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Foster Greyhounds Capture Hearts! |
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| VoI 10, issue 10 |
February 2006 |
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DORIAN GREYHOUND By Anita Longin Finally, there’s a book for all greyhound lovers, young and old. "Dorian Greyhound, A Dogs Tale" has just been published. If you've ever wondered what your retired racer might write if you type with those paws, here it is. These memoirs of a racing greyhound were "dictated" to my daughter, Sheryl Longin, by her very first greyhound, the beloved Dorian, before he passed on. Happily, the publishers, ibooks, have agreed to donate a percentage of sales to Hemopet, so Dorian's wry tale will help not just his greyhound peers, but all breeds of dogs in need of life-saving blood products. The book is available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores - just ask them to order it. THE WONDERS OF FOSTERING By Roger Deeringer Fisher, our big, black, lovable Greyhound found his way into our hearts in September of 2003. We had a wonderful time learning about Greyhound habits and we fell in love with Greyhounds. Little did we know Fisher was special, the perfect dog. We have to fight off some members of the Needle Nose Crew to keep him from being abducted! After living with just one Greyhound for nearly a year, we decided Fisher would like a companion. The Needle Nose Crew sponsors a Wednesday evening walk during Daylight Savings Time. During these walks, I discovered that I had a knack for dealing with the “Spooks”. Giving the issue serious thought, we opted to start fostering for Southern California Greyhound Adoption League. At the next Wednesday walk we got Manny. Now, Manny is a beautiful white hound with only one-half of his head fawn. He wanted nothing to do with strangers. He backed away from everyone and we had a rough tour around the lake. I then had to pick him up and put him in the truck for the ride home. What an adventure, but that was only the beginning. That first night at home, all Manny did was pace and check every reflective surface to see who that other dog was and if that other dog was going to attack. By the time Manny was adopted only 3 weeks later, he had already started coming out of his shell. It was a great success for a first time foster home. Over the last 20 months we have gone through 19 fosters. Every single one was special. When each went home, a very special feeling or emotion is held close to our hearts. Knowing that we have helped place a new member of a family is very gratifying and is the special reward of fostering Greyhounds. Yes, there are the messes. Yes, it is extra work. It takes a lot of effort to show off the pups and find those homes. But that special reward I spoke of is a huge payment for the trouble and work. All of the 9 agencies here in Southern California now sponsor or support a foster home program. More foster homes are needed. Greys fresh from the kennels sometimes have a difficult time adjusting to the daily life of a human family, especially if they are the only pet. Greys benefit from the foster programs by having the time to adjust to life outside of a cage. You need to teach them about large see-through walls. We humans call them sliding glass doors, but the newly freed Grey doesn’t understand that concept. Feeding time in a home is also a new experience. What! Stairs? Why do people go up and down those things? That is one of the great adventures in fostering Greyhounds, teaching them about stairs. Of course once they get the hang of it, one may wish that the lesson was never learned! Going for walks in the neighborhood with all the little kids and other small animals - What fun! All of this and more are what fostering is all about. Fostering provides that “feel good” project that everyone needs. It’s good for the soul. It might even help the blood pressure and provide that bit of exercise your physician is always nagging you about. As you relax and watch your Grey or Greys and wonder if they would like another companion, think about the foster program your adoption agency operates. Yes, you could own another Grey, but how would you feel knowing that you are helping many other Greys find good homes. Folks ask us if it’s hard to give up a dog that may have been in our home for 3 months. The answer is yes, it’s hard. But I know that the Grey is going to a good new home and will have a great life. Then all you need to do is go back to your group and get another foster and start all over again. That softens our separation anxiety and offers a new challenge. One last thought. Remember I said that we started this activity because we thought Fisher would like a companion? Well, sometimes we get the look from the Big Fish that just screams, “When can I be an only child again?”
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS By Linda Brown I cannot stress LOUDLY enough the word ESSENTIAL in fatty acids. These fatty acids literally enable the body to function properly on all levels. Essential fatty acids are major components of all cell membranes. Without them the membranes are unable to function - from converting energy, to circulatory health, to brain function to digestive health. The immune system is directly linked to fatty acids. Mental symptoms of a deficiency in these fatty acids - as related to our pets - are violent behavior and anxiety/separation. Physical symptoms include dermatitis, auto-immune disorders, seizures, heart problems, arthritis, and irritable bowel syndrome. It would take a small novel to go through all the benefits of each essential fatty acid; Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9. So I will put all three of them in a nutshell: Omega 3 - provides fuel for the heart, prevents blood clotting, helps burn fat and increase stamina, helps overcome food and skin allergies. Found in Flax Seed Oil and Fish Oil. Omega 6 – stimulates the formation of prostaglandins - produced in every cell in your body. Prostaglandins control inflammation, immune system and communication between cells. Omega 6 is essential to body function. Found in Flax Seed Oil and Evening Primrose Oil. Omega 9 - not as 'essential' as the other two, but is a catalyst for them - a booster of sorts. Found in Borage Oil. Now, you ask, which oil should I buy? Most drug stores, and I think even Wal-Mart, has a fairly new product combination out that I am using for my greyhounds. It is Fish, Flax and Borage Oil all in one capsule! Can't ask for more than that!! One 1000mg capsule a day for maintenance and if you have a sick, recuperating or older hound with some minor or major ailments it is safe to give him/her one capsule twice a day. If anyone has any questions on a specific medical condition, be it pet or human, please feel free to contact me at 719-845-0578 or 805-279-8873 or at greyspirit@earthlink.net. I have never claimed to be a vet or MD, but I have enough information on alternative medicine to help. And if I can't, I will tell you that, too. 2005 DONATIONS By Carole Oglesbee Each year the Needle Nose Crew tries to donate as much money as is possible to various greyhound adoption groups in Southern California. As most of you are aware, the NNC ran into some difficulties this past year with our funding. Thanks to so many of you who came to our rescue, we made it out of our “limited funds” situation. We are back in healthy form and tackling the New Year with gusto. Since we did run into problems last year our donations were drastically reduced. However, we were able to help out in a couple of areas. We have routinely assisted with the Hemopet bubble baths which allowed us to donate $380 to assist with their adoption program. Southern California Greyhound Adoption League also adds many volunteer hours to the Hemopet bubble bath events not to mention their annual reunion picnic which was held at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. The result for both activities resulted in a total donation of $557 from the NNC to SoCalGAL. Although we were only able to donate $846 during last year, we are looking forward to additional funds being distributed to a broader base of groups during the first half of this year. We will be completing the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society conference participation in March. Once we have finished up, we will be mailing out the IVAS donations and our NNC matching funds to those groups whose greys helped us staff the program. During the second half of the year, we are looking forward to donating to several of the smaller groups which struggle with funding on a regular basis. We’d again like to thank all of you who made donations last year. We’d also like to thank all of you who helped by bringing your greys to the IVAS program. These are all ways which help the NNC support local adoption groups.
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Submit an article for publication. Send your story and pictures to: Editor, Needle Nose Notes 4857 Royce Road, Irvine, CA 92612 or, e-mail to: |
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Contributions and donations are always welcome. Please send to: Needle Nose Crew P.O. Box 3012, Laguna Hills, CA 92654-3012 for more information e-mail to:
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Shirley Dole for
her loss of the shy Mariah
