Another one about Foskie Osks

By Fatima |

Sunday, January 31, 2010

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I was just going through my pictures and found some gorgeous ones of our foster greyhound Oscar (also known as Foscar, Fosks, Osks, Oskie and Foskie). We took him back to GAP kennels as he does not need fostering any more(he is just a perfect boy!) and we have another lovely foster greyhound (Skye).

But Foskie Oskie is just special, he was a delight to have in the house. We miss his little face and his own patented 'fosking' behavior.

(fosking - looking for cuddles by putting your long nose in the armpit of the target person, and holding it there for as long as it takes. Fosking can be implemented by putting your head in target person's lap and humming gently, looking for an ear scratch. Sometimes, when you REALLY need a cuddle you might want to implement advanced fosking - rubbing your long nose and head on target person's ears, shoulder, and neck. Advanced fosking usually produces cuddles, although it does take more energy than regular fosking)

We hope Fosks finds a great home. Here are some more of his cute pictures:

Fleet (Fleur Noire) in Dominion Post :-)

By Fatima |

Saturday, January 30, 2010

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Cute GAP girl Fleet (Fleur Noire) appeared in Dominion Post just after Christmas (Sonja from GAP sent me the scanned article and picture - thanks Sonja!). it is great to see more and more GAP greyhounds appearing in the media :-)

You can click on picture/article to see it in bigger size. Sorry about the quality of the picture- it was scanned from the newsprint.

George (Chile Command) , Sally and family

By Fatima |

Thursday, January 28, 2010

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George (Chile Command) was adopted by Sally from Wellington a month ago, after being fostered by Margaret Judd from Auckland.
He is a gorgeous BIG boy (39kg!!!) with a long racing career under his belt (76 starts).
George's new Mum Sally wrote:

Its been just over a month since George arrived. He has settled in well and is just so easy to love. He's very cuddly and affectionate, and never tires of resting his head on a lap to be stroked. And he's gorgeous looking, with his big "take me home and love me" eyes and soft floppy ears.

Below: George and Melissa


He enjoys his daily walks and is very well-mannered on the lead. Two of our three cats quickly realised that he turns away rather than confront them and something of a truce occurred. The third cat still steers well clear of him (though George hasn't done anything to cause this) but still appears for meals and sleeps inside every night. So no dramas on the cat front.

George has been to his first GAP get-together at Robyn's (should I say Maxi's?) in Otaki, He was so excited when he saw the other greyhounds through the car window and quivered with anticipation waiting his turn to go into the paddock. He had a fantastic time, dashing around with the group and generally having heaps of fun.

He enjoys 'supervising' kitchen preparations (probably checking to see what leftovers might be on offer later) and likes his food. The chicken frames we bought through Robyn have been a huge hit.

Thanks so much to George's trainer for placing him in the GAP programme, to Margaret in Auckland for a brilliant foster-mum job, and to Elizabeth, Irene, Sonja and Robyn for their help matching us with George and welcoming us into the world of greyhound owners. We've met really friendly, helpful people at the GAP get-togethers and encourage any prospective owners reading this to go for it!

Our foster greyhound Oscar (Unplugged)

By Fatima |

Monday, January 25, 2010

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Our cute foster greyhound Oscar :-) He has been with us since Saturday and is already doing so well!
Oscar is only 2 years old, very puppy-like, and ADORES children! :-) Good looking too :-)





Below: Oscar meeting new friends in Timona Park :-)

Stanley (Big Dapto) - dog with the blog!

By Fatima |

Friday, January 22, 2010

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Stanley (Big Dapto) has found a lovely forever home in Auckland recently , and he (wait for this!) now has his own blog!!! :-) He updates it quite frequently and writes about his lifestyle change (from the track to the sofa).

I have already registered as one of the followers of Stanley's blog, you can see it in the "My Blog List" section on the right hand side banner, or
you can click here to open Stanley's blog in a new window!

Tangimoana beach walk today - gorgeous pictures!

By Fatima |

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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This is a picture heavy post, but I could not resist posting them all! We took our gorgeous hounds to Tangimoana Beach. Indy (the Spaniel) and Ozzy (the Blue Heeler cross) joined us, and we all had such a great time!!!

