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A monthly newsletter to keep you informed.
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In March there were 7 adoptions and no new arrivals.
This makes our year to date totals 27 arrivals and 25 adoptions.
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| St. Patrick's Day Parade Fun |
| At the Michigan City St. Patrick's day parade this year, everyone that participated had a great time. We won "most authentic Irish entry." Hope to see you all join us next year! |
| 2016 Winning Hearts Not Races-Reserve Your Spot Today! |
On
April 9, 2016 American Greyhound will host our 6th Winning Hearts, Not Races benefit auction. The funds raised from this event are critical to the continued success of our organization's mission. Tickets are $60 per person which includes an open bar, champagne fountain, dinner and dessert, as well as an exciting silent and live auction program. Reserve your spot by
ordering your ticket on our website - Winning Hearts Not Races.
Please contact
Nicole Roth by clicking on the link if you have any questions about the event, or if you are interested in volunteering or donating.
Don't miss your chance to make a big difference in the lives of our rescued greyhounds.
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| Do Your Friends "Like" Us? |
| Invite your friends to like us! Go to American Greyhound's page, scroll down a bit and on the left side you will see a link entitled "invite friends to like this page". Click on it and your friends will come up and you can scroll down and click on an "invite" box for each of them. |
Recently, my wife Barb and I lost our boy, Sheep, to Osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Certainly not an uncommon thing for racing greyhounds and the families that love them. But, it doesn't make the loss any easier. Sheep was a shy, goofy, neurotic boy who you couldn't help but love. And, I am sure that those who had not met him are wondering about that name. That's what he came to us with, and while I normally like a "human" name for my dogs, Sheep seemed to be a perfect name for this crazy guy and we chose not to change it (and, by the way, his three siblings all had human names-Billy, David, and Janet).
My wife and I fostered him and he was adopted soon after coming off the track by a retired couple who had had previous greyhounds and were actually drawn to Sheep because of that shyness. Dave and Jean gave Sheep a wonderful home, with their other dogs, a Boston Terrier named Maggie and a Sharpei named Foo. Unfortunately, a few years later, Dave passed away, leaving the three dogs in
Jean's care. We spoke occasionally discussing Sheep, his health and how things were going. A couple years after Dave's passing, Jean's health dictated that she needed to find Sheep a new home. Jean contacted me and I picked him up later that evening. I kept in touch with her and let her know how her Sheepy (her name for him) was doing.
He moved into our home and began the process of finding his new home. And, of course, that goofy, neurotic guy was still there. He became quite a hit with the folks at the vet's office for some of his idiosyncrasies, including his "accidents" which occurred each time he visited. He was a "homebody" whose anxiety went through the roof whenever he left home.
Sadly, less than a month after Sheep's arrival, we lost our boy, Walter, exactly one week after his tenth birthday. Barb was especially heartbroken at Walter's loss as they had had a special bond. So, it took me completely off guard when she suggested that Sheep's stay with us be permanent. She said he was perfect for us. When we took the foster dogs out to events, Walter always wanted to go, and was heartbroken when he couldn't. Sheep on the other hand, never wanted to go. I guess she was right... he was perfect for us.
My reason for putting these words together isn't to speak of the hurt my wife and I are feeling over the loss of this wonderful boy, though. As pet lovers, we all, unfortunately, must experience this pain eventually. It's the price we pay for having these special creatures in our lives.
Rather, what moved me were the thoughts that passed through my head in the hours and days following Sheep's passing. Those thoughts took me back to late March of 2009. Early in the week, I received a call from a lady I didn't know, telling me that there was a huge excess of dogs at Dairyland (Dairyland Greyhound Park, in Kenosha, Wisconsin was the primary source of dogs coming into American Greyhound at that time) and was there any way we could help with some of them next Saturday. Her words were, "we won't be able to help them all, but we need to help as many as we can."
I went to work immediately, trying to get the word out to our people, of the need for their help in taking in a foster. We didn't have the tools that we do now to spread the word, so it was just a lot of individual e-mails and phone calls and face-to-face conversations. The words she said to me kept bouncing around in my head, "we won't be able to help them all, but we need to help as many as we can."
As the days passed, I had more and more people touch base and offer to take in a pup. By Thursday evening, we had accumulated 20 families who were willing to take in a dog. When I called the lady and told her what I needed (numbers of male/female and cat tolerance of each), she exclaimed that there was no way they could find 20 dogs. She hadn't expected that kind of turnout, and neither had I.
But, I told her that I didn't care, I had 20 families looking forward to helping out a dog and she had better do what she needed to do to arrange for 20 dogs to be there on Saturday.
Of course, when Saturday came, we headed north with a caravan of vehicles (we didn't own the hauler we have now) she found enough dogs and came home with our 20, including our Sheep. And, those 20 families that took in a dog that weekend were the basis of my thoughts. I had just assumed the Presidency of American Greyhound a few months earlier, after the passing of my good friend, Bill Marshall. This was the first big haul I was responsible for (and in fact, it was the largest number of dogs taken in a single haul by American Greyhound until January of 2015, when we brought 27 dogs back from Abilene, Kansas in our hauler and van). Very often I find myself filled with immense pride at what
American Greyhound has accomplished, but I have never been more proud of our people and our organization than I was that day.
