Needle Nose Notes

It’s Good Luck to Kiss a Grey on St. Patty’s Day!

March 2004

SAD FAREWELL – FOND HELLO

By Carole Oglesbee

We have had to say goodbye to many greyhounds over the last ten years. In addition, we have had to say goodbye to many wonderful volunteers. This coming spring we must say goodbye to one of the finest people in the greyhound rescue world that we have ever had the pleasure to meet, know and work with. Linda Brown, along with her husband Larry, has decided to move Retired Racers and their own personal family of greyhounds to Trinidad , Colorado .

It has been our extreme pleasure to work with Linda on referrals, fundraisers, ranch work projects, and just plain old good companionship. Both Larry and Linda’s hospitality to one and all has been a ray of sunshine in the hubbub of Southern California living. Linda’s expert knowledge of greyhound behavior and medical problems has been a greyhound life saver more than once to many of our members as well as Linda’s own adopters. In addition, Linda’s expertise with the world of Western herbs has aided many a greyhound owner to help their greyhounds live happier and healthier lives.

The greatest loss with Linda’s move will be her ability to focus on what is truly important while leaving the noise that so often follows human endeavors such as greyhound rescue and volunteer efforts. She will be truly missed by more people than we think she can possibly imagine, and also be truly missed more than she can possibly imagine. We wish Linda and Larry the very best with their new life in the wilds of Colorado . Our loss will be the greyhounds and peoples of Colorado gain. Goodbye and Good Luck… We will miss you very, very much.

Having said the goodbyes, we now focus on the welcomes. As Linda talked with us about her move to Colorado , it became clear that some sort of support for all those who had adopted greyhounds from Retired Racers was needed. Without hesitation, the Needle Nose Crew stepped forward. We will do whatever is necessary to make certain that Retired Racer’s greys and their owners are welcomed into our organization. Linda will still be available to help via e-mail and phone. However, for local contact and assistance, the members of the NNC are here to help. We will try to answer all your questions and provide referral information as situations arise. If we don’t have the answers, we’ll do our best to find them for you. Although the center of our activities is a distance away from most of you, we invite you to join us anytime you are able.

The Needle Nose Crew cannot possibly fill Linda’s shoes. However, please know you are important, and we welcome you all with open hearts.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

By Carole Oglesbee

There’s a play about greyhounds and the greyhound racing industry! Hollywood has come up with a play right up our alley. It is called Cynics and was written by Patrick Day and Ted Williams. It is an interactive theatrical experience in which the actors portray racing dogs. The play’s executive producers are Tyne Daly and Barry Watson.

We’re a little late in getting the information out to all of you about this interesting event but hope you all will consider supporting these wonderful folks and their efforts by attending a showing. The play is at The Theatre District @ The Cast Theatre, 800 N. El Centro, Los Angeles , CA 90038. You can find the location on our local maps and, of course, on the Internet map sites. Show dates are Friday and Saturday nights at 8PM , February 13th through April 17th. There will be no shows on March 26th, April 2nd, April 9th and April 16th. The admission cost is $15.00 and a percentage of profits from the play will be donated to the local greyhound rescue groups.

Since this is such an unusual and interesting event for those of us in the greyhound rescue and adoption field, we thought it would be a great idea to make a night of it. Members of the Needle Nose Crew will be attending the event on March 27th, along with several folks from Hemopet and Southern California

Greyhound Adoption League. Any and all of you are welcome to come out and join us. You can call (323) 850-8550 or log onto www.plays411.com/cynics in order to reserve your tickets. To insure a seat, call the week before March 27th for reservations. If you can’t join us March 27th, please make an effort to attend a showing sometime during the play’s run. We are very fortunate to have the entertainment world acknowledge the plight of our wonderful companions and should do everything we can to support the folks responsible.

