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Showing posts with label greyhound adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greyhound adoption. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
THE FOSTER BOY
I am currently respite fostering a big, beautiful boy named Jake while his normal foster parents are out of town. He is the most fabulous grey I have met in a long time. (Well aside from my 3, of course.) He is casual, solid, loving, plays with toys, gets along with the other dogs and has settled in well and quickly.
I keep having to tell myself, "You will NOT adopt". It's not working very well at the moment. How am I supposed to help the greyhound group, Southern Arizona Greyhound Adoptions with continual fostering if I keep foster failing? Sigh. I've even told my friend who works with the adoptions for the greyhound group, that at the end of the foster time when I tell her I would like to keep him, she is to deny the request. Which I
don't believe she will do.
The only issue is that he marks in the house when I leave. Even if it is to go outside for an extended period of time. He does not do it when I am home. He uses the dog door and everything. My wonderful dog behaviorist trainer sister, has indicated it is because he is not accustomed to the house and hasn't been in a place permanently, so is a little worried and I just need to crate him when I go out. As his foster mom does. So I did, and no problems while I was gone today. He went right in to the crate and seemed pretty content in there.
I do think it is safe to say he is not small dog or cat tolerant. He went on high alert when a cat strolled across the street 400 feet in front of us on this morning's walk. He also perked up at the crying baby noises from the neighbor's house, and when he saw the goats, chickens and bunnies at a local school.
So, anyone in the Tucson area thinking about adopting a greyhound, he would make a great addition to your family. He is simply wonderful.
I keep having to tell myself, "You will NOT adopt". It's not working very well at the moment. How am I supposed to help the greyhound group, Southern Arizona Greyhound Adoptions with continual fostering if I keep foster failing? Sigh. I've even told my friend who works with the adoptions for the greyhound group, that at the end of the foster time when I tell her I would like to keep him, she is to deny the request. Which I
don't believe she will do.
The only issue is that he marks in the house when I leave. Even if it is to go outside for an extended period of time. He does not do it when I am home. He uses the dog door and everything. My wonderful dog behaviorist trainer sister, has indicated it is because he is not accustomed to the house and hasn't been in a place permanently, so is a little worried and I just need to crate him when I go out. As his foster mom does. So I did, and no problems while I was gone today. He went right in to the crate and seemed pretty content in there.
I do think it is safe to say he is not small dog or cat tolerant. He went on high alert when a cat strolled across the street 400 feet in front of us on this morning's walk. He also perked up at the crying baby noises from the neighbor's house, and when he saw the goats, chickens and bunnies at a local school.
So, anyone in the Tucson area thinking about adopting a greyhound, he would make a great addition to your family. He is simply wonderful.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
NEW ADDITION - ANGEL
Things have been a little different around the house this past week. We have added a new grey to the family! Meet Angel, a youngster of only 2, fresh off the track. Though it appears as though he only ran training races and was cut in the minors, never going pro. He is still in the confused, what's-going-on-here? phase, as he learns our routine, what's expected and that this is a permanent arrangement, but is settling in nicely.
He is destroying the myth that greyhounds don't bark. Whenever he gets excited, it is a deafening racket that can be heard down the block. It could be heard gravel crunching in the driveway, other greyhounds are arriving at playdate or simply that I glanced towards the front door. The smallest things will get him going. (Though he has yet to bark at his reflection in the dining room window like Dru does.) He is also a master singer and has accompanied Willow and Dillon on a various melodies, though he has also performed solo.
He is a snuggler, curling up with me when I am on the couch reading, or taking up as much room in the bed as possible. Human sleeping habits have been drastically modified this week; none of the girls sleep in the bed. The girls knew him before he came into the house, so they are harassing him only moderately. Mostly to say "Hey, that's my bed and I am not one to share, get your own". Which he did; the big, high one with the cushy pillow top mattress.
Today was the first time he really let loose at the dog park and did some crazy dog sprints. It was a beautiful thing to see. Of course, I didn't see it with the camera. Sigh.
I am very much anticipating the revealing of his true personality when he gets comfortable and completely settles in, since it's fantastic already.
(With his twin, Gentry. I had a hard time telling the two apart. Angel is on the left.)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
MAKING IT HAPPEN - THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES THE POSSIBLE
Let me share with you a tail. It is an interesting story filled with intrigue, adversity, disappointment and triumph.
It begins a few months ago in the two greyhound rescue group town of Tucson, Arizona. Well, actually, one rescue group has slowed its adoption work to a trickle. So, let me rephrase that:
It begins a few months ago in the one and a quarter greyhound rescue group town of Tucson, Arizona.
