June « 2011 « Max and Molly Designs

I always said I would like to foster again once our circumstances allowed, & now that ‘the event of the year’ (our wedding!) has passed, what better time to get back into it!

So, meet Poppy, the greyhound we are fostering for Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary. She’s been with us just over a week now & it’s lovely having 3 greys in the house again.

Poppy is a 4 year old female ex-racer, who is black with splashes of white on her chest, tail & tootsies. She is a gorgeous girl & very friendly & affectionate towards people. She also gets on well with our own 2 dogs, Max & Molly, who have welcomed her into the house & ‘showed her the ropes’ no questions asked.

She likes to play, & the first thing she did when she arrived at our house was empty the toy box & transfer all the toys one by one to her bed! Over the past week I have gradually introduced her to my dog walking ‘tribe’, & she has behaved very politely towards everyone & seems to be enoying the company of all the other dogs. She got on particularly well with my friends’ lurcher, Clyde, who was staying with us last weekend

She walks beautifully on the lead, has been 100% clean in the house, & we really haven’t found anything bad to say about her at all! She’s a very endearing dog, & has all sorts of cute little habits like burrowing under our bed at night instead of going to her own one…

Poppy is going to make an absolutely wonderful pet for someone out there, but until then I am more than happy to hold onto her while she waits for that lucky person to come along.

Poppy is one of 14 dogs, currently being looked after by Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary whilst awaiting their forever homes. SGS is devoted to rescuing & rehoming greyhounds & lurchers in need across Scotland. Along with the wonderful online community & many volunteers, SGS are passionate about the welfare of greyhounds & are committed to raising awareness of the plight of these beautiful animals.

Max & Molly would like to extend you a very special invitation! However, they couldn’t quite drag themselves away from the sofa, so I’m going to invite you on their behalf… They would like to invite you to join them for the Great British Greyhound Walk 2011. (Maybe they are just conserving energy for it?!)

What?

The Great British Greyhound Walk aims to get as many greyhounds as possible walking together at the same time up & down the country, celebrating & raising awareness of what wonderful pets greyhounds make. The first walk took place last year, with over 1000 greyhounds walking in tandem, & this year it is hoped the number will exceed 2000!

When?

This year’s event is taking place on Sunday 26th June, with most walks starting off at 10am.

Where?

Walks will be taking place simultaneously all across England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland – Check the GBGW website for one taking place in your local area. Max & Molly are going to be at the Edinburgh walk, which starts & finishes outside the Braid Hills Golf Centre on Liberton Drive.

The walk starts at 10am & will last around an hour. The route is marked out below (click on the image to enlarge) & is mostly flat, but may be quite muddy if it’s been raining! There is also a shorter route (taking approximately 20 minutes) which may be more suitable for elderly or less fit greyhounds or owners – Max may well end up just doing this walk depending how his arthritis is on the day.

All greyhounds, along with lurchers & their other sighthound cousins, are welcome – we want to make Edinburgh’s event a big success! Although there are some big fields where it might otherwise be appropriate to let your dogs have a run, we would ask that all dogs be kept on lead at all times during the walk, in accordance with the GBGW rules. Dogs should also be muzzled at your own discretion & all poo picked up & disposed of responsibly.

There are some lovely views out over Edinburgh…

The walk goes past Tower Farm Riding Stables so we will likely encounter some horses en route…

… & there are bunny rabbits gallore in the adjacent fields, but if you’re lucky the dogs won’t spot them through the hedges!

The walk also passes by the Edinburgh branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust & some dogs & staff from their kennels will be attending the event – It would be an excellent opportunity to get to know greyhounds so don’t worry if you arrive empty handed , there will be plenty of dogs to go round that you can walk! We will also be selling some RGT merchandise, as well as some special hand printed Great British Greyhound Walk dog bandanas, with proceeds going to the Edinburgh RGT.

There is free parking in the golf range car park, as well as on Liberton Drive itself, & toilets & refreshments are available at the Braid Hills Golf Centre Coffee Shop (although dogs will not be allowed inside). Please bring along something to eat & drink & join us at the picnic area (beside where the walk starts & finishes) afterwards for a natter. We’ll need to count up how many hounds there are & report back so that our walk can be added to the grand total!

We really hope you can make it, & if not to our Edinburgh walk then to one of the many taking place across the UK. Why not let us know what your plans are for the GBGW in the comments below? We also have a Facebook event page, where you can let us know you will be attending & get involved with the pre-event chat!

Monthly Archive for June, 2011

We’re at it again! (fostering greyhounds)