The Backstory of Our Dogs

[Mockinbirdiva]

I for one, completely understand. And, I also think you know in your heart what is best for him, even though it's one of the most difficult things to do when you second guess and see them eating well. If only I had been able to convince my husband to put our Jesse at rest a couple of days earlier.... before he went into a full seizure in the middle of the night. It was his time to go when we had no help for him to transition peacefully. He hung on in a coma until the vet was open and we carried him in. It's never easy to say goodbye but knowing they are in everlasting comfort it eases the pain of loss.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I for one, completely understand. And, I also think you know in your heart what is best for him, even though it's one of the most difficult things to do when you second guess and see them eating well. If only I had been able to convince my husband to put our Jesse at rest a couple of days earlier.... before he went into a full seizure in the middle of the night. It was his time to go when we had no help for him to transition peacefully. He hung on in a coma until the vet was open and we carried him in. It's never easy to say goodbye but knowing they are in everlasting comfort it eases the pain of loss.

I’m so sorry that Jesse and your family went though that. That’s exactly what we want to avoid, for sure. He acts like such a tough guy that he makes it harder to read him, but we’ve been watching closely and think it’s time. His spirit wants to soldier on, but his body is not going to let him. That’s the only thing that makes it easier - knowing he won’t be suffering anymore.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

 

[fluffypoptarts]

The tiny one and my cranky, troubled kangaroo-dog.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

His last meal of eggs, bacon, and potatoes with his little bestie cuddled close.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

So much love for you Sai.....

 

[Pat H]

It's been years since my Brindle Greyhound, Tigger, has been gone... 1991 I think... She was SUCH a GOOD DOG....

 

[tka]

So much love to you, your wife and of course Sai. You're doing the right thing by letting him go while he still has enough quality of life - he can still enjoy food and snuggles with his best friend and spending time with you guys. You're giving a strong, dignified dog a gentle way out. It takes a lot of strength and wisdom to know when the right time is, and you have that in abundance.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

So much love to you, your wife and of course Sai. You're doing the right thing by letting him go while he still has enough quality of life - he can still enjoy food and snuggles with his best friend and spending time with you guys. You're giving a strong, dignified dog a gentle way out. It takes a lot of strength and wisdom to know when the right time is, and you have that in abundance.

Thank you so much. We knew last night and this morning that it was definitely the right time to let him go.

It was peaceful and gentle... One of the techs even hugged him and kissed his sweet little head as they went getting him set up. We were holding him and petting him, and told him what a good boy he was. He got sleepy very quickly and then just relaxed. It was still so hard to see and feel him gone. We will always remember him and cherish the time we spent with him.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

From earlier this afternoon:



From 2 years ago when he had just arrived at the rescue:

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I have been remiss in my introductions - we were blessed with another brindle not too long ago, a darker boy that we have named Bear. He’s the baby of the greys at 3 years old. He’s super shy like Elsa, and more timid, but wears his heart on his sleeve (stripes?) and is master of the woeful face. He’s built like a brick house but is the sweetest, most gentle boy.

He was supposed to be temporary (he needed a particular environment to flourish and open up which is why he came to us), but he ended up fitting in very well with our pack and started acting like he was “home”. He bonded hard to me (and later to the wife) and I didn’t have it in me to send him away and break his delicate little heart.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Sai should be home on Friday. The woman in charge of pet cremation called about some details and told me that she had once had a brindle greyhound too - back in the 90s! She said how wonderful he had been, but they’d never adopted another. I just wanted to ask why. It’s so strange when people tell us these things but no longer have greyhounds.

Oh, and Elsa has taken over Sai’s old bed. JJ always sleeps on my side of the bed, Senny sleeps in his tent, and Bear sleeps next to the dresser. I guess it’s no surprise that the queen would take over. Unfortunately for my wife, Sai’s bed was always the first thing she saw every morning, so now she’s reminded of his absence. Half the time we talk about him in the present-tense.

 

[Ankou]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm glad you decided to keep Bear, he needs his emotional support humans. You've become a wonderful greyhound sanctuary.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm glad you decided to keep Bear, he needs his emotional support humans. You've become a wonderful greyhound sanctuary.

