Another Hound Haul Complete!!

Last Thursday we had the pleasure of welcoming ten of our latest prison graduates home to Atlanta where some went immediately to their adoptive families and some went to foster homes.  Getting ten at one time can be quite an undertaking but with the help of all of our volunteers, especially Kathy Marggraff, we did it!!

All of this did not occur without mishap, I have to say.  The first involved my vehicle (a 2010 Honda Pilot) as we were traveling down I-20.  I was on the phone chatting with one of the adopters when my dome lights started flickering.  Well, I have to say, this particular vehicle has experienced several phenomenons since I purchased it in the fall of 2009 so that is what I thought was happening - another phenomenon!  Having a door ajar is the only thing that I could think could be the culprit - that or possibly it was an electrical short.  But thank God, my fear overcame me at that point because I pulled over on the side of the road to check all the doors.  First the passenger door behind me and then I went to the back hatch and lo and behold, it was ajar.  I don't know if it would have opened on its own, but the thought of that happened nearly made me have a heart attack!  I believe some of the quilt I had in the back for the dogs to lay on had become stuck between the door, preventing it from closing completely.  I checked the other doors as well and when everything seemed to be secure, got back in and started our journey again heading to Smyrna.

We arrived there close to 7 p.m. and started unloading dogs.  Not all of the adoptive or foster families had arrived so there seemed to be dogs everywhere.   One foster Dad was holding his two plus one of ours when ours bolted.  We all commenced to catching her.  It was Ctw Twinkle Toes, better known as Lady Gaga from her prison days.  I knelt down on the ground and called her name, "Lady Gaga" and she came running.  It was amazing and definitely a very good thing. 

One more crisis adverted!  Heart attack number two was over.  At that point, it started raining, but of course!  One of our dog hauls would not be complete without rain.  It didn't rain too hard and not for very long, thank goodness.

Once everyone had been properly dispersed to their respective foster or adoptive homes, Kathy and I headed to the Village Cafe to get some dinner.  It was nearly 8:30 p.m. by now but it was really nice to sit and relax for a bit.  After that, I headed home with my 36-hour foster, Raider Water, as he was getting adopted on Saturday.  Made it home and found my four Greyhounds plus my other foster, LK Exit Left, all well but definitely hungry.  Fed them and then we all went to bed.  After all, Friday was another day, right?

Not so much, actually.  An email came across our Yahoo discussion list that one of our long term fosters had escaped his backyard shortly around 10 a.m.  Close to 1:30 p.m., I had determined I could no longer sit and wait.  I left work and headed to the foster's neighborhood to search for Fonzy.  Luckily I had some tennis shoes at work which I changed into so I could walk the neighborhood.  Most of us carry squawkers and extra collars and leads with us at all times . . . just in case so I was all set to start searching. 

There were sightings along the way, some folks said they had seen Fonzy go this way or that way and that he was "just here", so we knew we were close on his trail.  It was after that though that there didn't appear to be any new sightings; he seemed to have just disappeared into thin air.  We forged on and continued our search.

A few volunteers from another local Greyhound adoption group also helped in the search.  Approximately around 5:30 p.m., the foster Mom received a phone call from a man in the neighborhood stating he had Fonzy.  He wouldn't disclose his house number but did tell her the street.  She got into her vehicle and headed over to that area.  At the same time, the guy called back and left a message for her to call him back.  All phone calls to him after that time were unanswered which perplexed all the volunteers because no one knew what could have happened to him and most importantly, did he still have Fonzy?  Around 9:00 p.m. one of the volunteers was able to reach him.  Apparently he had to go to work between that time so could not return calls until then.  They made arrangements to meet the man to get Fonzy.  The hand off happened and then I was called to come get him as I had just gone home myself to take care of my four plus the three fosters.  Fonzy is well, none the worse for wear and is at my home for the time being.  The foster Mom corrected the problem with the gate so escapes in the future should be non-existent.

Crisis adverted and heart attack number 3 was over!  All within a 36-hour period!! Whew, it was a stressful few days but you know I'm so grateful everyone is okay and is safe and sound.  In the end, it truly is all about the dogs!!

WOW - I am the worst blogger!!

I just looked at our blog and am quite ashamed to see that it has been a year since I last blogged!!  What happened to me?  I can only say that it has been a very busy year and blogging just escaped the forefront of my mind all those months!! 

