Rainbow Bridge - M's Free Power (Irish)

June 26, 2004 - December 19, 2011

We sadly report the loss of another beloved greyhound. We received notice from Danielle and Keith Duggan that M's Free Power (Irish) lost a battle with an undiagnosed illness. She was only seven years old. Here is the report we received:

Just wanted to give you word that Irish (M's Free Power) passed away this morning. We had to put her down because of an explained, continuous high fever (104). It was a difficult decision because they couldn't find the source of it, no tick bourne illness, no cancer, no pnuemonia. Her white blood cells and platelets were extremely low on Tuesday, but she seemed to be on the mend by Saturday. Overall, she got weaker and thinner in the past two weeks, and stopped eating... I am of course, heartbroken, because she was so young, only seven and the fact that it made the decision harder because they couldn't find the cause.

Danielle and Keith adopted Irish several years ago after she had been returned to our group with a host of behavior problems (reported by her previous adopter). Dan fostered Irish for awhile and none of us could detect any kind of problem whatsoever. She was a happy and well adjusted dog that got caught up in her human's problems.

Danielle and her family visited Irish at a meet and greet and it only took that one meeting to decide that they wanted to adopt her. They already had adopted a greyhound from us so they added Irish to their pack. Irish fit in perfectly with this young family. She was fine with the kids and never had any problems.

We know that losing a greyhound is difficult but the loss of Irish during the holiday season and from an undiagnosed illness makes it that much more difficult. We know that Irish had the very best home where she was greatly loved and appreciated. We thank the Duggans for giving Irish the chance she deserved.

Run free sweet girl.

Grant Received

A special thank you to The Pedigree Foundation for the generous grant given to Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. to help dogs find loving homes. Our grant will be used to help our Craiger's List greyhounds find the homes they deserve.

To learn more about the Pedigree Foundation Grants, click on the title of this post.

A Dog's Last Will and Testament

Before humans die, they write their last will and testament and give their home and all they have to those they leave behind. If, with my paws I could do the same, this is what I’d give:

To a poor and lonely stray I’d give my happy home, my bowl, my cozy bed, my soft pillows and all my toys;

The lap, which I loved so much, and the tender loving hands;

The hand that stroked my fur and the sweet voice which called my name.

I’d will to the sad and scared shelter dog the place I had in my human’s loving heart of which there seemed no bounds.

So when I die, please do not say, “I will never have a pet again for the loss and pain is more than I can stand.” Instead, go find an unloved dog. One whose life has held no joy or hope and give my place to him.

This is the only thing I can give – the love I left behind.

This is my inheritance; my Last Will and Testament.


We hope that you will consider giving another deserving greyhound a special home this holiday season!

Behavior and Training - Outdoor Cat Warning

For those who have cats, nothing is more gratifying than to watch our hounds and cats get along so well together in the house. But, in spite of how well greyhounds and cats can and do get along together in a home, there is one exception to that rule - that is when a cat and a dog are outside together. We tell people that even the most cat friendly dog can be totally different with a cat outdoors. Here is a warning from one of our adopters who recently had a tragic experience. Although this is hard to read, it illustrates what we say. Please take this as a warning not to allow your cats and dogs outside together. You do not want to experience what Mindy experienced:

I got the following sad email from one of our long time adopters yesterday. She asked me to make sure to warn people about their cats. I will also add this to our news blog. I've copied the email as she wrote it:

I just wanted to let you know that my greyhound, Wylie, killed my cat this morning. Wylie and the cat have been living together now for years-with no apparent problem... Until this morning.

This morning, I let three of the dogs out, as usual-and the cat must have slipped out the door at the same time. She was never an outdoor cat, but has, in the last few days, been venturing outside for about five minutes, and then coming back in.
When I opened the door, I didn't stand where I normally do, and was behind the door- and didn't see that the cat had gotten out too. About ten seconds later, I heard an awful fight - the cat was screaming. I ran outside, and watched her take her last breath on this earth. It was devastating. There was only blood coming from her mouth, so I'm hoping it was a quick neck break. I can only wish peace to her... She was almost 14. Not exactly how I wanted her to "go", but at least it was quick.

Please tell the people in the group to make sure they aren't leaving their outside cats in the yard when their greys are out.

Wylie lived comfortably with this cat for years...inside - with no issues. Outside though, all bets are off, and the prey instinct kicks in. Wylie didn't mean it, I am not mad at him. I just wanted to see if you would pass this info along to the group members, so they can be diligent in seeing that their cats are indoors, safe - before they let the dogs out.

I am heartbroken. I have lost one cat to kidney failure, one snuck out and ran away, and now this. All in two months! I don't want anybody to see what I witnessed today. Make sure they know that, even though greys and cats can live in harmony in the house, does not mean they will be the same outside. Once that prey drive kicks in, there's no stopping it!

I am so thankful he "finished" the job, and it wasn't too bloody. I would have lost it if I would've had to see her suffer further, because she suffered a horrible death and I feel like its my fault for not watching more closely. Wylie was only doing what Greta have been bred to do for thousands of years... It was HUMAN error that cost me the life of my cat.

I just wanted to let you know.

Mindy Dicken

New Way to Help FFGR, Inc.!

We have a new way for you to help our organization! We met Bob and Arline at Greyhounds Rock recently. They are vendors and we spent the weekend with them vending next to one another. We all had a good time!

Bob and Arline own Kreative K-9 Fashions. Their merchandise is GREYT! They are partnering with our group and are offering to donate 10% of every on line sale they make to us! They also offer one day specials that save you lots of money on purchases! We will be announcing those as they make the offers.

Just click on the title of this post to go to their site. We hope to see Bob and Arline again in the spring at Greyhounds in Gettysburg. We thank them for supporting our group!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We would like to wish all of our Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. family a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving! When we count our blessings, we are grateful beyond words for the wonderful people who are a part of our family. We are especially grateful this year for the exceptional volunteers who have made all the difference in how our group works. Your continued support and hours spent working on behalf of the hounds has made us what we are. We feel that 2011 has been our banner year, what we have worked for all along. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

Thanks to all of those adopters who understand the commitment to their dogs and for loving and caring for them. You give us the strength and desire to keep going.

Enjoy your day!

Holiday Reminder - Open Doors!

Now that the holidays are upon us, we think it's a good opportunity to call attention to the fact that this is the time of year when we experience the most calls about loose dogs. With a little planning and thinking ahead, you can enjoy that turkey and spend time with your family and not have to take time out of your holidays to look for a lost dog. Make sure all doors are closed properly when guests come to your home. Also, it's important to remind guests to be aware of the fact that a greyhound lives in the house. It seems as though every holiday we get calls about dogs escaping out of doors when they have accidentally been left open or they get through open doors when guests arrive and take off their coats at the door. It only takes a small opening in a door for a greyhound to get through because of their thin bodies.

Start to plan now for what you will do to keep your holidays happy and your hound safe. When we had our four greyhounds years ago, we worked with them all and trained them to "wait" at the door until we said "let's go." Everyone understood the commands and listened well. At the time we didn't have a fenced in yard so we couldn't afford to have our dogs get loose where we live in a rural area and on the side of a mountian. But now that we have so many dogs here, that kind of training is hard to do and many of the dogs are not here long enough to train. We do practice the "wait" command at the door before it's opened so we cut down on the chaos involved with a lot of dogs running out the door at the same time. We also back that up with the word "easy". No one goes outside until everyone is settled down and there is no bouncing around or whining.

