Needle Nose Notes 
Needle Nose Notes
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
By Carole Oglesbee
As I progress through my battle with recurring
cancer, I would like to thank those who sent best wishes and those who assisted
over the past eight months. It has been difficult to respond to everyone’s good
wishes as the first five months were extremely intense. The last three months
have been slightly better. However, a great deal of time has been dedicated to
regaining strength and endurance. With all the difficulties, receiving each of
your cards, e-mails, phone calls, and visits have helped more than any of you
can imagine. Each gesture has given me that one more push of optimism which is
so badly needed to work through serious illness and harsh treatments. In
addition, I would like to thank my special angels who helped not only taking
care of me but, of course, my wonderful greyhound babies. Since I’m not allowed
to bend, twist, or pick up and carry heavy items, I have needed help with all
sorts of everyday tasks that we normally take for granted. For all their
wonderful assistance, I thank Katie Sherman, Emily Boys, Sharyn Deeringer,
Roger Deeringer and Erika Jones. By far my most dedicated angel has been Joy
Moss. She has been my driver, shopper, and main caregiver for the last entire
eight months. Literally, surviving at home, in between hospital stays, would
not have been possible without Joy’s help. My never-ending thanks go to Joy for
all her care and efforts.
As many of you know, it
takes a great deal of effort, time and energy to keep an organization like The
Needle Nose Crew operating. Since I have been so very ill, we definitely needed
people to help. As is always the case, wonderful NNC members stepped forward to
make sure tasks were handled. My thanks go to Sharyn Deeringer, Roger
Deeringer, Katie Sherman, Laura Hawkins, Shasta Wilson and Joy Moss. There was
lots of juggling going on, but the NNC is alive and well due to the extra
efforts of these marvelous volunteers. Meanwhile, so many people have asked
what they can do to help. Although much is being capably handled, there is
always room for more assistance in order to get more greyhounds adopted.
Currently, our Needle Nose Notes go out to about 850 homes which include about
2000 adopted and foster greyhounds. Approximately one third of these homes have
active volunteer members. If you are not already active with either the Needle
Nose Crew and/or your adoption group, I ask you to take a look at your calendar
and free time. If each of you could come up with six days out of the 365 days
each year and volunteer to help, the results would be astounding. Write six
articles about your life with your greyhound for the Needle Nose Notes and/or
your adoption group's newsletter. Participate with your greyhounds in six shows
with the Needle Nose Crew and/or your adoption group. If even half of you who
do not currently help out with greyhound promotion were to step up, we would
end up with somewhere around 1700 days of volunteering. Imagine if all of you
took up the request to help and thus provided 3400 days of volunteering. For
those of you who find you have more time available
than you thought, please consider fostering for your local adoption group. This
is a larger time commitment, but is also most rewarding. Knowing you have given
an ex-racing greyhound a chance at a permanent loving home
will not only help with my healing process but will make each of you
feel terrific. Of the ten greyhound adoption groups in
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT
By Erika Jones
Six months ago, SpinMaster, my handsome boy, was diagnosed with
Osteosarcoma in his front leg. He suffered from what is called a
"spontaneous fracture" and shattered the distal radius/ulna. Prior to
this, he appeared to be a normal, healthy dog. Usually with this type of
diagnosis, you are given the following choices: 1) Do nothing and manage the pain.
2) Amputate the leg and manage the pain. 3) Amputate the leg and do
chemo/radiation. 4) Do chemo/radiation.
5) Euthanasia. We couldn't imagine doing any of the above. I spent hours
searching on the Internet for the "miracle" cancer cure, which of
course I did not find. I did however find several good articles referencing an
herbal treatment using Artemisinin and a high protein, low carb diet. I
consulted with Dr. Mabley at
I started Spinny on a 100mg dose of Artemisinin 2x/day. His diet
consists of a high grade kibble without extra antioxidants and scrambled eggs
for added protein. Since we live 40 miles away from the vet, his senior tech
taught me how to properly bandage and splint his leg since this needs to be
done weekly. I take him to the vet every month for leg and lung x-rays and I am
happy to report that the cancer has not spread. At this point, you are most
likely wondering how does Artemisinin work? Basically,
Artemisinin targets cells rich in Iron (cancer cells) and destroys them. Cancer cells thrive on carbohydrates and
anti-oxidents inhibit the Artemisinin. This is why he is on his special diet. I
purchase the Artemisinin online from www.iherb.com for $14.00 a bottle and the brand I buy is manufactured by
Holley Pharmaceuticals.
I'm not saying that this is the cure for cancer, but it has
allowed me to have six wonderful months with my boy, which is longer than
predicted. The ulna has fused together and the distal radius is fusing back
together. His appetite is amazing and he has not been on any type of pain
medication for three months! He plays with toys, races around the house and
yard, jumps the hedges and even chases rabbits. He does run a little slower due
to the cast, but besides that, you would never know anything was wrong. I am grateful for the extra quality time this
treatment approach has brought to our family.
DOG / OWNER LOOK ALIKES?
By Kelly Zuniga
I have always heard the
expression that dogs and owners start to look alike after awhile. While I do not believe this to be true about
Chris and I, and our two dogs, I do believe that our two dogs have started to
act like each other. Let me explain why this might seem unusual…we have a Jack
Russell Terrier and a Greyhound. Can you imagine any two dogs that should be so
different from each other?