Seriously, it has been very busy.  We've adopted now about 125 Greyhounds and will be coming up on our third birthday in January of 2012.  Those numbers are pretty good, I think.   As with any adoption group, we always strive to adopt more and more Greyhounds which means more and more families are, no doubt, happier than they've ever been!  These dogs make such wonderful family pets, it's ridiculous.

Case in point - I had the pleasure of spending the morning with a family last Sunday at a Meet & Greet we hosted.  This family adopted their Greyhound from us a little over a month ago.  At the time of the adoption, the wife was very unsure of even having a dog as part of the family due to a previous bad experience with another (breed) dog.  Much to my delight, when I saw them on Sunday, she introduced him as their "third" child and "only son".  They have taken to him as he has to them!  It is just so incredibly heartwarming to see how these wonderful animals change our lives and how we change theirs.

Seeing and hearing stories such as this really makes it all worthwhile and reinforces to me why we do what we do. 

With that being said, we have ten Greyhounds who have arrived at the prison today to start their training and ten graduates who will arrive in Atlanta shortly, all who will be dispersed to their new families or foster homes this evening.  The cycle continues .  .  .

And finally, I promise to add "blog to SCG site" to my calendar as a bi-weekly task so I do not forget again!! 

Another Graduating Class

Next Thursday, October 14, we will have another class of Greyhounds graduate from the prison training program.  I believe this is our sixth group to graduate and the second group of ten!!  And I'm proud and happy to say that nine of the ten are adopted and have families waiting to meet them.  Whoo hoo!  I expect we may even have the tenth adopted by then as he is a handsome and sweet boy who will most certainly catch someone's eye soon!  We also have a boy, Crenshaw Rayford nka Coby, who is very deserving of a home.  He is not tolerant of cats or small dogs but is great with children and loves his people!  I know his family will come along shortly!!

As in the past, when one class graduates, another goes into the program.  Actually this usually occurs within an hour or so of each other.  Those who graduate leave the prison and the next batch is usually waiting to enter the prison.  It is planned this way so that the prisoners have little time to dwell on the one they have, most often, fallen in love with and can immediately focus on their next charge. 

The first day is usually spent determining which inmate will get which Greyhound.  They then name their new friend and spend the next week getting to know each other.  The next eight weeks are dedicated to training the Greyhound to perform many different commands.  Then the entire process repeats!!

It's quite busy when one class is coming out and one is going in as there is much to be done to prepare both groups for both scenarios.  Adoptive families have been chosen and prepped, meeting places to pick up their Greyhound have been determined, vetting for the new group is in process and their travel bags (complete with everything they might need for the duration) are in process. 

This time next week, two vehicles will head out to gather the ten coming home.  One will meet another volunteer in Perry to pick up five and the other will drive to the prison to pick up the other five.  A hauler will take the new group down from Birmingham that same morning, arriving just in time to see the current class exit.  It's all very well orchestrated.  Luckily for us there have been very few snafus along the way.  It just takes ALOT of planning to make sure all goes well.

With all that is going on, our group will take a breather from all the "work" activities to enjoy an afternoon at Nancy G's Cafe located at 4920 Roswell Road in Atlanta this coming Sunday, October 10th from 1-3 p.m.  with our Greyhounds in tow!!  We'll be on the patio, yes, so if you are in the area, come out and join us.  Bring your Greyhound!  Everyone is welcome.

And lastly, I'll leave you with this quick recipe for some mini-muffins for your Greyhound.  He or she will thank you profusely for taking a moment to make these.  They will love them!!

Cheddar Bacon Mini-Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 strips bacon, crumbled
½ cup cheddar cheese
½ cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp bacon drippings

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat the egg and stir in the milk and bacon drippings. Pour egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Spoon into mini-muffin tin and bake at 375° oven for about 10 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Makes 24 mini-muffins.

Another Month Has Flown By

Wow, it's now almost October and Fall is upon us. With Fall comes the many wonderful arts and crafts festivals that dot the Atlanta suburbs.  We try to do as many as we can but being such a small group, we are limited.  Last month we attended the Sandy Springs Festival in Sandy Springs and had a fabulous time. 

