Annual Santa Hat Pix

There is a tradition here at Lazy Day's Greys Chalet.  Every hound here on Christmas day must have their picture made with the Santa hat.  Some are definitely more cooperative than others! 

 

Before I get to the hat pictures, this first picture is of Clareese, Bowser's littermate.  She was standing in front of the tree looking out the window.  When I took this picture I thought she may be thinking she was watching for her forever family.  She's had several inquiries, one home visit, but no takers so far.  She is very sweet, a real cuddler too.  She's not so fond of my 2 year old grand son though.  Clareese isn't growly with him, I think it is his constant motion that makes her nervous.  Heck, some days it makes me nervous!

 First up Miss Felicia!  This is Felicia's third Christmas with us.  She stays with us while her family travels to visit family.  I was kind of bummed when earlier this fall her mom told me they weren't going away this Christmas.  But then about three weeks ago she asked if we could keep Felicia during the holidays.  It took me about a split second to answer with a "yes".  Love this girlie like she was my own.  She has blossomed into the sweetest girl.  She and Sadie are both 10 years old now.

 Next up is Clareese.  She was less than excited about wearing the hat.  Really, all she wanted to do was eat the pom pom on the hat.  This girl loves her stuffies and anything that even resembles a stuffed animal is fair game to her.  Blankets, dog beds, cat beds, gloves, slippers, etc. 

 Sadie was the least excited of the bunch.  I couldn't even get her off of the couch to participate.  I found the other hat and kind of draped it over her head.  We must not disturb the princess!

 Last, but not least, Bowser.  He was not being very cooperative either.  Finally he laid down and I got a decent picture.  This guy is a character most of the time.  So goofy and definitely not the brightest crayon in the box!

Happy Howlidays!

Merry Christmas from our hounds to yours!  The annual Santa hat photos will be taken tomorrow!

Fuzz Face Peach, AKA Clareese

I can't believe it's November already!  I am so far behind, and I realized I hadn't let you all know about Clareese!

Clareese came to Indiana on Saturday, October 5th.  I was a little hesitant about taking a foster at this time as I was leaving for Dewey on the following Tuesday.  This would only give her 3 days to get settled in before I left.  I was trying to make things easier for my family as Sadie was going along with me, but then I was worried about Bowser being by himself.  Hubs said that he needed some company and since Clareese is also Bowser's litter mate, I figured it would be no big deal.  The fact that I have always had a thing about finding one of my dogs litter mates some day, made the decision to bring her here even easier.

She's a tiny little thing, even shorter than Sadie.  She is now up to 57 pounds and her coat is starting to get a little bit of shine to it.  She follows me everywhere and is a good girl.  I was hoping for one of those pair of litter mates that would be inseparable, but these guys aren't like that.  They like each other and play like puppies, a little rough for me sometimes.  Muzzles are always a good thing when they are out in the yard together because the two of them can run super fast!

I snapped this picture of her in the back yard when she followed me to the shed.  She was actually doing a little play bow.  She a cute little bugger and I hope she finds a forever home pretty soon!

Foster Alert

Stay tuned folks.  My new foster dog is coming this weekend.  An added bonus, she is Bowser's litter mate.  Meet Fuzz Face Peach, aka Clareese.

Orijen Regional Dog Treats

Thanks to Chewy.com for providing the hounds with some yummy treats to sample!  This time around I chose Orijen Regional Red Freeze Dried Dog Treats.  These treats are made from wild boar, lamb and beef.  No other ingredients.  Made without preservatives, these treats are grain-free as well as low calorie.  Each high-protein treat only has 5 calories. 

 At first I wasn't sure that Bowser and Sadie would like them.  Being freeze dried, they do have a bit of a different texture to them.  So I sat the bag down to try to get a picture and Bowser was trying to get IN the bag!

Awww, look how nice they are posing!  It's amazing what happens when you put a treat on tope of your head!  Otherwise, they would not look up at me.  I would say these Orijen Regional Red Treats get a paws up rating from the hounds here!

 

 

Billy Boy

Bill Russell found his forever home.  This guy is such a sweetheart.  If we hadn't already adopted Bowser, I would have snagged him up myself.  But, someone else needed him more than we did.

 Bill has got this super big comfy chair that he sleeps in at night.

Bill also has lots of kitty friends at his new home.  Inside and out.  We all know that greyhounds can be a bit different with outside cats, but not Bill.  He has equal love for the inside and outside cats at his new home.  The outside kitties even walk with them.

Here is Bill with his new brother, Ulrick.  Some of you may remember that Ulrick was a foster of mine as well.  You can read his story here. 

Right after they decided to give Bill a try at their house, they had to help move their grandson to college.  I volunteered to house/dog sit for them so they didn't have to upset their routine.  Here is Bill asleep with his head in my lap.  He is a sweet boy.

Ulrick lost his brother, Mo, to osteo.  They were devastated.  Ulrick started showing signs of depression.  He wasn't eating or playing like he normally did.  He needed a buddy.

Bill is wondering who that handsome boy in the mirror is!  Here's to hoping Bill will bring them some much needed joy in their lives. 

