Dedicated to the ones we loved

sky, thor, macho

To all the greys I've loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this blog
To all the greys I've loved before

twiggy

 To all the dogs I once caressed
And may I say I've held the best
For helping me to grow I owe a lot I know

Ollie

To all the dogs I've loved before

fog

To all the dogs I've loved before
The winds of change continue blowing

And they just carry them away

To all the greys who shared my life
Who now are in someone else's lives
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this blog
To all the dogs I've loved before

macho

 To all the dogs I once caressed
And may I say I've held the best
For helping me to grow
I owe a lot I know
To all the dogs I've loved before

ace,macho,duke,river,effe

To all the greys we've loved before
Who traveled in and out our doors
We're glad they came along
We dedicate this blog
To all the greys we've loved before

ollie, mindy, kacey

To all the greys we've loved before

Thor, Rest in Peace 

A home for Khan

The first Saturday of each month, Erie Shore GreyhoundAdoption of Ohio has a Meet and Greet (M&G) at Petco, near Rocky River Ohio.  Bill and Ace normally go, and if we have a foster dog, the foster dog gets to go too.  So, on December 7, Bill loaded the Retired Racer Bus

with Ace and Khan and went to the M&G. We get a lot of interest in greyhounds and a good bunch of adoptions from this Petco.  This is the Khan’s story of how he got adopted.

Ace and I were standing in this store, which had all sorts of interesting things, critters, rodents and dog treats out on a big table.  Ace said we can’t help ourselves.  Since I had never been in a store, this was all pretty scary to me, but I was on my leash and Ace said it is fun to go there.  There were a couple of girl greyhounds there, Rain, came up from FL with me, and a couple others I didn't know.  It was nice to see some different greyhounds.  Anyway, I was standing there, and a human girl came up and started touching me in the nicest way.  Soon she was petting me, rubbing my back, using the right amount of pressure and oh my, it felt so good.  I leaned against her to let her know that felt good.  I lost my mind for a minute and pressed my whole body weight into her.  I felt her brace to hold me up, but she didn’t stop petting me.  Soon my man, who was talking to another man handed her my leash.  I was worried, but there was something about her that told me, I would be fine.  Plus my man was watching and I don’t think he would let me get hurt.  The girl took me to look at something called Ferret, and small rodents.  We looked at birds and something called cat. Then we looked at dog snacks and returned to the man and the other greyhounds.  Before I knew what was happening another man was petting me.  He reminded me of the girl and she was standing next to him.  I liked him, and he was petting me too. So I pressed against him so he could feel how strong I am and that he could pet me.  Next thing I knew, the girl was petting me again and the man was writing.

Soon we left.  It was fun being at the store with Ace, the man and other greyhounds; it was hard on my feet.  It was nice to get back to the lady and my bed.  I don’t know why we go to stores.

A few days later, my man took me for a ride in the car, by myself.  We went to see the girl and man that were at the store!  It was so nice to see them again.  I was so happy, I pressed against the girl and then the man, which is her Dad, and back to my man.  Then a cat came by and told me that the cat is in charge.  It scared me when it hissed at me, but I was brave.  Soon, my man left me at the house with the Dad and daughter.  On the way out, my man told me to be nice cause these people want me to live with them.  My man said he would be checking on me and if there were any problems, I can come back to his house.

I like living with the new man, and his daughter.  My soon to be Dad is Larry, and my sister is Alyssa.  I will officially be theirs in about another week.  Larry walks me and I got to meet some neighbors.  Soon the fence will be finished and I can run in the yard, once it warms up.  Larry and Alyssa love me a lot and I am starting to get into their routine.  The cat comes and hisses at me sometimes, but I don’t want to bother it.

Larry has purchased a new collar or two for me and is getting me a couple of new coats.  I am a happy pampered pet.  I hope all the dogs that came to Ohio with me get good homes like I did.

I am Khan

Prelude:  Khan wrote this about 10 days ago.  I was waiting to post it till I got a new picture of him.  But in the meantime, we have received an adoption application for Khan.  So, I thought I would post Khan's blog before he goes to see if he wants to live with the new people.

