Our group will be hosting a special and unique three-day meet and greet event at the grand opening of the new Petco, located in Frederick, Maryland. FFGR, Inc. volunteers will be on hand throughout the time to introduce the public to our greyhounds and to talk about greyhound adoption. The three day event will run from Friday, December 3, to Sunday, December 5. At times when volunteers will not be present, there will be a permanent display for people to read about our group and to pick up literature about greyhound adoption.
We congratulate Petco on their new store and are looking forward to working at this store in the coming year to find greyt homes for greyhounds! For more information on exact times when our volunteers will be present along with available hounds (as well as directions to the new Petco), click on the title of this post to access our calendar of events.
See you there!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Rainbow Bridge - Tyville Moondog (Magic)
November 19, 2000 - November 26, 2010
We are heartbroken to report that we had to let Magic go to the Rainbow Bridge the day after Thanksgiving. In the previous two weeks, the cancerous tumor on his nose (that had been diagnosed months ago) seemed to take on a life of its own. It seemed to grow a little more each day. He also started pawing at it at times. He started licking around his mouth and swallowing and when we checked inside his mouth, we saw some blood. It looked like the tumor was getting ready to burst (if it hadn’t already started). We decided that we could not let this get any worse.
This has been a particularly bittersweet journey for us. It was about watching Magic’s tumor grow, knowing that, otherwise, he was a very healthy dog. He came to us with a small lump that eventually was diagnosed as a slow moving cancer. The tumor was too involved with the blood vessels in his nose to do surgery without the risk of him bleeding out. The tumor would not have gone away but would have returned eventually. Radiation would have held that back for a short time, but it was expensive and would only serve to hold back the advancement of the cancer, not stop it. He was nine years old and we could not see putting him through that.
Magic was a grade A racer in Iowa. He even fathered a few pups that raced. He was adopted in Iowa and his family eventually moved to Ohio. There, he was turned into a group (good people we know) when he bit a child for falling on him. It certainly was not his fault, but we know how these things go. We helped the group in Ohio when they found themselves overwhelmed with senior returns. In January we brought in Magic along with Sheba and Shadow. Of course, we know that Sheba and Shadow found the perfect home! But we knew when Magic was diagnosed with cancer that it was going to be next to impossible to find him a home. So he stayed here with us and we loved him dearly.
Magic never came close to biting anyone or anything here. He was the most gentle and loving creature. Magic loved to run. He ran like the wind in our field. We could always see the good racer in him. We know that he is running like the wind at the bridge with no tumors or limitations. He was a very big dog, a gentle giant, and his presence will be missed here in so many ways.
Rest in peace our wonderful boy.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Top 5 Fall-Winter 2010-2011 Nail Colors
Favored by designers such as Sonia Rykiel black nails return for this season. To avoid returning into a total Rock babe, wear dark nails with school pieces like pleated skirts or oxford heels.
Fall style
When leaves change their color to chestnut and scarlet, why not do the same thing? At Bill Blass, models wore polish in a deep burnt rust, the perfect fall shade.
A perfected red
Instead of a cherry red, choose a sophisticated crimson polish in winter. As demonstrated at Derek Lam’s show, the alluring shade goes well with fall’s lace and tweed styles.
Pretty in deep pink
A pink nail polish made waves at Tracy Reese’s autumn show. Perfect for romantik dinner, a sheer polish offers a hint of pink without seeming too well-behaved.
Blue is autumn’s new neon
Backstage at a fashion week there was nary a neon nail to be found. Instead, inky midnight hues graced models’ fingertips, as we see at Paul & Joe.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM FFGR, INC.
We would like to wish all of our Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. family a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving! When we count our blessings, we are grateful beyond words for the wonderful people who are a part of our family. We are especially grateful for the exceptional volunteers who have all been with us for as long as our group has been in business. Your continued support and hours spent working on behalf of the hounds has made us what we are.
Thanks to all of those adopters who understand the commitment to their dogs and for loving and caring for them. You give us the strength and desire to keep going.
Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Holiday Reminder - Open Door Training
Now that the holidays are upon us, we think it's a good opportunity to call attention to the fact that this is the time of year when we experience the most calls about loose dogs. With a little planning and thinking ahead, you can enjoy that turkey and spend time with your family and not have to take time out of your holidays to look for a lost dog. Make sure all doors are closed properly when guests come to your home. Also, it's important to remind guests to be aware of the fact that a greyhound lives in the house. It seems as though every holiday we get calls about dogs escaping out of doors when they have accidentally been left open or they get through open doors when guests arrive and take off their coats at the door. It only takes a small opening in a door for a greyhound to get through because of their thin bodies.
Start to plan now for what you will do to keep your holidays happy and your hound safe. When we had our four greyhounds years ago, we worked with them all and trained them to "wait" at the door until we said "let's go." Everyone understood the commands and listened well. At the time we didn't have a fenced in yard so we couldn't afford to have our dogs get loose where we live in a rural area and on the side of a mountian. But now that we have so many dogs here, that kind of training is hard to do and many of the dogs are not here long enough to train. We do practice the "wait" command at the door before it's opened so we cut down on the chaos involved with a lot of dogs running out the door at the same time. We also back that up with the word "easy". No one goes outside until everyone is settled down and there is no bouncing around or whining.