Start now to think of what you can do to prevent your hound from accidentally getting out of a door. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Use a baby gate at the door and keep it propped up until you have your hound(s) secure. Then you can take the gate down, let guests in and then put the gate back in place. This will also work if you have a porch or deck that guests access to get to your front door. Place a gate across the porch/deck opening so that if your hound does get out of the door, he/she can only go so far.

2. Keep a leash next to the door and when guests arrive, leash your hound. This gets hard to do if you have lots of guests and lots of hounds!

3. Put an extra latch on your door so that you will have to go through more work to get a door open. This is a good reminder that you have to do something with your hound!

4. Make a sign for your door that warns guests that you have a greyhound inside the house and to be very careful when opening the door. Keep the door locked so that you have to answer it and guests can't walk in on their own.

4. To be perfectly safe, crate or baby gate your hound in another room while guests are arriving. Some people will even kennel their dog during large family gatherings; although not possible for some, it does guarantee that the greyhound will be safe.

5. Review the Lost Dog link we have posted on the Greytlinks page of our web site. You can print one Lost Dog flyer with your hound's photo and your phone number. Keep it handy and hope you will never have to use it. Keep all important phone numbers handy as well in case your hound escapes. It will get you help that much faster having the important information out in case you need it.

We hope that none of our hounds get out the door this holiday period; we hope that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday season and not have to feel the panic of searching for a beloved hound that escaped out of a door.
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November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month!

November Is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month

Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. and Petfinder.com are celebrating November as Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month.

"Think of a pet that is already trained and doesn't chew or scratch everything in sight -- a pet who will love you unconditionally," said Kim Saunders, Petfinder.com's Vice President of Shelter Outreach and Public Relations. "That's what you get when you adopt a senior pet."

Some people worry that a senior pet comes with problems, but according to Hazel Blumberg-McKee of Tallahassee, FL, there are no disadvantages. "In most cases they've had a home and they want one again." She adopted eight-and-a-half-year old Sadie, and has never regretted it. "An older animal is easier to deal with. And Sadie is still playful. She plays fetch and gallops all over the place."

At animal shelters and rescue groups everywhere, there are loving, healthy senior pets like Sadie, looking for that one special home to cherish them for the rest of their life, and they don't ask for much: just a warm place to sleep, good meals and plenty of love.

During Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, take the opportunity to get acquainted with the older pets available at FFGR, Inc. During the month of November, for any senior that is adopted to a qualified adopter, our organization will donate $175 to the Morris Animal Foundation (for cancer research) in that pet's honor.

Please check out the seniors on Craiger's List that are waiting for their forever homes! Just click on the title of this post to go to Craiger's List.

Rainbow Bridge - R and A Yellow (Murray)

We are so sorry to report that our FFGR, Inc. family has lost yet another greyhound. We got notice from Marilyn and Ned Wright that their greyhound Murray lost his battle with lymphoma in July. He was nine years old. He was diagnosed with lymphoma back in March and at that time Marilyn contacted us to tell us about the diagnosis. There was little they could do at the time except treat the pain and give him the best life for the time he had left. That time came in July. Marilyn and Ned adopted Murray in September 2006. At that time they had another greyhound named Bailey. They told us that they also lost Bailey in July.

We often ran into Ned and Marilyn on our travels around Boonsboro and Middletown. They live in Middletown, a short drive from us. They always talked about how much they loved their hounds. It is always difficult to face the loss of a beloved hound, let alone two within a short period of time. But we know that Ned and Marilyn loved their greyhounds and they both had a wonderful and loving home.

Rest in sweet peace Murray (and Bailey).

Support Us - Petsmart Sale!

Shop PetSmart.com this holiday season and save on our best gifts for your best buddies!

Save 20% on all Dog Beds at PetSmart.com!
Save 15% on ES Nylabone Dog and Cat Toys at PetSmart.com!
Save $1 on Canyon Creek Ranch dog Treats at PetSmart.com!

Start Your Holiday Shopping Early with a PetSmart Giftcard! Buy one now at PetSmart.com!

Give a gift that saves homeless pets: Shop Chance & Lucky plush toys at PetSmart.com. In addition, a portion of all purchases made through the link above will go to Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. Get some great sales and donate to the hounds at the same time!

Rainbow Bridge - FF Love Letter (Scout)

August 11, 2006 - September 23, 2011

We've always found it difficult to make Rainbow Bridge announcements, but this one is exceptionally hard. We are heartbroken to report that Jeanne and Steve Lloyd had to put their sweet girl Scout down. Steve and Jeanne had taken Scout and Halima for a pleasant Sunday drive to an apple orchard. They all enjoyed the day. When they got home Scout would not move to jump out of the car. Steve lifted her out and she could not walk. They took her to the emergency vet and the vet told them that she likely had serious disk problems that would result in a bad prognosis for the future. In addition, she had several areas of bruising/blood along her stomach and mid section that might have also indicated another problem.

It's always hard to lose a dog but these are the circumstances that give us pause. Scout was only five years old. We think the world of Jeanne and Steve; they have been wonderful adopters and active volunteers in our group since they adopted their first greyhound Halima years ago. They truly cherish their dogs.

Needless to say, Steve and Jeanne are beyond devastated. We thank them both for giving Scout the chance at a wonderful life, even though it was cut so short.

Run free sweet Scout; you are loved and will always be remembered.

Rainbow Bridge - AB Benedict Joe (Benny)

September 22, 2003 - October 18, 2011

We are sad to report that yet another wonderful greyhound has succumbed to osteo. We got the word from Holly and Mike Miller that their beloved Benny was lost to bone cancer that involved his leg. The cancer was pervasive and painful; they decided to let Benny go since it had progressed to restricting his life. This was a hard decision to make, but they made it in Benny's best interest.

Holly and Mike and their children adopted Benny in early 2008. They are a young family with young children and they had no fenced in yard. What would normally have been an adoption application that would have been turned down, Holly and Mike seemed to be very responsible and they convinced us that they would take good care of any greyhound they adopted. They not only took wonderful care of Benny, but they serve as the example of why we still process adoption applications on a case by case basis. Benny would have missed a wonderful home and we would have missed knowing such great people had we not given them a chance.

Benny was loved dearly by his family. He was a very laid back and easy going greyhound that loved the attention and he got along famously with the children. He had a wonderful home, although it was not for as long as we all would have liked.

We thank Holly and Mike for their love and devotion to a very special hound. Although Benny will be greatly missed by many, we are grateful that he had a chance to be so happy.

Godspeed Benny.

Help FFGR, Inc. - Special Sale!

Want to help FFGR, Inc.? Save up to 75% at Petsmart during their annual Halloween Sale! Save up to 75% on all Halloween costumes, Toys & Treats! Offer Valid between October 20 and October 31. All you have to do is go to the above link and anything you buy on line will help us as we will automatically get a percentage of the sale.

Happy Halloween!

