Greyhound Planet Day–Sept. 22

Greyhound Planet is a day to honor the greyhound throughout the world.  The purpose of this international event is to raise the public's awareness of greyhounds as pets, educate others on the current status of greyhounds around the world and to honor those greyhounds who have left us already. On September 22nd take your greyhounds out to the public. Go to your local park, walk at the beach, hang out at a shopping mall or pet store. Take your adoption group’s business cards with you to hand out. If you need cards, we’d be happy to supply Needle Nose Crew cards. I challenge you to talk to at least five people about your greyhound (s).

Now for the current status of greyhounds in America… the best I can interpret it – and I had lots of help since I’m not good with numbers.

"The latest statistics indicate that more than 90 percent of all Greyhounds registered are ultimately being retired back to farms for breeding purposes or are being placed in homes as pets upon retiring from racing." (National Greyhound Association)

When I visited the NGA web site, I found a lot of very positive statistics about how the numbers of greyhounds being whelped has greatly decreased and the numbers of adoptions have increased. But then I got out the calculator. In 2000, the latest year that NGA has statistics on, there were 34,141 pups whelped (or born). There are different facts stated on different pages, so bear with me. In one case the NGA says that 90% of pups whelped are registered, but then on another page they say 80%. 26,464 greys were registered for racing in 2000, which usually happens between ages 14-17 months. Okay, so 10% mortality is 3,400, but what happened to the other 4,200 pups that didn’t get registered? Now 90% of the 26,464 registered greys is 23,818 – which is pretty close to the NGA estimates of 18,000 adoptions and 6,000 going back to the farms for breeding purposes. An estimated 2,600 greyhounds are destroyed. But wait, let’s go back to those 4,200 that weren’t registered. Does this mean that 6,800 are killed? And what happens to last year’s 6,000 at the farms when this year’s 6,000 get to the farms for breeding? Does this mean that 12,800 a year are fated to early deaths? That would mean that 35 greyhounds are killed every day in America. Think about it… then get up, give your grey(s) a big hug… and head out to that park or beach or shopping center, and spread the word about adopting a greyhound.

HERE COMES THE FALL

The fall is upon us again, and it is time for some of the wonderful things that come this time of year. The Needle Nose Crew will be attending the annual Irvine Harvest Festival as we have done for the past six years. This year’s event will be held in the Hidden Valley area of the Verizon Amphitheater / Wild Rivers Complex in Irvine just off of Moulton Parkway and the 405 freeway. 

This year we will be blessed with a fully grassed-in area. It will be a delight to finally give up some of the dust that always plagues the Festival. The schedule for this year is Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 11th, 12th and 13th. We will be staffing shifts on Friday from 6PM to 9:30PM, and both Saturday and Sunday from 9:30AM to 1:30PM, 1:30PM to 5:30PM, and 5:30PM to 9:30PM. If you are interested in volunteering to help out with a shift, please call Carole Oglesbee at 949 552-1373 or e-mail her at gogreys@juno.com. Hurry, shifts are filling fast as this is one of our most attended and best loved events. In addition to the Irvine Harvest Festival event this fall, it is also time for the 2003 calendar sales. This year we have purchased two wall calendars, one by Browntrout and the other by Greyhound Project. The Browntrout publication is extremely usable which many of you have requested, and the Greyhound Project publication is full of all the wonderful adopted greyhound photographs. In addition, Greyhound Project has published a desk diary. There is one page per week with a sepia greyhound photograph opposite each calendar page. The wall calendars are $12.00 each and the diaries are $15.00 each. Both will be available at the regular Needle Nose Crew shows. So come on out and join us during the next few weeks to pick up your calendars and spend some time with all our wonderful greyhounds.

READY FOR SOME "TLC"

Terrifically Tender Tranquility?

I’ll never forget bringing home our two greys, Shasta (Rapido Rebecca) and Sierra (Happy Haley) from Hemopet. It was March 0f 2000 and we had already waited two long months for them to be released. They piled into the car and arrived at their new Laguna Hills home shocked. Suddenly, they had carpet and furniture to sleep on, not to mention the mirrored closets to look at themselves in. The mirrors were a riot as Shasta spent time in a standoff with the "opposing dog", stomping and barking while trying to get around to that dog’s backside. She was sure there was a strange dog in there somewhere and was determined to find it. Time passed and they adjusted well to "home life", developing their sassy, fun-loving personalities and earning numerous nicknames in the process. They looked forward to outings, especially the meet & greets where Sierra was the greyhound ambassador with her overwhelming enthusiasm towards strangers. 

They had fun on walks and lying around the backyard in the sunny temperate Southern California climate. Then one fine afternoon, their owners decided to uproot them and move to Mt. Shasta, CA. Ahhh… the wilderness, and what’s that white stuff anyway? SNOW!  These two had never had so much fun in their entire lives! They had a wall of windows providing them a view of the whole world! Soon they discover deer and bunnies in their front yard and had a grand time chasing them. They now spend time on forest trails and splashing in lakes and streams. Overall, these experiences have stimulated their little brains and they are more active than ever. Although there are no greyhound adoption programs nearby, we are often stopped while out walking the greys and are given the wonderful opportunity to discuss these wonder pets. I could never imagine being without them. We are so thankful to all those who supported and advised us during the adoption process and long after. We are looking forward to adopting another priceless greyhound in January!

Larry & Linda Brown for their loss of Miss Emily Jerry & Cara Brockhoff for their loss of Baby Huey Bonnie Francois for her loss of Reno Larry & Linda Brown for their loss of the amazing Lita Miquel & Tony Escobar for their loss of Chelsea Cari Russell and Don Harris for their loss of Duke Wendy & Carole Oglesbee for their loss of Rian Marilyn Wright for her loss of Duke Larry & Linda Brown for their loss of Mac

Don’t try to steal frozen hamburgers off the kitchen counter. It HURTS when they fall on your head!!

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Send your articles and pictures to: Joy Moss, Editor, Needle Nose Notes 4857 Royce Road, Irvine, CA 92612 greytjoy@msn.com  

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