Start now to think of what you can do to prevent your hound from accidentally getting out of a door. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Use a baby gate at the door and keep it propped up until you have your hound(s) secure. Then you can take the gate down, let guests in and then put the gate back in place. This will also work if you have a porch or deck that guests access to get to your front door. Place a gate across the porch/deck opening so that if your hound does get out of the door, he/she can only go so far.
2. Keep a leash next to the door and when guests arrive, leash your hound. This gets hard to do if you have lots of guests and lots of hounds!
3. Put an extra latch on your door so that you will have to go through more work to get a door open. This is a good reminder that you have to do something with your hound!
4. Make a sign for your door that warns guests that you have a greyhound inside the house and to be very careful when opening the door. Keep the door locked so that you have to answer it and guests can't walk in on their own.
4. To be perfectly safe, crate or baby gate your hound in another room while guests are arriving. Some people will even kennel their dog during large family gatherings; although not possible for some, it does guarantee that the greyhound will be safe.
5. Review the Lost Dog link we have posted on the Greytlinks page of our web site. You can print one Lost Dog flyer with your hound's photo and your phone number. Keep it handy and hope you will never have to use it. Keep all important phone numbers handy as well in case your hound escapes. It will get you help that much faster having the important information out in case you need it.
We hope that none of our hounds get out the door this holiday period; we hope that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday season and not have to feel the panic of searching for a beloved hound that escaped out of a door.
.
Start to plan now for what you will do to keep your holidays happy and your hound safe. When we had our four greyhounds years ago, we worked with them all and trained them to "wait" at the door until we said "let's go." Everyone understood the commands and listened well. At the time we didn't have a fenced in yard so we couldn't afford to have our dogs get loose where we live in a rural area and on the side of a mountian. But now that we have so many dogs here, that kind of training is hard to do and many of the dogs are not here long enough to train. We do practice the "wait" command at the door before it's opened so we cut down on the chaos involved with a lot of dogs running out the door at the same time. We also back that up with the word "easy". No one goes outside until everyone is settled down and there is no bouncing around or whining.
Start now to think of what you can do to prevent your hound from accidentally getting out of a door. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Use a baby gate at the door and keep it propped up until you have your hound(s) secure. Then you can take the gate down, let guests in and then put the gate back in place. This will also work if you have a porch or deck that guests access to get to your front door. Place a gate across the porch/deck opening so that if your hound does get out of the door, he/she can only go so far.
2. Keep a leash next to the door and when guests arrive, leash your hound. This gets hard to do if you have lots of guests and lots of hounds!
3. Put an extra latch on your door so that you will have to go through more work to get a door open. This is a good reminder that you have to do something with your hound!
4. Make a sign for your door that warns guests that you have a greyhound inside the house and to be very careful when opening the door. Keep the door locked so that you have to answer it and guests can't walk in on their own.
4. To be perfectly safe, crate or baby gate your hound in another room while guests are arriving. Some people will even kennel their dog during large family gatherings; although not possible for some, it does guarantee that the greyhound will be safe.
5. Review the Lost Dog link we have posted on the Greytlinks page of our web site. You can print one Lost Dog flyer with your hound's photo and your phone number. Keep it handy and hope you will never have to use it. Keep all important phone numbers handy as well in case your hound escapes. It will get you help that much faster having the important information out in case you need it.
We hope that none of our hounds get out the door this holiday period; we hope that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday season and not have to feel the panic of searching for a beloved hound that escaped out of a door.
.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Rainbow Bridge - FTK Trouble (Trouble)
October 29, 2002 - November 5, 2010
We are sad to report that another wonderful greyhound has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We got notice from Jason Grove that he lost his best friend after a short illness. Jason adopted Trouble from our group in January 2006; he and Trouble became frequent visitors to our meet and greet events. Everyone loved seeing Trouble because he was truly an exceptional greyhound. He was loving and sweet and was one of the most gentle natured greyhounds we've ever met. He was also strikingly handsome with a shiny dark brindle coat and eyes that danced. He was a scene stealer!
We know that Jason is devastated over the loss of Trouble. We will all miss this sweet boy so much! We know that Trouble is flying with angel wings at the bridge!
Rainbow Bridge - R Raisinaruckus (Washington)
February 13, 1999 - October 2010
Washington is the call name of R Raisinaruckus. Washington got his call name because he was born on George Washington's birthday. He was an awesome racer for many years and then was used as a stud at the Roban Kennels farm in Florida where his owners took good care of him. They decided, at the age of eleven, that perhaps he would like to have a soft couch to sleep on and a nice home to spend the rest of his retirement years. They thought he might like having a person to call his own. Our group offered to take Washington. They had him neutered for us.
The problem, as always, was how to get Washington from Florida to Maryland. We tried on numerous occasions to find a way for Washington to get to us. We didn't want to put him on a hauler because of his age. And Greyhounds Reach the Beach was coming up and that kept us very busy.
While Washington was waiting on us, he started going downhill. He lost the ability to get up and get around. They decided at the farm that he was not well enough to travel. This was just at the time that we found a ride north for him. Washington is now at the bridge. He never made it here and never found that couch. We have to say that he touched us deeply when we saw his photo. We felt that if he did not find a home anywhere else, he could stay at the Ballweber house for as long as he had left in his life.
Perhaps this was for the best. It would have been a tragedy to have him die on the way to Maryland or get sick on arrival. He only knew the people at the farm and we know sure, to him, it was home.
Rest in peace dear boy We never got to meet you but we all love you.
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