A wonderful family is interested in Robin

We had a wonderful family come by yesterday to meet Robin.  They even brought some parents to help ask questions and meet her.

If all works out, Robin will be going to her forever home with them this coming Saturday!  Congrats to all.

Here are a couple more shots of Robin--who was really a pleasure to have in our home.  At least we get to have her for another several days.  I can only hope our future foster greys are just like her.

Robin, and Ziggy, getting some lovin' from my son, Avery.  NOTE:  Ziggy hates the camera.

Robin enjoying one of her favorite places to nap--although we try to keep her off furniture and she'll get down when told--she snuck in the sun room and this is what i found.

Robin about 2 hours after meeting her new family and being SO VERY GOOD.

Meet our new Foster Grey--Robin

We got a call to see if we could foster another dog last week...i guess that means were were GREAT at it our first time around.  If you missed it, please see the update on Calamari (Phineas) below.  We are so happy we can do something to really help out.

The rescue group got 10 dogs from the track.  WOW, 10!  And then there was one dog that was turned in from her owners, Robin.  Her racing name is Philis Rollin Robin according to her official paperwork.  Robin's family was unable to care for her. I've been told they were moving around a lot due to work and decided it was unfair to her.  When the rescue got her it was determined that she needed some dental work and shots and the rescue group took care of all that.

So, we decided to take her in as our foster.  School is starting for us soon and this seemed to be a really easy foster for us--a dog that has already adapted to a home environment--no need to teach them about stairs, glass doors or windows, watch for counter surfing, etc.

Robin met our greyhound Ziggy...i told him he'd fall in love with her...and they hit it off.  Here she is getting comfortable. This picture really shows how gorgeous she is, but what you can't tell is how soft she is--especially her ears.  Speaking of her ears...look how perfectly they fall!  This photo even shows how light in color she is.  She's listed as a 'red' on paper, to me she's a very light red.

Please ignore the muzzle, we had that on her in order to safely introduce her to our cat.  But, the cat decided as soon as she saw any dog that she didn't know getting out of the car, that the basement was the best place to be and the muzzle came off soon after this photo.  The cat is now behind the basement door.  Robin has no clue there is a cat in the house.

Here is a close up of her sweet face, you can't tell from this photo, but she has a short white stripe down the center of her nose, close to the tip.  ADORE-ABLE!

We were right.  Robin didn't need any help with the stairs, doors, or anything.  She's enjoying the yard and wandering around the house.  She did have trouble eating her kibble.  We theorize that she may have been getting canned food because the kibble his shooting right out of the sides of her mouth and going all over the floor.  Ziggy wanted to help her with all the kibble on the floor. She's a bit hesitant at eating, unlike ANY greyhound we've ever known.  But I bet she gets the hang of it quickly.

We decided not to crate her the first 2 nights.  She did great shut in our bedroom and shared the beds with Ziggy just fine.

On Sunday we took Robin to the Meet-N-Greet event at the Hanover Petsmart.  Those are so much fun!  In this picture, you can see her white stripe on her nose.  :)

Can i have a cookie?

Robin, in the bright red collar, and her new Grey Friends waiting for a cookie

She got to meet some new grey friends and all the people walking by.

We did find out that Robin would rather sit in the middle bench seat then in the way back of the car.  She climbed on over during the ride home from Petsmart and made herself right at home!  I think Robin has some experience in a car.

Sunday evening we had a some family over for dinner.  We ate out on our deck and she socialized really well.  Most of the time, she napped in a corner as all greyhounds typically do.  She met my 2 Year Old nephew and there wasn't any issues with her and little kids.  She wandered around the food and acted pretty good...i think she wanted a burger!

Here is one last picture of Robin until my next update...apparently here she is all 'stressed' out after i left for work this morning.  Note to self, straight out the rugs!

If you are interested in meeting Robin, please call Denise at 304.229.4944

An update from Calamari from his forever family

Just in!  Calamari, now named Phineas, is doing GREAT with his new family.  They sent this wonderful update to us this weekend.  We are so happy for them.

Laura

*****
Hi Laura and Christopher,

I've sent a couple more photos of Phineas, that's him outside enjoying
his backyard.  We take him out on a very long leash, he plops down on
his blanket and lies there while we relax.  He loves shady area under
trees, on walks he has plopped down on the grass underneath a tree and
just watch people and things.

