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!!

Another Day in Paradise

Well, it took me two hours to get to work this morning. I kept inching closer and closer thinking there must have been a God awful wreck downtown - one bad enough to warrant the blocking off of all lanes, Northbound and Southbound, so a Life Flight helicopter could land and pick up multiple bodies but alas, that was not the problem afterall. It appears there is a very popular motivational seminar at Phillips Arena today plus the annual International Poultry Expo began today across the street at the Georgia World Congress Center. The one-day "Get Motivated" seminar, featuring speeches by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Braves pitcher John Smoltz, talk show host Larry King, Gen. Colin Powell and former Disney chief Michael Eisner, began at 8 a.m. at Philips Arena. My goodness, I think all of Atlanta went to one or the other! Ah, if only I had my own helicopter and pilot, but then, I wouldn't need to work if that were the case. I've got to buy some lottery tickets today!! Afterall, someone has to win!!

Whew - What a Day!

The day began with another lost hound (Diva), this time around the Atlantic Station area of Atlanta. A very busy area of Atlanta. We marshalled our resources and had several volunteers in the area within hours of notification. They plastered the area with flyers. The owner was putting a flyer up in the area where the hound was last seen and someone drove by with Diva in the car. They saw the flyers and her owner and stopped. A happy reunion, for sure!

And it's Friday, thank God! I am sure hoping that traffic isn't bad!!! I have dinner guests coming tonight and I need to get home in a hurry to get things ready! YIKES!!

2005 and 2006 Absence

I feel I should explain the lack of posts on my behalf during 2005 and 2006. During 2005 I was completely engulfed in lure coursing my greyhounds, Remi and Sugar. Sugar finished 2005 in the Number 4 spot in the nation. I was quite proud of her. She is such a wonderful greyhound. Remi did quite well when she was able to course but, unfortunately, sustained a toe injury that required two surgeries (back to back which with recovery weeks extended over a 6 month period) to finally correct the issue. She is fine now and could lure course probably but we've decided to take a break during 2006. That decision was mainly due to lack of time due to other commitments, mainly volunteer in nature and mainly with SEGC/SEGA. I'm hoping to ease up on a view things in 2007 so that I can once again enjoy lure coursing, if only on a part-time basis. I do derive much satisfaction in my volunteer work but I probably enjoy lure coursing much more!

After Holiday Slump

Well, it's been some time since I've posted. One of my resolutions for 2007 is to use my blog more often and eventually it will be like getting up in the morning - just another thing I do on a daily basis. Christmas has come and gone which leaves us looking forward to New Year's Eve and the dawn of 2007, with hope and anticipation of what it may bring. Wishing everyone a very happy and safe New Year!!

Piedmont - Dog Daze

Well, Remi, Sugar and myself arrived at the Park, found a parking space in seconds (we were lucky, I'm sure) and proceeded to walk to the dog park where the Dog Daze activities were being held. It was about 2:30 p.m. or so. We saw quite a few IGs, a few whippets, and a few greyhounds.

We found our first greyhound within 5 minutes or so, stopping to chat with her human for quite some time. She was a new adopter (from Carl) and had only had her hound for a week. All was going well, she said. She had actually perused our site and had downloaded our member application. Being the membership coordinator of SEGC, of course I encouraged her to get that thing submitted and just went on and on "selling" SEGC to this person. I truly think she'll join us. She is interested in pet therapy (particularly at the VA Hospital as she is a veteran herself), meet and greets, volunteering and socializing her hound with others. Possibly even coursing as her hound just retired from the track at 5 years of age. She's anxious to see her actually run at full speed.

Our next greyhound encounter was with Scarlett (aka Jetta Erie) and her mom, Julie Monforte (a fellow SEGC member and SEGA adopter). We chatted for a bit, right before the first monsoon arrived. Everyone took cover as best they could. I swear it looked like Woodstock . . . all the wet people and wet dogs. At least that is what I imagine Woodstock looked like as I was not actually there. Anyway, that monsoon finally ended and everyone came out again, enjoying the sunshine. Remi and Sugar had their first treat, a Lick A Lot (frozen yogurt concoction which they adore). From that booth, we meandered around some and found a booth touting homemade dog cakes. Of course, they had to taste. Then, at another booth, we found some dog food samples including some raw samples from Nature's Variety. They snacked on a few venison samples. Umm, umm. They thought they were in dog heaven. All these dogs, the mud, the treats - they couldn't have been happier!

