from Colorado to take the dogs to Colorado with him.  He arranged for me to keep them for a couple more months until he could come back and get them.  We kept in touch for awhile.  In 2009, twiggy died.  She was 16.  Twiggy was cremated and put with Winnie’s ashes. Kacey died shortly after, he was 9.  Although I don’t remember a lot of stories, they were my first foster dogs and they hold a special place in my heart.  I  cried when they died.