PAGOSA, FRECKLES AND KALI

By Cheryl Cook

All three of our greys came from Linda & Larry Brown's Retired Racers in Acton . Linda has the innately remarkable ability of knowing just exactly the right greys to place together within a household, not to mention a household with a tiny blonde cocker, who could double as a track lure!

Last April, we adopted our first little girl, Pagosa. Her racing name was Flying Pagosa. But we call her 'Gosa-Mimosa. Don't ask why. It just comes out that way! She is a tiny, whippet-sized, silly, overactive white and black hug-bug. She loves the agility course and has taken to it like a fish to water. Always running, jumping and driving her sister and brother nuts!

In August, we adopted Freckles and he quickly became her big brother and protector. His track name was Kk's Freckles. He's like a tank, with the personality of a kitten. We call him Freck-a-lator, after The Terminator! He has become quite the pack-rat and collects items from all over the house and garage, including rocks and clumps of dirt (thank you very much!) that wind up on his bed. If I'm missing laundry from the washroom, I KNOW where to find it!

And, in December we added our third (but not our last, by any means). Kathy, a tall brindle girl from Hemopet was being fostered by Retired Racers through Southern California Greyhound Adoption League. Her racing name had been "HEMADETHEBET". A bit of a mouthful, huh? Yet Kathy didn't sound right either. We poured over names and our friends even e-mailed us with suggestions. But the perfect name came from out of the blue... Kali! We kept the "Ka" part, just because she already identified with it and added "li", the first two letters of Linda Brown's name.

Pagosa, Freckles and Kali joined our little 16+ year old blonde cocker, Selah. She's convinced that she's just a tiny grey as she was accepted into their pack!

PAINTER AND LILY

By Karyn Zoldan

Being a fan of the fictional Thin Man television show so many years ago, I always wanted a dog named Asta. But when I adopted my first greyhound, Painter, a 75 pound parti male; Asta just didn’t fit and Painter looked like paint spilled on him. He commands much respect and people often call him Mr. Painter with the emphasis on Mr. A year later I was fostering a 63 pound brindle named Birdie. I hated that name. When I failed fostering I changed her name to Lily because she was like a delicate flower, or so I thought. If I only waited a few more weeks, I would’ve named her Lucy because she blossomed into trouble. She answers to Silly Lily, Baba-Lily, and Drama Queen!

SPRING IS HERE!

By Carole Oglesbee

As we sit inside watching all the rain we have been hit with recently, it’s hard to believe that spring is right around the corner. However, we switch our clocks on April 3rd and jump into Daylight Savings Time. And that can only mean it is time to start our weekly walks around the lake. For those of you who have

not joined us in past years, please consider grabbing your greys for an hour or so of relaxed social time.

We meet every Wednesday evening during Daylight Savings Time, and this year’s first walk will start on April 7th. We gather in Irvine at Barranca and Lake in the Coco ’s Restaurant parking lot. From there we walk around the north lake of the Woodbridge community. Our meeting time is 6:00PM , and we are usually finished up by about 7:00PM to 7:30PM . Since we usually have from a dozen to two dozen greys, we often end up talking about greyhound adoption to those we meet along the way. So please, pile your greyhounds into your vehicles and come on over to the lake for a casual walk and loads of friendship. Everyone is welcome.

For those of you in the San Diego area, please remember that Lois Niven heads a group called the Greyhound Walking Club of San Diego. You can access their web site at www.gwcsdc.homestead.com. All the information you need to join in their walks is listed. We hope some of our San Diego county members will give them a try. We know that their walks are as delightful as our Wednesday night Orange County events, so make some time for yourselves and your greys to enjoy the great outdoors.

	Michael Mazal & Jason Weeks for their loss of Dalton
	Linda & Larry Brown for their loss of Dash
	David Kostka for his loss of boss lady Valerie
	Phil & Toni Epler for their loss of the sweet Heidi
	Mark & Sue Rogers for their loss of Miss Diamond
	Jadine Yamamoto for the loss of her beloved Boolie
	Laura Hawkins for her loss of Mr. Cyrus

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