He's getting used to his life in a home, there's so many new things.
The stairs continue to be a challenge so I only
 let him go up and down

when I'm with him.  He is an extremely smart dog, and probably the
smartest greyhound I've ever met.  He learned "down" the first day we
got him home and just recently taught him "sit".  He knows the words
for "bed", "food", "outside", and "treats".  He is intensely
food-motivated, so much so that we are working on "shake" and all he
looks at is where the treat is, and forgets to look at my hand.  His
brain goes into short-circuit when a piece of bacon or some grilled
chicken is held out.  This is sort of back-firing on us a bit because
he will do ANYTHING to get that chicken, so he goes through all the
things he knows, runs to the bed, come back to me, sit down, lie down,
sit up again, ANYTHING so he can get this piece of chicken.  I'm not
sure if he can distinguish between "down" and "sit" because he does
one or the other until he gets the treat.  LOL!  He also loves fruits.
 Isn't there anything he doesn't like to eat?  I gave him a lemon
wedge to taste one time and he actually wanted more of it, he's such a
goof.

He sleeps frequently on his back, still likes his crate but he has
figured out where the sun is and will go lie there.  This guy is part
rooster, he goes to his crate very early, 9PM, and wakes up at 5AM!
Then he pads into our bedroom and huffs and lies down and starts
whining softly so there's no staying in bed.  He is a very vocal
little guy, when he's excited and happy he makes a mixture of barking
and rooing.  Getting a little bit used to getting his own way, he will
cry and whine at me until the food appears.  We'll have to have a talk
about who's the boss.  The stubborn streak is still there, but I think
it's because he's still a big puppy and hasn't figured out how to
behave in every situation yet.

He is a very smart, very sweet and loving dog.  He will come to me and
tuck his head under my chest for head rubs and ear rubs, although he
does not like to be smothered with hugs for too long.  He still likes
to lie by himself most of the time.  We're really happy to have him,
he makes us laugh, and we love him very much.  After Phineas has
settled in we'll be looking to get him a greyhound friend sometime in
the future.

Sorry this got a little long-winded, there seems to be so much to tell
you about our little guy.  I'm so glad you're getting a new foster.  It's
an adventure isn't it?  I hope the foster will find a good permanent
home soon.  We'll keep in touch and good luck with your new grey!

******

New Family

Calamari got a visit from a wonderful couple this weekend and they have decided to take him home.  Lucky us, we get to have him for one more week before having to say goodbye to this sweet boy.

We are so HAPPY for you, Calamari!

((See...i don't even need a pillow to get in a good nap!))

All Smiles

Calamari is really starting to relax at home and actually enjoy life with us.  This is fairly new..naps that go belly up, with a huge smile showing his gorgeous teeth!  Avery and Emersyn call this the 'superman' pose.

We are working on countersurfing with him.  We found out this morning that he likes Chinese food!  He snagged an empty box out of the sink...the box i placed in there after packing leftovers for my lunch at work.  I've learned my lesson.

Refrigerator stare down

Here is a side photo of Calamari.  As you can tell, he's very intent...what's he staring at?  Our refrigerator.  He knows there is something very YUMMY in there!

Last night we took him to my son's little league baseball game.  He was a bit out of his element with all the rowdy parents, but he got lots of attention from kids and adults the same.  He also seemed to want to lap around the baseball field...most likely because he's used to running laps.

Calamari is definitely a puppy in a big dog body.  He's so curious and loves to play with his stuffy!

He hasn't met our cat, yet.  She's decided 2 greyhounds in the house is too much for her and has taken up the basement.

Welcome Calamari

We got the call to pick up our first Foster Greyhound early Saturday morning.  So Excited to help out!

When we got there, Calamari was reserved and much more interested in his reflection in the car than anything else.  But, that didn't take long to change.

This is Calamari:  Gorgeous Red Brindle Boy

It's been about 48 hours now and he's come a long way into getting used to living in a house. 

Calamari found his first stuffy very quickly and if it squeaks the better it is. 

He learned the stairs in the first couple hours.  Going up was not an issue, coming down took a little nudge.  Now he's a pro.

He's figured out where the humans keep the treat jar and understands the kitchen is the place where all the food is kept.  He's really interested in the cold box that holds food because it smells so YUMMY in there and what the humans call the toaster oven.  He's learning not to counter surf with either his nose or even is front legs. 

The first sit down dinner was interesting, but once the little humans figured out to ingore him, he finally decided to lay down--but laid down in the kitchen to keep an eye on everything.

Calamari is fantastic on the leash and could walk forever checking out all the people, neighbor dogs and even the squirels and rabbits along the walking path.

We had a bad thunderstorm last night and Calamari was unfazed, while Ziggy hid.

I think he's starting to relax and enjoy the retired life already.