I'm A Failure...

At fostering, that is!  We finally made it official and signed the papers on Bowser.  I love this picture of him.  I like to think of him asking "Really.  Really, you love me and are going to keep me?"

With his markings, it's hard to see if his eyes are open or not.  I purchased this collar from CollarTown before we decided to make it official.  It was too cute to pass up.  Does this mean I have a collar addiction?

 

I always hate to use the term "foster failure".  I never really consider it failing, it is sometimes just meant to be.

Happy Birthday GPA Tri-State

My group, GPA Tri-State, is celebrating 10 years of finding homes for retired racers!  I am so lucky to have been owned by the group's very first adoptee, KD Tom Sawyer.

While I am so excited for our group, I am finding myself a bit sad these days.  I've been walking down memory lane a lot and thinking of my boy.  Here are some of my favorite photos of my boy.

 

 Tom and Dixie.  This picture was taken shortly after Dixie's arrival.

Love that face.

Birthday boy.  He almost made it to his 13th birthday. 

 Being goofy.  He had the covers all wrapped around him.

 

He was such a tolerant boy.  I love this picture of him in the hat.

While Tom was shy and quiet, he loved my grandson, Geoffrey.  He would go out of his way to lay close to him.

One of the very last pictures I took of Tom.  My first, my most special boy.  The one who started it all...

Sadie Bug

My poor Sadie Bug.  She is not feeling well. 

I came home a bit early from work on Monday, muzzled the pups and let them out to do their business.  They took off like a shot around the corner of the house, as usual.  Next thing I know, Sadie is screaming.  This is not the normal GSOD, but scream after scream.  I run over and she is holding her left front leg up.  Well, crap.  I put the boys back in the house and off to the vet we go.  Luckily, they were still 40 minutes away from closing time.

All of my greyhound friends know how stoic these pups can be.  The vet poked, prodded and manipulated.  Only found one spot in her shoulder area that appeared to be tender.  We  left there with Novox as I already had a supply of Tramadol in the medicine chest.

Monday night was horrible.  Up and down all night long.  She would just stand and cry.  If I sat in front of her, she would lay her head on my shoulder and practically fall asleep.  When she did lay down, she wouldn't put her head down at all.  Poor thing.  Every time her head would start to fall, she would wake up.  Needless to say, I got no sleep.  Today, she is finally feeling better.  Thank doG!

Last November, Sadie went through some issues with her neck.  She was limping and any greyhound owner knows what fear goes along with that.  She also developed neurological problems.  I was so distraught about it at the time, I never wrote about it.  I think I felt like if I put it in words, it would be real.  We had a series of x-rays done and it was found that Sadie has several discs in her neck that are degenerated.  It was absolutely awful.  I left my vet's office with the words "there is nothing else we can do here for her".   I sought advice on facebook from friends and fellow greyhound owners and we decided to give chiropractic a try.  While I can't say that was totally the reason for her rebound, I do think it was a combination of meds and chiropractic.  Whatever it was, I'll take it.

Anyway, what happened out there in the yard to my girl?  I honestly don't know.  I rarely leave the dogs out unattended, especially when I have fosters.  I was standing on the porch and just couldn't see what was going on.  Upon later inspection, I found her right rear leg muddy.  Did she slip and one of the boys catch her leg?  Did they run into her, tackle her, so to speak?  I just don't know.  Keep my girl in your thoughts and prayers.  Send white light, whatever you have, our way.

Did Somebody Say Treat???

I was super excited when chewy.com contacted me and asked if the hounds were interested in doing a review of some treats.  Hmmm, let me think about this.  Sure, why not?

I chose Fromm Four-Star Nutritionals Grain-Free Chicken with Carrots & Peas Recipe Dog Treats.  Normally, I only use treats when putting the dogs in their crates.  But since we were doing a "review", the pups got treats a little more often.   I know, I am a mean mom.

Ingredients include Fresh Chicken, Pea Flour, Potato Flour, Tapioca, Whole Peas, Chicken Fat, Tomato Pomace, Fresh Cranberries, Fresh Sweet Potatoes, Fresh Carrots, Fresh Apples, Fresh Split Peas, Fresh Green Beans, Fresh Green Bell Peppers, Fresh Celery, Fresh Beets, Fresh Parsley, Fresh Lettuce, Fresh Watercress, Fresh Spinach.  Yummy!

Sadie thinks they are lick-lipping good!!!

Felicia is used to having her treats brought to her bed.

Foster dog Bill, loves these treats!

Bowser (soon to be adopted by us) quickly gobbled his up!

The Lazy Days Greys give four paws up to these treats.  Thank you Chewy.com for the opportunity!

 

 

Remembering KC

After 26 fosters, I knew it would happen sooner or later.  I learned that one of my fosters has passed away. 

KC Wired 'n Wild.  She was the cutest little white and brindle girl.  Tiny thing with an overbite.  It was December and we were waiting on the hauler to come from Florida with a load of dogs.  The president of our group had recently picked up KC and I would be taking her home to foster her.  She had been adopted at the track kennel when the family was in Florida on vacation.  They were having trouble with her and didn't know what to do.  So they contacted our group to surrender her.  While any adoption is good, I so appreciate the support and advice that I get from my group.

