1st Anniversary of Lady Flame's Death

We sure do miss our spunky Lady Flame.

Our backyard feels so quiet and calm without her running around with her buddies.

There is rarely any barking anymore, and the energy back there has changed.

It is amazing how the loss of a pup can change the entire dynamics of a place.

The joy of meeting our great-nephew Isaac!

We had the joy of meeting our great-nephew Isaac today! We have been looking forward to this moment for the last 23 months-) The pandemic spoiled one of our chances by ruining our April vacation. So, we had exactly one hour to enjoy this little bundle of energy!

Isaac burst out of the car running! He had been cooped up for almost 2 hours.

He spotted our dug well cover and wanted to stand up high on the "tower." 

So, we took the opportunity to take a few family photos! Fun!!!

Then, Drew thought it was a good time to go to the fenced-in backyard so that Isaac could meet Toby.

I think this may have been the first time in his life that Isaac had been around such a big dog.

It didn't take long for Isaac to become great buddies with Toby. Toby gave Isaac a thorough sniff test and proceeded to lick his face.

Then, Toby taught Isaac how to drink from a dog bowl! Ha Ha!

Isaac was fascinated by the water drinking process. Luckily, Kelli stopped Isaac before he took a sip as well.

Then, it was all about the bonding of boy and dog.

This is my favorite photo from this series. Isaac was so gentle with Toby and they had a good lie down together.

Toby certainly seemed very happy to be with his new buddy as he's always enjoyed being around children.

Isaac kept voicing the desire to "ride" Toby as if he were a horse;-)

Toby decided to show Isaac how to dig a hole with speed and efficiency. After which Isaac decided to cover Toby with sand.

Here is one more of my favorite photos showing the joy that Toby had from hanging out with his new buddies. This is Toby's big smile that he gives to his favorite people!

Then, Isaac found the need to rake the yard. Too bad Drew had already raked it yesterday! We might have to hire Isaac to help out the next time he visits.

Finally, it was time to walk over to Caesar Pond so that Isaac could get some much needed play in the water.

The pond is so pretty during every season of the year. Hopefully, Isaac can come back to spend some quality time with us so that we can go boating when he is a bit older.

Isaac found a stick as soon as he hit the trail and used it to splash in the water.

Once must always carry a big stick when out for a walk. Isaac is so cute!

Meeting Orela Munsey aka Juniper

Veronica brought Orela home on July 10th, and we were given the opportunity to meet her today. It is our tradition that Drew is the first to meet any new hound that Veronica adopts! Thanks for humoring us, Veronica;-)

She is a tiny, almost 2 year old hound (her birthday is July 24th) weighing in at 50 pounds! We've never seen such a small Greyhound before. She has so many scars on her body, but how she got them remains a mystery. She, as well as all the pups in her litter, has never raced, and we think this may have been due to the tracks closing in her kennel area.

She was fostered for a month before Veronica adopted her, which made her transition to Veronica's house quite easy. She already knew how to go up and down stairs, play with toys, and sleep on beds! Unfortunately, walking her on leash is quite the experience and a lot of training is needed in that area;-)

She is extremely affectionate and wanted Drew to pet and hug her the entire time we were there. It is so refreshing to meet such a lovey dovey hound. (We are now the proud Auntie and Uncle to two young affectionate female hounds, Orela and Cherise, and are loving it!)

Look at the size difference between Dennis and Orela. Veronica goes for the largest males and the tiniest females when adopting Greyhounds;-)

Oh my, a lovey dovey ambush! Dennis is saying, "Hey, what about me?"

We can't wait until Dennis and Orela can come over to Camp Greyhound to play! They will get to meet Toby, Trouble, and Cherise. But, this will have to wait until Orela gets a negative hookworm test from the vet. Hopefully, this will occur sooner than later;-) Until then, we will be making as many visits to Veronica's house as we can to get some sweet Orela lovin'!

Cherise, Trouble, and Toby at Camp Greyhound

Cherise and Trouble came over for a play date today. It was a low energy, super hot afternoon, so they didn't really do much running around.

Cherise headed immediately for the pool and dipped her toes in.

The pool was filled almost to the brim which allowed Cherise to get maximally cooled as it covered so much of her body.

She really settled in for a long cool-off.

And, almost fell asleep as the water was so relaxing.

While Cherise was lounging in the pool, Trouble dug a shallow hole in the sand.

He decided that this was a great place to cool off during the heat of the day.

To get cool, one must really stretch out in the sand.

And, if that doesn't work, then dig a deeper hole and settle down into it.

He really is the happiest of hounds...We love Trouble.

While Trouble was lounging in the sand, Toby was wandering around the yard trying to find a nice, cool shady spot to lay in.

He was so happy to have some of his buddies around, even though he doesn't really interact with them.

But, it was too hot to sit upright, so he got comfy for a long snooze.

He is such a sweet, huggable boy... We love him dearly.

Cherise goes down the stairs for the second time (Photos and Video by Auntie Veronica)

Oh my, how we do remember the agonizing days (two weeks of them) that we spent teaching a stubborn Lady Flame how to go down stairs. Well, today it was Shannon's time to teach Cherise how to do it. We'd had a lovely Swedish Fika on the deck with Veronica and Dennis, and Shannon and Cherise. When it was time to go home, this is what happened...

Mind you, Cherise had done this a few days earlier without thinking about it, but today a bit of trepidation set in as she overthought it.

I gave Shannon a soft peanut butter dog biscuit that she tore into small chunks and put onto each step to lure Cherise down.

There was lots of encouragement from Shannon, Veronica and I. And, Cherise eventually made it to the bottom of the stairs.

Here is the video of Cherise and the stairs.

Then, once she got down the stairs, she didn't want to go to the car to go home because Camp Greyhound is such a fun place to visit!

I couldn't help but laugh as Cherise pulled the typical Greyhound move of averting her gaze when not wanting to do something. This was one of Lady Flame's signature moves!

Eventually, Shannon got Cherise to move, but notice the tightness of the leash. Cherise was still holding back. At least Shannon kept good humor about the affair!

Finally, success! Cherise decided to admit defeat and walked to the car. After this, Cherise mastered the stairs faster than any Greyhound I've known...She is a super fast learner and a fearless girl!