VoI 10, issue 3

July, 2005

SOUNDHOUND?

By Sharyn Deeringer

Dawn comes up like thunder.  No wait, that’s the greys thundering downstairs to go outside at the first light of dawn.  “Open the door, open the door.” “Me first, me first.” Pwang!  There goes the screen door as the gaggle of greyhounds make their mad dash to the backyard with our Southern California Greyhound Adoption League foster, Road, in the lead.  Screen door number 2 has just been knocked off track, and the door isn’t even 24 hours old. 

Tired of replacing screen doors, I was at my wits-end on how to keep Road from destroying every screen door he came in contact with.  He was too impatient to notice that the screen door had yet to be opened before he made his beeline to the yard.

Well, no time to think about that now, I have to get ready for the “show and tell” at the Pet Expo.  I put the screen door back on its track and prayed that it would still close.

Fast forward to the Pet Expo...  As I walked in the exhibit hall, there was the Poochie-Bells booth.  What is a poochie bell?  You can train your dog to rattle the bells when they want to go outside.  The bells hang on a doorknob and you teach your pooch to hit the bells when he or she needs to go out. “Ah, ha,” I thought, “How about if I buy a set of poochie-bells and teach Road to listen for the bells BEFORE he goes outside?”

When I arrived home that evening, I discovered that Road was afraid to go outside.  He now thought that the screen door was going to attack him at every turn.  I hung the poochie-bells on the screen door, showed Road the bells, jingled them, and led him outside.  I always knew greyhounds were smart, but within 24 hours Road had learned to look for the bells hanging from the screen door and to wait for the sound of the bells before he headed out the door.  I was thrilled:  no more greys crashing through the screen, no more scared puppies, and no more buying door replacements.

The next day, I told the Poochie-Bell crew about my new found use for their bells - a sight and sound tool for Greyhounds.  As I was thanking them for making my life easier, they asked me to email a picture of Road.  Road became their dog of the Month for June and SoCalGal received a $1.00 for every Poochie-Bell sold in June - a win-win for everyone.

You can find Poochie-Bells at www.poochie-bells.com.

PLEA FOR HELP – FOLLOW UP

We would like to thank those of you who dug into your pockets and sent much needed funds in response to our plea for financial help in May.  The Needle Nose Crew is out almost every weekend talking with the public about greyhounds and greyhound adoptions thanks to the efforts of our volunteers.  Many come to help, many cannot.  For those of you who live too far away to help at our shows, your donations are a true blessing.  To those who do both, we thank twice over.  The amount collected will be put to good use as we march toward getting every greyhound adopted. 

We would especially like to thank those of you who share your lives with Retired Racers’ greyhounds.  Most of you know so little of the Needle Nose Crew, and yet, you generously opened your checkbooks.  As during the past year since Larry and Linda Brown’s move to Colorado, please know we will continue to be here to help in any way we can. We have talked with many of you about pet losses, re-adoptions, boarding, illnesses and vet referrals.  We even helped out with a shelter rescue thanks to a call from a Retired Racer member alert.  So please, keep the calls and e-mails coming in…We’ll be here.

DEFINING WHO WE ARE

By Mike Falconer

Not having a yard, Sleepy and Red, our two Hemopet/SoCalGAL greyhounds, get walked twice a day, every day, rain or shine.  Due to several attacks and near misses with dogs off leashes, my wife and I have taken to walking the boys along Colorado Boulevard – the main thoroughfare of Pasadena rather than down the more residential streets that surround our home.  It is because of the route of our daily walks that our two, beautiful brindle boys have reached something of celebrity status among the homeless people who live on Colorado Boulevard.  In turn, this has meant that we are often faced with the realization that our two dogs live significantly better lives and have more creature comforts than a lot of the people we meet on our walks.

The homeless people that we meet are often mentally ill to some degree but, by and large, have always been pleasant and friendly to us.  Never once have we felt uncomfortable or threatened in any way; I guess having two large dogs helps in that regard.  Only once has someone asked us for money.  But what does it say about us as people, who like to think of ourselves as kind and caring, when we devote significant portions of our lives and income to two dogs and to the plight of greyhounds in general – particularly when there is so much obvious human discomfort and need all around us?

The answer to that question came from a surprising place.  Cult author Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club, has a new book out called Haunted.  This is a collection of short stories that deals with themes from the bizarre to the down-right horrific; however, one of his characters hits the nail on the head.  In Haunted, one of Palahniuk’s creations, named ‘The Missing Link,’ laments the death of a cat and his compatriots’ seeming disinterest.   “Animals,” The Missing Link says, “are how we define humans.”  Palahniuk continues, “Without animals there would be no humanity.”

Our humanity can be judged by our treatment of different species.  That does not absolve us of responsibility to our fellow man, but responsibility to our fellow man does not absolve us of our responsibility to animals who have been, and continue to be, wronged by our species.  Giving a home to a greyhound may not be as selfless as giving a home to a homeless person, but it is still a cause that is worthy, and a cause that we should never be ashamed of.

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.  – Robert Frost 

	Alonzo & Vicki Pedrin for their early loss of Roper
	Gerald & Moria Scipione for their loss of Sunset
	Erin Baker & Family for their loss of Starlite
	Sharon Cole for her early loss of little Dorito

Walk Around the Lake

Come join our Wednesday night walks.  We meet at Lake and Barranca in the “Lake Cafe" parking lot in Irvine at 6PM.  Our scenic stroll around North Woodbridge Lake takes about an hour.

Everyone is welcome.

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