Rainbow Bridge - Lobble (Fitzgerald)

May 5, 2003 - October 12, 2011

We are so sad to report that Kip and J.D. (long time adopters and volunteers) lost their beloved greyhound, Fitzgerald, yesterday. We had been communicating recently with them as they wanted to adopt Merlot, one of our available brood seniors. We had made plans to take Merlot to them Thursday. Wednesday evening, they had a vet appointment for Fitz to check on a limp he had developed lately. Fitz had corns in the past and Kip and J.D. thought that he had another corn. However, the vet visit resulted in a diagnosis of bone cancer. Fitz had also lost weight so that in addition to the x-rays revealed that the cancer had invaded other organs of the body. It was devastating news for both Kip and J.D.

They struggled with the ramifications of the diagnosis and just what they would do with this news. After a lot of soul searching and talking, they decided that it was in Fitz's best interest to let him go. They did not want to risk him breaking the leg or having him live in pain. They made the appointment with their vet.

Yesterday they gave Fitz the entire day. They took him for a short walk, a car ride (which he loved!), gave him his favorite food and treats, etc. They and their two other hounds accompanied Fitz to the vet where they all spent their last minutes together saying goodbye. Fitz passed peacefully to the bridge surrounded by everyone we knew.

This was a hard and painful decision but they felt that this was in Fitz's best interest not to allow him to become sicker and feel any more pain.

Kip and J.D. adopted Fitzgerald in 2006. He was more than a pet; he was a true member of the family. Fitz was quite the character - a wonderful sweetheart of a dog that loved everyone and was loved by everyone who met him. He had a long nose with an overbite and teeth that showed, giving him a permanent smile. But he smiled at everyone because he love everyone. He was a wonderful meet and greet dog and a great embassadog for greyhound adoption.

We know that Fitz will be greatly missed by his family. But we also know that he had the best home. Fitz was eight years old in May of this year.

Rest in peace sweet boy; you were greatly loved.

Rainbow Bridge - Ballet's Baby (Baby)

October 28, 1998 - October 10, 2011

We are sad to report that one of our adopters lost a beloved hound. We got an email from Chris Ankrum last night informing us that Baby had passed on to the Rainbow Bridge. Recently she was not able to eat well and kept getting sicker and sicker. Baby and Jack (Baby's long time companion) were Craiger's List dogs after we took them in from a group in Pennsylvania that asked for help. At the time Baby was eleven years old. She would have been thirteen years old at the end of this month.

I'll never forget the trip to pick her and Jack up (around September 2009). I was shocked at their appearance. At the time the woman who had met me with them was brushing tons of hair off Baby. It was all over the parking lot. We loaded both dogs into my van along with several boxes of their belongings. It took me less than a minute to learn that both dogs had very rotten teeth and were very dirty.

I had to drive home with the windows open. When I got them home the first thing I did was bathe them. I looked over their meager and filthy belongings and tearfully threw every single thing out. I can only imagine what their lives must have been like for so long. Baby lost another ton of hair in the week after her bath but smelled better; her fur got soft and smooth. I made vet appointments for them as they had no vet records and had not had vaccinations for over three years. Both dogs had dentals. They both lost multiple teeth. But with each day they looked better and I know they began to feel better getting those rotten teeth out.

Baby was such a sweetheart, quiet and submissive. She was never any trouble at all here. We placed them on Craiger's List. They spent some time here and it was a pleasure having them as our guests. But Chris Ankrum and his wife, Quinn, who at the time lived in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, spotted them on Craiger's List and asked to meet them. Chris brought his other greyhound, Phinn, with him and together they decided to adopt Jack and Baby.

Chris always kept in touch with us about Baby and Jack and even after they moved to Texas. It's with a sad heart that we report that they lost Baby. But the small amount of their lives that Chris and his wife devoted to Baby comprised a huge and wonderful part of her life. Her best years, we're sure, were with Chris and Quinn. They are our heroes.

Rest in peace beautiful Baby; you were greatly loved.

News - Milestone for FFGR, Inc.

Thanks to all of our adopters and volunteers! We've now reached a milestone! We have placed 400 greyhounds since we established our group six years ago! Now, on to the next milestone!!!

The Race Video - September

Thanks to our many supporters and adopters, our video, The Race, was one of the top five videos (out of 41 other greyhound adoption organizations) watched during the month of September! This is the second month in a row. The video is located at the bottom of our Craiger's List web page. We hope more people will access Craiger's List and look at all the wonderful dogs that are looking for forever homes! See our video below!

Health and Medical - Finding a Veterinarian

The following article was written by one of our adopters, Helen Coleman. We hope that it will be helpful:

Most of us that have been greyhound owners for years know how frustrating it can be to find a greyhound-savvy vet that will LISTEN to what you, as the owner, have to say about your dog’s problems and your observations. Recent threads on some of the forums encouraged me to share some insight into this subject. Here are some of the rules that I live by which have been compounded over many years of dealing with vets that say "Oh, I know greyhounds, I vetted them in college." The truth of that statement is - they used greyhounds as the examples and test dogs for the students to practice their various skills. Because greyhounds are mostly docile and compliant, they make great dogs to use as "subjects". This does NOT mean that every vet that went to college KNOWS greyhounds and their health issues.

When you search for a new greyhound-savvy vet, referrals from other greyhound owners or your adoption group representatives are your best resources. Everyone likes their vet for different reasons. Not every vet will match every owner’s expectations. As an example – One vet I know is a fantastic orthopedic vet and a remarkably caring person. He has better than average diagnostic skills but his specialty (and they all have their areas) is orthopedics. He will spend time digging to find out what the problem is and go the extra mile to diagnose an ailment. Another vet is a diagnostician extraordinaire but his bedside manner is a wee bit lacking. If you can understand that he is more concerned about your dog than your feelings, he may be the vet for you. Both of these vets are excellent greyhound vets and have many years of experience in vetting and doing surgery on the greyhounds. Our local personal vet has been vetting greyhounds for over twenty years and loves them as a breed and is very knowledgeable about their particular issues. However, she is very quick to refer you to a specialist if it is out of the ordinary realm of her knowledge. All of these people "listen" when you tell them what is wrong with your dog. They will ask you lots of questions about behavior, habits, normal daily routine and out of the ordinary things that your dog does.

When you adopt your dog, you are given a set of paperwork in your adoption packet that provides details about particular medical idiosyncrasies specific to the greyhound. When I take a new dog to any vet, I always take along a set of this paperwork and hand it to the vet. After all these years, my vets give me a look but my response is this - “I am required to give this to you by the adoption group. As part of the contract I signed, I am to provide this to you to be certain that you understand everything that is different about the greyhound. This info is updated constantly with new and important info that you may find useful. Please read this, otherwise, I am in violation of my adoption contract." You will be amazed at how many vets will then give the paperwork at least a once over. That is the start of your relationship with your vet. Make it very clear that you as the owner are planning on being an integral part of any care and treatment they plan to administer to your greyhound. If the vet you visit has a problem with this idea, then you need to find another vet who will understand your decision to be involved. Veterinarians are human; they are not gods. Sometimes, they need to be reminded that they are our employees when we visit them, not the other way around. If you start off on the right understanding with your vet, chances are your relationship will be a rewarding one for all concerned. It may take a few visits to different vets to find the right one for you and your pet. In the end, it will be well worth the effort for your greyhound.

When your greyhound is having a problem and your vet will not/does not return your call or does not seem to want to talk to you about the issues, by all means seek another opinion or search for a new vet. Your dog’s health is the most important thing to you and it should be to whatever vet you choose as well.

