Needle
Nose Notes 
THE ‘EYES’
HAVE IT!
By Roger
Deeringer
Now that you have decided to bring a Greyhound into
your life, how do you know which Grey is right for you? You go to the kennel, or see a foster fest at
one of the local pet store Meet & Greet events. Maybe there is a foster pen at the rescue
picnic, or you just visit a friend’s house that is fostering Greys. Whatever the case, you may be presented with
many choices. Personalities abound, as
do the sizes and colors. Here is a
really cute little brindle girl. There
is the big bruiser white boy. A little,
shy black is peeking around the corner.
What about that wonderful looking fawn, just strutting her stuff. Oh, look at that friendly red, with the
wagging tail. Too many choices!
I often tell prospective Greyhound owners that
they will not pick the dog, the hound will pick you. Your home environment will dictate some
parameters. Do you need a cat safe
and/or small animal safe dog? Do you
have small children? Do you already have
another dog? What kind of neighborhood
dogs are there to deal with? These
questions will narrow the search, but there are still many Greys that will fit
in your home.
Color doesn’t really matter. It’s not the dog’s fault that the gene pool
caused the light fawn brindle color scheme.
Remember, the connection you are looking for is not skin deep, it comes
from the heart.
When it gets right down to it, just look into
the pup’s eyes. That will tell you
volumes. Is there a connection? You’ll know it almost instantly. Some matches are just meant to be. The dogs that have become permanent members
of my household, all had that instant connection, and this includes the
non-Greyhounds I had before becoming infected with the Greyhound bug. If you are current or former dog owners,
think about your experience, because it was probably the same. It’s in the eyes. Just stroke the head, hold the jowls and take
a deep gaze. Ask the dog through your
eyes, “Are you the one?”
When it’s right, there will be a gaze that bores
holes right into your heart. That great
calm, which comes from that contact, is all you need to know which dog should
go home with you today. Please don’t be
disappointed if you don’t find the right dog on the first try; there are many
eyes to look into. When the right dog
finds you, you, the dog and the rest of your family will have a truly Greyt
experience. I hope that dog will be a
Greyhound, but if it is not, love the dog and enjoy the experience!
STATUS
REPORT ON OSTEOSARCOMA STUDY
By Donna Arcaro
I would
like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the Osteosarcoma
(bone cancer) study in Greyhounds that is currently being conducted. As mentioned in a couple earlier Needle Nose
Notes, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, with assistance from the
American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation and the Greyhound Club of America,
is doing this research to help develop genetic tests to help identify carriers
of this devastating disease. Ultimately,
the hope is to find the defective genes causing this, improving treatment and
survival rates.
As of
July, 2006, 120 blood samples have been submitted from Greys that have
Osteosarcoma - the goal is to receive at least 40 more. Even though they have received 151 blood
samples from healthy Greys and their goal was 120, they are still accepting
samples. It is planned that the study
will be ending in the early part of 2007 so time is of the essence to have the
appropriate number of samples submitted to perform a meaningful study.
Thank
you again to all of you who have kindly had blood samples submitted from your
beloved Greyhounds. If you have not
participated, please consider doing so.
If you have Greyhounds 9 years or older without Osteosarcoma or if you
have one at any age with Osteosarcoma, please contact me, and I’ll be happy to
provide you with the details. My e-mail
contact is: tachevah@verizon.net, or telephone: 626-568-6657 or 818-352-6320 (please leave a
message if I’m unable to speak on the phone when you call and I’ll be glad to
call you back). Basically, all that is
necessary is doing a little bit of simple paperwork and having blood drawn and
Fedexed to the Broad Institute. Hemopet
in Garden Grove is still generously offering, free of charge, to assist with
all services necessary to obtain and submit the blood samples, including
shipping charges (regardless of what organization you adopted from), but if you
prefer, you can coordinate this through your vet.
Please
consider helping in the efforts to give our Greys longer, healthier, and
happier lives!
AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR
By Carole Oglesbee
Last year, Southern California Greyhound
Adoption League sponsored their third annual reunion picnic at
Since the event proved to be such a success,
this year’s reunion will follow the same format with all four organizations
involved in the event. Having such
cooperation and participation between adoption groups is extremely unusual and
is something to enjoy and celebrate.
In addition to the four host groups, the Needle Nose
Crew will be joining in with all our greyhound goodies available for sale. Twenty-five percent of all our sales for the
day will go to SoCalGAL in order to help with their adoption efforts. We hope you will consider joining in the fun,
good food, companionship and shopping this year. The fourth annual SoCalGAL reunion is
scheduled for Sunday, October 8th from 11AM to 3PM. Log onto socalgal.org or
homestretchgreyhounds.org for all the details, including a map of the park
venue. We all look forward to seeing you
and your greys at the park!!
I’M THE BOSS AROUND HERE!!
By Kindra Willey
We have a couple of child’s wading pools on our
deck. Li’l Bit (not a brain cell in her head,
but lovable and beautiful) was playing in the water, much to the disgust of the
Greys lying around the pool on the deck, soaking up the sun.
Li’l Bit would splash, using her paws and her
nose to throw water everywhere. The
other Greys were glaring at her, when Minnie, our alpha girl, came racing out
of the house and shouldered Li’l Bit out of the water.
The sunbathing Greys relaxed. Minnie had taken care of the problem and all
was well. It’s nice to have an Alpha
around so you don’t have to get up and deal with things.
Minnie went back into the house; Li’l Bit was
just as happy chasing bugs; and all was well in the kingdom again!
FROSTY
PAWS ICE CREAM
(for
dogs)!
Submitted
by Mike Bushnell
32 ounces vanilla yogurt
1 mashed banana or
one
large jar fruit baby food
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Blend all together and freeze in either 3 ounce
paper cups or ice cube trays. Put in
microwave for just a few seconds before serving.
Note:
This can also be made with meat baby food instead of the fruit and
peanut butter.
REMEMBRANCES
Our hearts go out to…
Devin & Sheila Budd
for their loss of
15 year old Mimi
Jerry & Cara
Brockhoff for their recent losses of Desi and Diana
John & Kindra Willey
for their loss of
spirited Miss Penny
Heath & Chris McGee
for their loss of
Black Beauty Cudi
Kathy Pena for her loss
of sweet Miss Tess
Mark & Joanne Kemper
for their loss of
"Number One"
Noonie
Send your articles and pictures to:
Joy Moss,
Editor, Needle Nose Notes
Sun. Sep. 17th: 12PM to 4PM, Sun. Sep 24th: 1PM to 4PM,
Cure Race Walk, Sun. Oct 1st: 11AM to 3PM,
Petsmart, Sun. Oct 1st:: 11AM to 3PM,
Petsmart, Sat. Oct 7th: 10AM to 2PM,
Petsmart, RSM Sun. Oct 8th: 11AM to 3PM,
SoCalGAL Picnic, Sun. Oct 15th: 12PM to 4PM, Sat. Oct 21st: 8AM to 12PM,
Back Bay Bow Wow, Fri. Oct 27th: 12PM to 6PM,
NEC Home Show, Orange Sat. Oct 28th: 10AM to 2PM,
Petsmart, Sat. Oct 28th: 10AM to 8PM, NEC
Home Show, Orange Sun. Oct 29th: 10AM to 6PM,
NEC Home Show, Orange For further details
visit needlenosecrew.org
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
September – October 2006