 My racing name was PGs Khan, they call me Khan.  I am 3 years old and taller than the dogs I live with.  I am Black.  I have 4 white feet and a white chest and underside.  My teef are beautiful and my front top teef are vewy long.  When people rub my chin, they can feel my top K9s.  I have white hairs on my back.  The man says, I want to be grey, so, I am growing in white hairs.  The lady says I have a Red undercoat, which she can see when I am in the sun light.

I like getting petted.  I like being gently held and petted and have words said to me.  Macho and River lay on the floor with the lady, and they look like that is heaven.  I would like to try that, I think.  I watch them and want to ask her to lay with me, but Macho and River will not allow her to get on the floor without one of them being right there.  They have made it clear that that they get most of the attention.  The lady takes time with me and sits on the stairs so I can come to her.  I stand with my side against her and she rubs me.  I press harder against her cause it feels so good, and she just keeps petting and holding me.  It is the second best part of my day.

Khan in the snow

The bestest part of my day is running in the yard.  They have a nice yard here, and I have figured out that I can run.  Macho will sometimes run with me, since I am faster than him, he gets grumpy then he cheats while running.  The best part is having the yard to myself and the lady comes out to watch me run.  She tells me I can run, and jogs in the yard to show me what she wants me to do, and I go and show her how fast I am!  I love the feeling of running.  I am fast, it feels so good:  I am a confident, proud, happy dog when I am running in the yard.  I run 8 figure 8s in the yard when she is watching, then I run to her when I am done.  She rubs me and tells me I did good, and she hugs me.  I am hot and panting, but she doesn’t care, she just keeps petting me and talking to me.  I like that.  Then she asks if I am done and together we walk back to the house.  I hold my head high and my arch is out of my back when we walk together, I know she is proud of me.

The other part of the day I like is the food part.  We get fed twice each day.  I have figured out where MY bowl is, and that the humans won’t take the food away while I am eating.  They don’t like it when I eat the other dog’s food.  I know it is theirs, but for a while, they were leaving part of their food just for me. Not anymore, so I don’t get to eat as much as I did when I first got here.  We also get treats here.  The others line up for their treats.  I stay on the bed next to the man’s chair, where I am safe and out of the way.  The lady makes sure I get treats too.  If I am feeling especially insecure, I will go in the other room when she brings a treat for me.  She leaves it on that bed, and keeps the others away from it so I can get it.  I sleek to the bed and snatch the treat and eat it.  She likes us to have Milk bones.  I don’t really like Milk Bones, but they are fun to crunch.  After I crunch them, I eat the big pieces and leave the crumbs for the others.

At the end of the day, we all go upstairs and go to bed.  We sleep on dog beds on the floor.  It feels good to lie down knowing the other dogs are with me.  I know that if I get scared the humans will get up to comfort me, and that if I need l go out, I can tell Ace and he will get the man up.  I feel safe, loved, and content when we are all sleeping together, and look forward to what things I can do tomorrow.

I hope the people that adopt me are patient and kind.  And I hope they will occasionally take me for a walk.

A New Attitude?!

Thank you everyone for the kind words after the last Blog.  I appreciate it.

This is a happy blog about Khan. 

Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio had a booth at a show called the Christmas Connection.  It is held each year and thousands of people go to buy unique gifts from private vendors.  We go to encourage people to consider adopting a rescued greyhound, and to raise money. 

This year, the foster parents were encouraged to bring the foster dogs.  Bill and I signed up to take Khan on Saturday afternoon.  Saturday, was only a couple days after the “treat” event.  I was feeling that this may be too much for Khan to handle; but, we agreed if he panicked one of us would bring him home and take Ace back. 

