Event - New Meet and Greet Venue

It's a new year and we have yet another NEW meet and greet venue! The greyt folks at Hearty Pet Retail Store, located at the Premium Outlet Mall in Hagerstown, invited our organization to host a monthly meet and greet event at their store!

Our first meet and greet event is scheduled for Saturday, January 28. Our volunteers and available hounds will be at the store to introduce the customers to greyhounds and to answer questions about adoptions.

We are looking forward to this event. Not only have we been welcomed into the store, but the owners will be donating a goodie bag to ALL of the newly adopted hounds in the coming year! We are very excited and touched by this generosity.

Please come out and visit us and our hounds. The store is located at the Premium Outlet Mall, Prime Outlets Boulevard, Hagerstown, Maryland. We will be there between noon and 2 p.m. See you there!

Thanks Regal Hound Designs!

Thanks to Kelly at Regal Hound Designs for her donation of sixty sets of martingale collars and leashes for our hounds! Kelly has been donating collars and leashes to our group since we were established. All newly adopted hounds go home with a collar and leash made by Kelly.

We are blessed to have such a greyt friend who has worked with us for years by supporting our efforts. We know the amount of work and cost this has been for Kelly. She also supports her local animal rescue groups as well as another greyhound adoption group.

Kelly makes and sells wonderful collars and leashes at very reasonable prices. Many of our adopters shop in Kelly's store and are regular customers. You can see Kelly's merchandise by clicking on the title of this post.

Big rooos to Kelly - a very special person!!!!

Rainbow Bridge - And You Jose (Josie)

November 28, 1999 - January 13, 2012

We are sad to report that another precious greyhound went to the Rainbow Bridge. We got this email from Diane and George (who adopted senior brood mom Desi from our organization):

Yesterday we helped Josie cross the Rainbow Bridge. We only had her for a very short ten months, she was an unexpected return after being in a home for seven years. In November we found out that she had a "something suspicious" on her cervical spine (C3). The pain was being managed well until a few days ago.

Josie started limping on her left rear leg. Back for more X-rays. We found out that she had arthritis in a previously dislocated toe, no sign of bone cancer in her leg. Sadly, we found out that she had a large mass around her liver and spleen that had already displaced other visceral organs.

Josie crossed the bridge lying on her favorite pillow, with her Mommy & Daddy gently holding her and telling her how very much she is loved, and that Vera, Angel, Sally, Cohen, and Bashful are waiting for her.

We have no doubt that Josie was in the most loving home and only knew the people who gave her the best home for the time she had left.

Diane and George are special people because they only adopt senior greyhounds. They know that their time with their hounds may be limited. But they open their hearts to give those dogs the best home and love in the time they have left. They are our special angels who keep our Craiger's List an important part of our work.

Rest is sweet peace Josie.

Event - New Meet and Greet Today!

Join us today for a brand new meet and greet event at the Valu Pet store in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania! We have been invited by the staff at the store to hold a meet and greet there to introduce customers to our organization and discuss adoption. We plan to be on hand from noon to 2 p.m. Our volunteers and hounds will be available to answer questions and to discuss our adoption procedure.

For more details, check out our Calendar of Events on our web site or click on the title of this post for the store web site (for directions to the store).

This will be the first of a monthly event so mark your calendars if you live in the area. We'd love to see you!

Sponsorhip for FFGR, Inc.

We are thrilled to announce that Hearty Pets is teaming up with Precise Pet Products to sponsor our organization! FFGR, Inc. and Hearty Pets are both based in Boonsboro, Maryland. Hearty Pets is an on line pet food store that sells great products for all pets. In October, they expanded their business and opened a retail store located at the Prime Outlets in Hagerstown.

Recently, they contacted our organization about hosting a meet and greet event at their retail store. We were happy with the invitation and are excited to set up a monthly meet and greet event at the store on the fourth Saturday of each month. In addition to inviting us to the store for an event, the folks at Hearty Pets will be sending home, with each hound that we place, a goodie bag filled with all kinds of surprises!

When the representatives for Precise Pet Products learned about our group coming to the Hearty Pets store, they offered to have Precise sponsor our group. Starting this month, all of our hounds in foster care will be supplied with Precise Holistic dog food while in foster care. In addition, each hound going into a home will get a bag of the food.