Event - Middletown Heritage Festival

We are very excited to have been invited to be a vendor and participant at the Middletown Heritage Festival in Middletown, Maryland. Each year the town of Middletown holds a large well attended festival to celebrate the town's history. Our organization will be on hand for the celebration for the first time. We are looking forward to having our greyhounds present to meet and greet the public as well as to talk to people about greyhound adoption. This promises to be a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about greyhounds! Join us and thousands of others for this special event!

We also have received a GREYT donation from the Hollow Creek Golf Course. They have donated two rounds of golf (and use of cart) for use any day Monday through Thursday. This package is valid until December 2013! We will be raffling this package off at the festival. If you love golf (or know someone who does), we are selling the tickets for $1 each or $5 for six. Contact Hettie at 301-416-2028 if you want to purchase tickets for this raffle (if you cannot make it to the festival). Remember, Christmas is just around the corner and this package may make a great gift for that golfer in your family!

We hope to see you at the festival! For more details about this event, click on the title of this post.

Event - GPA Maryland Picnic

Our organization was invited to vend at the annual Greyhound Pets of America, Maryland Chapter, Saturday, September 17. Although the day was a bit on the drizzly side, the crowds were plentiful and there was a wonderful festive atmosphere!

For the second year we set up our tent and sold our inventory to lots of nice people. The favorite of the day was the fleece Raven hound coat! We could have sold a LOT of those! Everyone also liked our assortment of unique greyhound figurines, vintage one-of-a-kind jewelry and, of course, our concrete garden statues! We also raffled off a vintage racing silk from the Pueblo, Colorado Race Track that is now closed. That was a popular raffle item.

We are grateful for being given the opportunity to vend at this event and each year we meet and make new friends and see our old friends. We all enjoyed meeting all the beautiful hounds. We saw a few "adopt me" jackets come off the dogs as the dogs got a home!

Thanks again to the greyt folks at GPA Maryland for this opporunity!! Rooooos to you all!

Rainbow Bridge - Flying Alysheba (Sheba)

March 1, 2000 - September 18, 2011

It's with great sadness that we report the loss of a wonderful senior girl, Sheba. Sheba was a wonderful eleven year old greyhound that had been returned to another group when her owner could no longer care for her. We offered to bring her to Maryland (along with her companion Shadow) and find her a home via Craiger's List. Isaac and Jeff read their story and description on line and asked if they could meet both dogs. They brought their two hounds (Azalea and Grant) out for a visit and it didn't take long to know that this would be one greyt family of hounds! We were thrilled that Sheba found her truly forever home - and it couldn't have been more perfect. Sheba was the diva of the family, always in the middle of everything.

Isaac reported that Sheba started going downhill late last week and her symptoms seemed to indicate a possible pinched nerve in the neck. However, she never got any better and kept declining. The vet doesn't know for sure what exactly caused her death, but she passed on to the Rainbow Bridge early Sunday morning.

We fostered Sheba for awhile until she went to her forever home with Isaac and Jeff. She was such a sweet senior girl and was gentle and loving. Although we were sad that she and her companion Shadow lost their long time home, she got the very best home with Isaac and Jeff who doted on her (and Shadow)and loved her greatly.

She will be missed by many in our group who met her. Last year she and Shadow were at our FFGR, Inc. party at Dewey Beach. We think that Sheba was a lucky girl to have such a wonderful and loving home at the time of her life when she needed it the most. We are grateful to Isaac and Jeff for giving her the home she had. They are truly special people.

Run free baby girl. You were so loved.

Yard Sale Recap

No one would have guessed, when it was suggested back in the early part of the summer that we hold a yard sale to earn funds for our hounds, that it would be such a huge success. Yard sales are "iffy" fund raisers. A lot depends on the weather, the types of items that are being sold and how many people show up to buy things.

But our fundraising yard sales can be described as a GREYT success! We know why. First, so many people where involved in this project that the work was minimal and very easy. So many people donated so many items that it took a large car hauling trailer to hold them all! And the donations kept coming. All donations were extremely nice, clean and items that almost anyone would want to buy. People really came through with wonderful donations that were way better than expected.

Next, everyone joined in to publicize the sale and organize items for sale. The organization was spot on in every aspect. By the day of the sale, all items were organized into groups that made it easy for shoppers to see. So many volunteers turned out to help that no one had that much work to do.

We found that people were more willing to purchase items and pay more (as a donation) to help out when they knew that the sale was to benefit a non-profit. Many people did not purchase anything but gave a donation anyway.

Items that were left over from the first sale were packed away and organized. For the second sale (during Boonsboro Days) all items were very easily unwrapped and set up. The second sale provided a means for us to sell what little was remaining from the first sale and it worked like a charm. People again were generous and not only bought to help our organization and the hounds, but many again made donations willingly.

At the end of this project we ended up making close to $2,500 and had so little left that we will sell that on Ebay. It involved very little work which made this a wonderful project. Therefore, nothing has gone to waste.

We know that this project would not have been as successful without the help of all our volunteers. We thank everyone for making this fund raiser such a huge success. Everyone had so much fun that we are talking about another yard sale next year!

Rainbow Bridge - Ricky

We received a sad email from Lynne and George Yourick recently. They informed us that Ricky, their beloved greyhound, lost his battle with osteo. Ricky is a dog that Bill and I fostered for a very long time back when we were working for a group that no longer is in business.

Ricky came into our house right off the hauler with two other dogs in early 2002. All three came here and got the usual treatment. All were kept outside and brought in one at a time to be bathed and cleaned up. That is because they were all crawling with fleas and were filthy coming straight from the kennels. That was the norm back then.

Ricky had terrible flea dermatitis and had open sores and scabs all over him. He was missing a lot of hair. He was so thin. Bill and I remember that day as it was sad to see dogs in such awful condition. Ricky stayed with us for at least a couple of months as that was when the group we were working for started to go downhill and did not do as many meet and greet events or adoptions.

Ricky accompanied me on a regular basis to my new part time retirement job working in an antique mall. He loved being there and the customers loved visiting with him. Over the months that he lived with us he filled in nicely and his coat began to shine (in addition to his beautiful eyes). We were worried that Ricky would never find his forever home (he was not cat safe) but figured that, if he didn't, he could stay with us.

But Lynne and George came along and met Ricky and that was it. They fell in love with him and the rest is history. Later Lynne and George adopted another greyhound from our new group (WVs Zagnut) and he recently lost his battle with cancer.

Shorty after Zagnut went to the bridge, Ricky was also diagnosed with osteo (in early August). Lynne and George decided to go with pain management because of Ricky's age. He was twelve in April.

We know that Ricky took awhile to find his forever home. But that is because he was waiting for Lynne and George to come along. He could not have gotten a better home.

Ricky has always been close to our hearts because he was here with us so long. We share in the grief of his loss. But we are gratified that Ricky had such a good home with two people who truly gave him all that any greyhound should have and deserves.

Run free Ricky and know that you were loved greatly.

