Happy Hound "Howl"oween!

Ours was a quiet love affair. I'm from New England where things are understated, not showy. So as great as my love was for Wind, I did not wear my heart on my sleeve. The love was a calm love. It was made up of the things we do every day for someone who we love. Often, he and I were the first ones awake in the morning. He would lift up his head and we'd look at each other. Wind would wait patiently on his pillow until he knew that I was ALMOST done in the bathroom. Just before I'd open the door, he would stand up, shake all over, tags jingling, and begin rubbing his entire body against the bed (where Bernie still slept, though now less soundly), so that a tiny "earthquake" occurred almost every day for Bernie. Wind and I would then go outside for his walk. Over time, I learned that when he stopped and wanted to go back home, it was because he knew there was no other "business" to take care of. Now... if we were going on a REAL walk, where his sweet nature made him the goodwill ambassador for all dogs, and strangers could not resist petting him, THAT kind of walk was a whole different story. He and I made our way around Tustin lots of times and he was game for it. My daughter, Evy, and I would make up songs about Wind all the time, which we would gaily sing at the drop of a hat. I also taught her how to make homemade dog biscuits. To insure proper hardness, they needed to dry in a cold oven overnight. Well, Evy could not wait to have Wind try them - the excitement was too great. She fed him a few biscuits that were soft, but yummy. Wind also was a great patient when Evy played "animal hospital." She would cover him with blankets, bring over his food and water dishes (don't ask about the spills, okay?), and constantly check him. She set up our cat, Bitsy, next to him, so they could be side-by-side patients. I think what gave me the greatest pleasure was when Wind learned how to smile. I am a psychiatric nurse and one day soon after getting Wind, one of the psychiatrists I worked with came over to visit. I proudly showed off my new grey. Well, this doctor was NOT about social niceties and he told me that my dog seemed dysthymic to him. "Dysthymic" is a medical term meaning "depressed for 2 or more years." I protested and defended Wind. When I looked at Wind, I did not see depressed. I just saw a quiet and gentle dog. My vision of Wind paid off. It's hard to say when it first started. I began to notice that when it was obvious I was going out, but not obvious to Wind if he were coming, he would look at me intently and pull his lips back so that his front teeth showed. During each "smile episode," he grinned not just once, but over and over again. I was totally charmed! "Look" I would shout to an unbelieving Bernie and Evy. "He's smiling at me." After seeing it enough times, they had to agree that I was right about this. It only occurred as I was going out and only with me. Wind later added play-bows and leaping up to the smile routine. In another dog, one more active or dominant, I might've stopped the leaping and jumping up. However, in Wind, I knew this was a good sign; his "inner puppy" had come out. I loved Wind and I love him still. I pray every day for God to keep his spirit close to me, because I would be unspeakably lonely without him.

Note from Editor: The Bourques are fostering for Southern California Greyhound Adoption League as they continue their search for a new grey to fit in with their family.

After a call from Carole Oglesbee, we went to take a look at a white gentle giant named Willie.

His owners were moving and could not continue to keep him. Willie was adorable! We introduced him first to our other greys, Nikki and Tacky. They liked him, and once our kids, Sean, Bryce and Brenly met Willie we knew there was no turning back, they loved him.  So there we were, with three greyhounds and three kids that all got along. Only one problem, Willie liked to tinkle in our back patio room. Help! This started the first of many phone calls. Dog obedience was suggested, but that didn’t work. After lots of trials of different rewards and scolding, nothing was working. Then one day Randy was searching the Internet and found a device called the SCRAMINAL. We were willing to try anything at this point. It finally came in the mail; a little black box the size of a small radio. It has a heat sensor inside and starts to beep when a dog walks in front of it. Sounds pretty simple but we weren’t sure that a beeping noise like a loud watch alarm would do the trick for Willie. We knew it would not hurt him, so we tried it. Sure enough, in the middle of the night we heard it go off! We ran down stairs, there was a puddle next to the SCRAMINAL. Willie did not like the noise. We left it in there to see if he would be bold enough to do it again. It’s been three months now, and Willie has not left his calling card in the back room. Willie is a joy to have in our home. We are happy, the kids are happy, especially Bryce who has claimed Willie as HIS dog. We are now true believers that all dogs can be good – you just need a little persistence with the difficult ones! Hope this information can help you too.