Toby, the JRT was our only
dog for 2-½ years, extremely spoiled and a major mama’s boy. Chris begged and
pleaded for another dog…a big dog…and I kept putting him off and putting him
off due to the fact that we live in a small 2br 2ba condo. I wanted another
dog, but another small dog. Personally, I think Toby is a manly dog. It’s not
like we are owners of a little poodle dressed up in little outfits or
something! So, there really was no
compromise to the situation until we went to the PetExpo this year. We saw all
kinds of dogs, big, small and in between. We saw lots of dogs that we had never
seen in person before and it was really confusing, but fun to experience. There was one breed that we just kept going
back to and fell in love with, the Greyhounds.
We learned about how docile and quiet they are and that they sleep 18-20
hours a day…sounded great…only awake 4-6 hours per day…big couch potatoes…that
is the big dog for us! We finally had a
compromise.
We contacted Carole and Joy
and off we went on our quest to find the perfect dog for our family. Our first
choice at Hemopet was Bongo. Chris and I really liked him, but when we
introduced Toby, it seemed like Bongo was a little too obsessed by Toby. Then
it was onto Pescado… he wasn’t interested in Toby at all! The search went on until we got to Amore… and
dare I say that it was true “Amore”?
Toby is the one who chose Amore or maybe she chose him, I’m not really
sure. We brought her home and she did the “cockroach” on the sofa the first
night! According to our neighbor, Pat
Cooper, previous owner of Allie who has since passed, this is a great sign that
they are comfortable in your home and comfortable with you. All has been well, they sleep together in the
sun, Toby cleans her ears and gives her kisses, but someone forgot to tell
Amore that she is a big dog!
Toby, who weighs 25lbs.,
flies across the sofa and does laps between the bedroom and the living room…
only 1000sq. ft… not a problem. He walks across the
back of the sofa, like a cat, and hops about 5 ft. straight up in the air, as
welcome, when we come home. He barks to
protect his territory and gives us kisses to tell us how much he loves us. Just
imagine, if you will, a 70 lbs. Greyhound doing the
same. It is a little frightening, to say
the least! I have been stepped on,
pushed over, almost knocked down, awakened by big, deep barks and had huge,
sloppy kisses cover my face by this big girl that thinks she is a petite
princess!
At the dog park, she
remembers who she is, sorta. She runs like the wind while all look on in wonder
at her athleticism. She is sleek, muscular and can stop on a dime! But, she must have known a
So, our Petite Princess she
remains. I just don’t have the heart to tell her that she is a big dog who most
resembles a Jack Russell Terrier instead of her owners!
IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN
By Sharyn Deeringer
What a beautiful morning it
had turned out to be. After some morning fog, the sun came out and started to
dry the dew on the grass. Roger ventured out early to cut the grass in the back
40 (the back 40 feet, that is) before the sun got too hot. Thus, began the
adventure of our handsome red fawn SoCalGAL foster greyhound named Cap’n
Crunch, a Kermit the Frog wannabe.
Kermit the Frog used to
lament, “It’s not easy being green.” Imagine my surprise when Cap’n Crunch came
running into the kitchen after a romp outside and looked me in eye, silently
singing, “It’s easy getting green.” There he stood in
all his glory, lime-green from toe to belly, with a smile on his face. Every
bit of white hair on his legs and chest was colored green.
How much fun he must have
had doing spins and wind-sprints in the newly mown grass. The laughs we had from seeing him in is newly
“minted” green coat, more than made up for the divots of grass scattered about
the backyard.
Why do we foster? These
wonderful greys, that are allowed to spend time at our humble abode, provide us
with an endless supply of laughs, surprises, and memories. Cap’n Crunch has
gone on to his forever home, leaving us to sing a new song, “It’s so easy being
green.”
REMEMBRANCES
Our
hearts go out to…
John & Kindra Willey for their loss
of
Minnie, Annie & George
Jennifer Zavala for her loss of Darius
Steve & Gene Bisset for their loss
of the
gentle Fling
Gaylen & Patti Dahle for their loss
of big boy Oscar
Bob & Mary Mallory for their loss of
Cheri
Lou & Linda Lucchesi for their loss
of Corky
Marilyn Merritt for her loss of Jenkins
Vic & Denaire Walker for their loss
of Gibson
Katie Fisher for her loss of Zipper
Mark & Stephanie Buehler for their
loss of Guy
Tony & Terry Kavorinos for their loss
of
Miss Scarlett
The Ho & Kellner Families for their
loss of
sweet Quinn
Jennifer Prause for her loss of goofy
Cool
Toni Schaaf for her loss of Havoc
Todd Freier & Rose Hedgepeth for
their loss of Fletch
Marilyn Croteau for her loss of the
wonderful
♥
Send your articles and
pictures to:
Joy
Moss, Editor, Needle Nose Notes
Sunday, Sept. 16th: Sunday, Sept. 23rd: Sunday, Sept. 30th: Saturday, Oct. 6th: Sunday, Oct. 14th: Sunday, Oct. 21st: Sunday, Oct. 21st: Friday, Oct. 26th: Saturday, Oct. 27th: Saturday, Oct. 27th: Sunday, Oct. 28th: For further details, log onto needlenosecrew.org Walk Around the Come
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
SEPT - OCT 2007