Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 007

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

Whew!  It’s been a crazy week at my house!  I’ll tell you about it another day.  For now, we’ll focus on our ‘follow a hound to retirement’ friends!

It’s been two weeks since we last talked about our racing friends.  And a lot of racing has occurred since then…each of our six hounds has run two races!  That means the six of them ran a combined total distance of three and three-quarter miles in 12 races.  

Last time we talk about our ‘follow a hound to retirement’ friends, I explained how grades and moving up and down grades at Bluffs Run works.  If you need a quick refresher, take a look again. 

Last time we looked at Vincent’s racing.  Today we’ll take another look at his racing.  We will also look at Destiny’s racing and Cool’s racing.  Next time we will look at the racing of Snow Ball, Smith, and Crown.

Here is a summary of Vincent’s racing:

Remember the last time we talked Vincent had just won his January 16^th Grade B race which moved him up a grade, to Grade A, for his next race.  On January 23^rd he finished 3^rd in Grade A.  A 3^rd place finish starts the count over again (indicated by the black dash).  Vincent ran again tonight and finished 6^th in Grade A which starts the countdown to dropping a grade (indicated by the purple 1).  His next race will again be in Grade A.  Here is a picture of big boy Vincent (all 92 lbs of him!) going into the first turn in his race tonight.

Next up, Destiny.  Here is a summary of her racing:

Destiny has consistently been running in Grade D since I finished up my racing career.  Each time she finishes 2^nd or 3^rd the count starts over again.  In her last 9 races, she has started her count over 5 times!  She finished 2^nd in her most recent race on January 27^th.  In that race she was really quick out of the box.  Below is a picture.  Destiny is wearing the yellow silks out of box 6.  Notice how she is a stride down the track and a few of the other hounds are still mostly in the box.  Now that is acceleration!

And finally, Cool.  Here is a summary of his racing:

 Cool was running in Grade D when I finished my racing career.  He actually was close to grading out at one point.  He finished 4^th, 4^th, and 6^th.  If he would have finished 4^th or below in his race on December 29^th he may have graded out.  But he didn’t.  Instead he finished 2^nd on December 29^th which starts the count over again.  On January 11^th he won his Grade D race which moved him up a grade.  He has run three Grade C races since moving up and has placed 5^th, 4^th, and 3^rd.  His 3^rd place finish in his most recent race on January 29^th starts the count over again.  In that race Cool played it cool and came from the very back of the pack to finish 3^rd.  Here is a picture from just before the finish line.

We will talk about following Snow Ball, Smith, and Crown to retirement next time.  Smith and Crown race their next races tomorrow, January 31^st.  And Snow Ball races next on February 1^st. 

Until next time,

~Max

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 006

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

Greyt news!... Remember in my last post when I said I was going to try to get us a guest poster to update us on what Reese, Cole, Ann, and Chita have been doing at the clinic?  Well, I found not one, but two (!), guest posters to give us an update on our newly retired friends! 

I’ll introduce our guest posters and then let them share their stories.  This is their first time writing on our blog; let’s go easy on them and maybe they will agree to be our guest bloggers again!

Let’s get to it, shall we…  Meet Anikan and Lily! 

  

Anikan

Lily

Anikan and Lily are the NLGA tests cats…they get to meet our newly retired friends face to face! 

A message from Anikan: 

Hi everyone, my name is Anikan.  Max asked me if I could give you a quick update on your new friends. 

Don’t spread this around the clinic or tell my cat friends (I doubt many of them read the ‘dog blog’ so I think I’m safe) but I’ll be honest; meeting your friends always makes me think just a little.  Sometimes I try to hide if I feel threatened.  Wouldn't you?!  But I play it cool; I have a reputation to uphold you know…I am Mr. Big Stuff …I run the place. 

I met your friend Chita this week.  He followed me around.  Literally. Followed.  Me.  Around.  I’m talking nose-to–my–rear followed me around.  Apparently he likes the smell of cat!  He didn’t show any signs of aggression towards me so I was okay with it.   Here is a picture when we first met, before the following began.  Nobody needs a picture of that, use your imagination!

Donna thought Chita did pretty well with my cat friendly test.  It is never a certainty, but he may be able to live with a kitty. 

That’s what I know! 