We had a couple problems getting him to come through the entrance, but a little love and encouragement got him through the entrance uneventfully.  The entrance for vendors is at least 1000 yards of polished concrete until the first booth. Our booth is near the huge Ferris wheel and 500 feet from the first booth.  River can’t do the show because of the polished floor, Bill had to carry her in last year.  Macho is afraid of the Ferris wheel, so he can’t go.  Lots of things against us.  Anyway, Khan pranced across the long unending stretch of concrete.  We got to the show, and he didn't want to walk on the carpet that covers the walkway from vendor to vendor!  More love and assurance and he was walking again, not so proudly, but walking on his own.   We arrived at our booth and set to work.  Khan allowed everyone to pet him, wore the donation jacket and was all around a good guy.  When he got overwhelmed, he would go to the back of the booth and lean on another group member, or do the greyhound sit on a lap of a member until secure.  Then he would go and get more attention.  GOOD GUY!  Near the time for us to leave, he was trying to walk down the aisle way.  I realized he needed to go out, so we headed toward the 1000 yard walk.  Of course, people want to pet him and ask questions, so we didn't get to the walk to the entrance for about 10 minutes.  Right in the middle of the floor he stopped and pooped!  I told him we had to stop and clean that up, and I got on the floor to pick up the poo.  He was straining to get away.  I stopped picking up poo, and reached out and gave him a big body hug and told him it was ok.  He relaxed, and I finished, and out we went.   We returned and then shortly after, our time was over and we returned home.  Fog was there, along with a couple of the dogs that came on the hauler with Khan.  And Duke and Effy were there, they are the friendliest greyhounds. Maybe they all chatted.

Khan in his new collar

Khan was tired.  He didn't even eat standing up.  I put his food near him on his bed and he ate, laying down.  At 9, he marched up the stairs, without help, encouragement, or permission and went to bed.

He got up at 730 the next morning.  His legs and feet were obviously sore. He gingerly came down stairs went out came in and went back upstairs.  I fed the other boys.  River and Khan came down at 930, the time she normally gets up.  I fed them, he stood and ate and went back upstairs to sleep. When he got back up 4 hours later, he had a whole different attitude.  He is coming for attention.  I don’t have to be in view for him to come in or go out.  He will come for treats.  This evening, he even took a treat right off of my open hand!  He’s got a new attitude!  He seems happier and more confident.  Bill said Khan conquered some of his fears at the show this weekend. I think he realizes that he is safe with us and even if something scares him, we are there to support and protect him.

Poor guy

Khan is probably 28 inches tall at his shoulder.  He is black with a Red undertone.   He is starting to get white hairs all over him.  Khan has really long top K9 teeth.  When he got here he weighed 63 pounds, he is now around 70 pounds.  Khan has bonded to Bill, as my dogs believe Bill is the protector, so does Khan.  Khan would be a lap dog, if he could get on the furniture.  He loves to be cuddled, stroked, and gently spoken to.  His ideal place would be right next to a human with a hand that just gently rubs on him. He has a gentle soul.

This Blog is about the hard part of fostering.  Similar issues probably occur with non greyhounds, but all I know is greyhounds.  Khan is 3 years old now.  He is starting to have separation anxiety, but not bad yet.  We can work on that.  But this little guy, has been severely mentally abused, I’ve decided.

It appears that whoever worked with him in his formative years were bullies.  I believe the abuse occurred at the hands of his handlers. Khan will not walk past you unless he can see both hands and you are at least 3 feet away.  If we reach for him to reassure him that everything is ok, he backs away, tail tucked, head down trying to find an escape route. But his eyes never leave the person.  They must grabbed him or hollered at him every time they let him out or tried to feed him.

He literally snatches treats out of my hand, just missing me with those huge K9s.  If Bill tries to give him a treat, Khan is scared.   He paces and comes quickly, snatches the treat and runs to his bed, where he feels safe and he can watch what is happening.  So the other day, Bill tossed the treat to Khan.  OMG! He tucked his tail and ran to his bed and stood on it and shook.  It was very sad.  Bill felt bad. I felt bad, and Khan felt betrayed by the protector.  Bill gave him lots of love and kindness and Khan is forgiving Bill and becoming comfortable with Bill again.  One simple gesture that works for other dogs, undid 3 weeks of work. 