Our foster greyhound Fish (Thrilling Fish) had a great time with his friend Jordan, and he took particular fancy to Indy!! :-)

Below: Fish in the sea!!! ( and his friend Jordan)

Below: Fish with his Auntie Anne and Spaniel friend Indy


Below: Fish and his Auntie Anne running together :-)

Below: My gorgeous Louie (Charlston State)

Lucy LOVES water :-)


Our lovely foster greyhound Fish (Thrilling Fish):

Our foster greyhound Fish (Thrilling Fish) :-)

By Fatima |

Sunday, January 17, 2010

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We are currently fostering an amazing and very special greyhound: 5-year old ex-racer called Fish (Thrilling Fish).

He IS Louie all over again, an old wise soul, extremely intelligent and switched-on dog. He has a lovely, calm presence in the house, he is very polite, and also loves to approach you politely and rest his head on your lap for cuddles :-) He is BIG boy - 39kg!
He comes from Angela Udy's kennels, and is in great condition, good weight, and nice coat.
He is just a sweetheart, an amazing doggie, who has never had an accident inside, never caused any trouble, walks beautifully on the lead, and is great with the cat.

Whomever gets to adopt Fish will be one lucky person!



Fish (on the left) with Louie

Indie and Claire

By Fatima |

Friday, January 15, 2010

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Claire Thornton is a GAP Coordinator for Kapiti, proud owner of GAP greyhpund Indie (Indigo Coal) , as well as foster carer for GAP . She sent lovely pictures of her Indie and a writeup below (thanks Claire!):

After my beautiful dog Lillie passed away (of cancer) in January 2009 I knew I wanted to adopt a greyhound. However, I wasn't quite ready so I decided to foster instead, mainly because I wanted to help GAP and the dogs involved in the program but also to have a little playmate for my dog Kammy.

After I promised my hubby I was not going to adopt every greyhound I fostered (and of course I have wanted to adopt them all!!) I met Indie. She was super skinny, had the worst dandruff and skin, and a huge overbite; I loved her on the spot and knew she was mine. I adopted a little foxy cross one week later (she needed me) so Indie has a large family of dogs and kids to live with.

I also became the Area coordinator in Kapiti for GAP so my Indie puts on her GAP coat and off we go. She's done school and kindy visits, galas, expos, race days and fundraising and she is always calm, gentle and loving to everyone. She loves her doggie family and they all play, sleep and get into trouble together and she's fantastic with the kids.
She is my joy every day. She's the biggest cuddle monster in the world and we all love her to bits :-)

Louie has a new sister !

By Fatima |

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

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Yes, the inevitable has happened and Louie has fallen in love with one of our foster greyhounds (so did we btw!).
Her name is Lucy, and she is only a puppy, 1.5 years old. Louie has taken her under his wing from day one :-)
Initially we wanted to change her name as it was too similar to Louie's , but we found ourselves sticking with "Lucy" as she seems to know her name, and luckily her and Louie seem to be able to make a distinction between their names...

Lucy has never been raced (did not want to chase apparently, and also has a dropped gracillus muscle) but she is very fast, zooming around the rugby field and nearby park at top speed. Her father was Fashion Thief, mother was Petrina Bale. A lovely Brian Goldsack from Wanganui gave her to GAP programme.

Lucy is very small and skinny, just 24kg, so we need to put some weight on her. Other than this - she is very clever, has learned so many things (including recall !) .
She has been with us form 2 weeks now, and we have just officially adopted her! :-)

These are the pictures of her with Rachel, taken today, when Rachel invited her to come onto the couch for the first time. BTW- we will make this pink couch Lucy's (Louie has one too! :-)

Louie and his friend Maya

By Fatima |

Monday, January 11, 2010

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Louie (Charlston State) and Maya, pictures taken Christmas 2009 :-)
(you can click on pictures for full size)

Update on our foster dog Sonny (Geordie Boy)

By Fatima |

Thursday, January 7, 2010

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Our foster greyhound Sonny has been adopted by Ali, Andy, Lucy & Aaron Bray from Wellington :-)
Ali has just sent some pictures (thanks a million Ali!) and it seems that Sonny has settled in just fine and found his perfect family ! :-)

Check out the cute pictures! (you can click on them for full size)