And a message from Lily: 

Hi, my name is Lily.  Like Anikan, I also get to meet the newly retired NGLA greyhounds.  For the most part I’m pretty easy going when it comes to meeting your friends.  It’s all just a part of my job.  Once in a while I find it necessary to show them the definition of cat-like reflexes and will throw out a quick hiss and/or bat of my paws.  It’s good to keep everyone on their toes! 

This week I meet Reese.  He was pretty excited to meet me.  Maybe just a little too excited as he had to have a talk with Donna on how to be good to kitties. 

She told him a thing or two but I’m not sure if he completely bought into it.  When he was checking me out Donna was able to call his name to distract him.  Which is good.  So maybe he could learn to be nice to us yet.  But Donna told me later that she would not feel comfortable leaving him alone with me even with his muzzle on.  Here is a picture of Reese meeting me.

Thanks for inviting me to write on your blog!

Thanks for the updates Anikan and Lily!  If anyone has other questions they would like to ask either of our guest bloggers, please leave us a comment!

I have one more item I would really like to talk about today.  And that is foster homes.  We are still in need of two more foster homes…one for Ann and one for Cole.  Yes, I’m talking to you!  NLGA really needs your help with being a foster family!  Foster families play an important role in the lives of a newly retired racer.  They open their hearts and homes to teach and train our new friends all about their new careers as pets.  This valuable experience makes it much easier for our new friends, and their new forever families, to enjoy each other right away.  Please…if you have any interest or questions in regards to being a foster family call NLGA!!  Ann and Cole will thank you! 

And, as always, also contact NLGA if you are interested in adopting Sadie, Megan, Reese, Cole, Ann, or Chita!  They all are looking for their forever homes!

Until next time,

~ Max

Foster Feature -- Sadie

Sadie was an only dog and is still learning how to share with other hounds.  The video below shows how she asks me to tell another dog to move when he is laying on "her" bed.  This is not a one time request from her!!

Sadie has a very silly way of relaxing:

How can you resist that beautiful face?!?  Consider adopting an older girl who is very sweet and quiet.  If dogs can be "ladylike", that describes her demeanor.

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 005

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

THEY’RE HERE, THEY’RE HERE, THEY’RE HERE!!!  Reese, Cole, and Ann made it to Minnesota and NLGA yesterday!  And, for the unexpected special surprise, they brought our friend Chita with them too!!  I am just SO EXCITED for all four of them!!!

The four of them bravely and confidently left the familiarity of their trainer and home kennel at Bluffs Run yesterday morning for their travels to the unknown-to-them.  They do not know it yet, but they are going to love retirement and getting their forever homes!!

The fabulous volunteers at Heartland Greyhound Adoption helped us transport our friends from Bluffs Run to the top of Iowa where they were met by NLGA for the rest of the trip.  This is no small feat of driving and for that we, NLGA, are very thankful!  It took a full team of volunteers; Reese, Cole, Ann, and Chita rode in four different vehicles between leaving Bluffs Run and arriving at NLGA!  Check out the map of Iowa below to see the legs of their trip!  I think that’s pretty impressive teamwork! 

I was too busy sleeping at home to go with on the trip to Iowa to get my friends yesterday but I have seen the pictures and heard the stories!  I would let my Mom write a guest blog for you but after all the spelling corrections and grammar/punctuation updates I would need to make…well, it is easier if I just do it myself; she’s just human after all!  So, you may not get the firsthand account but you will get a story…

Reese, Cole, Ann, and Chita got to stretch their legs a little at the Top of Iowa Welcome Center.  Kevin and Nancy from Heartland Greyhound Adoption then helped load them into the back of my car for their trip to NLGA.  Ann was the first in and the first to stake a claim to her spot on the blankets!  Reese, Cole, and Chita had to work around little princess Ann to find their spots.  Chita found a spot front and center.  Cole eventually found his spot down between Chita and Ann.  And Reese, well, Reese decided to keep a watch out as to where they were all going for a while and rested his head on the driver’s seat to look out the front window!  Here are a few pictures…

As the drive to NLGA continued, all four of our new friends eventually found good spots to rest.  They looked out the windows, stood over top each other, made their way to the front for some petting, and Ann let the boys know if they got too close to her!