Rainbow Bridge - Chessie

We are sorry to report that one of our adopters and volunteers has lost her beloved greyhound to cancer. Although Chessie was not adopted through our group, she was ever so much a part of our FFGR, Inc. extended family. We received the following email about Chessie from Anne Celeste (and Helen Coleman) recently:

It never ceases to amaze me how the loss of one animal can leave such a huge hole in a home. It is with sad heart, that I must report the loss of our dear Chessie Belle (8 year old)brindle female that left us for the Rainbow Bridge 11:30 p.m. Sunday evening. Chessie fractured her hip in a freak accident at home. While the hip was repairable, the cause was not…Osteosarcoma. There was no warning, few signs (none attributable to osteo), and the shock has left us dazed and heartbroken.

When Chessie first came to us she was fearful of being touched or restricted in any way. You could admire her from afar but to hold her close or even be petted was torture to her. We loved her on her terms until one day out of the blue, Chessie came over demanding to get her share of affection! We were thrilled to say the least. Over the years, Chessie and Jetta Sue (our other greyhound)formed an alliance, a sisterhood of sorts. They could read each other’s thoughts and with one glance, would begin a charge to the back yard as though words had been spoken. If one of them went to the door, the other would magically appear a few seconds later from a different part of the house. A secret language, we had only begun to understand.

Chessie had lots of love pent up inside of her and recently she began to share it with her family and friends. Unka Bill was her savior and he always saw that she got a tidbit or two from meals. Her signals were very vague, when she came to you, you might think she wanted to be petted but in truth she was telling you she needed to go outside. Undemanding, loving, gentle, and always smiling, only begin to describe this special girl.

It near broke my heart to hold her magnificent head in my lap, communicating to her through my hands the love we shared, as she gently slipped away to begin her next journey. Please join me in wishing Chessie Belle a swift and safe journey to the Bridge.

Chessie Belle, you take with you the most valuable thing I own, THE PIECE OF MY HEART THAT BELONGS ONLY TO YOU. Fly free our sweet darling. We shall meet again when all things have been made equal and we both trod the paths at the Rainbow Bridge. Parting is such a sorrow but the loving and knowing you sweetens the bitterness of our loss.

Run free sweet Chessie; you were greatly loved.

The Race Video

Thanks to our many supporters and adopters, our video, The Race, was one of the top five videos (out of 41 other organizations) watched during the month of August! The video is located at the bottom of our Craiger's List web page. We hope more people will access Craiger's List and look at all the wonderful dogs that are looking for forever homes! See our video below!

Help FFGR, Inc. This Labor Day Holiday!

This holiday weekend, you can discover huge savings at the PetSmart Labor Day Sale! Save 50% on select items during the Petsmart Labor Day Sale and a portion of your purchases will go to our organization. Just click on the banner below and you will automatically go to our Petsmart Affiliate link where you can order on line and save money as well! You do not need to do anything and you will not receive any messages. The link is exclusively ours and the sales will automatically be added to our account.

The sale ends September 5 so don't delay!! Thanks for your support!

Mister - A Real Hound Hero!

The following is a story written by Dee Stevenson about her senior hound Mister. Dee adopted Mister last fall after being returned to our group through no fault of his own. Everyone loves Mister and we are all happy that he found such a wonderful home with someone who appreciates what a greyt dog he is. But the bond between Mister and Dee was proven recently when Mister warned Dee of a potential house fire. (Dee also recently adopted King, another sweet senior hound.) This is a heartwarming story that proves what we already know about these wonderful dogs:


I have a story to share with all of you about my boy, Mister.
I'll need to give you a bit of back ground so you can fully understand the order of events that took place just this past Sunday morning. I have my boyz, Mister and King on a schedule due to working. We get up around 5:00 am so we can all go for a nice walk that usually last about 45 minutes. When we return home, I make them breakfast. They're always hungry after their morning walk. Afterward, they curl up on their beds and sleep while I get ready for work. Before I leave, the last thing I do is take them around the block one more time. When we get back home, I give them each a treat (because they are such good boyz), a big ole hug and a kiss goodbye. Then I'm off to the office.

No Matter how hard I try to get them to understand weekends are good for sleeping in just a bit.They don't seem to care. I've even tried to get them to understand the difference between the words "work day" and "mommy day"... During the week when I get up I say "Good morning handsome boyz. Today's a work day and mommy has to go to work". On weekends I get up and say "Good morning my handsome boyz, today's a mommy day and we get to spend the day together". They wag their tails just the same everyday regardless of what I say. Oh well, I guess I can't have it all... Back to the reason for this story.

This past Sunday morning as we all know, it was dark, dreary and raining because of the huricane. It would have been a great day to sleep in, at least until 7 or 8:00. But that wasn't going to happen at my house. Mister decided he was ready for his walk at 4:45 and wasn't willing to postpone it at all. After throwing on a pair of jeans and t-shirt the boyz and I went walking. When we got home, I dried them off from the rain and made their breakfast. Since I was up, I thought I would get started on my weekend chores. I had poured myself a glass of ice tea which emptied the pitcher so I filled a large pan with water and put the tea bags in to brew. Then I put in a load of laundry. After having the house closed up for most of the summer due to the heat, I thought it would be a great day to open a few windows to let some fresh air in. I even put small window fan in the dinning room window drawing air out to help pull the fresh air in the other windows. I decided to work on some homework so I went to the den where I opened my laptop and logged into my class. By this time the boyz were both sound asleep on their beds. King was on his back with all 4 legs going in all four directions, his mouth open and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Mister was stretched out on his side with his head totally off his bed, his mouth was open and he was actually snoring a bit.

After working for a while my eyes began to get very heavy so I laid my head back and drifted off to sleep. Although I didn't actually wake up, I heard Mister jump up from his bed and run to the kitchen. In my half waken state, I simply figued he heard Molly or Waggs (my shih tzu's) and went to see what they were doing. But in just a matter of seconds he was back in the den staring at me and making a strange noise. Without opening my eyes I told him to be a good boy and go back to his nap. He left the den and just a few seconds later he was back again. This time he pushed his entire head under my arm and started pulling on it. I finally opened my eyes and told him to stop because he was going to cause me to drop my laptop off my lap. He was relentless and for the first time totally ignored my instuction. The tone of my voice became more firm and again I told him it wasn't time to go out yet, we had not been back from the first walk long enough for his coat to fully dry. As my voice became more firm, so did he! He then started hitting me with his front paw. Needless to say, this caught me by surprise. I removed the laptop from my lap and stood to see what was bothering him. When I stood, I could smell something burning. I immediately thought the fan motor had overheated due to the wind blowing against it. I went to the dinning room, which was filled with smoke and turned off the fan. But the smoke was not coming from there. Something was burning somewhere in my house and the smoke was bellowing out of my kitchen! When I got there, the large pan I had filled with water and tea bags had boiled dry and was now on fire. I grabbed it, tossed it in the sink and turned on the water. I couldn't believe I had forgotten all about it being on the stove. Through all of this, my Mister NEVER left my side. He was against my legs the entire time like he was making sure he protected me. Needless to say I hugged and kissed him as I thanked him from the bottom of my heart.

Because the fan was in the dinning window, it was pulling the smoke out the window enough to keep it from coming out to my den. If not for Mister, I could have continued to sleep and I could have lost my entire kitchen or worse...

Through it all... my cutie boy King never woke. As a matter of fact he was in the same position when I returned to the den as he was when I left...bless his heart.

