OUR DAWG PAWNEE

By Al Laddin

About one year ago, my wife, Alicia, contacted Southern California Greyhound Adoption League about adoption of a greyhound, and Pawnee came over for a visit.  We have a bunch of cats so a visit to the home was necessary, more for the dog than for our cats.  Pawnee sniffed the cats, the cats sniffed him, and he plunked himself on the floor.  We were adopted!!  He fell into the family fold right away without so much as a gurgle and the cats continue to ignore him.  He goes to work with me when possible and dictates his walk schedule as he requires... like 2:00am or every hour on the hour from 5:00pm till 11:00pm . He especially enjoys the 6 or 7:00pm walk when he can catch up on who has been by the house recently... he sniffs every spot on his route.  He is not too spoiled, as I believe that in some pet shop somewhere there is a toy, chewythingy, squeekerthingamabod or rawhide that is not currently owned by us.  I want to thank the Needle Nose Crew, SoCalGAL, and Hemopet, and all those who adopt.  Until you've had one of these individuals in your life, you really don't know what lucky is... for us and for the greyhounds.  I attached a photo of Pawnee showing him in his usually frenzied state of uncontrollable movement and agitation, it is kind of blurry because he is moving so much!

OUR HAPPY-GO-LUCKY BOY

By Judy Kuplent

Our Rocky crossed over the Rainbow Bridge December 31.  After reading about Stone by Rose Hedgepeth, we could really relate -- we thought Rocky had muscle soreness in his left shoulder at first.  He raced around our place so much and was always coming up lame in his early years -- maybe that's why we got him off the track at such a young age, just over 2.  Even the first x-ray didn't show any signs, but three weeks later it was confirmed by another x-ray.  Rocky was a very special dog.  Whizzy, our female greyhound, misses him.  We even used him in our ads (John is a realtor).  Rocky always loved to greet people at the door.  As you must know -- their life is just too short.

2002 NNC DONATIONS

Our members are aware that the purpose of the Needle Nose Crew is to promote greyhounds as companion pets and advise those we meet at our events of the seven rescue and adoption groups serving Southern California .  We also supply a single page monthly newsletter with its main purpose being to inform our members of the schedule of events for each current month. In order to provide our literature at events and mail out our monthly newsletter, we need to raise the funds necessary to cover copying and mailing expenses.  We have two ways by which we raise these needed funds.  We receive generous donations during our shows and in the mail. In addition, we benefit from the sale of the items we carry for all greyhound-loving folks.

Once our minimum expenses are met, any excess funds we collect during the year are distributed to various groups and organizations throughout the area.  Since we are very fortunate to have non-greyhound organizations support our efforts, many of our donations are made to those groups in appreciation of that support, as well as to the smaller greyhound groups who so desperately look for funds to continue their rescue work.  As we do each year, we are pleased to list the donations the Needle Nose Crew made throughout this past year.  We appreciate all of our member’s support not only with the donations you send in and the products that you purchase, but above all else, for the hours you donate to help promote all the wonderful greyhounds throughout the Southland.  Thank you one and all for your generosity both in dollars and in time.  Now on to our list of 2002 donations:

Baja Sanctuary - General Donation, Corona Del Mar Animal Hospital.

$100.00

Xmas Walk Shelter Fund. 

$95.00

Greyhound Connection –  Adoptions Donation.  

$200.00

Greyhound Adoption League –  General Donations. 

$693.00

Laguna Beach Animal Shelter – Chili Cook-Off Donation. 

$50.00

Mission Viejo Animal Shelter – Raffle Donation.

$60.00

Retired Racers - General Donation.

$55.00

SoCalGAL - Adoptions Donation.

$52.00

Orange County Police Canine Assoc - Demonstration Donation. 