Thank you. It’s so strange not seeing him. Even though there’s “just” one dog missing, it feels like half of the pack. He was so big and bright, a larger-than-life pup. When we shared his passing in the Macau Canidrome greyhound group, several people remembered him even from their brief meetings they had with him during the course of his rescue and time waiting to be adopted.

LOL, yes, maybe we are a sanctuary. I think Senny is the only one of our greyhounds that would do well in a variety of environments/homes. We really do feel like their emotional support humans. Both of us have shirts like that, lol. They’re so cute. I don’t know if I’ve shared the link here (all proceeds support sighthounds):

Emotional Support Human

Emotional Support Human T-Shirt from Save A Sighthound, Regular fit, unisex - The Sighthound Underground is a 100% volunteer...

teespring.com

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Bear actually wouldn’t leave his crate for several days in his first foster home. He was totally shut down. That’s when they realized he needed a certain type of environment. Since we had already adopted a similar dog and she had done well with us, it was thought this guy might, too.

The very first night he started coming out of his crate to peek around the corner at us and to try to explore. Every time someone walked in his direction, he’d RUN back to his crate to hide. After several days of this, he started actually approaching me for love and would push his head up against my hands. He started looking for me all the time. He has come a long way in a relatively short time, and I’m sure our other dogs helped him as well.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Bear is beautiful. He looks like he's saying "this is where I belong". I have long admired greyhounds. We used to have a rescue here many years ago. There was one in particular I was in love with but with a little dog at home it wasn't a consideration. That's when we ended up with Jesse, a standard poodle puppy. Oh how Briggs ( the yorkie) hated Jesse and at every opportunity would jump at Jesse to bite him or steal toys to keep him from playing with them .... their entire years together. Jesse, being the goofy poodle he was never saw Briggs meaness... but thought he was playing instead. But, before Jesse, we took in an IG from a man that decided he needed to find her a home. A very pretty little grey and white girl around a year old. She stayed with us for three weeks before we sent her back home to the man. Briggs was afraid of her and hid under furniture and we knew we couldn't make it work. She zipped around the house only wanting to play with him but he wanted nothing to do with her and would just go hide under the pie safe cabinet.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Bear is beautiful. He looks like he's saying "this is where I belong".

I will tell him you said so! See, that’s exactly what I saw in him, too. His behavior with us just shouted that he thought he was home. It’s hard to ignore the voice of an animal’s heart, especially when it speaks without any ambiguity.

I have long admired greyhounds. We used to have a rescue here many years ago. There was one in particular I was in love with but with a little dog at home it wasn't a consideration. That's when we ended up with Jesse, a standard poodle puppy. Oh how Briggs ( the yorkie) hated Jesse and at every opportunity would jump at Jesse to bite him or steal toys to keep him from playing with them .... their entire years together. Jesse, being the goofy poodle he was never saw Briggs meaness... but thought he was playing instead. But, before Jesse, we took in an IG from a man that decided he needed to find her a home. A very pretty little grey and white girl around a year old. She stayed with us for three weeks before we sent her back home to the man. Briggs was afraid of her and hid under furniture and we knew we couldn't make it work. She zipped around the house only wanting to play with him but he wanted nothing to do with her and would just go hide under the pie safe cabinet.
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Look at that cute little face. Aww, poor Briggs! Better to wait then. It definitely depends on how the smaller dog feels about it.

Some greyhounds are fine with little dogs (and occasionally cats), but I think it depends on the individual animals involved, and the small dog cannot be scared or running away from the greyhound in fear as that can send even the most chill greyhound into chase/hunt mode. I’ve watched it in action with our old guy who has never cared about small dogs and a chihuahua that was terrified of him and kept acting out in fearful aggression towards him.