Needless to say.. I'm very proud of my boy Mister... he's my HERO!
I'm so blessed to have both my boyz in my life.

Events - Get Ready for September!

If you wanted to attend our events in August but couldn't for one reason or another, then you may want to check out our Calendar of Events for September! We not only have our regularly scheduled meet and greet events listed on our calendar, but we have a number of new events that you might want to check out. We will update this news blog prior to each event with all the details. However, if you want to mark your calendars for the month, just click on the title of this post that will take you directly to our events calendar.

We thank all of our many volunteers for working so willingly and hard on behalf of our hounds! You just don't talk the talk, you walk the walk!

Life at a Greyhound Track

If you have never been to a greyhound track and wonder what your adopted retired racer's life was like we have some great information for you! We constantly talk to potential adopters about how well trained a greyhound is when it is racing. These wonderful athletes are familiar with routine and know what to expect. They are amazing creatures; therefore, we need to honor their past as well as enjoy them as pets. We are now asking those who apply to adopt from our organization to watch a slide show on what life was like at the track. We think that this will help people to understand their dogs when they go into their new homes. We have also added the link to the slide show on our Greytlinks page of our web site and will include it on other pages of our web site as well for people researching the breed before adoption.

We hope that you enjoy this show and learn something from it. You can access the link to the slide show by clicking on the title of this post.

Event - K-9's in the Vines

The Animal Welfare League of Frederick County has invited our organization to participate in their fund raising event - K-9's in the Vines, Sunday, August 21, from 1:00 p.m. until 5 p.m.. Register at the door and it will entitle you to wine tastings, door prizes, a silent auction, dog games and activities, savings on purchases of wines, live music and lots of fun! In addition, a professional pet photographer will be available to photograph your favorite pet.

Our volunteers will be available to talk to people about greyhound adoption. We will have greyhounds available to meet. Come out and have fun with us and help the AWLFC!!

Linganore Winecellars is located at 13601 Glissans Mill Road, Mount Airy, Maryland.

Event - Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A

Come catch the FFGR, Inc. spirit! Our group will be participating in Chick-fil-A's Spirit Night. It's an opportunity presented to us by Chick-fil-A to help non-profit organizations like ours earn money (and have fun in the process!).

We will be at the Chick-fil-A (at 1005 Foxcroft Avenue) in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Saturday evening (August 20) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. During that time, anyone coming into the restaurant and presenting a coupon for our group when they eat will help us. Chick-fil-A will donate 20% of the proceeds to our group!

The folks at Chick-fil-A have been really supportive and helpful. They gave us 500 leaflets with coupons to hand out. Ashley Lake, who has been in charge of this event, has been handing out hundreds to businesses in the Martinsburg area with great success! She has been on the go for weeks now! We have been handing out the leaflets at our meet and greet event as well. We have handed out almost all of the leaflets!

Our volunteers are also permitted to be at the restaurant and we are also permitted to have our greyhounds there! One of our volunteers will be wearing the Chick-fil-A cow costume and he will be waving at people as they come in to eat (and hopefully convincing people out on the street to come in as well!).

We will be able to talk to customers about greyhound adoption if they approach our table. If you would like to come and help out our group but don't have a coupon, please come and stop at our table. We will have extra coupons for those who request one. We will also have coupons available at our regularly scheduled meet and greet at the Martinsburg Petsmart. Stop in on Saturday, August 20, between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. We hope to hand out many more coupons there as well.

For more information, go to our web site Calendar of events. Come on by and catch the spirit!!

Event - Yard Sale Success!

Thanks to all of our GREYT volunteers, adopters, friends, family members, supporters and the public, our yard sale was a wonderful success!

For weeks we collected items to sell at the yard sale and we made sure that we advertised it well. By the day of the sale, we had collected enough items to fill an entire trailer! The sale was held at the home of Jo and CL Long and they pulled out all the stops to make sure everything was done well. Jo and CL not only donated the use of their entire back yard and property along a very well traveled road, but they gave us full run of the property to store all the yard sale items prior to the sale. They provided us with the trailer and gave all of our volunteers access to it so sale items could be dropped off any time. The also brought out the grill and made all of the volunteers lunch. Thanks to another generous neighbor, another flat bed trailer was made available to display sale items.

The tables for our sale were loaned to us by the wonderful folks at the Frederick County Humane Society; they have been a true supporter of our organization from the beginning. The tables all came in handy when we started setting our merchandise as they filled up quickly1

The yard was perfect for nearly 20 hounds that visited to run in and they all had a blast! We also had a delivery of two new hounds from Florida. We were so busy the day of the yard sale that several volunteers (who live some distance from us) helped bring our hounds to us. Thanks to Connie and Steve who picked them up in Ashland, VA (in the middle of the night no less), and to John and Mary who met them in Fredericksburg, VA and brought them up to our location. We are so grateful for this help, especially considering that these volunteers live so far away and were happy to drive long distances to help out the hounds.

There are so many volunteers who went out of their way to help out and donate so much to our sale. Thanks to all who donated so much. We also thank those who paid for the advertising, who made signs, who worked the day of the sale, etc. Everyone played a huge part in making this yard sale such a success.

In spite of a questionable weather forecast, the storms and rain hit all around us but not on us! At the end of the day we made $1,750, WAY more than we ever anticipated!

We are looking forward to our next events! ROOOOOOS to all of our wonderful volunteers!!!!

Event - Multi Family Yard Sale!

Get ready for a "REALLY BIG" yard sale! Our volunteers have been collecting items for several weeks and we have to say that we now have enough to call this yard sale extraordinary! We have all been filling a large hauling trailer to the brim! And we are still collecting more!

Our yard sale will be held at the home of Jo and CL Long at 6794 Stonewall Court West
Adamstown, Maryland. The yard sale will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 13.

This is a major fund raiser for our group. It will also be a chance for people and hounds to get together. Jo and CL have a beautifully landscaped yard (nearly three acres of level grass!) that hounds will LOVE! We will have a number of x-pens and resting places under trees for all hounds that wish to come along with their adopters while the sale is going on.

Jo and CL live along a major route in Maryland and lots of traffic will be available to lure in to buy, buy, buy.

Unlike other typical yard sales, there will be a huge assortment of new items as well as collectibles. Here is a partial list of items that are available for sale:

New lawn mower
Two new in the box child's mountain bikes (one for a girl and one for a boy)
Wedgewood place settings
Chinese porcelain place settings complete with salt and pepper, butter dish and numerous serving pieces
Large Boyds Bear collection
Many new and slightly used tools in boxes
Antique farm related items
Antique Tools
Furniture (like new)
Dog crates
Many like new small kitchen appliances (all work)
Electronics (all work)
Portable soft sided dog crate (new)
Tommy the Train play table
Books
Many video tapes and CDs (children's)
New curtains, towels
Many many new dog related items

If you would like to donate any items to the yard sale, it's not too late! Just call Jo at 301-874-5911 and you can make arrangements to drop items off at the trailer. Some of our items will be priced, but most will be available to buy for whatever donation one wants to give. If you want to donate items the day of the sale, please bring them by.

All sales benefit Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. Come out and have a good time, meet our hounds and get a GREYT bargain!