I’m told my buddy Reese was a gentleman the whole ride!  He was a quiet boy with expressive ears and was very interested in watching were they were going.  He liked to rest his head on the front seats to get his ears rubbed.

Cole is a very handsome fawn boy with a white chin that extends into a stunning white strip down his chest.  He is a very friendly boy and liked his petting.  He rode very nicely during the trip.

Ann is a cute little girl with a black coat.  She immediately found her spot and told the boys if they got too close!  But she also used them as a pillow when she wanted to.  Little Ann had a confident presence in the car but was slightly shy once we arrived at NLGA.  She’ll figure it out!

And Chita!  Chita is newly, newly retired…his last race was just a few days ago!  He is such a sweet boy with a wonderfully soft dark brindle coat.  He thought it was a good idea to stand under Cole and Reese to get to the windows.  Silly boy.  And he liked to take up his fair share of the blankets too!  He really liked to be petted and would push his face harder into you to get more petting. 

Reese, Cole, Ann, and Chita explored the area once we got to NLGA.  They stood still for a couple pictures and then were ready to go inside to get out of the cold and wind.

Here is a link to what happens once new greyhounds arrive at the clinic: http://www.nlga-mn.org/greyhound-faq/behind-the-scenes  I’m going to try to get a guest blog poster to update us on Reese, Cole, Ann, and Chita’s experience at the clinic too…I’ll let you know how that goes!

If you are interested in fostering or adopting Reese, Cole, Ann or Chita please contact NLGA!!

And one more thanks goes out to Heartland Greyhound Adoption and their wonderful volunteers for their help in getting our friends to NLGA!

Until next time,

~Max

The Newest Retired Hounds--Fresh from Iowa

Details on the trip will be posted later

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 004

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

First things first!  Has anyone else noticed how many rabbits are out hoping around in the morning these days?!  I can almost guess where in the park and in which yards they will be on my morning walks!  I find watching them just fascinating.  How fun! 

Onto the very important topic of this post.  Do you remember me telling you about Reese, Cole, and Ann?  Of course you do, silly of me to even ask!  Well, I’m excited to say they are starting the next chapters of their lives…retirement!...and are traveling to NLGA this Saturday!  Watch for the pictures of the trip in the next blog post!  There may just even be an unexpected surprise announced!  Reese, Cole, and Ann will be looking for their forever homes; contact NLGA if you are interested in adopting!

Next up…Several of our ‘follow a hound to retirement’ friends have raced since I last wrote.  Let’s see.  Smith finished 7^th in his grade A race.  Crown finished 2^nd in his grade C race.  Snow Ball finished 8^th in her grade A race.  Destiny finished 2^nd in her grade D race.  And big guy Vincent finished 1^st in his grade B race. 

So I can hear you are asking me…  “Max, what does all of this mean?  How does this information help me, as a dog blog reader, follow how each racer is doing and where they are in their racing careers or more importantly where they are on the road to retirement…that is what this is all about right?...’follow a hound to retirement’!”  Okay, let me see if I can explain. 

At Bluffs Run, where I raced and where our ‘follow a hound to retirement’ friends are racing, there are 4 grades of racing.  Grade A is the highest (and fastest), Grade B is next, then Grade C, and finally Grade D.  All greyhounds start with schooling and maiden races.  Once they win a maiden race they move up to Grade D.  From there, greyhounds move up and down and up and down in grades based on how they do in their races.  A racers moves up a grade when they win.  And moves down a grade when they have three consecutive races in which they placed 4^th or lower.  If they finish 2^nd or 3^rd, the count starts over.  The exception to the rule is in Grade D.  In Grade D, a racer can have four consecutive races in which they place 4^th or lower before they ‘grade out’.  ‘Grade out’ is just a term which means that they finished their racing careers happy and healthy and get to start the next chapter of their lives…retirement!  Of course, sometimes things work a little bit different but we will discuss those scenarios if and when we come upon them. 

So, with those rules in mind, let’s look at Vincent’s racing.  We’ll look at all his races since I retired…because I was just too busy with my running before that to pay much attention!

