Nine members of the Needle Nose Crew and their humans strutted their stuff to celebrate Independence , marching in the Woodbridge ,Irvine, 4th of July Parade

CHEERS!

By Don Laffoon

If only I had know about greyhounds when I was single.  Talk about a "chick magnet"!  This morning I went to my local (overpriced) coffee place for a latte and once again tried to read my newspaper.  It just isn't possible.  The female admirers (of Byron and Farah, not me!) ranged in age from about 16 to 70 and all of them quite beautiful.  It usually begins with, "What beautiful dogs.  Can I pet them?"  Some stayed for moments, others for longer.  One sat down to talk about life, politics and her granddaughter.  Finally I came home.  I would write more but I need to finish my newspaper now.

CAREER DOG

By Maia Strassberg

My Gil is in his third career.  First of course, where is name was Gonzo, he raced in Tucson .  Gonzo’s second stint was working at Hemopet as a blood donor.  His current third career is by far his best.  He works Saturday with me doing outpatient psychiatric service. 

Gil works in the office.  He lies on the floor atop a cushy rug and waits for the clients to arrive.  When they do, he moseys over to the baby gate in the doorway, wags his tail, and shyly looks up.  The clients love him.  One woman who has been fearful of dogs for years now makes it a point when she first arrives to come visit Gil.  Other clients have asked me ahead of time if Gil will be there Saturday, and if I answer yes, they say: "Okay.  I'll be there too."

This is the perfect work situation.  During the week it is much too busy with 50 clients, doctors, therapists, cabdrivers, and innumerable crises for Gil to come to work.  But Saturdays are a different story.  I am the nurse at the program and there are two other staff members.  The clients number about 10 and emergencies are rare.  Gil helps me.  Before the clients arrive, he helps me make coffee and arrange pastries.  Once the clients are there, he has his greeting duties, which he performs well with his quiet, schmoozy charm.  And while the clients are in therapy groups, he helps me with my paperwork.

It's a full day of course, all six hours of it.  He has a bite for lunch with the rest of us, and a potty break (with the rest of us).  Then we drive home.  This is the best part though!  He has worked so much that he is thoroughly exhausted, and then sleeps for hours on the living room floor!  I smile indulgently as I pass him throughout the rest of the afternoon, thinking to myself:  "Oh were that we all could pass out on the floor each day after working six hours!"

COME JOIN THE FALL FUN

By Carole Oglesbee

As the summer comes to an end, the fall reunions for several groups are now in the planning stages.  Three of the four dates have been set and group leaders are working on all the details.  We hope that you will plan on attending at least one of these events as you will find a great deal of fun, good companionship and wonderful greys with which to interact. Greyhound Connection of San Diego leads off the list of events with their second annual reunion on Greyhound Planet Day, Sunday, September 21st. 

 Details for the San Diego event are either on the Greyhound Connection web site or will be very soon.  Log on to

greyhoundconnection.org 

for information and contact numbers.  The group members will be happy to hear from you and can fill you in with all the particulars. Southern California Greyhound Adoption League will check in with the second event in Orange County on Sunday, September 28th.  This will be their first reunion and the group’s members are looking forward to the beginning of many successful reunions.  Again all the details are either up on their web site or will be very shortly.  You can log on to:

socalgal.org 

for the particulars about their event

Retired Racers of Acton has let us know that they will either hold their event at the beginning of November or wait until next year during the early part of Spring.  As we don’t have a date from them, we suggest you check back periodically with their web site at 

retiredracers.com.  

Should they decide on a fall event they will post the information on the internet, and we will certainly let you know in the first available Needle Nose Note issue.

For those of you who are in the mood for a little travel, the Greyhound Adoption League of Tucson, Arizona will be holding their second annual fall open house on Sunday, November 9th.  You may look up details on the GAL web site at:

greyhoundadoptionleaguetucson.com

As many of you have received your beloved greyhounds from the Tucson area, we think it would be a wonderful idea if you could all meet the marvelous folks who volunteer for the GAL organization.  You will also thoroughly enjoy seeing a pet kennel, and it’s operations as over 600 greyhounds pass through the doors each and every year. 

One way or another, please try to attend at least one of these reunions.  Help support the volunteers of these groups who donate their time and energy so freely in order that you could adopt the greyhounds who now share your lives.

SWEATSHIRTS ARE ON THE WAY

By Carole Oglesbee

Although the Needle Nose Crew has brought out a new color tee shirt each year, we haven’t had new sweatshirts since 1997.  It’s been far too long, and we’ve had far too many requests not to order a supply this year.  In addition, we’ve had requests for something fun to wear at our shows during the holiday season.  So we’re going to combo both requests.  We’ll have Christmas red, Christmas green and Hanukkah blue long-sleeved sweatshirts by the end of August.  Each shirt will come with a holiday bandana that you can use either for yourself or on your greyhound. 

There will be a selection of sizes which will include large and extra large and small quantities of small, medium and double extra large. 

Each shirt with a bandana will sell for $25.00 each.  In order to ensure you get the sizes and colors you want, we recommend purchasing your choices in advance.  Just mail us a note listing the quantities along with the sizes and colors you want and include a check to cover the costs.  

We’ll bag up your orders and have them at our local shows for you to pick up.  Sorry, we won’t be mailing out orders within the Orange County area.  For those of you outside the Orange County area, please enclose $30.00 per shirt.  We’ll package them up and mail them off to you as soon as our stock is received, and we are able to process your requests.

Remember, the small, mediums and extra large sweatshirts will go fast.  Thanks from all of us for your continued support by purchasing tees, sweatshirts, collars, leashes and other memorabilia.  All of these purchases help us print not only our newsletters, but also our literature to use in promoting greyhound adoptions.

Note from Editor…  The following e-mail has been floating around and I thought it would be fun to share with all.

Dear Dogs:

(Author Unknown)

When I say to move, it means go someplace else, not switch positions with each other so there are still two dogs in the way.

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food.  The other dishes are mine and contain my food.  Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by Nascar and is not a racetrack.  Beating me to the bottom is not the object.  Tripping me doesn't help, because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed.  I am very sorry about this.  Do not think I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort.  Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible.  I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing but doggy sarcasm.

My compact discs are not miniature Frisbees.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom.  If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered.  In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years, canine attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dogs butt.  I cannot stress this enough.  It would be such a simple change for you. 

	Cindy Hall for her loss of Clara
	Kell Horton for his loss of the wonderful Mr. Sam Smead
	Jason & Kerry Barnhart for their loss of Jupiter
	Retired Racers for their loss of Ms. Pretty Pearl