Halfway Home Hounds

Candy and Ivan-getting ready to go!

2009-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Candy and Ivan will be getting ready to go to their new home soon. They are scheduled to be picked up tomorrow. They have had a good week so far at the Hound Hotel, and should transition fairly easily into their new home. They slept through the night Monday night in their crates, and we thought we were in the clear on that one. Not so. Last night Candy decided protesting her crate was worth another shot. It was. We didn't want to spend another night listening to her, so we let her into our room. But of course, as soon as I toke her out of the crate, Ivan started protesting, so he had to come too. After a couple minutes of chaos, they both laid down and slept quietly through the night. We won't try to crate them tonight. They did fine in their crates during the day today. They both have very nice temperments and they get along beautifully with the resident hounds. We have had no problems there. Candy and Ivan are both still a little stubborn on the stairs. They can come down the stairs, but they won't go up. Maybe it is because they know the crates are upstairs and they just don't want to go that way. It will take a little more work to get them proficient on the stairs. In any case, their new owner is getting two terrific greyhounds that will give him many years of enjoyment. We look forward to seeing Candy and Ivan off to their new home tomorrow!

Dynamic Duo-Ivan and Candy

2009-07-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Ivan and Candy are definitely quite a pair. It is fairly obvious that they are brother and sister. They seem to share a lot of the same traits, aside from looking like twins. They both will roll onto their backs and paw at you until you rub their tummys. They are both very friendly greyhounds and are both very people oriented. Candy is most definitely the alpha of the two though. She will be wearing the pants when it is just the two of them at their new home. It always seems to work out that way. The females run the show and the boys are more laid back. They made it through their first two nights here just fine, however Candy isn't liking her crate much. She barked on and off through the night last night protesting the crate. Ivan on the other hand, slept quietly like a good boy. If Candy keeps this up, she will probably get her way and get out of the crate sooner rather then later. Foster mom and dad have to get some sleep at some point. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. We'll see how she does tonight.

Candy and Ivan!!

2009-07-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Candy and Ivan have arrived at the Hound Hotel. They are our 40th and 41st foster dogs. The good news is that they have already been spoken for. Their new family can't take them for a week so the Hound Hotel will take care of them until their new family is ready for them. They are a couple of live ones. They have already done some laps around the yard, and are ready for the retirement gig. We fed them shortly after we got them and they both ate like horses. That is a good thing. We are looking forward to spending the week with Candy and Ivan and can't wait to see them go their new home.

Redneck-Found!!!!!

2009-06-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

We just got some terrific news. Redneck has been found! The details are a little sketchy at this point but we just heard that a young boy was fishing and saw Redneck with her leash wrapped up around a tree in a wooded area. She apparently has been there for a while. He went and got his mother and they cut Redneck loose and she was able to stand up. She is pretty beat up from being tied to a tree for a while, but we hear she is going to be ok. She is at a vet hospital now and we are so relieved to hear that. One word to the wise.....never use retractable leashes with greyhounds. They can be pulled right out of your hand and can end up like this. Always use a normal leash, well wrapped around your hand, so even if the dog bolts, the dog is not lost.

Amber Alert-Redneck

2009-05-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

We received a call a few minutes ago that Wild Redneck got loose from her new home in Westminster, MD today. The family has spent the afternoon looking for her with no success so far. If you are in that area, please keep an eye out for her, or contact Denise Davis and she can let you know how you can help find Redneck and get her back home. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Rooftop Bounder-Adopted!!!!

2009-05-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be a great day at the Hound Hotel. A terrific family came and adopted Bounder. Bounder has been coming out of his shell and did a great job showing his new family what a great dog he is. To be honest though, his foster family is a little sad tonight. We really love Bounder and were hoping that he could stay a little longer. But we know that it is best for Bounder to move on quickly to his permanent home. Some foster dogs need some work and it is in their best interests, and their future family's best interests to have them stay for a little while and let us work with them. Bounder didn't need any work. He just needed a home, which is what he got today. It is best for Bounder to move on quickly to his new home before he gets too attached to us(and us to him). We miss him already and wish him and his new family only the best. If Bounder ever needs a place to rest his paws, he is always welcome here. We will keep a light on for him. Happy trails Bounder! We love you and we miss you!

