Skyy's last meet and greet

Bill with Skyy and Bear Bear, Veronica with Bettina and Dennis, and Tommy with his guardian

We don't go to meet and greets very often anymore, but we just had to attend this one up at the Petco, in Augusta. Our buddy, Skyy, has cancer. This was her last meet and greet.

Lady Flame, Toby, Sugaree, Trouble, Tommy, Bear Bear, Dennis and Bettina

The purpose of meet and greets is to educate the public about greyhound adoption. Skyy is one of the best ambassadors of the breed. So, our buddies Shannon and Billy arrived with Trouble and Sugaree to honor Skyy as well.

Skyy, the hound of honor...

Skyy has cancer and has a short time to live.

Skyy still has the energy to smile! This smile has been seen by lots of people in nursing homes as Skyy is a service dog.

Bear Bear is such a great little brother to Skyy

Bear Bear has been a great addition to the Axell family. He is a nervous pup, but is as lovely as can be.

Bettina and Dennis are experts at scarfing food. Poor Bear Bear needs to up his game if he is to compete for treats!

Tommy is the new kid on the block. He is a gorgeous brown and white hound!

Cola arrived with Wade. She is super sweet and she is a service dog!

Cola

Cola even has her I.D. badge so that she can accompany Wade to work at DHHS!

Toby got a bit bored with all the action going on. And, poor Sugaree (behind him) was a bit on the nervous side. She doesn't much like big to-dos!

So, we took the pups on a walk around the store.

They were super psyched as there were kitties galore! Great sniffing here;-)

Trouble was a great ambassador for the greyhound breed. He let this little boy pet, and pet, and pet him! Check out Trouble's smile. He loves kids!

Good buddies catching up on baseball greyhound and neighborhood news!

Skyy perked up after her mom arrived!

Bear Bear said, "Hey Mom, I want some attention too!"

And, lastly, Veronica sported her new shoes! She's always ready to model the latest haute couture in Greyhound fashion;-)

Popham Beach Pup Day

Lady Flame, Skyy, Bear Bear, Cola, Toby

What a lovely spring day for a gathering of hounds at Popham Beach! 

We met the Axels with their pups Skyy and Bear Bear. Wade and his sweet old hound, Cola, came along with the Axels. 

The tide was going out, as we walked toward the ocean's edge, and the pups left their paw prints in the sand.

We followed some horses as we meandered toward Fox Island.

The horses were gorgeous and the pups were rather interested in them, as always!  

Wade and Cola posed for photos near the base of Fox Island.

And, then Bille posed with Skyy, Cola, and Bear Bear.

Everyone climbed up Fox Island to look around. 

Up at the top of the island, there are photo ops galore, and it is so pretty.

Eventually, Toby had to come back down to join me as the uneven surfaces of the rocks, as seen here, are a hazard to a blind dog.

After the beach walk, we had lunch in the park before heading back to the cars. Here you see Cola, Skyy, and Bear Bear sitting pretty before heading for home.

Bowdoin Greyhound Crew

Bille has been compiling photos of the Bowdoin Greyhound Crew as they gradually pose for him. This is such a sweet project showing all of the buddies together as they all live within 16 miles of one another. There are three more pups to add before the project is complete;-) Thanks, Bille! (Photography by Axell Photography)

Popham Beach Group Photo

Left to right:
Sheila and Skyy, Veronica with Bettina and Dennis, Kristin with Herschel,
Drena with Honor?, Carol with Love and Melissa, Drew with Lady Flame,
Kent with Stari, and Jeremy with Freedom and Valor
(Click on the photo for an enlarged view.)

Photo by Bille Axell, Axell Photography.

Beach Meet-Up with a few Hounds

Bille sets up to do some still shots of the hounds at the water's edge.
(Click on any photo for a larger view.)

On this cool, cloudy, and drizzly day - the first of October - we met up with some of our hound buddies for a walk on the beach. We figured that any day on the beach was better than hanging out indoors.

Cola (in jammies), Toby, Skyy, and Lady Flame

With hounds and cameras in hand, we traversed Popham Beach.

Cola in her giraffe-print jammies is oh, so elegant.

There's nothing prettier than a Greyhound with the ocean as a backdrop.

And, a hound in jammies is irresistible!

Davon, Wade, and Cola are the newest members of our hound play-date family.

Cola belongs to Wade, who brought Davon to his first hound gathering.

Drew and Toby took a walk along the shoreline. It was high tide, and the wind was kicking up a few waves!

Lady Flame was her usual gorgeous self as she posed by the water's edge. I am awaiting a wider angle lens so that I can capture all of our beauty queen when holding onto her leash. The lens will arrive before our next beach walk;-)

Skyy was decked out in a beautiful scarf with floral accents. She was ready in case any paparazzi came by.

We ended up walking toward the far end of the state park, toward the fort. 

Skyy, Kent, Sheila, Davon, Bille, Wade, Cola

We are hoping for a larger crowd at our next beach day.

Lady Flame posed nicely within the logs of the lean-to, although she
wasn't very animated

We came across a large lean-to which made for some nice photos.

Skyy, the diva, looking ever so nice in her floral scarf.

Skyy was such a happy camper (she always is) as she loves posing for anyone who points a camera her way. She is such a diva!

Toby was his usual laid-back, casual self, and showed everybody up by sitting proudly on command;-)

Cola wasn't at all sure about the propriety of hanging out alone at the lean-to.

While we were photographing the hounds, JJ came over for a visit. He wanted to be a part of our exclusive beach party. He was incredibly debonaire.

We walked a short distance further until Toby reminded us that it was a bit uncomfortable out, and that we should head for home. He is such a good communicator.

Speaking of communication...Can you guess what thought Skyy is trying to transmit to Lady Flame? Lady tried her best, but couldn't decipher the message. I'm thinking it was probably, "Why can't you pack your own poop bags like I do?"

C'mon Dad, it smells sooo bad...

And, Cola wasn't too happy with Wade when he made her pack out her poop. He tried to reason with her as the park signs say to pick up the poop and dispose of it in the proper receptacle.

Playtime is a bit rough and tumble

Hey Dennis, here is how we play! (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

The hounds show Dennis how to body slam.

Dennis is initiated into the rough play of the hounds.

Bettina doesn't like the rough play so she runs by herself.