A visit from the Northern Lands and Strut reaches the beach!

My best friend from high school came down to visit with her two kids to get away from the icy cold and to catch some of the nice South Florida sunshine.   The hounds did pretty good with all the commotion in our normally quite house.  Even though Sandy tried to keep her head buried till it was all over...

Miami has an incredible zoo.  If you ever come to Miami, you have to check out the Miami Metro Zoo.   It is one of the best Zoo's in the country.  You can get so close to the animals and the new Amazon and Beyond Exhibit is VERY cool. 

 SO... we went to the zoo and we saw....

A sad,  red elephant....

 Alligators swim in the water...

Something with 6ft long curly horns...

A gorilla butt....

The Miami Zoo is very interactive.  One of the highlights is being able to pet and feed the Giraffes.  Very cool.

Then we tried to pawn the kids off as baby birds, but momma bird was not fooled and alas we had to take them back.

The next day we headed over to Key Biscayne to Bill Bags State Park.  This was a great park with an awesome lighthouse and a great beach.

Then this raccoon showed up and tried to get in the garbage.  

One thing I love so much about greyhounds is their gentle nature and obedience.  How many other breed of large dogs would walk calmly by the side of a 4 year old?

On their last day here, we headed down to the Keys for some fun on the beach.  Marathon Key is dog friendly so I brought Strut along for his first trip to the beach!  He loved the water and got his first lesson on salt water!

We had a great day at the beach!  Strut is a very trusting dog and will go anywhere I go!

My visitors also enjoyed their day in the Keys!

And while all of you Northerners were enjoying this:

(that's my nephew in the pic)

We were enjoying this! 

Merry Christmas from Miami!

Here is one more catch up and then we are rolling on with LIVE TV!   I've had several people ask about  how my Christmas was so (after my MAC being in the shop for a few days due to some bad RAM issues) here it goes.... 

It was about 80 degrees on Christmas Day.  It was a little weird not to have a cold Christmas but at the same time it was nice to be wearing shorts and chillin' by the pool on a day off from work!

Just like in the cold climates, people down here also decorate their houses with Christmas lights galore.  You still see snowmen, icicles, snow globes, Santa and all the other traditional Christmas lights, however, we add our own local flare to the season.  Here is the oasis in front of my house that I decorated.  I meant to take pictures of other lights in the neighborhood but never got around to it.  

 I didn't do an all out house decorating.  Instead, I just decorated the breakfast bar in the kitchen with a small tree, stockings and a few other items.

Christmas morning came and the dogs dug into their stockings.

 Strut pushed past the stuffie and went straight to the good stuff

Sandy took hers up onto the couch so she wouldn't be bothered. And like Strut, she ditched the stuffie for the goodies in the bottom.

Jasmine however, went straight for the new skunk stuffie!

This was by far their favorite toy of Christmas....  they killed the squeaker shortly after this pic was taken so I had to operate. 

 so that was my quiet little Christmas.   

Life..... fast forwarded...

OK, so we are still alive and have had A LOT of life changes over the past 4 months. So, without further ado... here it is... life, fast forwarded...

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Got a new job in Miami, WOOHOO!!

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Husband had to go back to Iraq (for a year), BOOHOO!!

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So when the time came, I loaded up the dogs and moved from the Great Commonwealth of Virginia to SUNNY FLORIDA!!!

My little sister helped me make the move since my husband was unavailable. We took 3 days to drive down and of course had to stop at all the cool places...

and saw some cool (strange) things...

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Moved into the new house (which is NOT a sailboat)

The hounds got used to soaking up the Florida sun real quick.

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Went to the beach...

Had Thanksgiving on the patio by the pool......

since it was 82 degrees and all...

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Got a MAC!

(so I could get back to blogging!)

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....Found a new greyhound group and kennel to volunteer at...

Friends of Greyhounds

AND THEN.........

AND THEN.........

AND THEN.........

Got another greyhound!!!!!!!

Hi! My name is Strut!!

Strut is a 7 yr old brindle male. He raced for 4 years, was a kennel pet for

1 yr until the racing kennel was shut down, Then he came over to Friends of Greyhounds where he has been the last 2 years. He is a large, old male that is not cat friendly so he has been hard to place.

I say he has just been waiting for me!

We even share the same birthday!

He moved right into the pack like had been there all along. Luke accepted him without any issues and Sandy just loves him!

Our pack is complete.

and that is the past 4 months.

Yes, we are still alive!

I will be back to bloggin' soon.   Stay tuned for 4 months of updates!!!

The crazy life of dogs...

So I came home from work one day and took the hounds out for a great walk, fed them a great dinner and then I took off to the gym while they rested from their long day of resting. I was gone for exactly ONE hour... and this is what I came home too....

Yes, that is my purse, COMPLETELY emptied on the floor! They managed to get the purse, then UNZIP it and then proceed to dump the entire contents out onto the floor AND pull cards from my wallet! thankfully they didn't really chew anything or eat my money. crazy dogs.

Here Jasmine stands with her "what? me?" look.

I took the dogs to a big park over the weekend and we did some trail hiking. We came upon a little swamp and the girls just HAD to get in and cool off. At first I was worried about snapping turtles and leeches but they didn't mind so I figured if there were any they would know soon enough! Here they are chilling in the black smelly mud.... afterwards they were taken to Muddy Paws Dog Wash and immediately cleaned!

Here are just a few random dog shots

" I should have been a Calvin Klein model."