I am concerned that he may accidentally bite my finger when I give him a treat.  He is getting to the point where he stands with the pack and waits for a treat.  He is even coming for more treats, as my dogs do.   My dogs take treats so gently that a baby could give the treat to them. So, I decided that he is comfortable with us, and I would hold the treat as he took it from me, to show him I won’t hurt him. A mistake on my part.  OMG!  He had half the treat in his mouth and I had the other half lightly in my fingers.  When I didn’t let it go he started crying.  Crying like he was going to be tortured.  He let it go and he was whimpering and backing up while looking at me.  When he made it around the corner, he just stood there, shaking.  I  told him it was ok, and (stupidly) tossed the cookie near him.  That sent him running, as far as he could. (why didn’t I learn from Bills mistake?)  He found his safe place, next to Bill.  I went to pet him and he hung his head and winced, like he was going to be hurt.  I said to Bill, with tears in my eyes “what did they do to this poor guy??” 

Khan on his safe bed

I suspect they used to grab him when he walked by.  Probably by the neck and scream at him or something.  There is no sign of physical abuse. I have also decided they would throw things at him or on the ground and then run toward him screaming or something to harass him. They may have double teamed him and let him pick something off the floor and then ran toward him while someone behind him caught him.  Terrible treatment this guy must have endured, it breaks my heart.  Khan is by no means an alpha dog, so this treatment destroyed his confidence and made him a scared guy.  I don’t understand abuse of  any kind. Mentally abusing an animal would result in what?

He is still arched in the back.  He eats if people are still.  If I move or Bill moves, he leaves the food and runs in another room.  He does; however, love to walk on the leash, with dogs, without dogs it doesn't matter.  He is a strong confident happy guy while on his leash or alone in the yard.  The trainer would have been working with him for this stuff, which is why I don’t think the trainer abused him.

The treat event, damaged the confidence he was gaining with us.  He is better today; he came with the pack for a treat this morning.  He is not as confident as he was, but he is better.  

Play?

 My dogs are spoiled. They have a box of toys.  The box of toys is near their downstairs beds.

Ace likes to play with toys, so periodically, he’ll dig one out and toss it around and play with it.

Khan is still learning what retirement is like, so he watches what my dogs do, and learns from them what is acceptable.  My dogs are warming up to him.  Khan is frightened by unusual noises or movements: introducing toys was not going to happen for a while.

Ace in his younger days, was a player.  Now that his playmate is gone, he doesn't play so much, but when he does, he spins and tosses toys and chases after them, and occasionally, it is ok for Mom to toss the toy for him.

So, Ace had a squeaky toy and he was chewing on it and tossing it around and running 4 feet to get it.  A little while later, Khan got up and pranced his happy self over to the box of toys.  He gently took one out, and promptly put it down.  He went and laid down in what he believes is his bed.  I went and got the toy he got out of the toy box, and gently put it by his bed.  This particular toy doesn't squeak.  It is an elephant that crackles when chewed or tossed, I figured it wouldn't scare him, if he chewed on it.  I went about my business and soon heard crackling.  I peered around the corner and Khan was gingerly chewing on the toy.  Well, this inspired Macho so he went and got a toy and started throwing it in the air and catching it on the fall, and then spinning and doing it all over. Macho puts his heart and soul into playing, which right now is way to intense for Khan. Khan watched from the safety of his bed.  Soon Khan was carrying the elephant around the house. 

Later I let them all out and in through the patio doors. Near the patio door was a red stuffy bone, that is about a foot long and 6 inches wide.  He smelled it, looked at me and quickly ran in.  I took the bone and put it near him.  He grabbed it and pranced around with it.  He put it on his bed and in greyhound style, invited the toy to play with him. He decided he could chew on it and when no one said no, or moved to take it away, he gleefully laid on his bed and chewed and chomped.  Soon Ace came in and showed him that you can play with one toy for a minute and then get another and another and no one says anything. 

