Lucy's Lure Coursing Debut

Well, Saturday was the day Lucy stepped up to the coursing line and ran her first course in Singles. She did really well for the morning prelims scoring a 152, I believe. The afternoon proved to be difficult for her as she appeared to be a bit stiff from the morning's run. I think her afternoon score was 149. Fortunately for her, her other Single competitiors pulled out of the afternoon run so that put Lucy in 1st place! Her first blue ribbon. And hopefully not her last!!

A few folks I spoke with on Sunday thought Lucy had experienced lactic acid buidup. I am consulting with a few trainers to determine how to avoid this in the future and perhaps get some recommendations on supplements or "tricks of the trade" to prevent this. Basically, it's a metabolic breakdown due to the exertion of the running which is causing severe muscle cramping. She was pretty lethargic and not wanting to walk after her final run but by the time we had returned home, she was fine and in the backyard chasing squirrels.
I don't know but I hope to obtain some valid information in the next few days which will help us down the road.

Other than that, the weekend trials were wonderful and the new field at the Barry's in Moreland is absolutely beautiful. They were great hosts as well! We're looking forward to returning in the near future!

Anticipation . . .

It's a day before the SEGC trials in Moreland and I am anxiously awaiting Lucy's debut. It's just exciting getting back out there after taking a one year hiatus after the ASFA National Greyhound Specialty last Spring. We've been roadworking a bit and I think she is ready. She is also scheduled to run in Singles on Sunday but that, of course, depends on how tired she is after Saturday. We'll see.

This should be a large trial for SEGC so we are anticipating a large entry. It's at a different field than the one we usually course at which should be nice for the dogs. It's always fun to see them course on new terrain. And I'm sure it makes it challenging for them, too. Nothing worse than a bored coursing dog!!

I'll post again after the trial with a rundown of Lucy's exploits!

The Weekend

Wow, well, Saturday I took Lucy to the CHASE trial in Cartersville for a practice run. She did just great and ran her little heart out, first time around! I was amazed. At the "Tally Ho", she seemed to just stand there so I nudged her a bit and whispered, "Go chase it!", and sure enough, she did just that. She was bookin' it in the beginning but seemed to fade a bit toward the end. We are going to ramp up our road-working efforts this week in anticipation for her run in Singles this weekend at the SEGC trial in Moreland. I'm hoping she does well and perhaps will obtain her certification one day soon. We'll see how it goes! She seemed to really enjoy the run and was much more enthusiastic about the plastic bunnies afterwards. That was my goal for taking her up for the practice run so we were successful. She didn't appear to be sore anywhere that evening or the next day but this week we will get a good workout in preparation for the trials this weekend. The weather is suppose to be warm and beautiful all week, including Saturday and Sunday!

Sunday was a pretty dismal day. It started out nice as Kim, Guy and myself drove to Birmingham to pick out two new greyhounds to bring back to our adoption group, Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA). It's hard to pick just two but that's all the room we had at our kennel. We picked a red fawn girl named Cate and a black and white tuxedo girl named Darcy. Cate turned out to be cat tolerant and Darcy would have jumped over desk and chair to get to the cat so, unfortunately, is not tolerant.

After getting them all squared away, I went home to find my 16 1/2 year old Himalayan in dire straights. She had kidney failure and really deteriorated rapidly over the weekend. She just plummeted from Saturday night on. I was hoping to make it to our vet this morning with her but that was not to be. I had to take her to the ER vet on Sunday to be put to sleep. She is at peace now and is with her husband, Boca, who preceded her in death by 8 years. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It just tears your heart out but I know now that it was the only thing I could do.

Oh my - what a week!

Last Thursday I began getting sick with some upper respiratory thingamajig. Yes, that about sums it up. I went to the Dr. on Monday and was prounounced to have a "touch of the flu, an upper respiratory infection and perhaps some strept throat". UGH!! And I've survived the week at work but only after being prescribed some good decongestants and cough syrup with Codeine, nonetheless. The syrup absolutely wipes me out so must be taken at nighttime. It's good stuff and has done the trick, so I can't complain!

Dear Lucy is settling in quite nicely. Sugar is liking her pretty much and Remi just seems to be "okay" with her. She's doing good with the kitties as well. She is 14 days post-op from her spay surgery and I think is wanting to run a bit. We'll see. Next weekend I'm taking her to the CHASE trial in Cartersville just to watch the coursing a bit and see what she thinks of it.

Off to hit the Friday afternoon traffic. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Lucy. . . I'm Home!!

I am currently fostering a 2 1/2 year old White w/Red Ticking female greyhound formerly known as Yopon Laverne. She has no race record but was recommended as being a good lure coursing prospect. I do plan to formally adopt (nka) Lucy and try our luck on the lure coursing field. She is young, very energetic, and loves life. She is getting along well with Remi and Sugar and Savannah. Chelsea, the Himalayan, is in the midst of kidney failure so isn't around much as she pretty much stays in one place most of the time. She isn't fairing well at all. More than likely, I will have to make that decision to put her out of her misery. She is 16 1/2 years old!

Anyway, dear Lucy is a riot to have around. She thinks playing with the toys at 2 a.m. is acceptable behavior. I'm working on this, trust me. She thinks chewing on my leather boots is acceptable behavior. I'm working on this, trust me. She thinks she is not getting enough kibble at every meal. I'm working on this, trust me. She thinks she sees "dead people". I'm working on this, trust me. She thinks her bed is attacking her. I'm working on this, trust me. She thinks all the stuffies can sleep in her bed and she can sleep on the floor. I'm working on this, trust me.

As you can see, there is never a dull moment. I can't wait to see her on the lure coursing field.

Thank DOG It's Friday!

Well, in true Atlanta fashion, Friday morning's commute started out with news that an area policeman had been driving down the I75/I85 connector around 2:50 a.m. the wrong-way, causing a head-on collision with an ambulance transporting a female patient to Grady Memorial Hospital. The wrong-way driver died upon impact. The two emergency services personnel in the ambulance and the female patient were injured and taken to the hospital. At about the time that incident was cleared and traffic was moving again, a charter bus carrying a college baseball team heading to Florida for a spring break series, apparently mistook an HOV exit ramp from I-75 southbound as a continuation of the HOV lane, never slowing at the top of the ramp (where there is a stop sign before entering onto Northside Drive), and careening across Northside Drive at the same rate of speed crashing into the 6 foot barrier fence and plumenting back down onto I-75, landing on it's side. The crash killed 6 people - four students, the bus driver, and his wife. Three other students were critically injured, and 20 or so were titled, "the walking wounded". The crash site eventually was cleared by 11 a.m. and all lanes were reopened at that time. My, what a tragic accident for all involved. The bus nearly hit two vehicles on I-75 at that very moment, one being my friend's husband who was on his way to work, but thank goodness no one else was injured. Everyone involved appeared stunned in disbelief that this bus had toppled over the barrier fencing and onto the highway and at the rate of speed in which it did do just that. It's amazing others weren't killed. Of course, traffic was doomed from the get-go, having never fully recovered from the earlier wrong-way driving fatality accident. I am hopeful that the afternoon commute will be much easier!! Afterall, thank DOG it's Friday!!