Today we have a personal account of a rather unique and rare opportunity that turned into a really greyt adoption story! It's entitled: Our Trip to Hugo's Forever Home! Enjoy...!
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| Hugo and Phil |
Donna, Christopher and I had been planning an RV trip to southwestern Minnesota and see several of the State Parks. We thought it would be interesting to rent an RV and bring our greyhound Adel with us. While we were at it, we could swing down to Council Bluffs and Bluff’s Run Greyhound Track to see some races and maybe get a Kennel Tour. The trip was planned for the beginning of August and RV reservations were made. We were all set!
The beginning of June 2013 was traumatic. Adel came down with cancer and had to be put down. The good news was she didn’t suffer long.
We continued our plans and were able to arrange a Kennel Tour for August 3rd. (Thanks to Stacie for setting this up!)
I knew that I wanted to get another dog and very soon. Adel had been such a sweet dog, but her time with us was way too short. My time line was to start looking when this trip was completed.
The drive to Council Bluffs went well and we learned about RV’ing. We arrived at the track early and watched some races before our Tour. The dogs were great fun to watch, they really move! A cute thing about each race is that when it is done, all the dogs congregate at the "rabbit’s" box and the handlers get them there. I mean they go full speed to that box and then stop. Now! Every race. They really do love to run and run fast.
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| Hugo during his racing days |
The Kennel Tour was very interesting. We talked with the Trainer at the gate for a while because Christopher needed special permission as he didn’t have an ID. If you want a tour, remember two things:
1. Everyone 16 and older must have an ID to get into the Kennel. It’s a restricted area!
2. The guard at the gate is just doing his job.
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| Nike, Rosa, and Hugo on their way to NLGA |
In the Kennel; we found it clean and the dogs were very well behaved and quiet. It’s like most of the pictures you see. We had expected the dogs to start barking, but that didn’t happen. We met Rosa, Nike and Hugo. Rosa didn’t get out of her crate, but she sniffed us. Nike was a pleasant boy and let us pet him. Hugo was ready to go! I started petting him and all of a sudden. . . . all of his 78 pounds were leaning on me. And then, he turned his head around and looked at me with those big brown eyes and it was all over. It was only the 3rd! I wasn’t planning to consider any dog until August 10th. Well, I’ve been wrong before.
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| Hugo and his big brown eyes! |
Hugo came up to the Twin Cities on August 13th with Rosa and Nike. Stacie and I picked them up in Plymouth. I informed Stacie and Donna that I liked Hugo and would foster with intent to adopt. Hugo has been with us since that day. We finalized the adoption September 4th. Hugo is personable, likes to meet people and other dogs, large and small, and is learning about treats, toys, longer walks, hopping up into the car by himself, etc. He is a handsome boy and eats up the attention. Retirement is “So Different” from life at the track, but he’s taking it all in with a lot of enthusiasm. Every day is a wonderful new adventure!
~Phil
Congratulations on finding your forever home Hugo! And congratulation Phil, Donna, and Christopher on Hugo finding you! And thanks for sharing your story!
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