I had noticed things starting to change with the primary greyhound adoption group, AGR, (Arizona Greyhound Rescue) late last year. In truth, it went back further than that, but it became quite noticeable around that time. That was when AGR stopped taking in dogs. The first time in its 17 year history. What? you ask. How can a greyhound rescue group go about fulfilling its mission statement and purpose of existence when it stops taking in dogs?
On December 24th an AGR newsletter was released indicating the president and treasurer had stepped down from the executive board (an appointed board – this is an important plot point later). 7 of the 11 board positions were vacant. The newsletter also indicated that AGR was going to be taking on a different focus in the greyhound rescue arena – training greyhounds to be service and therapy dogs. Though this is a noble idea, in reality, it’s not a very good one. We all know greyhounds are incredibly loving animals and very intelligent, but not many make good service dogs. (for reasons than I am going to go into now, that's another post.) I know, I know, there are some exceptions to the rule. I am friends with a woman in Tucson who has the most amazing greyhound service dog. And some make great therapy dogs; Bunny, for example. But the percentages of the population to do so are fairly low.
Anyway, I digress, as a result of this new focus, the AGR board determined they needed to restructure and “paused the intake of new dogs until the January board meeting”. Unfortunately, that date has been extended and I don’t believe dogs are currently being taken in still. Then a number other things happened that just didn’t seem like AGR was going in the right direction. It was going in the opposite direction; down. This was obvious to even me, a person on the fringe of the volunteers.
A separate group of individuals had been meeting in regards to their concern over the state of AGR and to discuss viable options to get back on track. A town hall meeting was called for January 14th and around 70 interested people attended, including myself. The one thing I noticed during the meeting was that the majority, if not everyone, attending were as frustrated as I was with the current state of AGR, the manner in which it was being run, the complete unwillingness of the board to be flexible, and what was not being done to help greyhounds. It was also apparent to me that the organizers of this meeting had really thought out possible scenarios and had developed strategies to get back to the business of helping greyhounds.
A plan of action was presented with the first option requesting the current board to resign, and have new members take over and return AGR to its past path. The current board has to voluntarily resign, as they are appointed positions, not elected. A letter requesting the resignation of the current AGR board signed by, what I believe, the majority of the individuals present would be sent to AGR. There was a backup plan if the current board declined to resign; a mass letter of resignation, signed by (again, I think) a majority of the attendees, was to be sent to AGR. I didn’t believe the letter of resignation would be necessary. Who in their right mind would ignore a letter signed by the majority of volunteers of your organization requesting a change?
Unfortunately and unfathomably to me, the resignation letter had to be sent.
The current AGR board replied to the request to step down: “We decline your request to have (names removed) step down from the Board of Directors of Arizona Greyhound Rescue. While we appreciate that you have indicated you will withdraw your support, please be aware that this decision was made after careful consideration and was unanimous. As the Board of Directors our duty is twofold: we must act in the best interest of the organization we represent and we must safeguard the greyhounds in our care. We firmly believe (names removed) are vital contributors to these duties.”
I won’t even go into what I think about that statement…
With the first option shot down, the second was put into play, which also did not pan out.
So on to plan C: start a new greyhound adoption organization from scratch. A second meeting was set for February 4th. During this meeting, I learned to my shock and pleased amazement, new by-laws had been drafted, a name had been chosen (Southern Arizona Greyhound Rescue), and an organizational structure had been developed. It was asked that suggestions and comments be made in regards to all the above items and people sign up to help. Pledges for financial support were requested (pledges because the organization wasn’t official yet and it was felt accepting money would be inappropriate). I realized that this organization was being developed with the foremost goal to help greyhounds, but in such a way that everyone who wanted to help could and the organization would do everything with integrity and open honesty. A refreshing change and much appreciated. I eagerly signed up to help and made my small monetary pledge.
I learned a few days later that the impossible and unthinkable was thinkable and possible. The initial pledges totaled $21,000 and 45 people signed up to volunteer for SA Greys. I am unabashedly proud to be part of this new group.
Since the meeting on the 4th, I’ve watched with awe as the legal paperwork has been filed, paperwork details required to start an organization filled out, the by-laws finished, the logo created, social media sites set up (facebook, twitter, flickr and a blog, with a website on the way), the first two events scheduled and entered and most importantly – the first greyhound for adoption taken in to the organization!
This goes to show you what is possible when there is a dedicated group of volunteers willing to fight for a cause near and dear to their hearts.
So I ask you to please follow this incredible group on facebook, twitter (@sa_greys), google +, flickr and of course a blog (where I got to lend a hand, you will notice a number of familiar greyhound images littering the pages) :) and please share the word. I think any support and/or help getting this organization up to full speed will be much appreciated. Thanks so much.
It begins a few months ago in the two greyhound rescue group town of Tucson, Arizona. Well, actually, one rescue group has slowed its adoption work to a trickle. So, let me rephrase that:
It begins a few months ago in the one and a quarter greyhound rescue group town of Tucson, Arizona.