And, it was that 20th family that was most deeply in my thoughts. I don't remember who the 20th family was, and they probably don't remember either. But, as I said, our Sheep was a somewhat shy and neurotic dog. Very likely, he was not at the top of the adoptable list, and just maybe, 20th on that list. In my thoughts, had that 20th family not stepped up, we may have never met our Sheep. Whether or not you remember who you are, I will be forever thankful to you, that 20th family. Sheep meant the world to Barb and I, and Dave and Jean as well.
Often when you read things in our newsletter about fostering, the focus tends to be directed towards what it means to the dogs. Or what it will mean to you. But, in this situation, consider what it meant to the adoptive family. I cannot imagine not having had Sheep in my life. The funny stories that he has left us will be with me as long as I am around. To my wife and me, he was an extremely special dog. And we have had many hundreds come through our home for different lengths of time, and they are all special, so it takes a dog that is extra special to stand out like that for us. Imagine the difference you'll make with a family who doesn't see anywhere near that many dogs on a regular basis. You're almost guaranteed to change their life!
Oh, you'll still be making a world of difference in the life of that hound. You fostering him or her until their forever home comes along, makes that difference. And, if that doesn't make a difference for you as well, I don't know what will.
Do you want to make the sort of difference in a family's life that foster family #20 did in mine? Get in touch with our Foster coordinator, Nicole Graves at (219)395-4432 or drop her an e-mail at [email protected].
You'll make a difference....in the dog's life, in the family's life, and I guarantee, you make it in your life as well! |
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Join American Greyhound for a Meet & Greet at Burn 'Em Brewery!
Enjoy a creative local craft brew in the dog-friendly taproom or patio with your adoptables and adoptees! Burn 'Em will be donating a portion of their sales back to American Greyhound. Stay tuned for more details via an upcoming Facebook event page!
Sunday May 1st 2016 Noon-3PM
Burn 'Em Brewing
718 Freyer Road
Michigan City, IN 46360
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Each year a very good supporter of American Greyhound, Laura Reynolds-Anderson, with Leaving Tracks, runs a program in which she incorporates her business with her passion for helping retired racing greyhounds. That program is call "Lucky Florida Dog" and this year, American Greyhound is the participating rescue.
It all begins with some snow-bird clients of Laura's needing a car moved to Florida for the
winter, usually occurring in October or November. Laura or her representative will drive the car south, and then fly back to balmy Chicago. Then, in the springtime, they will fly back to Florida, and pick up the car from her clients, then prior to leaving Florida, they will pick up a greyhound at a local track, or in the case this time, at a greyhound breeding farm. The entire process is then documented in a blog to provide those who have never been deeply involved in the process of taking greyhounds from the track and transforming them into your pet an inside look at what goes on and what it takes.
This year, our Hauling Coordinator, Robert Larson has taken on the task. He flew into Sarasota, Florida on Friday, picked up the vehicle, drove about an hour north and picked up a little girl named Hasel (Pronounced Hay-zel). This year, in addition to documenting the whole process, we have a little extra info to pass along. As you probably are aware, American Greyhound often takes in hounds which require a little extra TLC. Sometimes a broken leg. Maybe heart worm positive. Or maybe some other issue which needs to be addressed. Hasel will be coming to us with a broken leg which will require some additional treatment to bring her health back to what it will need to be for her to enjoy a long and happy life. And all of that will be documented on the blog as well.
This year's blog, titled "Lucky Florida Dog #4" is already up and running and has its first entry. You can take a look at it by following this link:
http://luckyfloridadoggreyhound.blogspot.com/
That blog will be updated as Hasel travels from Florida through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and finally into her foster home in the city of Chicago. You'll have an opportunity to read about her veterinary care, her interaction with the other dogs (and cats) in her new, temporary home. You read about her search for her forever home and finally, when that perfect home comes along, her adoption and transition into life as a pet.
So, sit back, click on that link, and follow Hasel through her journey. |
This is Lucky Florida Dog #3
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Of course, we all know about taking your dog shopping at the local Petco store. That's almost a no-brainer. However, you may be somewhat surprised at the list of "other" stores that will allow you to bring your pups in while you shop. Here is just a short list of stores which are friendly toward the idea of you and your hound shopping together:
| Lowe's |
Home Depot |
Pottery Barn |
Macy's
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Bass Pro Shops |
Barnes and Noble |
| LUSH Cosmetics |
Restoration Hardware |
Gap |
| Bloomingdale's |
Urban Outfitters |
Anthropologie |
| Free People |
Foot Locker |
Bebe
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| Nordstrom |
Old Navy |
Saks Fifth Avenue |
| Tractor Supply Co. |
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I'll bet if you touch base with some of your locally owned stores and shops you'll find even more who'll roll out the welcome mat to you and your four-legged friend. Here is another article on the same subject http://barkpost.com/life/dog-friendly-shopping/ .
*Note: Many stores leave it up to the manager to decide whether their store allows dogs or not, not all of these stores will allow dogs. The best way to ensure you can bring your pooch inside is to call ahead and find out the specific store's policy.
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Don't Forget to Check Out the Store
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CHECK THIS OUT!!!
The new Code V Sand Digital T-Shirt now available at the American Greyhound Store. Don't miss out and order yours today.
http://americangreyhoundstore.org/
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