Adopted by a Greyhound--Part II

Bee Bop.
Jams Butternut.
Brood bitch (6 offspring).
Red Brindle.
The fastest of our Greyhounds at 30.22 seconds over the course of 550 yds.
The most raced of our Greyhounds (she raced 121 races).
Also, unbeknownst to us, the sickest of our Greyhounds--kidney failure.

We received a call.  There was a Greyhound that needed a home.  Since we already have one, what is another one, right?  The kennel was at the home of the owners who were getting out of the racing business.  Would we at least go and see her?  This was not a casual visit.  We knew we would be bringing her home with us.

She was beautiful with a strong personality yet gentle.  We knew she and Angie would be fine.  As a general rule, Greyhounds always get along with other Greyhounds.  This is the way they spend each minute of their lives--with other Greyhounds.  I signed the standard Greyhound agreement, and my daughter and I loaded her into the SUV and brought her home.

Bee Bop and Angie got along great and seemed to enjoy each other's company.  We put their beds next to each other under a warm window, and they were like two peas in a pod.

Then the vomiting started.  All over the house.  We took her to the vet only to discover that she was suffering from kidney failure.  We put her on a special diet.  We gave her extra fluids by putting an IV needle in her back while she rested.  As her condition deteriorated, she just wanted to be quiet and rest. We continued to give her fluids from a hanging IV bag and tried to make her as comfortable as possible until the suffering was too much.

She was with us for about a year.  Bee Bop was able to live her last days in a loving home with the care she needed.  We did such a simple thing bringing her into our home, but we could tell that she was grateful to be in our home.  Those eyes.  The way they look up at you.  The windows to the soul.

Angie was very lonely after Bee Bop crossed the Rainbow Bridge, so we took an intermission--we adopted a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix (Winnie) from our local Humane Society.  Although Angie crossed the Rainbow Bridge this past fall, Winnie is still with us and helped us welcome our newest Greyhound addition into our home.

Roxie's story will be the next installment of "Adopted by a Greyhound."
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

Dawn