$125.00

 Total Distributed Funds  $1,930.00

Note from your Editor…

The following story is not about greyhounds – but it was just too good to pass up, especially if you’ve recently been to visit my kennel... uh, house, I mean – and tried to sit on my dog beds… uh, couches…

A DOG LIVES IN THIS HOUSE

-Author unknown

My dog and I live in this house.  You are welcome to come and visit me anytime, but we have a few things that you must understand before you visit.  You must expect a few dog hairs to stick to your clothes.  I vacuum and clean on a regular basis, but a dog lives in this house too.  You may be licked and given a paw a few times, but she does this because she loves people and wants to say "Hello". So if you feel that you are too good for her love then you may not feel welcome here because this is her home too.  My dog is well mannered and very clean -but if you are one of those people who think ALL animals are dirty and smelly then you and I will probably have difficulty feeling comfortable during your visit.  If you don't like the sound of barking, then my home is not likely to be a pleasant place for you.  My dog protects me by letting me know I have a visitor. Whether it be a friend or uninvited stranger.  If you are a friend, my dog will consider you her friend too; but if you are an unwelcome guest, my dog will protect me with her life as I would hers.  Do not expect me to lock my dog in another room during your visit. I have trained my dog well so she will not do anything to you except maybe want a pat on the head.  I will not subject her to feel as if she is being punished by locking her away for no reason.

That would just be cruel.  When you walk in my home, be careful not to trip on a squeaky toy or a bone.  These are my dog's little treasures and I will not take them away from her just to show you that I keep a clean house.  She knows where all her toys are.  They may not look like much to you, but to her, they are worth more than gold.  You see, this is OUR home.  We have been together since she was a small pup scampering around the house, a tiny bit of a thing only a few weeks old.  I raised her into a well mannered, beautifully behaved dog, and I am proud of her.  I consider her my personal gift from God.  She has done nothing but give me her endless love and devotion for many years.  I love her dearly and want to make her years happy ones.  As happy as she makes mine.  When you go home to your family, she stays here with me.  A fine and loving companion.  She is MY family and I wouldn't change that for the world.  When times were hard, we both went hungry.  When it was cold and there was no heat, we kept each other warm.  When I was sick, she stayed right by my side as I did her when she was not having a good day.  A better friend I could not ask for.  When no one else cared, my dog DID.  She has given me nothing but pure joy and I love her endlessly.  So please understand that I am not being rude.  I'm just looking out for my best friend.  

IT’S BOMBARDMENT TIME AGAIN

Well, it’s time for the America ’s Family Pet Expo again.  WWPSA’s final count for the 2002 event’s attendance was 85,000 plus people.  No wonder we were all so hoarse from talking about our beloved greyhounds.  There is no reason to believe that this year’s event won’t be just as successful.  If you are interested in helping out, we are shooting for a staff of six people and six greys per time slot.  Tell us your first and second choices of shifts, as many of the more popular shifts will fill up quickly.  It would also be helpful to let us know if you could be available for an additional shift if we have a last minute cancellation and need emergency help.  The best way to contact us if you want to volunteer is to e-mail us as gogreys@juno.com.  If you’re not hooked up to the e-mailing world, please call 949-552-1373.  Once the schedule has been set we will mail out passes, maps and show instructions.  The shifts for Friday, April 4 will be 10am to 2pm and 2pm to 6pm .  Saturday, April 5, shift times will be 9am to noon , noon to 4pm and 4pm to 7pm .  Sunday, April 6, we will need volunteers from 9am to noon , noon to 3pm and 3pm to 6pm .  Hope you all will consider joining us this year.  This is the biggest show we attend and it is well worth our attendance.

	Kathy Mooney for her loss of Hardy and the honorary "greyhound" Sammi
	Jacki and Bill Dahl for the loss of great Gus
	Lea Swift for her very early loss of Bradley
	Peter Vincent for his loss of the lovely Camille
	Lane and Dan Kussman for their loss of fifteen-year old Carrera
	John and Kindra Willey for their loss of the sweet boy Sammy
	John and Judy Kuplent for their loss of the wonderful Rocky