The Beast Awakens!

Alright, so the title isn't quite accurate. For one, this dog can hardly be called a beast. Second, he walks like he's still half alseep! Oh well. (: Just a little bit of lovin' from my greyhound I suppose...


Keeping this short, we (GPAC) have a meet n greet coming up at the Halifax Kennel Club. I'm not positive yet if we'll be doing a shift, but I would like to - I've never been to a ... well, anykind of "purebred" occassion other than for greyhounds, but I don't count it for some reason... Anyway, Who am I to judge? I'll just go with an open mind and have fun teaching people about greyhounds! If you're at the event, please stop by and see our booth, even if you just want to pet the dogs, you never know what you might learn!
(I'd also love to get Biggie a new collar... Jeez! I spoil this boy too much!)

Unknown old Alley Cat

Since moving to Cole Harbour I've heard noises rather unpleasant in the cool evening, dogs snapping, snarling, whining. I shrugged it off thinking they were just barking at passerbyers (and guiltily ignored the fact the would have been left outside unattended). My ignorance was proven false, at least for one night.

Walking Big, I came across an old looking ginger tom, who was lying close to a car tire and wasn't moving around. He was alive, but startled and threatened by my large dog, so I was going to move on when I came in contact with the owner of the car. I guess my pale face gave away my worst fear, and they assured me he wasn't hit by a car, but probably had some sort of disease. I didn't bother asking if they contacted anyone because it seemed they really didn't want me around(?). My first mistake, one I'm regretting...
After the walk I came back with my dad because I was still concerned about the cat. He was still in the same spot. We gave him a cup of cat food and some water, but my dad said don't touch him. It was probably for the best anyway.
When he did stand up he looked bad. I thought he had a disease as well, or a licking disorder...

And that was it. I didn't do anything. I feel so bad now, because I haven't seen the cat since. He was old and lanky, a bit smelly, but nonetheless, he was so very kind. He purred even when I recoiled from his nuzzling around my legs.

My thoughts are now confirmed that I believe the injury was from a dog getting at him. I feel worse knowing that. But I don`t think I can blame anyone when I, myself, did nothing to help him.

I`m sorry, old alley cat. I hope you found peace, and I`m sorry I couldn`t-- didn`t give it to you.

Dog Days of Summer!

On Saturday, August 14th, 2010 I attended GPAC's popular yearly fundraiser - DOG DAYS OF SUMMER! I got there around 11am and stayed until 3:30pm - Biggie and I had a blast! We met up with some old greyhound pals - and met some new ones as well. This year we also had a "fun run" which consisted of a 200 foot long run that your dog could be timed for running! Big did fairly good, 3.20 seconds. Some, like our greyhound friend Dylan, excelled and got lower than 3 seconds! Needless to say, it was entertaining to watch and participate in!
They also had a grey't discount on at the kennel store and I purchased two new bones for my grey! He's been gnawing at that marrow bone for ages!
Kennel tours were also available, though I didn't go 'cause I wanted to hold onto Big, but my father went down and said the new shipment is beautiful! We're considering fostering in the upcoming future, perhaps a little after September or October.

And just recently we've found out that we're sharing our household with some... smaller guests. Yes.
MICE.
Though who would guess our cat would actually step up and take charge of this matter? I sure didn't - but he is! Tamerak is pinpointing the mice for us ( well, my father) and giving us the chance to get them out of the house. When he does get one to himself though, he plays with it until it's literally dead from exhaustion... Which is gross so we're trying to keep up with him! Hahah, well so far we've found two and have successfully gotten rid of both (humanely). I just hope there hasn't been any breeding in the cupboards...

Buskers!

Over the last week and a half, Biggie and I have volunteered many hours at the Buskers Festival in Halifax! It was the first year for GPAC to be included in this big event, and we could see easily just how many people we reached. After a few days, we had "fans" coming by everyday to check out the greyhounds doing different shifts, usually 2 hours long.
For the most part, Big and I stayed all evening until we packed up the booth. I can honestly say this big goofball enjoyed all the attention and appreciated being able to sit outside on many beautiful days - lazing about in the shade and getting cookies for just looking cute!

My thanks goes out to those that made it possible for GPAC to participate this year, it gave us a very special chance to reach people from all over the world! And we've gained a lot from this experience, potential adopters, many volunteers, and cleared up misconceptions about these gorgeous and loving dogs! I hope we can do this again next year!!

Drew & Biggie

Big N Bad "Biggie"

This blog will be about my recently adopted greyhound, Biggie.
Some simple facts include:
Biggie is 3 years old, his birthday is late May.
He is a purebred greyhound, retired from racing in a track in Florida (though he never entered any races, only went through training).
He is from GPAC, a wonderful greyhound rescue that I often spend my days volunteering with.
I've had him since March '10, so currently about 6 months.
Obviously, he is a boy, and currently my only greyhound/dog. This may change in due time.

Everyday is something new or odd with him, and I find my self out of breath trying to keep up (pun here!). Nonetheless, I enjoy every minute I'm with him (well, except for those early 4:30am pee breaks!). I couldn't ask for a better dog!