Update from foster care : Surfie (Surfer Foot)

By Fatima |

Thursday, August 30, 2012

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Hello:)

Gorgeous little Surfie (Surfer Foot) is in foster care with Cora and Damian in Christchurch, and we just got this update from them:

 

Surfie has settled in really well and is enjoying life with us all. We all get a very excited greeting in the mornings and after we return home. She is great with the children and very well behaved with them. One of her favourite activities is picking up toys from our 5 year old's bedroom and taking them to her bed in the lounge !! She doesn't damage the toys - she just likes to collect them (and shoes, slippers, cushions etc) ! :)

Surf also likes to run around the garden exploring by herself and follows me around when I'm gardening. She has met the alpacas (we have 7) through the fence and play bows and barks at them but they don't want to play!

 She runs beside my son when he rides his bike around the garden. She has learnt to play with a ball and has learnt to pick up a tennis ball at a fast run and will sometimes bring it back. My older daughter (14) likes to bring her friends home to show them Surf and to let them see how fast she can run. She is quite an attraction!!

 We can see that she loves to run flat-out and we love to watch her - she is sooooo fast.

 I have walked her up to primary school to drop the children off and she walked very well and was very well behaved - and this was only three or four days after we got her. Lots of people admired her.

 When it is just me (or me and Damian) at home during the day she sleeps most of the day on her bed but when the children are home she follows them around and plays with them.

She waits for her food, knows wait before coming in to the house, has learnt her name and comes when called indoors and unsually comes when called outside unless distracted. Must admit she has been very easy to train as we haven't been actively "training" her, she learns quickly and wants to please. She has met two small dogs (miniature pinchers) and a labrador at home (and another larger dog at the local dog park) and been excellent with them.

She is a lovely girl and we love having her. Can't get over how calm she can be - she can be running flat out in the garden one minute and then standing so still next to you for a pat and cuddle the next minute. One funny habit she has is pushing herself between your legs when you are walking and standing there for a fuss. She has done this from day one with us and we think it is so cute. All in all a great dog and she is an excellent ambassador for the greyhound breed - we would thoroughly recommend getting a greyhound as a pet.

 

Update from foster care : Tux (Not Suited)

By Fatima |

Friday, August 24, 2012

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Gorgeous Tux ( Not Suited ) has been in a home for a while -now he is back at GAP, due to no fault of his own. One of the children in his family got alergic to him - so  we need to find Tux  a new home.

He is currently in foster care with Jacqui, John and Lace in Masterton, and he just sent us an update:

Yes, I can hear you saying how handsome I am already.  You won’t get any arguments on that from my foster Mum and Dad Jacqui and John.  I have settled in really well and made great friends with their hound Lace.  She thinks she is the boss round here, but I just let her get whichever bed she wants just for the quiet life!!!

Lace is a bit older than me and not so keen to jump off the bed and bark a hello when Mum and Dad get home but I am okay with that.  I love my cuddles and can’t wait – Lace prefers not to bother getting up and waits for cuddles to come to her.  Daft if you ask me!! 

Lace and me :)

I am a really good boy in the house and spend my time with Lace without any problems, we are great mates and love each having each other around.  I have even learned a couple of commands and with a bit of a treat for a reward I will sit (bit sideways but I am very tall after all) and I bow too.  I do like a lot of attention so sometimes get sent to my bed but I am always good and do as I am told.

Poor old Dad has been made redundant and Mum is very sad cos I think they were going to keep me forever.  Still if things change soon maybe I will be lucky.  I gave Mum loads of cuddles when I saw she was sad, I think that helped heaps.  We all need a bit of TLC and love sometimes :)

 

Update from Blue (Major Hit)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

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Blue and his sister Lili

Handsome Blue (Major Hit) now lives in Auckland with Gitti, Shadie, Lili The Chihuahua and Luca The Bichon Friese.
Gitti just sent us this lovely update:

Our beautiful Blue has settled in really well. He is a lovely boy. When he just arrived there was a little bit of ranking issues in our pack -but not because of him! His new sister, Lili The Chihuahua,  wasn't going to take Blue's size into account and constantly told him who the top dog was around here! So, Blue has joined Luca,  the other boy in the house (nine years old Bichon Frise),  and given the little madam what she demands - top dog position! So all is well now :)

 Blue loves all his three beds in different parts of the house, he loves his soft Hippo toy, and any other soft toy that he can carry to his bed quick enough before Lili takes it off him. Blue enjoys weekend trips to the beach with Lili, Luca and his other doggy friends: Oscar the (Saint Bernard), Poppy (Dalmatian) and Dinky (miniature pinscher).  Blue also loves meeting up with his other greyhound friends once in a while, at p runs and walks. We've only had Blue with us since February this year but he is already a very much loved member of the family.