This month we'll be at Pace Academy on the 2nd for their annual Fall Fair and then the Smyrna Fall Jonquil Festival on the 23rd and 24th plus the Whole Hawg Happenin' BBQ festival on the 23rd as well.  In between the Meet & Greets, we have a fun and relaxing afternoon planned on the 10th at Nancy G's on Roswell Road as we enjoy another "Yappy Hour" with our Greyhound friends on their wonderful and spacious outside patio.  On the 16th we'll participate of our first Hound Hike at Kennesaw Mountain.  This should be great fun for the humans and the Greyhounds!!

October is definitely going to be a very busy month but the wonderful Fall weather just beckons us to participate in outdoor activities!  It's a beautiful time of the year in Atlanta and we try to enjoy every minute of it!

I've been busy myself participating in evaluations through TDI, Inc. (pet therapy) so that we can become certified through that organization.  I first took Lucy for her evaluation and I am proud to say that she passed the testing with flying colors.  Actually, she and I both passed.  It's definitely a team effort.  I will next take Sami and hope she remains her calm self long enough during the testing to satisfy the requirements.  She is still so young (3 years old) and so puppy-like but it seems she knows the environment in nursing homes is "calmer and quieter" than anywhere else so she usually adapts pretty well.  I'll work with her a bit more and then when we're ready, we will pursue her certification.  Being certified as a pet therapy dog will open doors for us as we will then be able to visit other facilities around Atlanta, ie children hospitals, hospices, and the like.  I'm urging others in the group to seek certification as well.  TDI, Inc. provides $5 million liability insurance for all of its members which is quite a perk.  That, alone, is worth the time and effort it takes to become certified.

On another note, I received an email from an old high school chum on Facebook.  This is what he wrote "Just wanted to say hello and tell you the things you do for animals is great !! If I was to die and come back I want to be one of your dogs."  I have to say that really warmed my heart. 

I responded back reciprocating as I've seen pictures of his Great Danes and how they are so very loved and cared for.  It is definitely such a compliment for anyone when they hear things like that.

But the biggest compliment of all was his next reply, "actually thanks to you we joined the Mid Atlantic Great Dane Rescue so thanks !!"  Honestly, that put tears in my eyes.  If what I do helping the Greyhounds inspires someone else to get involved, then so much the better.  I am just so proud of what we do to help the Greyhounds and hope that others might find a little bit of time in their life to help just one animal along the way.  As Martha would say, "its a good thing"!

Another Fun-Filled Month

We've survived another exciting month at Second Chance Greyhounds culminating with our two day stint at the Pigs 'n Peaches Festival in Kennesaw.  We attended this event last year and had a fabulous time meeting and greeting with the public and chatting up Greyhound adoption and our prison foster program with Second Chance Greyhounds.  We were very lucky in that the rain held off for the most part although it did sprinkle on everyone very early Saturday evening. Then it was beautiful the rest of the evening.  The food was fabulous and the volunteers were great!  It was a long two days but very much worth it!! Pictures from the event can be found here. 

We also recently added a new pet therapy location to our repertoire of nursing homes visited on a monthly basis by our volunteers.  This new one, Dogwood Forrest of Marietta, will be awesome to visit as the residents have their very own dog who lives at the facility with them.  They love him but are anxious to meet our Greyhounds.  And, of course, we are happy to oblige!

I recently saw a video on Facebook that a friend had posted on their wall.  It was about a paralyzed yellow lab who was wheeled in a wagon by his owner, going room to room to visit patients who were terminally ill.  I sat there and cried while watching the video.  On many occasions, petting, snuggling, and loving on that therapy dog was the last happy thing that the patient did before dying.  Very touching indeed, especially knowing the impact pet therapy work has on the patient.  And even the handler and the dog - I sometimes wonder if we're getting more out of the visits than the patients!  It's definitely a win-win for everyone and I'm so happy that our pet therapy program is growing.  We now visit three locations in and around Atlanta and one in Valdosta! 

The month of September brings our usual schedule of pet therapy visits, the Meet & Greet at the Valdosta Petsmart, our monthly meeting, the much anticipated microchipping clinic and then the last weekend of the month, we'll be at the Sandy Springs Festival.  It's a two-day event and is fantastic, I have to say, with lots of arts and crafts and (drum roll, please) . . . it's a pet friendly festival!!  Dogs of all breeds and sizes will be in attendance and there is even a pet parade that Saturday.  Alot of fun indeed - I hope you'll plan to come out and join us.  We'd love to meet you!  Rest assured, you'll have fun meeting our Greyhounds.  They are the best!!