Have I ever mentioned my vocal talents? I do not bark really but I have an awesome roo. Cookie barks but I like to sing the song of my people every night. And afternoon. And sometimes in the morning just because. Most greyhound gatherings end with a roo.
So where to begin? This fall has just been a bunch of fail! No trip to the beach. No trip to Greyhounds Rock! I hurt myself. Again. I wasn’t paying attention and fell off the ramp going into the car. Now my humans were on either side of the ramp to make sure I didn’t fall AND they had me by my Ruffwear harness but I freaked out and started to struggle. I’ve been told wrestling with a 70 lb, 3 legged greyhound is almost as much fun as wiping snot off a toddler. I got road rash and really strained my neck and back. The humans had to go on Rimadyl too.
So we were all looking forward to going to Greyhounds Rock and even though I was almost 100%, the decision was made to stay home so I could finish healing. The humans went back and forth about sending me back to 3L Laser Therapy and I hurt so bad, they decided to do it. If the Cancer Center of America uses it on its cancer patients, then it should be good enough for me. Dr Huff is also using the small hand held unit to target just my ouchy spots. I don’t know if he’s doing that because my female human is nuts, he’s being extra careful, or because the big one is broken. Dr Huff actually uses the laser on some inoperable tumors to prevent growth so he was surprised that my humans were afraid of it making the cancer spread.
But the laser worked and I am feeling better than I have in months. I hadn’t been the same since the last time I fell down the stairs in August. I was on Rimadyl twice a day and it helped but didn’t fix me. 1/3 of a mile was about all I could walk and 1/2 mile was my limit. Now that I’m back on laser therapy with my chiropractic, I am just everywhere! And fast too.
Last Saturday was the fall Triangle Greyhound Society Picnic. It was also the NC GAP picnic too but we went to the TGS picnic cause it was having a fun run and speed run! There was a big turnout. Lots of hounds I’ve never met before. I said hello to everyone. Dogs first, humans on the second pass. After over an hour of me sniffing and loving on everyone, I was told I had to lay down. Now most of the dogs saw my bed and wanted to use it but I didn’t want to use it. I wanted to sniff more. So I was put in the car to take a nap. Have I mentioned how posh my car is? I have a full size mattress in the back of the car with 2 inches of memory foam to stretch out on. So I took a nap. Apparently, I had walked about a mile to a mile and a half. The human forgot to setup my pedometer. Have I mentioned at all that my humans are geeks and have lots of gadgets?
While I was in the car, lunch was served (don’t worry, I got fed) and then it was time for the fun run. Cookie took to the field and I sprawled out in luxury. We all forgot to grap a camera or video camera so there is no footage of her being awesome. And she was. Cookie is fast and corners better than any other hound I have ever met. Click here to see her last win at Palm Beach.
Then it was time for the speed run. I didn’t get to see this either but Cookie told me that it was very hard to just stand there, waiting in line, while the other dogs were all doing it wrong. She was clocked at 34 MPH. She thinks she could have gone faster but she’s a bit heavier than she was back in her racing career.
As things were wrapping up, I was allowed to take the field! They waited till everyone was firmly attached to their humans and then I was allowed to run. I jogged about half of the perimeter of the baseball field and then took off. It felt good to just open up and run. People were surprised to see how fast I was. And then I got more kisses.
The picnic just kind of ended. I was looking forward to a roo but it never happened. A few dogs barked here and there but greyhound events tend to be quiet. You can have hundreds of greyhounds around and silence. I’ve only been to GIG and BBH but I am told Dewey Beach has THOUSANDS of greyhounds and it is still quiet. Till someone brings in an Italian Greyhound or 10. Those things are yippy.
All in all, I walked about 2 miles in about 3 hours. It was wonderful. I really love to be around people and do things. Tomorrow, I get to go see Pixie again. Maybe my humans can get a good photo of the two of us. I’ll probably be wearing my stupid balloon booties but they do keep me from falling down.
Very good. So glad you had a good time at the picnic. Don’t forget the camera next time, we’d love to see you and Cookie in action.
Nixon what a fantastic update. You scared me at first, I wasn’t sure where that fall story was going but I’m SO glad the laser therapy helped and you were able to make it to have fun with your friends. And RUN!!!
We were at Greyhounds Rock last year, were you there? That was so much fun! My people gave the breakfast speech on Sunday morning. They were so impressed with Greys. Never having been around so many all at once, they were stunned at how well everyone got along, and yes, how QUIET it was! My people are German Shepherd fanatics; when GSDs get together it’s total chaos and earplugs are a must! They spent one weekend hanging out with you Greys and they went “DUH! What have we been thinking? Greyhounds DO rock!”
My humans will tell you I tend to be accident prone. My first day home, I had to get stitches because I fell down the stairs in the backyard. That was with 4 legs and I was recently off the track. Then there was the spinal cord injury in 2010… And lots and lots of cuts and scrapes every week.
We didn’t got to Greyhound Rock last year because of some human job uncertainty. My male human was part of a reduction in force on his birthday! The first time we heard about it was in 2010. My humans wanted to go but we had just lost Miss Kitty to Osteo and the pain was a little too much to deal with. Then 2011 and 2012 were bad years to travel as another family member was battling stage IV colon cancer. 🙁