I’ve also heard a couple stories about chihuahuas that were fearful and bit a greyhound - well, the greyhound bit them back. Even though it was just once, once is usually too much with a large dog and such a small dog. I think small dogs can find greyhounds particularly intimidating because they are so intense and often don’t have a lot of practice socializing with other dogs outside of their group. There is definitely a process you have to go through to acclimatize both dogs to each other and to teach them what’s not acceptable, even if they seem fine. Though our Italian greyhound and our greyhounds are all really good together, the little one is always crated or separated if we’re gone because he’s just too delicate and small.

Elsa had horrible dog social skills in general and even worried the other greyhounds with her first attempts at trying to “play”. I mean, even if you like a girl, when she has big old fangs and is acting like she’s going to bite your winky, you’re going to sweat a little! (She did this to poor Sai like a year and a half ago when he was lying down, lol. At the end of this concerning display, she did a little prance and play bow at him, and he was like, “For real?! Girl, you’re terrifying!”)

 

[tka]

I love that Bear decided that he was home and everyone just had to go with it.

I also love that greys are so big and powerful but are giant softies underneath it all. Your dogs have all mastered that soulful expression - it must be hard to say no to them.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I will tell him you said so! See, that’s exactly what I saw in him, too. His behavior with us just shouted that he thought he was home. It’s hard to ignore the voice of an animal’s heart, especially when it speaks without any ambiguity.



Look at that cute little face. Aww, poor Briggs! Better to wait then. It definitely depends on how the smaller dog feels about it.

Some greyhounds are fine with little dogs (and occasionally cats), but I think it depends on the individual animals involved, and the small dog cannot be scared or running away from the greyhound in fear as that can send even the most chill greyhound into chase/hunt mode. I’ve watched it in action with our old guy who has never cared about small dogs and a chihuahua that was terrified of him and kept acting out in fearful aggression towards him.

I’ve also heard a couple stories about chihuahuas that were fearful and bit a greyhound - well, the greyhound bit them back. Even though it was just once, once is usually too much with a large dog and such a small dog. I think small dogs can find greyhounds particularly intimidating because they are so intense and often don’t have a lot of practice socializing with other dogs outside of their group. There is definitely a process you have to go through to acclimatize both dogs to each other and to teach them what’s not acceptable, even if they seem fine. Though our Italian greyhound and our greyhounds are all really good together, the little one is always crated or separated if we’re gone because he’s just too delicate and small.

Elsa had horrible dog social skills in general and even worried the other greyhounds with her first attempts at trying to “play”. I mean, even if you like a girl, when she has big old fangs and is acting like she’s going to bite your winky, you’re going to sweat a little! (She did this to poor Sai like a year and a half ago when he was lying down, lol. At the end of this concerning display, she did a little prance and play bow at him, and he was like, “For real?! Girl, you’re terrifying!”)

That was so many years ago. Briggs was one of those yorkies who would have been best paired with a companion dog when he was young. At age three when we brought Jesse home he was not willing to share or befriend Jesse as a pup... because he was so much bigger. I do still miss Briggs terribly. He was my little boy since we never were able to have kids. He slept between my husband and I for almost fifteen years. He was such a little imp... would steal stuff, pick pocket books if you left it on the floor ( company was warned to put theirs up high), stole hubbies wallet out of his pants and took all the contents out, loved flaunting his "finds" by slowly parading past a doorway if I was sitting in the living room... the look on his little face... "Haha... look what I have..." and wait for you to come chase him. He especially loved playing keep a way with his toys. I would stop and hide behind a door or wall and he would tip toe looking for me and I'd jump out and yell " Baaaaaaaah!!!!" to scare him. He LOVED it and would scamper off and we'd start it all over again. The two we have now would be terrified of me if I did that. They're so different from Briggs. Neither one is terrible crazy about being hugged an smooched on... especially Riley... he gets really angry and growls or snaps at me for one little kiss on top of the head. He hates being brushed... a real PIA to do his nails... screams if you have one little snag when brushing.....AND.. Rilely screams when the phone rings. It's a good thing he's so darn cute ... but he really is a little wierdo. Emma is very sweet... thank goodness but she's not crazy about being groomed either. They are great lap warmers and certainly kept me company while I was stuck in the recliner recovering from my broken hip.