" I'm gonna pump you up!"




"It's MY monkey! No, it's MY monkey."

"See? Told ya it was MY monkey!"

Ooops! We did it again....

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have MOVED again!

Kevin went overseas for some work which now left me with the dogs full time on the boat. Kevin usually kept them during the week since he was so close to work and could come home and walk them at lunch and stuff. Now that he was gone, and the dogs would be with me, I knew it would be tough to commute 1 1/2 hours one way to Annapolis and then have to get home and take care of the dogs, feed them, feed me, workout and be in bed at a decent hour. I did that when we lived in Fredericksburg and it almost made me bonkers!!!! The dogs got fat, I got fat and they developed separation anxiety because they were at home alone for 13 hours a day. I never had any energy, I was eating terribly and felt like I was walking around like a zombie all week.

I couldn't do that to them, or me, again so I broke down and got an apartment close to work!

I can now come home for lunch and the dogs love the extra attention in the evenings that they would not have gotten! I also love not commuting and getting 3 hours of my life back everyday!

So here are our new digs....

Very sparse I know, but it is only temporary so I only brought the bare minimum out of storage. I don't even have a TV!


Here are the hounds getting used to their FOURTH home in the past year! They have been so good with our hectic life and have adjusted so well to everything! We are so lucky to have such great dogs like Luke, Sandy, and Jasmine!

I think their favorite part it getting there favorite couch back!

Not bad for an apartment but we all miss the boat!!

There is nothing like the peace and serenity that comes with living on the water.

The dogs miss their freedom of roaming from boat to boat, getting leftover bones from the weekend grillers and playing with all the other boat dogs. Now they are stuck on a little patch of grass outside the apartment with unfriendly neighbors and dogs. Besides, this place is a mansion compared to what we have been used to!! Good thing this is only for 3 months!

For those of you that do not know, I accepted a job transfer and am moving to Miami in Aug!!! Woohoo!!

We can't wait!!

....and the adventures of Luke, Sandy and Jasmine continue....

Love all... Serve all....

Jasmine, Luke and Sandy are volunteer blood donors. They have saved the lives of a dozen dogs already! Plus, as regular blood donors, they are automatically qualified for a blood transfusion should they need it. They also get free exams, free blood work and lots of yummy treats!

In case you didn't know, most greyhounds have a universal blood "type" that can be given to all dogs. Greyhound blood is very sought after! When the kids give blood, it is immediately dispatched all across the country to dogs in need. Just like human blood, dog blood can be given whole or broken down in to several components for whatever purpose is needed. The hounds can give blood every 5 weeks if required. we usually go about every 6 or 7 but will go in if there is a shortage or need. The blood blank loves that we have 3 greyhounds giving at one time!

I thought I would document a typical blood donation here for those that are curious, are thinking about it or just don't know anything about the procedure. The whole process actually only takes about 10-15 mins per dog. Some blood banks will even come to you if you set up a time for a large group at your house or something!

During the very first visit, the vet will take blood samples to type your dog and just generally get the dog familiar with the procedure. Since this is a volunteer thing, the dog must agree to lay calmly in the position required. They will not restrain a dog or give them any sedation meds to calm them. You will see the pics below of the vet assistant laying with the hounds and "holding them down." He is not restraining them at all, he is merely making sure they are still as possible for the procedure. if at any time the dog would start to resist and try to get up off the table, they would stop the procedure. Jasmine, Luke and Sandy all did wonderful in laying still throughout the procedure and doing whatever the vet asked of them. It was really great to see! The vet loves greyhounds as they are usually the easiest to deal with!

Here is Luke, Sandy and Jasmine demonstrating a typical donation session:

The vet will bring the dog in to the donation room and try to get the dog as comfortable as possible. She will give treats, pet them, etc, until she feels they are comfortable.

Once they are comfortable, the vet and the assistant will pick the dog up and place them on the donation table. This is the point where the start to judge if the dog is agreeable to the procedure.

If there is no struggle at this point, they will continue. The assistant then lays down with the dog to ensure they stay in position. When he lays his legs across the dog, they wait a few mins to see if there is any resistance. If the dog appears calm and still, they will continue.

The vet then shaves a little spot on the neck, sanitizes it with alcohol and inserts the needle.

The blood then flows in the same type of bag as in human blood donation. They usually take one unit of blood depending on weight. Jasmine is so tiny they only take 1/2 unit from her but Luke and Sandy are able to give a full unit.

Your dog can see you the whole time if you need them too. Luke and Sandy appeared to do fine when I was out of sight, but Jasmine started to whine. So for her I stayed right in front of her so she could see me. That is why I don't have many pictures of her. =)

After the procedure, they carefully take the dogs off the table and wrap their neck just in case there is any lingering bleeding. They also get lots more treats!!

Here they all are with the vet after their donation! The vet will explain any concerns and what to watch for over the next few hours. No hard running or other strenuous activity. I always laugh at the because I have never seen my dogs do anything remotely strenuous!

That's all there is to it! We are usually in and out within an hour! The hounds do great every time and I am proud of how good they are through it all!

For anyone considering blood donation with their dog I would HIGHLY recommend it! Blood donation is a great way to help other dogs and one day it could be your dog that is in need! Its quick, simple and virtually painless for the dogs. And they get a free exam each visit and free blood work once or twice a year! (depending on the bank) Ask your veterinarian for the blood bank nearest to you!!