Event - New Meet and Greet

Dogs and Company, located in Columbia, Maryland is a specialty store that focuses on the health and nutrition of pets. They also advocate for the adoption of pets; therefore, they invited our organization to host a special meet and greet in their store to talk about greyhound adoption! We will be at the store Saturday, August 6, from noon until 2:00 p.m. You can look for us near the Canine Cafe.

Our volunteers will be present (along with adopted and available greyhounds)to visit with customers and talk about what great pets greyhounds make. In addition to several adopted hounds, three of our greyhounds looking for a home will be with our volunteers. Sid, Misty and Bart (or Bishop) will be available for people to meet. You can get more information on all of our available dogs by going to the Featured Dogs page of our web site. You can get information on Dogs and Company as well as the address and directions by clicking on the title of this post. Come out and visit us at this special event!

Rainbow Bridge - Quiet Laurie (Rose)

December 29, 2007 - July 23, 2011

We at FFGR, Inc. are devastated to report that a very young greyhound was lost recently to an unknown cause. Rose was only three years old. She got sick and within a day or two she was gone. She collapsed in her family's home and the vet could not revive her. Jamie and Brian Nichter adopted Rose in January of this year.

Jamie and her family have another greyhound and Rose was the second hound they adopted from our group. Their children (and the rest of the family) are very sad and upset.

Rose was a gorgeous blue brindle girl that loved everyone. In fact, when we placed her on our Available Dogs page, we got numerous inquiries about her and a lot of people wanted to adopt her. Jamie contacted us about adopting a second greyhound but never asked for a certain dog. They asked us to find them a dog that would fit into their family. We thought that they deserved to have Rose because she was so special.

We always are sad to learn of a greyhound passing on to the Rainbow Bridge but we are especially saddened to learn of such a young dog losing her life so soon.

We know that Rose got the chance for a wonderful and most loving home. She was truly a lucky dog. Even though her time with the Nichters was cut off way too short, Rose had the home that we at FFGR, Inc. always hope for when we place a greyhound.

Run free sweet Rose; you have lots of friends at the Bridge.

Events - Special Upcoming Events!

For those of you who follow our News Blog, we want you to know that we have some GREYT special events coming up in August! We will be posting about all of these events as we get closer to each one, but we wanted to let you know that there are a lot of opportunities to get together with FFGR, Inc. and have some fun (that is, outside of our regularly scheduled meet and greet events). All of these events are already posted on our Calendar of Events for August; if you are interested in attending any/all, you can get more information (along with specific addresses and site links) by going to each event's listing.

Saturday, August 6: We will be hosting a very special meet and greet event. The folks at Dogs and Company in Columbia, Maryland, invited us to come in with our hounds and talk to their customers about greyhound adoption. We will have a number of volunteers at this event in addition to most of our hounds looking for homes. This event will start at noon. Stop by to say hello and meet our hounds. This promises to be a very exciting event since we have a lot of volunteers coming and the store employees and manager has been awesome about advocating on our behalf!

Saturday, August 13: Our organization is having a HUGE FFGR, Inc. family yard sale at the home of Jo and CL Long in Adamstown, Maryland. All of our volunteers have been collecting items to sell for some time; we have almost filled a whole trailer! The yard sale starts a 9 a.m. and will run until 5 p.m. Jo and CL have a three-acre, fenced-in property; this nice yard will be available for all volunteers to bring their hounds to have a good time while we make money for the hounds. If you want to be involved or have items to sell, please call Jo at 301-874-5911. They can make arrangements to have you drop off to the trailer any time. The more we have the more we will sell. We hope that you will come by and see what we have and say hello! As always, all that we sell goes directly to helping the hounds!!

Saturday, August 20: Join FFGR, Inc. at a fun event and another fund raising opportunity! Our volunteers will be at the Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant in Martinsburg, West Virginia for Spirit Night! Come to Chick-fil-A and eat dinner between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and 20% of the sales will be donated to FFGR, Inc.! We will have a number of volunteers at this event along with information about our greyhounds. We will be able to speak with people about greyhound adoption. In addition, one of our volunteers will be wearing the Chick-fil-A cow costume to help bring people into the restaurant! This event promises to be a LOT of fun! Come out and have dinner with us and earn money for the hounds at the same time!

Keep checking back for more information as we get closer to the date of each event. Be sure to mark your calendars and help us get through the "dog days of summer!"

Focus on Fosters - Maggie

We love senior dogs!!! And Maggie is a very special senior dog (she will be nine years old August 2). She ran in to some bad luck when her adopters moved into a small town house and could not take her with them. She had been in her home for over five years when suddenly she found herself without a home!

When Maggie came in to our program, she was quite upset as any uprooted dog would be. It took her awhile to relax but when she did, she turned into one of the funniest greyhounds ever! Maggie was used to being the only dog in her house; therefore, when she suddenly found herself surrounded by other dogs in her foster home, she had quite a shock! However, it didn't take her long to decide that this arrangement was quite suitable and even more fun!

Maggie has a very outgoing and happy personality. She has to be in the middle of everything. She certainly knows who she is and is very happy with that! She can walk into a room and light it up. She gets along with all of the other dogs in her foster home, although at times she can get a little snarky if someone invades what she considers her space. It's very short lived; she may grumble a little and get up, turn around, find her spot again and before you know it, everything is just fine.

We enjoy having Maggie here. She brings a lot of laughter and smiles. She loves going outside and heads right up the stairs in the yard to look down on the other dogs. It's as if she is telling everyone that she is the queen!

We decided that, if Maggie was a human being, she would belong to the Red Hat Society! She is a diva in her own right and does just what she pleases. Fortunately for everyone, it includes making everyone laugh out loud.

Maggie is totally up to date on all of her shots. She has all of her teeth (Yay!) and her recent senior blood panel came back just perfect. She is supposed to be cat safe, but we have not done any testing.

We love Maggie and we hope that some special person will notice her and give her that real "forever" home she so deserves. She is on Craiger's List on our web site.

Special Needs Hounds Available Now

In 2008, our organization established Craiger's List . Craiger's List is named in honor of a very special greyhound that graced our lives for a wonderful, but all-to-brief, period of time. Craiger died of lymphoma shortly after his third birthday. He touched us deeply and permanently. We wanted others to know how giving a special dog a home can be so rewarding. Craiger will always be in our hearts and we hoped that by giving other special needs and/or overlooked dogs a chance for a loving home, that we would honor Craiger's life. We work with other groups, adoption kennels, racing kennels, farms and even people who cannot keep their special needs hounds. These dogs are placed on Craiger's List and we look for forever homes for them. All people adopting a greyhound from Craiger's List are experienced greyhound adopters and make a lifelong commitment to the hound they adopt.

Although we have worked hard and have found homes for hundreds of greyhounds since our group was established, we have had our most satifisying experience finding homes for the hounds we placed on Craiger's List. We have always felt that the "overlooked" dogs also deserved a chance. Therefore, in 2009, we enhanced our mission to work hard on behalf of these deserving animals and concentrated more on finding homes for those left behind. There are many people who can talk about how fulfilling their adoption of special needs hounds has been and we have met many wonderful people in the process who understand that the best dogs are sometimes the ones that get overlooked.

When Craiger's List dogs are placed, the ENTIRE adoption fee is sent as a donation directly to the Morris Animal Foundation, Greyhound Project, which researches cancer. To date our group has found homes for 55 greyhounds from the list and donated $9,525 to the Morris Animal Foundation on behalf of cancer research!!!!!