Vincent ran a race on December 2 in Grade A and placed 4^th.  A 4^th place finish starts the countdown (to three) to moving down a grade (indicated by the purple 1).  His next race was on December 9^th.  Again a Grade A race.  And again a 4^th place finish.  So that is two consecutive races in which he placed 4^th or lower (indicated by a orange 2).  One more before moving down a grade.  On December 16^th he ran in another Grade A race and finished 5^th.  That made three in a row below 4^th place and therefore he moved down a grade (indicated by the red down arrow with a 3 in it).  On December 28^th he ran in Grade B and finished 2^nd.  A second place finish starts the count over again (indicated by the black dash).  On January 3 he finished 8^th in Grade B which started the countdown to a lower grade.  On January 10^th he finished 5^th in Grade B, to make it two consecutive 4^th place or below finishes.  One more and he would drop to Grade C.  But instead, on January 16^th, Vincent won his race in Grade B.  So, he goes up to Grade A for his next race (indicated by the blue up arrow).  We’ll see how he does in Grade A in his next race and continue to follow Vincent to retirement!

That’s not too difficult, right?  Any questions?  I’ll show you how the others are doing in a similar format in another post. 

Remember, keep an eye out for the next post with pictures of the newest NLGA greyhounds and a special unexpected surprise!

Until next time,

~Max

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 003

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

Today I would like to introduce three more ‘follow a hound to retirement’ greyhounds!  As with the previous three, I am going to start out with just some basic information on each and we can build from there.  Okay.

First up… A STAR SNOW BALL!  This white ticked red brindle girl is a favorite of the lead outs at the track.  She races at 71 pounds and will be 4 in May.  She finished 6^th in her race on January 2^nd and 8^th in her race on January 8^th.  A Star Snow Ball is currently racing in Grade A over the 5/16 mile course.  Her next race is January 13^th.  She will be racing in the fifth race and will be wearing the black and yellow silks out of box 8.

Next up…Superior Crown!  This red fawn boy races at 74 pounds and turned 3 in December.  He is currently racing in Grade C over the 5/16 mile course.  On January 2^nd he finished 3^rd.  He finished 8^th in his last race on January 8^th.  Superior Crown’s next race is tonight!  He will be racing in the eighth race and wearing the blue silks out of box 2.

And finally…Hiltex Cool!  This red fawn boy races at 79 pounds and will turn 4 in Aprils.  Hiltex Cool won his last race, a Grade D race, on January 11^h by 7 lengths.  Below are some picture from that race.  In these pictures he is wearing the red silks of box 1.  Since he won he will be moving up to race in Grade C for his next race.  I’ll let you know when his next race is.

As an update, I introduced Slatex Smith last time.  His next race is tonight!  He will be racing in the sixth race and will be wearing the yellow silks out of box 6.

  

If you are reading these posts, feel free to comment!  What else would you like to know about our ‘follow a hound to retirement’ greyhounds?!

Until next time,

~Max

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 002

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

I would like to introduce you to the first three ‘follow a hound to retirement’ greyhounds!  I’m going to start out with just some basic information on each and we can build from there.

First up…drum roll please…ASTAR TRUDESTINY!  This nice red girl races at 67 pounds and will be the ‘senior’ greyhound in the racing kennel once Reese makes his trip to NLGA!  She turned 4 this past September.  She finished 2^nd in her race on January 4^th and 4^th in her race on January 10^th.  AStar Trudestiny is currently racing in Grade D over the 5/16 mile course.  I’ll let you know when her next race is.

Next up…Slatex Vincent!  This big brindle boy races at 92 pounds (!) and will turn 4 in April.  He is currently racing in Grade B over the 5/16 mile course.  On January 3^rd he finished 8^th.  He finished 5^th in his last race on January 10^th.  I’ll let you know when his next race is.

And finally…Slatex Smith!  This wonderful red boy races at 79 pounds and will turn 4 in Aprils too.  Actually, he is a litter mate to Slatex Vincent!  Slatex Smith won his last race, a Grade B race, on January 6^th by 3 lengths.  Below is a picture of the beginning of that race.  Since he won he will be moving up to race in Grade A for his next race.  Slatex Smith’s next race is on January 12^th.  He will be racing in the sixth race and will be wearing the yellow silks out of box 6. 

I’ll be introducing the next three ‘follow a hound to retirement’ greyhounds in the next couple days!