I had noticed things starting to change with the primary greyhound adoption group, AGR, (Arizona Greyhound Rescue) late last year. In truth, it went back further than that, but it became quite noticeable around that time. That was when AGR stopped taking in dogs. The first time in its 17 year history. What? you ask. How can a greyhound rescue group go about fulfilling its mission statement and purpose of existence when it stops taking in dogs?
On December 24th an AGR newsletter was released indicating the president and treasurer had stepped down from the executive board (an appointed board – this is an important plot point later). 7 of the 11 board positions were vacant. The newsletter also indicated that AGR was going to be taking on a different focus in the greyhound rescue arena – training greyhounds to be service and therapy dogs. Though this is a noble idea, in reality, it’s not a very good one. We all know greyhounds are incredibly loving animals and very intelligent, but not many make good service dogs. (for reasons than I am going to go into now, that's another post.) I know, I know, there are some exceptions to the rule. I am friends with a woman in Tucson who has the most amazing greyhound service dog. And some make great therapy dogs; Bunny, for example. But the percentages of the population to do so are fairly low.
Anyway, I digress, as a result of this new focus, the AGR board determined they needed to restructure and “paused the intake of new dogs until the January board meeting”. Unfortunately, that date has been extended and I don’t believe dogs are currently being taken in still. Then a number other things happened that just didn’t seem like AGR was going in the right direction. It was going in the opposite direction; down. This was obvious to even me, a person on the fringe of the volunteers.
A separate group of individuals had been meeting in regards to their concern over the state of AGR and to discuss viable options to get back on track. A town hall meeting was called for January 14th and around 70 interested people attended, including myself. The one thing I noticed during the meeting was that the majority, if not everyone, attending were as frustrated as I was with the current state of AGR, the manner in which it was being run, the complete unwillingness of the board to be flexible, and what was not being done to help greyhounds. It was also apparent to me that the organizers of this meeting had really thought out possible scenarios and had developed strategies to get back to the business of helping greyhounds.
A plan of action was presented with the first option requesting the current board to resign, and have new members take over and return AGR to its past path. The current board has to voluntarily resign, as they are appointed positions, not elected. A letter requesting the resignation of the current AGR board signed by, what I believe, the majority of the individuals present would be sent to AGR. There was a backup plan if the current board declined to resign; a mass letter of resignation, signed by (again, I think) a majority of the attendees, was to be sent to AGR. I didn’t believe the letter of resignation would be necessary. Who in their right mind would ignore a letter signed by the majority of volunteers of your organization requesting a change?
Unfortunately and unfathomably to me, the resignation letter had to be sent.
The current AGR board replied to the request to step down: “We decline your request to have (names removed) step down from the Board of Directors of Arizona Greyhound Rescue. While we appreciate that you have indicated you will withdraw your support, please be aware that this decision was made after careful consideration and was unanimous. As the Board of Directors our duty is twofold: we must act in the best interest of the organization we represent and we must safeguard the greyhounds in our care. We firmly believe (names removed) are vital contributors to these duties.”
I won’t even go into what I think about that statement…
With the first option shot down, the second was put into play, which also did not pan out.
So on to plan C: start a new greyhound adoption organization from scratch. A second meeting was set for February 4th. During this meeting, I learned to my shock and pleased amazement, new by-laws had been drafted, a name had been chosen (Southern Arizona Greyhound Rescue), and an organizational structure had been developed. It was asked that suggestions and comments be made in regards to all the above items and people sign up to help. Pledges for financial support were requested (pledges because the organization wasn’t official yet and it was felt accepting money would be inappropriate). I realized that this organization was being developed with the foremost goal to help greyhounds, but in such a way that everyone who wanted to help could and the organization would do everything with integrity and open honesty. A refreshing change and much appreciated. I eagerly signed up to help and made my small monetary pledge.
I learned a few days later that the impossible and unthinkable was thinkable and possible. The initial pledges totaled $21,000 and 45 people signed up to volunteer for SA Greys. I am unabashedly proud to be part of this new group.
Since the meeting on the 4th, I’ve watched with awe as the legal paperwork has been filed, paperwork details required to start an organization filled out, the by-laws finished, the logo created, social media sites set up (facebook, twitter, flickr and a blog, with a website on the way), the first two events scheduled and entered and most importantly – the first greyhound for adoption taken in to the organization!
This goes to show you what is possible when there is a dedicated group of volunteers willing to fight for a cause near and dear to their hearts.
So I ask you to please follow this incredible group on facebook, twitter (@sa_greys), google +, flickr and of course a blog (where I got to lend a hand, you will notice a number of familiar greyhound images littering the pages) :) and please share the word. I think any support and/or help getting this organization up to full speed will be much appreciated. Thanks so much.
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