Gitti has put more pictures of the whole family on her blog too, here is the link:
 http://gitti-myblog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/blue-our-major-hit.html

Beautiful Blue

With Shadie

At the beach

With friends

Meet gorgeous little Fran!

By Fatima |

Sunday, August 19, 2012

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Beautiful 9 year old Fran is having a great time with Mary in Auckland :)
I just received these cute pictures from them:

Two gorgeous girls: Mary and Fran

Picture of the day : Berlin (Twirly Berly) and her puppies

By Fatima |

Friday, August 17, 2012

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Ashley's Berlin (Twirly Berly) gave birth to five gorgeous puppies yesterday :) Here is their picture - they are only a few hours old here:

Berlin and her babies :)

Check out the brindle puppy on Berlin's neck! (you can click on the picture to see full size)

Berlin's first litter are now two years old and racing (and doing great!). These little ones look like little champions already :)

This cutie was named Elvis :)

Farewell beautiful Molly (Deniable)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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This week, beautiful 9 year Molly (Deniable) crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
Her family in Auckland sent us these pictures of their precious girl, and they wrote:

Our beautiful and very dear Molly has passed away. Her big brown eyes melted our hearts. She was a loving and gentle dog who loved cuddles and a scratch. She was patient and caring with us all.

Molly’s coat was soft to touch, like black velvet. Before she became sick she loved to show Jenny (our other greyhound) how fast she could run.
She also knew the value of lying under our toddler’s high chair- he misses his Molly as do all of us. Her greyhound sister Jenny is visibly grieving for her constant companion.

Molly,  we will never forget you or stop loving you, our beautiful gentle girl.

Justine, David, Matthew, Hayden, Benjamin and Ken x x x x

Update from Ben (Ngapuhi Boy)

By Fatima |

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

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We just got an update from Karen, who adopted gorgeous fawn boy Ben (Ngapuhi Boy) three years ago.

Ben did not come through GAP - he was homed privately by his trainer. Karen wrote:

We got  Ben off a work colleague that had him only a month. He was their first dog ever and I think that they were overwhelmed by him, his size, his appetite and his lack of interest in barking at people - they wanted a guard dog, and Ben is anything but! Our other dog, Toby,  and Ben get on really well.

Ben  settled in really well, he is very dog-social and needs the company of another dog ; he looks to Toby for guidance. He doesn't cope very well on his own. Yes.. he is lazy!!  He's not that keen on walking, about 1k from home, he is done, so I used to take my phone with me, so that I could get my partner to pick him up if need be. We now both walk the dogs and so he has to go the distance, but we've cut done on the distances now. We are all getting a bit older :)

We don't have kids or other pets apart from Toby, so Ben is not around them a lot, but he is very gentle and polite around all people - his main interest in new people is if they have food. I don't trust him with any small animals and the local cats have learned to avoid our place. He did catch/kill a rat in the  back yard when we first got him, which is a bonus!

Ben doesn't play much ( it is too much like excercise)! When he does find the energy, it's like, grab a toy, shake it, jump on it, tail going madly, for about 30 secs, then it's all over. He looks up, looks urprised at himself and calmly walks away, usually back to HIS couch. Very funny when it happens.

I think Toby would prefer a more playful friend, but has learned to accept and love Ben for who he is.

Ben is definitely a complete change from boxers, which we have had three of. We had decided against another boxer because of the health/genetic issues. We got Toby from the pound as a companion for our final boxer as she was grieving and very lonely after losing her mate. Our vet thinks that Toby is mostly greyhound too.

When we were offered Ben we accepted on the condition they they got along. Toby wasn't impressed that we had to get a professional in to beat him as he used to be the fastest dog at the dog park. It is truly amazing to see them running together (not often in our case) and we are still in awe at just how fast and graceful they are. The bonus with greyhounds is that we have had no health issues yet (and Ben is now 10 years old).

Meet our foster boy Kopi (Bulla The Gate)

By Fatima |

Sunday, August 12, 2012

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Kopi and his favourite squeaky pig

Handsome Kopi (Bulla The Gate) has been with us for a couple of weeks now. Finally, I took some pictures of the gorgeous boy.
He LOVES his toys and can 'kill' them for ages. His is currently obsessed with this pink squeaky pig :)

(you can click on pictures to see full size)
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"Naughty pig!!! It is trying to get away!'
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"What is it plotting now...?"
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"OMG it is attacking me!!!!"
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'Geeee... tired now....'

