Greyhound Pool Party

Of course the pool party was a blast, Fit, Gracie and Ginger went swimming while the rest of us snacked by the pool Slideshow

GREYHOUND PARTY----PLEASE COME!!!

at PAT'S house
Saturday Sept 29
6pm til?
to celebrate Ruth's 70th and Pat's 50th and everything else worth celebrating!

You bring---
food (whatever you want to throw on the grill)
drink
dog
Pat will supply ice, napkins, paper plates, plastic cutlery, condiments and the like.

Rulz: no one can go upstairs in my house. Iz not cleen. Catz will be there, so no dogz allowed either.
Don is appointed LIFEGUARD (in case doggie falls in pool), and thus will wear Speedo. Squawker optional.
Homeowner is not liable for doggie cuts and bruises acquired from homeowner's crappy landscaping/thick forest. Or if drinking partygoer falls in pool and drowns while Don is not paying attention.

Directions: to 2505 Panorama Place, Vestavia, 35216
from I-65 take exit 252, and head North on Hwy 31. Turn right at the traffic light (Vestavia Parkway) where the new Milo's is. Parkway winds around behind Pizitz Middle School and dead ends at stopsign. Turn right (Panorama Trail). Take the next left (Panorama Place). We are the second driveway on the RIGHT. If I feel like it, I might put balloons on the mailbox. Good luck negotiating the uphill driveway. Put your parking brake on.

If I Didn't Have Dogs...

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.

I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted, without taking into consideration how much space several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would have money .......and no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians, as I put their yet unborn grand kids through college.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates or barriers.

My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags, treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to Spell the words:B-A-L-L, F-R-I-S-B-E- E, W-A-L-K, T-R-E-A-T,
B-I-K-E, G-O, R-I-D-E

I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONE dog/cat ties them down too much.

I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead of dreading "mud" season.

I would not have to answer the question "Why do you have so many animals?" from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be.

~author unknown
posted by Pat Christians

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

Have you ever thought about having your houndie blessed?
Ruth Slocum and I were just talking about this the other day. I'm sure several churches around Birmingham do this annually (call and ask!).

Southminster Presbyterian Church, 1124 Hwy 31 South in Vestavia Hills, does!
The following paragraph is taken from their most recent newsletter:

"The Fifth Annual Blessing of the Animals will be held Sunday, October 7th, at 3:00pm outside on the lawn north of Grace Hall. The service of gratitude for our animal companions traditionally occurs in the month when the Feast Day of Francis of Assisi is celebrated. Francis is known for loving all creatures in the name of Christ. All members and friends of the congregation are invited to attend and to bring pets in an appropriate container or on a leash Our own Tammy Stumpff, who is a veterinarian, will present the homily. For more information, call Chruch Administrator Betsy Murphy at 822-1124."

Also, GreyFest (Oct 6 in Newnan GA) will hold a blessing of the animals at the beginning of the event, 10:15 am est, if I remember correctly.

Dr Stumpff works at Kidd Animal Clinic on Rocky Ridge Road in Vestavia Hills.

~contributed by Pat Christians, Mandy and Ester's mom

Reverse “Back” Sneezing

What is that you ask? It is: a greyhound that you have had less than 36 hours struggling to breathe, an asthma attack, at 2:30am. You jump straight up in the bed while trying to flip on the light and find the greyhound (remember the 36 hours part above) trying to breath and realize that you know absolutely nothing about this hound. The greyhound is standing there, head down and chest moving rapidly struggling to breathe. You try to gain your composure and figure this out. After all, you are an experienced greyhound owner, right?

The only thing that you remember is putting FrontLine on the greyhound at 10:30pm and you start thinking….OH MY GOD, I HAVE KILLED THE DOG because she is having an allergic reaction to the flea medication!! You rush to call the emergency vet and when the voice on the end of the phone asked for name of business, you act like it’s a human, IMAGINE THAT…., and you scream DOG EMERGENCY in the phone. The recorded voice tells you, “We do not have that listing, please call back later”.

You realize you are out of control and the dog is still heaving trying to decide whether she wants to breathe or puke. You need to make a rational decision, take the dog that you poisoned to the emergency clinic since you cannot call them (remember from above)!!

I grab the leash, run out to the car and away we go to the emergency clinic. When we get there, the dog has stopped all this nonsense and you walk in, the greyhound eyes the clinic cat and you know you are in for a time. Remember, it is now almost 3:00am, you are not sure what you are wearing and you have not brushed your hair.

After the information about the dog that you know nothing about is taken, you are seen by the vet and you are told……

"Some dogs sneeze out and some dogs sneeze in………"

"When they sneeze in they have post nasal drip in their throat…." NICE.

"And, they choke and need to cough it out…." even NICER, "but after that, they are fine."

Therefore, your dog has allergies………why does the dog have allergies at 2:30am, she has had all day to have allergies!

And the diagnosis is: Reverse Sneezing

The emergency vet obviously saw my state of mind and told me she was not going to charge me for post nasal drip. MY HERO!

Only in my world....they (whoever they are) said the 2nd child is the worse. Remember child number 1 is Perfectly Fit, which barely breathes and never woke up during this whole ordeal nor got up when we got back from the emergency clinic.

-Kathy Wright


Non-Greyhound example of Reverse Sneezing

Homeless Greyhounds Need Help

These two girls just lost their home and need your help. They are both "cat-safe", and very> sweet girls. Aubrey is 7-years old, and is full of personality and likes to stand up and give kisses. Flirt is 5-years old, a little shy, "cat-safe"and is afraid of stairs, but she is very sweet and affectionate and will make a great addition to your family. Click links above to see more pics, and contact us for more info.

Pat's Grey Cruzer

Pics of Pat's customized cruiser picking up some homeless dogs


Slammed full of hounds.

GreyFest

Saturday Oct. 6 - Summerwind Farm, Newnan Georgia

Fun for the whole family, this year Greyfest will feature games such as these for the hounds:

Bobbing for Weenies - who can bob for the most hot dogs?

Blur of Fur - see your hound run at record speed

Greyhound Bingo - will your square be "the one" that receives the precious deposit?

Pawdicures - give your hound the works with nail clipping, filing, and ear cleaning

Pupography - great fun and festival carnival photos for the whole family

Paw Painting - you've probably got a Claude "Bonet" at the end of that leash

Paw Reading - see what lies in your hounds future, look for Madame Zumi around the grounds

And these for the kids:

Bandana Game - select a bandana and win a prize

How Many? - guess how many treats are in the jar

Bobbing Ducks - pick the marked ducky and win a prize

Suckers - pick the sucker and win a prize

More info at the website here