Rescuing Racers

Saturday we helped Dream's greyhound rescue group in ones of its largest rescue efforts yet. Two farms were downsizing and a track was getting rid of several dogs to, for a grand total of 93 greyhounds! Some came to St. Louis, others went to Indianapolis and other points between here and New Jersey.

Most traveled in a converted Greyhound bus (no joke), but ours came in an unheated trailer pulled by a truck. Here's a link to video of the hounds loading up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIICmEvXp1s.

Roger had a mandatory meeting and couldn't help, he missed out. It was cold, emotional and kind of stinky, but a really rewarding experience.

My travel buddy, "USA" wasn't quite as I'd imagined ... he did smell, was VERY dirty and extremely scared. USA wasn't a retired racer, but a 2 year-old that had lived on the farm his entire life. Cars, noise and people were brand new to him and he was very shy. He had scarpes and sores from farm life, and also a case of "happy tail," so his tail was bandaged.

The ride to the vet was interesting. I had all of the seats down and covered with blankets in the back of the Pathfinder. As we're driving down I-270 with the heat cranked up, he's walking all over the back looking out the windows and trying to climb into the front to ride shotgun. Then I hear a sound like running water....

After the mishap, things were cool. We talked about expectations for living in a house (ie: going outside) and not trying to ride shotgun when you're assigned to the back seat. He was very good and enjoyed the attention. We got the vet and weighed in, got cat tested and had a few photos taken. Since he was such a good boy, I tried to give him some treats. This is the first dog I'd ever met that had no idea what treats were.

I left him at the vet's to get shots and fixed the next day. I checked his progress on the Rescued Racers website and found out that his tail was so damaged, part of it had to be amputated. That small issue aside, once he's cleand up and his sores have healed he will be a really pretty dog, and most importantly ... a very good one!