Rooftop Bounder-Taking it easy

2009-05-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Bounder has been at our house for two days now and we are happy to say that he is doing really well. Bounder is a pretty laid back hound and in fact, he is a little timid so far. He needs a little time to get to know the people around him, and plenty of TLC, before he will fully come out of his shell. He is warming up to us now and is learning how nice it is to be petted all the time. He is learning that there is nothing for him to fear and that it will all be good from here on out. A dog on the timid side can be a great thing for an adoptive family. He will start out a little shy and grow into the family, and along the way will be nothing but respectful and pleasant. For example, he has slept the past two nights in our room with us and our hounds. He slept quietly in the corner and didn't make a sound either night. It doesn't get any easier then that for us. He gets along beautifully with our hounds and he has the full run of the house because we know he won't damage anything. He will be great for a family that wants a beautiful, respectful, and friendly hound. He won't jump on you or your guests either, making him a perfect dog to show your friends how great greyhounds really are. Your friends will ask you how much time and money you spent on obedience classes. You'll tell them "None. He just came off the track, and that's the way he is." They won't believe you and they will think you are the Dog Whisperer. If you would like to meet Bounder and be the Dog Whisperer, please contact Denise Davis.

Rooftop Bounder has arrived!

2009-05-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Rooftop Bounder arrived at the Hound Hotel this afternoon. Bounder is a beautiful 3 year old male who seems to have an excellent disposition. Bounder had gotten a nasty cut on his leg and spent the last few weeks on the injured reserve list at the rescue kennel while that healed. Bounder is now all healed up and ready to get back in the game. He made it through the stormy weather to our house today and the lightning didn't bother him a bit. He slept in the back seat of the car and didn't make a sound. That is a good sign. As we get to know him we will provide more updates about him. Here are a couple of photos of Bounder relaxing after his ride today. If you would like to meet Bounder, please contact Denise Davis.

Wild Redneck....Adopted!!!

2009-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be a great day. A young couple came and adopted Wild Redneck. They came to look at her and she played, ran, and showed them what a terrific greyhound she is. Who could resist such a terrific girl? It is a good thing that she did get adopted as she was really growing on us and you know what that means...uh ohhh, back to four resident hounds in the house. Her adoption means we stay at three dogs for a while longer. Redneck is moving into a great situation and we wish her and her new family nothing but the best. Her new family said they were sorry they were taking her away. We aren't sorry, as it is good for Redneck and that is all that matters. It also makes room for the next foster greyhound, who happens to be on the way to the Hound Hotel now. We will be picking up Bounder in a few hours and he will get the Hound Hotel special treatment, just like Redneck. Happy trails Redneck, we hope to see you soon at the annual GRI picnic!

Redneck is learning!

2009-05-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Redneck is growing by leaps and bounds as she stays at our house. She is learning the rules of the road and for the most part knows them. She still isn't fully house trained but we are getting there. Some dogs take a little time. Redneck might be the most playful dog we have had in a long time. She loves to play with her ball in the yard. She likes to throw it and try to catch it herself, and then do a few laps around the yard. She is one of the friendliest dogs we have had in a long time as she loves long petting sessions. Whoever adopts this greyhound is getting a good one. We love her and will miss her. If you would like to meet Wild Redneck, please call Denise Davis.

Redneck meets and greets!

2009-05-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

We took Wild Redneck to our meet and greet today. She exceeded our expectations. Track dogs are always a little tricky at meet and greets as we don't know how they will react. Redneck did great. She was so friendly with everyone, and she was very tolerant with the children, even letting the kids give her hugs. She leaned on everyone and turned out to be a terrific ambassador dog. She showed what a great dog she really is and how lucky some family will be to adopt her. She is really growing on us and we hope she finds a family to adopt her that loves her as much as we do. She is a funny one too. I woke up in the middle of the night last night feeling fur against my feet. Our dogs don't sleep on the bed, so I knew somthing was different. Redneck had climbed onto our bed and was sleeping at the end of our bed. She makes a nice foot warmer. If you would like a foot warmer of your own, please contact Denise Davis at Greyhound Rescue.

Redneck is still available

2009-05-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Redneck is still up for adoption. The family that looked at her hasn't claimed her so she is still available. Redneck is coming along quite well and has adjusted well to her foster home. She is still a curious one and she loves to explore the yard and work off some energy. She is learning to play with toys and seems to love them. She would love to have an active family that can keep her entertained and and be a little patient with her as she finishes growing up. If you would like to meet Redneck, please contact Denise Davis.

Redneck needs a nap

2009-05-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Redneck had a big afternoon. A family came to see her. She played with them and did her best to show them what a great dog she is. The family loved her but just wants to sleep on the decision for the night. They will let us know tomorrow. Now Redneck is exhausted and needs a nap. She wore herself out trying to show the family what a fun dog she is. She will sleep the rest of the day. Here is a shot of her getting over the meet and greet at our house. Keep your fingers crossed, tomorrow may be her gotcha day! We will let you know.

Run Redneck Run!

