SPRINGTIME MEANS PICNIC TIME!
By Carole Oglesbee

With each spring comes the flurry of greyhound rescue and adoption picnics. This year is no exception, and we all hope everyone will take advantage of all the fun offered. Each picnic is an important part of each group’s sense of being and of course, necessity to raise much needed funds. Although we all adore our greys, we cannot lose sight of the fact that it is expensive to run each rescue group. Remember, all the picnics include lunch, games, demonstrations, raffles and greyt shopping. So with an eye for great fun and a heart open to full support, grab your greys and join in. GPA-CA-OC/GLA will be putting on their picnic at Central Park in Huntington Beach on Saturday, May 1st from 10AM to 4PM, and don't forget, our own newsletter editor, Eric Shelman, will be there selling, discussing and signing his book, Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson. 40% of book sales will be donated directly to GPA. For additional information, please call 562 693-3450. Hemopet/Pet-Lifeline's picnic is Sunday, May 2nd at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. Operation Greyhound will host the third picnic at Lake O’Neill, Camp Pendleton in Oceanside. The date is Saturday, May 22nd from 10AM to 3PM. For additional information, please call 619 588-6611. GPA-CA will be staging the last picnic of the season at Poway Community Park in Poway. The date is Sunday, May 23rd from 9AM to 3PM. For additional Information, please call 619 443-0940. It is important to remember that no matter which group you actually adopted your greys from, you will be welcomed, entertained and befriended at any and all of the spring events. This is a wonderful time of year to celebrate life just as nature celebrates. Come one, come all and enjoy a day at the park with two legged and four-legged friends. You’ll be glad you joined in the fun.

GREYHOUNDS & OLDER CHILDREN
By Mike Gallas

My article last month was on greyhounds and children, with an emphasis on babies and toddlers. This month I will continue this topic with an emphasis on older children. There are thousands of dog bites in this country every year. Some barely break skin while others require extensive plastic surgery. In almost every case the bite was preventable. It is estimated that approximately 85% of the bite victims in the U.S. are boys between the ages of five and ten years. This is a huge statistic! A statistic that could be drastically reduced with some education of both parents and children. Supervision is also an important element in reducing this statistic. I am sure it comes as no surprise that boys are most often bitten. Rough housing and overly aggressive play are often enough to set off even the most stable of temperaments. If a dog is unable to remove himself from a situation and no adult is present to intervene, the dog WILL protect himself. It can not be emphasized enough, a private place to flee to must be available to the dog at all times. Furthermore, an adult familiar with the dog should oversee all interactions between the dog and children. This is especially important when the situation involves children that are unfamiliar to the dog. Yet, there are other dog/child issues to consider. For example should the dog be allowed to sleep on the child’s bed? No! A previous article discussed this sleeping issue at length. This situation is even more serious when a child is involved. The dog is more likely to see a child as a peer or subordinate, and is therefore more likely to “correct” any unwanted behavior. The better option is to give the dog a bed of his own and instruct the child not to bother the dog when he is resting in his “private place”. Walking the dog is another area of concern. Allowing a youngster to walk the dog unsupervised is simply foolhardy and puts both child and dog at risk. It is a rare child indeed that has the savvy to control a dog in an intense situation. Furthermore, one must take into account the strength to weight ratio between the child and the dog. A 75 pound child is no match for a greyhound who has just spotted the neighbor’s cat. Brian Kilcommons, in his excellent book “Childproofing Your Dog”, recommends that the dog should be approximately 1/5 the weight of the child walking him (i.e. a child of 100 pounds can control a dog of 20 pounds). Also extending or flexi leashes and children are an accident waiting to happen. My personal opinion is that flexileads are the worst thing to happen to dogs since the flea. It is rare to see an adult who uses this type of leash correctly. So one can’t expect a child to have proper control of his dog in a similar situation. If the child wants to help walk the dog, one can make it a group outing. Go along to oversee and, hopefully, control any situation that might get out of hand. Better yet, the dog can be walked with two leads, one for the child and the other for the adult. It is a wonderful way to teach children responsibility and the care of living things by allowing them to help with the “dog duties”. For example, an older child can be taught the proper way to brush the dog using a rubber curry rather than a metal brush or comb. He can be “in charge” of grooming. Smaller children can help by picking up stray toys and food dishes after meals. If a dog shows any signs of being possessive of his toys or his dish (i.e. growling, snapping, etc.) the child should not be allowed near the dog while he is eating or at play until this problem has been corrected. A very positive way to bond the dog with the child is to have him hand out the treats (easy does it). The dog can then see the child as a positive, and the child becomes involved with the care of the family pet. As the child becomes more proficient with the care of the dog the duties can be increased. In summary, it is possible for children and dogs to live in harmony as long as guidelines of mutual respect are developed and followed. The dog and the child must be supervised by adults and common sense must be the rule of the day.

SHARIN' A LANE
By Joy Moss

Sharin joined us as the first Hemopet adoption of the new year. She rapidly caught on to the idea of soft beds (after one very harrowing escape). Denver and Tanner accepted her into the pack with very little fuss. Silver, the cat, no longer scares her silly. Sharin makes weekly trips to the store to pick up a new toy or treat without her tail between her legs. Even the monthly trip to the retirement center and skilled nursing home is not quite as traumatic. So, all in all, good progress has been made in the transition from kennel to home. The other night all the family mammals were gathered in the family room to watch a movie. Humans and feline curled and/or stretched on couches and chairs; canines curled and/or stretched on beds and rugs. Sharin got up and approached me, acting as if she wanted to go outside. “Oh, good girl!” I exclaimed, as I threw off my afghan and got up to let her out. “Good Sharin, let’s go outside”, I said as I opened the door. I heard laughter, but we were not watching a comedy. I turned to see Sharin curled up on the sofa that I had just left. She didn’t want to go outside; she wanted my spot! Maybe her name should be changed from Sharin A Lane to Sharin A Couch!

REMEMBRANCES:

Our hearts are with Kathy Bradley for the loss of her greyhound, Gunpowder, and also with Craig & Lisa Phillips, who recently lost Tiger Lilly, both taken by cancer. May both dogs live forever in the land where pain is not.

4th ANNUAL VETS4PETS HEALTHCARE FAIR!

Sunday, May 2, 1999, 12 noon - 4 p.m. at Laguna Hills Mall, ! This year’s fair will host: Health care providers, adoption groups, humane organizations, animal trainers & behaviorists, wild animal info, demonstrations, samples, Orange County Animal Control, service & therapy dog info and much more. Don’t miss it!


Dog Haiku
Author Unknown

I love my master, thus I perfume myself with this long-rotten squirrel. I lie belly-up in the sunshine, happier than you ever will be; Today I sniffed many dog butts—I celebrate by kissing your face. I sound the alarm! Paperboy—come to kill us all—Look! Look! Look! Look! I sound the alarm! Garbage man—come to kill us all—Look! Look! Look! Look! I lift my leg and whiz on each bush . Hello, Spot- sniff this and weep! How do I love thee? The ways are as numberless as my hairs on the rug. Hey, my human is home! I am so ecstatic I have made a puddle. I hate my choke chain—Look, world, they strangle me! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Sleeping here, my chin on your foot— no greater bliss —well, maybe catching rats Look in my eyes and deny it; no human could love you as much I do. The cat is not all bad-she fills the litter box with Tootsie Rolls. Dig under fence—why? Because it’s there, because it’s there, because it’s there. I am your best friend, now, always, and especially when you are eating. You may call them fleas, but they are far more - I call them a vocation. My owners’ mood is romantic - I lie near their feet and fart a big one.