We have Kong toys.  They are heavy and are generally for heavy chewers.  My greyhounds love them. Every foster dog has found the Kong toy has managed to do some serious damage to the toy and or their teeth.  Khan found the Kong softball.  Fog had found the kong softball and was in the process of taking the bright yellow cover off of it, before he got adopted.  I looked at Khan, and he was carrying the kong softball all around the house, by the partially removed cover.  It looked like a Christmas ornament hanging from his mouth! He dropped it and it scared him so he ran to his bed.  Ace got up, grabbed the ball, tail wagging, and took it to his bed (nearly 20 feet away).  A little later, Ace moved from his bed to another bed, and Khan, got up, and stole the ball and took it to Khan’s bed.  This was deemed a challenge by Ace, so when Khan was looking for more food in the bowls, Ace stole the ball back.  They stole the ball from each other the rest of the day.

Now when Khan is feeling especially good, he gets the big red bone and chews on it.  The yellow kong ball is missing, it must be under something and I haven’t found it yet.

A side note, the boys are taking turns playing in the yard.  Khan invites Macho to play, so they chase each other, then Ace runs with Khan, and Macho stops, and then the three run together.  I noticed yesterday, that Khan is now inviting River to play too.  While she does not play with him, she does not stop him from running in the yard.  I watched him run in the yard after he talked to River. (boy is he speedy)  River went and stood near the deck and pretended to not notice while he ran a couple laps.  When Khan came in, he found his elephant and chewed on it, then found his big red bone, picked it up and dropped it in front of Ace, trying to get Ace to play.  I think Khan is gonna be a dog that plays!

Fog and Khan

So, I noticed with Fog, that he had an arch in his back for the first couple weeks and Khan has a similar arch.  With Fog, the arch came out when River finally accepted him to the pack. We’ll see how long it takes for Khan’s arch to go away. 

But my dogs aren't excited to have a foster dog in the house. They are not inviting Khan to be part of the pack.  I showed Khan where to lay the first night and that is where he stayed when he wasn't following me or jumping at every new noise or movement in the house.  My dogs are ignoring him, except Macho.  Macho is not inviting him to hang out with him, but he is tolerating Khan hanging around Macho, leaning on Macho and stealing Macho's favorite bed.  River stayed upstairs for two days after he got here, and Ace laid on his bed and just watched what was happening. 

Khan is just looking for a dog to tell him what is happening.  I figured, Fog recently went through this, maybe Fog would be able to explain to Khan what is going on.  And they came from the same kennel, they may know each other.  So I called Fog’s parents and arranged to borrow Fog. When we got off of work, I drove over and got Fog.

Fog came over and greeted River, then Ace, and lastly Macho.  Macho was not impressed, someone ELSE to take attention away from him.  Then Fog discovered Khan.  Sniff, sniff and all of a sudden both of them back up and their hair is standing on end.  I told them to stop.  A little paw stomping and huffing continued, but Khan ran off.  Soon Fog got done talking to the pack and I took my eyes off of them for a minute.  When I looked up, Fog and Khan were walking right next to each other, like a team of reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh.  Same pace, almost as if they were tied together. It would have been a terrific picture, but no camera at the time.  Fog spent some more time hanging out in the yard, but Fog didn't want to run in the yard. And, he wasn't too interested in hanging out with Khan or River; although, he and River had a conversation which made River sad.  I let them all back out, my dogs came right back in, and Fog and Khan stayed outside.  “Good” I thought, “they’ll play now”.   I came in to get my phone to capture the perfect picture of them hanging out together.   This is what I got. Fog standing and Khan lying in the yard!

I took Fog home. When I returned, Khan was prancing around the yard.  When greyhounds are happy, they prance, it is sort of like a fancy horse trot.  When my dogs prance, I know that they are happy with themselves.  He came galloping to me and proudly took himself into the house.

Although they didn't get to run or play in the yard, the short time Khan and Fog spent together had a positive impact on Khan.  I suspect Fog told Khan that this is a good place, and he doesn't have to run any more or live in a cage.  I think Fog told him that it is good here. 

Khan has not had any “accidents” in the house since Fog left.  He sleeps through the night. He is still jumpy, but Khan will now take treats out of human hands.  And Khan really likes Bill!