A Good Deed

This past Sunday about ten of us headed to Birmingham Race Course to do a Spring cleaning of Southern New England kennels, where we get our Greyhounds for Second Chance Greyhounds.

There was about ten years worth of dust in the kennel itself and in the office area. Everything was power washed and wiped down from ceiling to floor. What a difference a little elbow grease made! That kennel was spotless!!

It is hoped that our efforts might pay off more immediately in that the dogs will race better. We will see if that is the case. They sure were happy when we left. Here are a few pictures of them in the turnout pen waiting patiently while we cleaned their home.


A good time was had by all and now Alan has a clean kennel and 64 happy pups who we hope will run better. In June we go back to wash them all!! Now, that is way fun! And, yes, the dogs enjoy it, too!

The Disciplinarian

Her name is Sugar and yes, she is the disciplinarian in my home. I currently have two foster Greyhounds who are prone to intermittently countersurfing on occasion. If Sugar is nearby, she will immediately bark at the culprit. She won't budge from where she sits or lays but she will emit a very loud bark. No growling, just a bark. It's quite funny because it does work and the culprit will immediately back down from the counter and I must say it's happening less and less frequently. Funny thing is, Sugar was never a countersurfer herself.

Fostering is such hard work, isn't it?

Alarms That Are Alarming!

Saturday morning was a rude awakening. You see, we were awakened by the sound of my house alarm going off at 5 a.m., nonetheless. At first it began as a "tweet" so I thought perhaps the fire alarm needed it's batteries replaced. Before I knew it, the alarm was blaring us out of the house. And, as fate would have it, it was the FIRE alarm going off.

I smelled and smelled and didn't smell anything burning. I called the alarm company (they didn't call me which is really QUITE alarming) to tell them I thought I was having problems with the fire alarm. She asked if I wanted to dispatch the fire truck and I said "no, there isn't a fire". Of course, I would have died had there really been a fire and I had just called off the forces!! But alas, that wasn't the case, thank God!

I hung up with the alarm company operator who then had a technician call me because by that time, it certainly appeared to be a malfunction of some sort. During this whole ordeal, I had to put all the dogs outside because the alarm sound was driving them crazy! It really is pretty loud, piercing to the ear loud!!

So the technician calls me and we then commence to diagnosing the problem. We look at the main control box which is in a closet and it was then that I felt water drip on my arm - coming from somewhere. I retrieved a flashlight and looked at the ceiling in the closet and couldn't see anything dripping in there anywhere. Then, it dripped again. I looked up and lo and behold, there was a case of canned juice up on a top shelf in the closet. I grabbed the case and, yes, the end was wet. Apparently one of the cans was leaking and it was leaking directly on the control box which then caused the system to go crazy.

This whole time the fire alarm was still going off. By then, I could hardly tell you my first name as the alarm is SO loud you can't even think straight.

The technician then walked me through the steps to disarm the system which I did. He suggested I wait a bit and attempt to redo the connections and see if the system resets itself. I am about to do that so wish me luck! I hope it works!!

What a weekend!!

Lucy's Latest Victim

I don't know how and I don't think I want to know how, but the poor black bird pictured above is Lucy's latest victim. God help any creature in our backyard that is slower than her!

Riding the Storms

Well, dear Lucy has been storm phobic since I adopted her several years ago and it has little by little become increasingly more intense. That would be Lucy's phobia and well, the storms as well. We've had some terrible storms come through the Atlanta area this Spring, complete with hail and tornados.

So, to try to help Lucy get through the storms, we went to the vet seeking help. Dr. Carpenter prescribed Amitriptyline, actually two tablets every 12 hours or as need. I could potentially give her up to four. Well, we tried that to no avail. They did make her drowsy but she was completely aware of her surroundings and the storms she heard overhead.

So, another trip to the vet seeking help. This time we saw Dr. Johnson as Dr. Carpenter was off that day. He prescribed Acepromazine which is most commonly just called Ace. Sighthounds, in specific Greyhounds, are pretty sensitive to Ace so it is usually prescribed with caution.

Our first opportunity to use it was Sunday night. I have to say it knocked Lucy on her keister! She slept like a rock Sunday night and was groggy until Monday evening. I might cut a pill in half next time and see how that works for her. It is a tranquilizer so I'm not surprised she slept so well and for so long. It is commonly used in conjunction with anesthesia to relax the canine patient before a procedure.

So, the good news is I think we have finally found something that works for her. I must wait for another horrific storm to realize the benefits of this drug on Lucy as the storms on Sunday were pretty mild. More later as we continue to find the perfect solution for her!

Oddities

1. Yesterday I was at an office building when I decided to utilize the ladies room. Lo and behold, on the wall was a tampon/condom machine. Now, the tampons I could see, of course, but do folks really need access to condoms at the workplace?
2. My dentist just called to confirm an appointment Tuesday morning. She said this is "so and so from Dr. So and So's office. I am calling to confirm your appointment Tuesday morning. Will you be attending?" That question tickled me a bit as I wanted to respond, "No, I'll be sending a substitue."

Ah, Friday's . . .