KC spent several months at my house.  After I was still having issues with house training, it was decided she would be a good candidate for the Second Chance At Life Prison Program at the Branchville Correctional Facility.  Awesome, awesome program.  I was so lucky to get to be one of the volunteers to work with this program when our group provided them with dogs.  Watching the offenders with the dogs was amazing.  To see the dogs and men blossom with confidence was so rewarding.  I know that this program is a win-win for all involved.

After KC graduated from SCAL, she was adopted about 20 minutes from me.  Like most fosters, I only got to see her one other time at our Greyt Fest.  Her new home had another girl greyhound and her momma spoiled her rotten.  Three years ago, we had heard the owner had lost one of her girls.  However, e-mails went unanswered and we never got clarification on which dog had passed.  I found out Saturday that the owner had lost her other greyhound and we finally were able to piece together the puzzle.  KC actually was the first one to pass.  She had let the girls out to potty and when she went to the door, she saw her laying in the yard.  She called her and she didn't respond.  She went out to the yard and discovered her deceased.  Apparently she just dropped dead.  My poor baby foster girl was only  6 years old.

While it has been 3 years since she passed, I am just now able to grieve for her.  KC was with us for only a short time, but I will remember her forever.  Run free baby girl.

Fun With Cottonwood

You've heard of cotton-eyed Joe, this is cottonwood Bill.  I have a strong dislike for that tree.  When Bill followed me out on the deck the other day it was blowing around, so I scooped up a handful and decided to get creative.

 Do you think this makes a good toupee for Bill?

I am hoping this 40 foot tree comes down soon.  This is just a small sampling of its fluff.

Bill Russell

Meet Bill.  Bill Russell, our newest foster.

The foster home that Bill was in, wasn't really working for him.  We were supposed to trade Bowser for Bill.  Hubs decided he didn't want to "upset" Bowser by moving him around.  Why don't we just take a second foster?  Okay, sure, what's one more? 

 Bill loves, loves, loves the stuffies!!!

Bill turned 2 in January.  You can tell he is still newly off the racing scene.  The dog is ripped!

P.S.  I should also tell you that this guy is a tank!  He is way shorter than Bowser who weighs 68 pounds.  This boy weighs 82 pounds!  That's a lot of hound when he steps on your foot!!!

Fuzz Face Bowser

I almost forgot one thing we brought back from Florida, our newest foster.  Meet Fuzz Face Bowser.  He turned 2 on April 7th.  Our group was bringing back fosters when we left Howlidays, so Bowser came along with us.  Big old goofy boy.  Not necessarily what you would think of when you think of 2 year old. 

 He sticks pretty close to the grandson.  You never know when he might drop a crumb of food!

 Bowser has a slight roman nose too.

He is the most speckled greyhound I have ever seen too!

A Few Highlights From Howlidays

The hotel where we stayed is located in Gulf Breeze.  It is pet friendly and even has its own private beach.  Which is a good thing since you can't take your dogs on the beach in Pensacola.  Until this year, that is.  They opened a dog beach this year.  We were pretty excited, even though Sadie isn't crazy about the water.

We made a special trip to the dog beach on this particular day.  Now Sadie is a pretty laid back girl.  Not much upsets her.  But she did NOT like the beach on this day, at all.  The waves were huge!  She took one step off of the boardwalk and put on the brakes.  All I can think of is that I want her picture by the sand dune!  So this is what I got.  Not the best picture either.  Oh well, the beach was actually smaller than the one at the hotel. 

You can see how rough the waves were in this picture.  The sound was pretty loud, so I can't blame Sadie for not liking it.  She was such a good girl for this entire trip though.

Crashed back at the hotel.  She's laying on my hoodie that Bec from Greytglass made for me.

Now to one of the most exciting parts of the trip!  At least for me anyway.  Last year when they announced the theme of the event, I was bound and determined to enter the costume contest.  My original thought was to make an ensemble for Sadie and Boris (my sister's greyhound).  Sadly, Boris passed away at Christmas.  So, I got the wheels turning!  I am a huge fan of Gone With the Wind and knew I wanted to do something from the movie.  So, I present, Sadie-Scarlett O'Hara!  She won too!  The prize was a pretty silver shiny collar to add to our collection.  I was so excited to win.  I had so much fun making this and Sadie was such a ham!  She loved all the attention.

This beauty is Vivie.  I like to pronounce her name like VEE-VEE, with a little French accent!  She just walked into the sand and laid down.  Her and Sadie were best buds.  Vivie is with our group, so they can see each other again before next year.  Vivie and Sadie were also in the Fashion Review on Saturday night.  However, I am waiting on pictures.  I didn't have the brains to ask someone to take pictures of the dogs that evening.

Hooray for Howlywood was the theme this year.  GPA-EC did a wonderful job with the decorations too.  Of course, Sadie was too busy looking at the people who weren't petting her to look at the camera!