We are enjoying fostering Kopi - he is very clever, very responsive doggie. In his new home, he will need clear rules and boundaries , he is deep inside not too confident (despite the bigger than life first impression!) and needs to be shown the ropes. He loves his routine - in fact thrives on it.
He is quite independent once the routine and rules are in place, and can be left alone for long periods etc . He is very happy to have a snooze and wait for you to come back. Kopi LOVES his walks and meeting other dogs. 

Some cute ads and the latest video from NZ Racing

By Fatima |

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

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I often get sent links to the cutest TV ads featuring greyhounds, both racing and retired ones, and I always promise myself that I would put them on the blog. Yet, with all the updates from recently adoipted dogs, updates from foster care etc, I somehow never get to do it!
So tonight, while watching the Olympics, I thought to compile the links to these ads and post them here. So, here goes:
First is Aviva Car insurance, Irish ad I think?


And of course, the FAMOUS Sketchers' Mr. Quiggly:


And a bit of trivia regarding Mr. Quiggly and Sketchers:

 On February 1, before the ad was aired, Skechers stock (code SKX) was $12 a share. After the "Mr Quiggly" ad aired during the Super Bowl, the stock popped to $14.25 in two weeks. This week, Skechers stock closed at $19.24 ! Coincidence...or?  (Data from http://www.dailyfinance.com/quote/nyse/skechers-usa-inc/skx/charts?source=esadlfltnal0001 )

Next is the ABSOLUT GREYHOUND Coctail ad -how realistic are these greyhound robots?



And last but not the least -this is a promo video done by New Zealand Racing Association recently, on employment in racing , aswell as community involvement. No robots here, but it does have some amazing statistics:

Update from Nimrod (Mint Octane)

By Fatima |

Sunday, August 5, 2012

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Relaxing :)

We just got this lovely update from Lynne and Robert, who adopted gorgeous Nimrod (nee Lucky - Mint Octane):

Thought you might like to see a few photos of our new boy to show how he's settled in! He's a lovely dog, and seems to be adjusting really well. Nothing seems to phase him. He and Josh (our Newfoundlander) are reacting to each other as if they had been friends since they were puppies! He is eating well, finishing everything that is in his bowl. :)

Josh The Newfy and Nimrod :) OMG so funny, look at the difference!

Josh :)

When people stop and ask about our two dogs, what kind they are, what do they eat, how much, etc, we usually say they are both greyhounds, Josh only has his winter coat on! :)

Our vet from Whangarei and his partner (who are interested in adopting a greyhound) were in Auckland two weeks ago (so were we, having just returned from GAP Sanson). They phoned to see if they could come and meet Nimrod - they think he's very handsome.

Thank you for all your help and advice during the adoption process. We are really enjoying him - he's so affectionate and happy.( I really did want to call him Nimrod so we've been calling him "Nimmy" just to get his attention. I know it doesn't sound anything like "Lucky" but it does end in "ee" and it's really the tone of the voice that commands their attention.)

I will send a note and some photos to his trainers, Pam and Denis Schofield, in the next few days too.

For those interested : Nimrod was in fact a Biblical figure -- the great-grandson of Noah. He was a haughty king who declared himself a "mighty one in the earth," founded the great city of Babylon, and presided over the construction of the mythical Tower of Babel. Nimrod was also a renowned hunter, though at least one source we found claimed his game of choice was not animals but men, whom he would enslave upon capture. Whatever his prey, his name became synonymous with a skilled hunter. :)

Update from Angel (Lyndour Gem)

By Fatima |

Saturday, August 4, 2012

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Angel with her Doberman brother Tama :)

Gorgeous girl Angel (Lyndour Gem) now lives with  Ginny and Rob in Hamilton. She has a new brother too -Tama The Doberman! :)

We just got this update from Ginny:

Angel and Tama are so opposite -well, except for their love of the fire and their soft beds!! :)
I highly recomend the mix of such temperaments -  Angel is so calm and takes no offence at anything , while Tama has always been so staunch.
I was worried that Tama could hurt her as he is rough at play...that was before we saw Angel outdo him in their favourite wrestling match- and now she's the best at it! And of course she is the fastest at games! :)
 We all love her !