We finally made it into the off-leash area. I surveyed the area and decided it was not as crowded as it could have been (probably because of the rain) and decided to let Remi and Sugar off leash. A guy was throwing a tennis ball to his two yellow labs and on the next throw, Remi was off in pursuit. She made it to the ball in seconds. Everyone was saying, "Where the heck did that greyhound come from?" She was fast, that's for sure. They wanted to watch her over and over again. We played the game for awhile and then some other dogs seemed to want to gang up on Sugar, so I retrieved everyone and departed. It was fun though. I always love showing off what our breed can do, especially to those who have never seen a greyhound!

I then ran into a lady with two beautiful fawn salukis. She is a member of SONG (I can't find their website, so if anyone has it, please let me know). She said they do alot of coursing practices up in the Alpharetta area. I'm sure I'll see her again at Cartersville as she said she courses up there as well.

We were heading back to the vehicle when we made one last stop at the raw food booth. She gave me three large bags of medallions. I'm gonna try them with Remi and Sugar. They loved the samples so I have no doubt they will love these, too. We'll see.

About halfway to the SUV, it started pouring again. Yet another monsoon. We had no umbrella. We were soaked. They girls took it in stride. I was miserable, soaked completely and chilled to the bone. We got to the vehicle and loaded up. Traffic home was horrible due to the amount of rain on the road. When I made it to I-20, the cars on the eastbound side were actually swooshing water up over the wall. Amazing. There was a car on my side, in the farthest left lane, driving pretty fast in the 3 inches of standing water. I was watching and saw their front bumper fall off the car, completely! They hesitated a bit and then changed lanes and proceeded on. Amazing, again. I imagine the bumper caused quite a bit of trouble for other motorists. People just don't understand the danger of standing water.

We arrived home, wet and tired. Everyone had an early dinner (the girls had a very light snack) and we headed to bed. What a day but I'm glad we went. I met some great people, some of which I'm sure I'll see again. We have some wonderful samples to try, as well. All in all, definitely not a wasted afternoon.

Chance Meeting

Last night I attended my first www.refocusoncareers.com area job networking meeting. I believe the time was well spent. I obtained quite a few contacts with contacts in the Atlanta area who may or may not be searching for someone with my qualifications. The guest speaker was Jim Stroud who is an IT recruiter at Google. Topic was "Blogging Your Way Into Your Next Job". Pretty interesting since that is what I am hoping will happen! I actually ran into an ex co-worker whom I worked with at Security First Network Bank. It was so good to see her. Seems though, that her position was eliminated so she is also looking for a position. I hope she is successful!

Unfortunately the dogs were crated the whole day and night, so when I got home they were so happy to see me! They are wonderful animals. So flexible, it seems and so willing to please, like most dogs! It's a complete turnaround from the cats and their behavior!

Tonight I have kennel duty which means I meet another volunteer at the kennel to let the greyhounds waiting to be adopted out for their last potty break for the night. This is something I do two nights out of the month, along with my Meet and Greet location, my pet therapy group, being membership coordinator and pet therapy coordinator. But I love it. Anything for the dogs. They deserve it!

Virgin Blogger

Well, I have decided to jump on the blogging wagon and create my own blogging area and get started. Hopefully this will be advantageous to someone, perhaps even myself.

Not much happening so far this week, except that traffic continues to such in Atlanta, I sometimes wish I had a helicopter (with a nice, young, handsome, pilot). But alas, I only have my Honda Pilot to whisk me back and forth from D'ville to the far ends of the earth just so I can earn a decent living!

The weekend proved to be productive. Alot of yardwork on Saturday, followed by a trip to Cartersville so that one of my greyhounds could get certified to lure course. Hounds must be certified to enter an ASFA field trial. Certification is earned by practicing with a hound of similar running style, which is evaluated by a judge. Sugar did excellent and did receive her certification. I am most proud. Now, to get her in shape for the April 2-3 SEGC trials being held at the same field. It is quite exciting watching her run around the field and she enjoys it so much.

The ultimate goal is to win titles. After a hundred points for placements, as well as taking at least two firsts, or two seconds and a first, a sighthound earns its Field Championship (FCH) title. With further placements and another three hundred points, the hound earns a Lure Courser of Merit (LCM) title. Subsequent LCMs are earned in the same way, and currently the highest achieving sighthound is a Whippet, an LCM 18.

Hounds are normally run in trios, in yellow, pink, and blue colors. Judges assess performance based on each hound's abilities, identifying hounds by their blanket color. The hounds run a preliminary course and a final course, and then may run for Best of Breed. Finally, the Best of Breed run for Best in Field, as an optional stake. The hounds are scored by the following criteria:

Follow - 15 points
Enthusiasm - 15 points
Agility - 25 points
Speed - 25 points
Endurance - 20 points

I'll be posting here on her progress as her 2nd career gets underway. My other greyhound, Remi, is going to straight race. A whole different ballgame, but still great fun for the dog. And it keeps them in shape and doing what they love to do - run like the wind!