2009-05-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day since we have had Wild Redneck that it has not rained all day. We got to let her out in the yard for the afternoon and she has loved it. Redneck is turning into a dog that we really love. Yes, she is a young one and she has plenty of energy, and she has a little separation anxiety when we leave, but she is doing really well. She is so smart that she has adapted to home life very quickly and she knows most of the ropes already. She eats like a horse and runs like a greyhound, and she is really affectionate. She loves to bury her head in our laps and get lots of pets. She is a young one so she is still curious about everything and still needs lots of supervision, but she is coming along very well. She is going to be a good one. She may be better off with a family that isn't gone too long from the home or has other buddies(greyhounds or other dogs) to keep her company while the family is gone. Here are a couple of videos of Redneck in the yard today. If you would like to meet Redneck, please contact Denise Davis.

Wild Redneck-Good news and bad news

2009-05-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

We have good news and bad news to report about Wild Redneck. The good news is that she taught herself to go up and down the stairs just two hours after arriving at the Hound Hotel. She did it all by herself with no help from us. That is something that we have never seen before. The bad news is that Wild Redneck taught herself to go up and down the stairs in two hours. That means that Redneck is a little too smart and we know a thing or two about really smart dogs. Those are the ones you have to keep an eye on and watch out for. They figure too many things out too quickly, like that the bed is a nice place to rest. They sneak on the bed when we aren't looking and climb off when you come up the stairs thinking we won't figure out what they were doing. Redneck figured out where the food container was right away and got started figuring out how to break into it. But having said that, we really love Redneck. She is a young one(21 months) and she still has some puppy in her. She has plenty of energy for a greyhound and she loves to run in the yard. She is extremely affectionate and loves to get plenty of pets. After two days she is starting to settle into the residential life and has learned quite a bit about how to be a house dog. If you would like to meet Redneck, please contact Denise Davis at Greyhound Rescue Inc.

Wild Redneck!

2009-05-03T10:37:00.001-07:00

Wild Redneck, yes, that is her official racing name, has arrived at the Hound Hotel. Redneck is a smaller fawn(red) female who looks nothing like a real redneck. She has more teeth then your typical redneck and hers are in terrific shape as she just had a dental. In her first twenty minutes at our house she ran a few laps in the yard, found the water bowl in the kitchen, surfed the counter, and put her head in my lap for some pets. She is a live one, very smart, and very affectionate. She already goes searching for us if we leave the room for even a minute. I think we are going to have a lot of fun with Redneck. We will provide more updates about her as we get to know her better.

Getting Ready

2009-04-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Hound Hotel is getting ready for our next foster greyhound. The good news is that our girl, Cora Lee is on the mend and is doing well, and we will be able to resume fostering very soon. Aunt Denise will be getting a new load of dogs in next week and with any luck we will get a foster out of the deal. We had our meet and greet yesterday and it was terrific. The weather was fantastic and we were able to sit outside and have an excellent event. PetSmart is holding their annual animal adoption weekend in two weeks and we were asked to show up for that. We will be there on 5/2 from 11-2. We can't wait for our next foster and we look forward to the big event at PetSmart. Come join us! The above photo is Cora Lee, our girl that thanks to our terrific vets, will be with us for several more years.

Sorry for the delay

2009-02-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

We apologize that it has been a little while since we posted. Cora Lee, our second oldest female, had to have surgery and we have had had our hands full taking care of her. She isn't out of the woods yet and she has had some complications, but we hope that she will come out of it ok. We haven't been able to foster any dogs this month because of that but we hope to reopen the Hound Hotel in the near future. It isn't the same without fosters around the house. By the time the weather gets a little better we should be back in business. So far all the fosters we have adopted out recently are sticking in their new homes and are happy, which makes us very happy. We hope everyone is doing well, and stay tuned.

Above is another photo from Dewey last year.

Guam Greyhounds

2009-01-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

We learned some disturbing news today, and I thought we should pass it along to as many people as possible. The island of Guam, a U.S. territory, saw their only greyhound racing track close in November of last year. Track closings are always a problem as a large number of greyhounds are suddenly unwanted and rescue groups are overwhelmed with trying to place the dogs. The best scenario is that it happens in an orderly fashion and the tracks cooperate in placing the dogs and working with the rescue groups. That didn't happen in Guam. The dogs were given away for free to anyone who showed up and no records were kept, and well, it is a mess. Now greyhounds are turning up in the streets uncared for, emaciated, and injured. There is only one rescue group on the island and they are doing a tremendous job of trying to deal with this, but it is more than any one group can handle. The disturbing photos posted are of two of the dogs they have rescued so far. These photos show how difficult and disturbing this situation is. I only hope that these photos will serve as a call to action for all of us. Follow this link to read the rest of the story from GAIN(Guam Animals In Need)http://www.guamgreyhounds.org/Story.html As they are able, they are sending these greyhounds to rescue groups on the west coast of the U.S. to be rehomed. There is a link on their site to make donations also, which they sorely need. While I am on that subject, donations to all rescue groups are way down due to the current economic conditions, and they are all struggling now. We all need to keep that in mind and give to our local rescue groups to help them through these times. The hounds waiting for adoption still need care. For those readers in the MD, VA, DC area, Greyhound Rescue Inc. really needs our help and you can donate by paypal on the web site, http://www.greyrescue.com/. Your help is appreciated.

