Miles and Moose had their first modeling gig for a local plastic surgeon. They were the "after" dogs and two Shar pei dogs were the wrinkly, "before models". The photo shoot was done in a beautiful local park. The dogs just needed to stand next to the plastic surgeon who was holding their leashes - all 4 dogs. Easy for the greyhounds, not so easy for the Shar peis. One was a puppy and was jumping up on the surgeon and the other dogs most of the time. They took her out for some of the photos so I am not sure if she will be in the final ones or not. It was a miracle that Miles didn't start playing with her since he is young too. I could tell he really wanted to. I kept telling him to "leave it" and he did. I was very proud of my boys. Will post photos when I get them.
Miles spent some time in a real racing greyhound kennel while we were doing a dog haul. We left Miles and Moose there for a couple of hours while we went to have lunch and watch the matinee races. I took a couple of photos but it was in low light and taken on a cell phone so they were blurry. We brought back nine fosters for our greyhound adoption group, Greyhound Crossroads, to place. We used the dog hauler and my van on that trip so we could bring back a lot of dogs.
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| Our vintage dog hauler |
Miles continues his agility and obedience classes with his trainer Rhea. He LOVES Rhea! She trained my first greyhounds JD and Streak for Rally Obedience and they both earned their Rally Excellent Titles. Miles had to take a little break from training after his muscle pull because sitting seemed to hurt him. We also didn't want to take any chances with jumping or anything that might hurt his back. He will be starting classes again next week.
Miles won his first LGRA straight racing competition right before he ran in his first NOTRA competition. LGRA races are very short 200 yard straight races so he really has to be quick out of the box. He won't have time to catch up over such a short course if he has a bad break. Four greyhounds at a time run and they chase a fuzzy lure with a squawker. It is more exciting for the dogs than other types of lure coursing where they just chase a plastic bag. Because of the short distance it is perfect for retired racers that might not be as fit as they once were but still want to have the fun of chasing the lure.
A greyhound that lives on the same street that we do won Best of Breed at Westminster! His name is Duncan and he is the most beautiful greyhound I have ever seen. Before I got Miles I looked at his brother who was available as a pet. He was a very big, young guy but he was not able to lure course because of an injury to one of his legs from what I remember. I really wanted a dog that I could course or I would have been very interested in him. The breeder is a really nice lady that has coursed some of her greyhounds so they are bred for form and function.
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| Front Page of the Woodruff Paper! A photo I took of Miles with Streak |
Miles and Moose have gone to several schools this year with me to do talks on greyhounds. We have a powerpoint with photos of greyhounds from birth through their life on the farm, training, racing then retirement that we show. We talk about why the breed is special and what we do as an adoption group to find them homes. We adjust the talk for all ages from kindergarten through high school. Moose has gotten over his fear of children and is fine now doing these pretty intense visits. Miles loves them and I always take Miles with Moose for moral support. Not sure how Moose would do without enthusiastic Miles beside him.
We did a similar presentation on greyhounds for the Woodruff Rotary club and ended up on the front page of the Woodruff Paper. Miles and Moose went along so the Rotary Club could actually meet greyhounds. My friends that set it up - Wayne and Kerin brought their greyhound Tequila along. The greyhounds were the stars as always and perfectly behaved even during the meal that they served before the presentation.
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