We are grateful to Hearty Pets and Precise Pet Products for this wonderful offer and are looking forward to a greyt new year thanks to our wonderful benefactors!

New Year - New Meet and Greet Venues!

Big News! We are very fortunate to have been invited to host meet and greet events at TWO new locations! Starting this month, we will be hosting a monthly meet and greet event at the expanded Pet Valu store in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Our event will be held the second Saturday of each month from noon until 2:00 p.m.

We have also been invited to conduct a meet and greet event at the new Hearty Pet Retail store located at the Prime Outlets in Hagerstown, Maryland. This meet and greet event will be monthly - the fourth Saturday of each month - from noon until 2:00 p.m.

As always, our volunteers and hounds will be available to talk to the public about greyhound adoption. When possible, an available hound (or more) will be at these events to meet people.

We are happy to have these additional events to add to our Calendar of Events. For more information on each event and to get information on locations, please check our Calendar of Events. Come on out and visit us too!

Adopter's New Year's Check List

Since the new year has arrived, we thought it would be a good idea to make up a check list of things that would help you get through the year and make sure your hound is safe, healthy, and happy.

_____Always be vigilant and look for signs that your hound is not feeling well. Consider a medical reason for sudden behavior changes first.

_____Use heartworm/flea and tick preventative; add a reminder to your calendar monthly so you don’t forget.

_____Check gate latches daily; place a sign on gates warning contractors or visitors to keep gates closed. Lock gates that are not used daily.

_____Check fence lines for holes and depressions where a hound can crawl or slip through. Make repairs.

_____Check all doors to make sure they close correctly or don’t fly open accidentally. Add a baby gate to doors where a hound can jump out accidentally (i.e., screened doors) when you come and go.

_____Check the yard often to make sure nothing harmful has been dropped or thrown in it that your hound could eat.

_____Make sure your hound does not get too cold or hot outdoors. Be watchful for signs of distress when you are outdoors with your hound.

_____Wash and change water in water bowls frequently and make sure there is always a fresh supply of clean water available.

_____When changing your hound’s food, make sure it’s done slowly and wait an entire month before changing his/her diet again.

_____Check vaccination records and make sure all are up to date; add the date the shots are due on your calendar so that you can make an appointment to see your vet.

_____Make sure that your hound’s teeth are clean; brush teeth often or have their teeth cleaned once a year; check for bad breath which might indicate dental problems.

_____Check collars monthly for wear and tear and loose hardware. Replace worn collars.

_____At all times, keep your own ID tag as well as the FFGR, Inc. ID tag on your hound(s).

_____Inspect leashes often and replace leashes that have slits in them or are fraying.

_____Make sure no tags are on the D-ring that tightens the collar. Use a tag collar or place tags elsewhere where they can’t tighten the collar if they get caught in anything.

_____Check weekly to ensure the collar is adjusted to fit snuggly. Test by bringing the collar up to behind the ears. Pull D-ring to tighten collar. You should be able to place two fingers inside the loop at the dog’s neck.

_____Inspect all toys often and throw away any that are torn. Keep fiberfill from beds and toys away from your hound so it can’t be ingested.

_____When repairing plush toys, use only upholstery or breakable thread; don’t use nylon or polyester thread that, when swallowed, can be caught in the digestive tract.

_____Throw away all rubber toys that can be easily chewed up into small pieces and swallowed.

_____Regularly inspect bones and rawhides; throw away all small and old pieces; replace with new ones.

_____Keep your hound’s nails clipped; don’t allow them to get so long that your hound has a hard time walking. Adhere to a schedule for nail clipping.

_____Check ears monthly to make sure they are clean; watch for scratching and pawing at the ears and head shaking (sign of infection).

_____Check constantly to make sure that any cleaning products, medications, etc. are high up on shelves and out of the way of your hound. Keep counters clear of same.

_____Put together a contingency plan NOW for boarding your hounds, etc. in case an emergency comes up and you have to leave your home immediately.

_____Consider NOW what would happen to your hound(s) in case you get sick, die, have an accident, lose your home, etc. Give the information to someone you trust.

_____Love your hounds as they love you!!!!!!