Until next time,

~Max

Follow a Hound to Retirement – Edition 001

Hello NLGA Dog Blog Readers…it’s Max again!

Before we jump into the much anticipated introduction of the ‘Follow a Hound to Retirement’ greyhounds I would first like to mention the current NLGA available greyhounds and the ‘coming soon’ greyhounds.  

In alphabetical order, the currently available NLGA greyhounds!

Megan: This week Megan was medically cleared (thanks for the greyt care NLGA/Foley Blvd.!) to go to her foster home (thanks Carole)!  Megan’s foster Mom provided this update… “Megan is a pint-size sweetie who thinks stuffies are the best-thing-ever.  She has easily joined in at her foster mom’s multi-dog household.  Though she had a bad turn of events with her recent surrender it is obvious that someone loved her very much, as she has good house manners and slaps her butt down the minute she hears the sound of a treat bag opening.  She smiles a lot, and loves looking out the window to see what she can see.  We’ve only had her a short time so stay tuned for more news on this little brindle girl.”  Let’s see what we can do to find this sweet little girl her forever home, shall we?!

Sadie:  She is enjoying her time at her foster home (thanks Kim!) however she really would like a forever home of her own too!  Sadie’s foster Mom provided this update… “ Sadie is coming out of her shell and becoming playful.  She throws a kong around and bows to get someone to play with her.  She is such a quiet girl. I have only heard her growl a little when warning the other hounds that they are getting too close to her resting place.  Sadie gives a little whine to let you know it is time to go outside.“   Are you interested in providing Sadie with the forever home she is looking for?  Let us know!

Steel:  This crazy guy may have found his forever home recently…stay posted for an update from him!

And, now to the ‘coming soon’ NLGA greyhounds!

Ann:  As I mentioned in my last post, Ann decided she did not want to partake in schooling races.  You see, to participate in schooling races the first thing you have to do is get into the box.  Then the race starts and everyone sprints out of the box as fast as they can to chase lucky (a white bone shaped stuffie).  Well, Ann decided she did not want to get into the box and thus schooling was just not for her.  Instead, this little (59 lb) black greyhound will be looking for her forever home soon!  Since she has decided to retire before actually racing…is that even still considered retiring?...she is just a young pup.  Her birthday is in March and she will be turning 2!  Her trainer says she is “as cute as a button” but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.  Ann will be looking for a foster home and a forever home shortly…consider it please!

Cole:  Cole made it a little further than Ann into schooling before he decided it was not for him…he actually would go into the box for his schooling races.  He even ran a couple of schooling races.  Then he decided schooling was not for him…and to prove his point he simply did not come out of the box.  The box would open and all the greyhounds in the race would sprint after lucky…except Cole.  He just patiently stayed in the box.  His point was proven as this 77 lb fawn boy will be making his way to NLGA shortly.  Cole is actually a little younger than Ann as he will be turning 2 in June.  Cole is ready to learn about being a pet...he will need a foster home and a forever home…interested?!

Reese: And finally, my pal Reese!  I’ve mentioned him twice now; he was the only greyhound in my racing kennel that was older than me.  And do you know what else?  We were what you could call crate-bunk mates.  The racing kennel crates are stacked two high.  Typically the girls are in the top crate for various reasons but when I was in the racing kennel I actually got to jump into and out of the top crate!  And guess who was in the crate right below me…yup, Reese!  Unlike Ann and Cole, Reese had a long racing career.  He is well liked by everyone in the racing kennel…greyhounds and people alike!  Reese has learned a lot over his racing days and is getting ready to make his career transition into retirement!  He will make his forever home a greyt pet!  Reese is white with cream spots.  He is about 80 lbs and will turn 5 in May.  After his long career, Reese deserves a greyt forever home.  He will be ready to learn about retirement shortly…please inquire about fostering or adopting!

Since I have mentioned this more than a few times, if there is any interested in fostering or adopting any of the wonderful greyhounds mentioned above, as always, please contact NLGA!

And finally, ‘follow a hound to retirement’…!  My post has gotten a little longer than I anticipated so I’m just going to give you a quick teaser for today…pictures!  These are four of the six greyhounds that we will be following to retirement!  Keep watching the blog…introductions will be coming in the next few days!

Until next time,

~Max