Cost was $39.95, no tax, shipping $6.95.

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When we adopted our first greyhound Justin, we had no idea how deep our love for this dog would become. We considered him to be our first-born. Justin was such an inspiration we decided to adopt two more, Jenny and Darla. Justin shared his life with us for seven wonderful years. He was so strong and outgoing we took for granted that he'd always be with us. Last August, his diagnoses of osteosarcoma came as a complete shock. We did everything we could to provide him with the best quality of life, but sadly he lost his brave fight on May 20th 2002. His passing left an enormous ache in our hearts, and Jenny and Darla were showing signs of missing their alpha male. My husband, Brian and I started calling everyone within the greyhound community to see what we could do to fill that huge hole in our hearts. The Greyhound Companions of New Mexico told us about the closure of a track in Pueblo, Colorado. There was an immediate need to find homes for about 30 greyhounds. Since we now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we were able to drive up there in about 5 hours. We met with the trainer Kelly and viewed the dogs in between turnouts and feedings. Kelly really loves her hounds and only lets them go to reputable adoption groups. She was extremely busy and we didn't have the luxury of playing with all the dogs. We thought we wanted another very large male but, like a magnet, we were drawn to a little white brindle female named "Born Free". She was barking and clawing at her cage, trying to get our attention. Kelly brought her outside to play with us; she was absolutely adorable. Brian was in love. On our way back into the kennel, I spotted a huge brindle male with the deepest, most soulful brown eyes. 

We were told that "Earl the Pearl" was a complete gentleman. When he was brought outside he exploded like the 4th of July. He put on a show running, barking and jumping. I was finally able to calm him down for a hug. What a pleasure that was, he looked up at me with his brown eyes and that was it. Now I was in love. What a dilemma, we hadn't really considered two more dogs at this time, but we live in the country with plenty of space so… We decided to bring Free home that day, get her acclimated to her new life and we'd be back in a week for Earl.  Since these dogs were straight off the track we didn't know what to expect and thought it best to deal with one dog at a time. Poor Earl really thought he was coming home with us that day. I counted the days until Brian brought him home. Of course while Brian was picking up Earl, he couldn't resist having another look around at the remaining dogs. Guess what, he saw another one, a tall thin male named "Austin". Brian asked what I thought about one more?  At that point, I figured "why not". When Austin came home a week later, we thought our family was complete. Until I heard about an older dog Kelly was desperate to place. Dakota had been abused at a track in the south and was extremely shy. He didn't even like leaving the security of his cage. Kelly was afraid he wasn't adoptable and had kept him as her personal mascot. He had been with her for eight years. Dakota sounded like he needed us as much as we needed him. Everyone was very nervous about Dakota's transition and adjustment.  Kelly cried as she said goodbye, Dakota peed nervously in the back of the car, I hugged Kelly promising to take good care of Dakota. As I drove off, I laughed and cried knowing we had been very blessed. At home Dakota jumped out of the car, ran up excitedly to greet his ole buddies, Earl and Austin. They all seemed so happy to be reunited.  After a complete exploration of his new home, Dakota made his way to Justin's favorite pillow near the fireplace.  A spot that sat empty for months was now a comforting safe haven for Dakota. I believe Justin's strong spirit enveloped Dakota with welcoming feelings of love and joy.  Each day that he feels comfortable enough to act frisky or sneak over to wake me up in the morning with a nuzzle is an indescribable joy. The loss of Justin was overwhelming, but because of our deep love we were compelled to carry on in his honor. 

John Herbert & Louise Orlick for their loss of Rumor

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