You can click on the title of this post if you want to see the greyhounds that we currently have available for adoption. If you are interested in any of these special hounds, please fill out our adoption application and note the name of the dog that you would like to adopt. We will contact you to discuss your application. These are all wonderful dogs and they deserve special homes. We require that all potential adopters be knowledgeable about dogs in general and greyhounds specifically. In some cases, we will provide additional incentives for adoption, but that will be disclosed at the time the adoption is approved. Please give one of these special hounds a chance. We guarantee that you will be rewarded beyond your greatest expectations!! Please note: ALL Craiger's List dogs are fostered before being placed.

Rainbow Bridge - She Didit Herway (Emmy)

January 19, 2002 - May 19, 2011

We are sorry to report that one of our adopters has lost her beloved greyhound. Emmy was diagnosed with a fast-growing and inoperable mass in her abdomen that ended up cutting off her colon and bladder from being able to eliminate waste. She was painlessly euthanized May 19, 2011 after weeks of tests and meds to help.

Meisha Krutar adopted Emmy in September of 2006. Although Meisha is in the military, she always found a way to have Emmy with her no matter where she went. They were constant companions; therefore, Emmy's death has had a big impact on Meisha.

We are sorry that Emmy is gone, but we know that she had the most loving home with a caring and responsible adopter. Meisha is an example of why we do what we do.

Run with the angels sweet girl.

Safety - Fouth of July

The fireworks are coming! According to veterinarians, this is the worst holiday of the year for dogs. Adoption groups see many more reports of runaway dogs than at any other time of the year. Here are some helpful hints:

Check all gates to make sure they are shut and locked. Install self closers on gates to make sure they close properly.

Leash walk dogs inside a fenced in yard until the holiday is over. Even inside a fenced in yard, loud noises can cause a hound to jump and they might clear a fence. A terrified dog can dig, jump or even squeeze out of a small area.

If you have to leash walk, try to schedule the walk when it is less likely that you will encounter the loud noises. Minimize the slack on the leash and keep the hound closer in case he/she panics (keep the hound within grabbing distance).

Supervise during turn outs. Do not leave a hound outside by itself.

Check all collars for wear and tear and make sure your ID tag is on and up to date with accurate phone numbers.

Keep your hound inside as much as possible and cut down on the number of outside breaks.

Under NO circumstances, take your hound to picnics or outdoor events where there are fireworks. Do not assume anything!

Joey wishes everyone a safe and accident free July 4th holiday!

Sum-Sum-Summertime!!!!

Events - New Meet and Greet Location!

Big News! We have a brand New meet and greet event! Come visit with our volunteers and meet our greyhounds at the Germantown Petco in Germantown, Maryland. We will on hand June 25 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. This is a new venue and we plan to be at this store every fourth Saturday of each month. Thanks to Megan Karwan for volunteering to host this new event. The Petco manager and employees are happy to have us join them because we are the only greyhound adoption group that will be using the store for a meet and greet.

If you would like to come out and visit us, the address is 12960 Middlebrook Road #520A, Germantown, Maryland. You can access more information about the location by going to the Petco web site.

Please come out and visit with us and say hello. Our hounds will be glad to see you!

Commentary - Thinking Ahead

When we receive applications to adopt a greyhound, we often find that many people want to adopt a greyhound because "the time is right" for them. If you have adopted a greyhound (whether it's from our group or anywhere else), have you thought of what would happen to your hound if something happened to you?

We have, on occasion, experienced the loss of an adopter and the greyhound has been left without a family or caretaker. Like other groups, we take all of the hounds back that we have adopted if the need arises. But we may not always be around to be the safety net for dogs that have been left behind and we may not be able to help if the family members do not know to contact us to take the dog back.

If you have not thought about who would take your hound(s) if something happens to you, then now is the time!

Here are some suggestions that will help you plan for emergencies and family crises that should help your dogs in the event that you can't care for them any longer:

Most car accidents happen close to home. What would happen if you were in an accident and could not speak? Who would know that you have pets at home? Keep a card in your wallet stating that you have pets at home along with phone numbers of someone who could be contacted. Make sure that person is willing to take care of your pets in the event that you are hospitalized. We also suggest that you keep this same information in the glove box of your car. That way someone has to see it.

If you are on a trip and have an accident and your dogs are being boarded, make sure you carry this information as well. Tell a neighbor or friend who can make arrangments to get your pets out of the kennel in the event that you cannot make it home as planned.

If you have a will, make sure that it mentions your pets and make sure that someone has been appointed as their guardian until they can be placed with a group or other adopter. This will prevent your pets from being taken to a shelter. By all means, make family members aware of the fact that you want your pets cared for in the event of your death. When a death occurs in a family, people often are too grief stricken to make rational decisions regarding pets. They can end up in a shelter or given away to someone who will take them without regard for their well being. Don't allow this to happen to your hound!

Prepare an information sheet about all of your pets and keep it posted on your refrigerator or bulletin board in your kitchen. Make sure all of your pets are listed by name and include information such as type and amount of food they eat, any medications they take, names and phone numbers of veterinarians, names and phone numbers of friends/family members who are willing to take your pets in the event of an emergency.

You can access a document that we posted on the Greytlinks page of our web site to help you prepare for emergencies. Look for "Emergency Planning" under Greyhound Help Links. We thank Nevada Greyhounds Unlimited for giving us permission to use this document. You can also access it by clicking on the title of this post.

We all love our pets. We would never want anything bad to happen to them. But we often over look all the possibilities. Take these important steps so that you will have peace of mind that your pets will have a place to go in the event that you are no longer around to take care of them.

News - Congratulations Badal!

Do greyhounds sit? Of course they do!! Badal had a lot of fun at the beach walking and taking a break by sitting in the sand! Congratulations, Badal, for making it into the summer issue of Celebrating Greyhounds Magazine! Badal was lovingly adopted by Mike and Mary Brown. Badal is an ambassador at two of our meet and greet events each month and everyone who meets him falls in love. Badal has a HUGE fan club and we are happy that he made it to the big time!!

Poem - The World's Need

We found the following poem on a web site recently. Working in the animal adoption world is a tough job as anyone who's been there knows. We all get tired and worn out from having to deal with problems and issues that take us away from the mission we set off to accomplish. We have to keep remembering that it's about the greyhounds that we are trying to help. Sometimes just a simple poem can remind us of how important our work is. We would like to share this poem with our friends. We hope it inspires you like it does us.

The World’s Need

So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs.

I am the voice of the voiceless:
Through me, their hearts shall speak;
Till the deaf world’s ear be made to hear
The cry of the wordless weak.

From lab, from cage and from forests,
From slaughterhouse stalls, come the wail
Of my tortured kin. They proclaim the sin
Of the mighty against the frail.

For love is the true religion,
And love is the law sublime;
And all that is wrought, where love is not
Will die at the touch of time.

Oh, shame on the mothers of mortals
Who have not stopped to teach
Of the sorrow that lies in an animal’s eyes,
The sorrow that has no speech.

The same Power formed the sparrow
That fashioned man – the King;
The God of the whole gave a living soul
To furred and to feathered thing.

And I am my brother’s keeper,
And I will fight his fight;
And speak the word for beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)
American Poet