Storm-Adopted!!

2009-01-26T18:33:00.000-08:00

Today turned out to be a great day for Storm. His new dad came to meet him and take him home. Storm behaved like the gentleman that he is when he met his new dad and he now is no longer a halfway home hound, but is an all the way home hound. That is terrific news. We will miss Storm though. He was a fun hound to have around the house and he is a super friendly boy. We wish him only the best and know that he is in a good place now. He is making a move down to Northern Virginia so I guess that makes Storm a southern boy now. He plans on taking day trips into Washington D.C. and having lunch at Mount Vernon. I bet George Washington would have loved having a cool dog like Storm around his house. Happy trails Storm and we hope we will get to see you again soon. We will keep a light on for you at the Hound Hotel. As for the photo..Storm isn't being waterboarded, he is just relaxing the way happy hounds do.

Storm-back up for adoption

2009-01-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Storm is back up for adoption. He was placed but do to extenuating circumstances, his new family couldn't take him anytime soon. It isn't because of Storm. Storm is a terrific greyhound that wags his tail all the time and is a fun to have around. The only problem is he gets so excited in the morning when the alarm goes off. He knows that is now the signal that it is breakfast time. He bounces around the room and gets happy. "Woohoo....feeding time!!" I try to get out of bed and he bounces off my chest to let me know I am moving too slow. He wants to tell me to get my butt downstairs and fill up his food bowl. Too funny. He is learning to be a retired greyhound and he knows that good food is part of the deal. What a good dog. If you would like to meet Storm, please contact Denise Davis at Greyhound Rescue.

Storm-the perfect gentleman

2009-01-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

Storm has been with us for almost a day now and he will be inducted into the foster dog hall of fame after he leaves. Storm is a perfect gentleman with terrific manners. He is also a super friendly greyhound with a tail that goes a mile a minute. It wasn't long after he arrived that he started helicoptering his tail every time he looked at us. If he is laying down and you look at him, he starts slapping his tail on the floor. He slept quietly next to our bed last night and had no problem at all. No crate needed for this guy. He is definitely a top notch greyhound, and it is a good thing someone has already claimed him! That removes our temptation to keep him. We will certainly miss him when he leaves, but we will be seeing him at our meet and greets in the future. That will be great. Above is a photo of Storm keeping me company while I update this blog.

Storm-adoption pending!!

2009-01-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

Foster mom and I went to the meet and greet today and Storm was returned to us there. Storm didn't do anything wrong at his previous home, it just wasn't the right situation for him. His new mom showed up 30 minutes later to claim him. How cool is that! Storm will be vacationing at our house for a few days until his new mom is ready to pick him up. He has only been here a short amount of time and we love him already. He has the most friendly disposition and seems to be much more mature then your typical 2 year old greyhound. He has met the resident greyhounds and is getting along very well with them. He seems to be a perfect gentleman. He is also a beautiful greyhound and he will be a hit in his new neighborhood. This will be a short fostering job for us, which is all the better for Storm. Congrats Storm, and congrats to his new mom!

Photo Tag

2009-01-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Apparently we have been photo tagged by Hope and Greyz. I'm not entirely sure how this works but I guess we pick the sixth photo out of the sixth folder and post it. This photo is one we took at Dewey Beach this year. I don't know who the people are in the photo. We were just taking photos of people walking their greyhounds on the beach. The weather in Dewey this year was perfect and we had a great time as always. We encourage anyone who would like to get away for the weekend with their hounds to try going to the annual Dewey event. It is always a great time.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

It is a new year and the Hound Hotel is gearing up for what will hopefully be a busy year. It could be a challenging year considering the economy and all, so we will have to redouble our efforts to get as many hounds placed as possible this year. We are on a short break from fostering as we await the next load of dogs to come into Greyhound Rescue. Denise is getting in the dogs this coming week and with any luck we will get a foster dog out of the deal. The place just doesn't seem the same without a foster. It is too quiet with just the resident hounds. They are too well behaved and never cause any trouble, so it doesn't feel like we are doing any work with just them. I imagine the hounds don't mind the break from training the fosters. They put a lot of effort into whipping Wilma into adoptable shape, so they must be enjoying a few days off. I thought I would take this time to introduce all of them. Up top is Blair, our twelve year old, Irish bred, greyhound. Middle is Cora Lee, who is nine, and at the bottom is Snoops, our five year old. They are our best trainers and we appreciate all the help they give us in getting the fosters adopted. We hope you all have terrific start to the new year and we hope to have an update on our next foster dog soon!