Tag Archive for 'adopt'

Princess Molly

Published on January 19, 2012 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: adopt, agility, anniversary, foster, greyhound, home, knitted coat, molly, retired, wedding.

It’s been 3 years since we adopted our little Princess, making her 6 years old now (though you certainly wouldn’t know it & she’ll always be my ‘little’ Molly)!

Princess Molly

It’s been an eventful year for Molly. In May she was ‘guest of honor’ at our wedding, proving that (save for trying to eat the confetti!) she really could behave like a little angel, at least for one day

the confetti proved irresistible

Her ‘modelling career’ really took off as well, when my Mum started knitting house coats to donate to charity…

supermodel Molly models one of Granny’s projects

She welcomed not one but six foster dogs into our home & helped them on their way to forever homes of their own.

with foster dog Buddy

& in between all this activity, she still found plenty time to do a little relaxing…

it’s a hard life!

full on roach

… & get up to a little mischief!

taking counter surfing to a whole new level!

& I thought it was cats that liked to hide in boxes!

In November, Molly very sadly lost her ‘big brother’, Max. The pair had been together for the whole 3 years she was with us, & complemented each other perfectly: Max was a calming influence on Molly, teaching her manners around other people & dogs; Molly introduced fun into Max’s life, taught him how to play & the joy of affection.

missing Max

Molly had never been an only dog & we felt it was important for her to have continuing companionship after losing Max. With this in mind we soon fostered 2 young male greyhounds, Sandy & Dennis. The three of them got on so well, we quickly decided to adopt them.

Molly enjoys her privileges as ‘big sister’

Molly has really taken to her ‘little brothers’, & seems to have adapted well to her new role as ‘top dog’. I never thought I’d see the day when my crazy little Molly was the one teaching other dogs how to behave, but she’s doing a smashing job so far.

happy girl

Obviously with the boys being new we are spending a lot of time & energy on their training & socialisation etc. However, I think it’s important to make sure Molly doesn’t feel left out of all this so have been trying to include her as much as possible. I have also decided to try some agility work with her so we have something which is for just the two of us, so watch this space…!

looking forward to another year with my girl

Happy anniversary Molly-moo – you’ll always be my special little girl!

A Grey Xmas

Published on December 26, 2011 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: adopt, christmas, cremation, dennis, dog, elle j wilson, family, forever in my heart, foster, friend, greyhound, grief, jane walker, loss, max, memory, molly, new year, sandy, scottish greyhound sanctuary, the leverets nest, xmas.

This Christmas was filled with a mixture of emotions – joy at being together just us & the dogs for the first time in our new home (we have moved out of Edinburgh along the coast to Cockenzie), sadness that our beloved Max was not here to spend it with us, & joy at welcoming two new family members into our home & hearts…

foster dog Buddy, now in his forever home

Shortly after Max passed, our foster dog at the time, Buddy, went to his forever home, leaving Molly the only dog in the house for the first time. This was quickly remedied when we accepted two new SGS foster dogs, Sandy & Dennis: litter-mates who were to be rehomed together.

brothers Sandy (brindle) & Dennis (white & brindle)

The boys were charming, & Molly really took to them, & they to her (she had been off her food & very clingy since losing Max) – they brought out a playful side to Molly that I’d rarely seen before! The 3 of them were like long lost friends who were just meant to be together. So, Sandy & Dennis didn’t stay fosters for very long – Martin & I decided to adopt them both!

Molly with her boys

‘The Boys’ as they are affectionately known, have brought fun & laughter into our house again, where there were only tears & pain. They will never fill the vast hole that Max has left in our lives (nothing ever will), but we have space in our hearts for them too, & I’m sure Max would approve of our rescuing more greyhounds (though he would no doubt be objecting to all the fun they & Molly are having without him!!).

So on the bookcase, besides all our rows of Xmas cards, sits a green box containing Max’s ashes, to be scattered at a later date, someplace where he loved to walk & run, but close by for now, till we’re ready to part with them. There is also a frame my friend Sheena gave me, containing my favourite picture of Max, a print of Elle J Wilson‘s painting Forever in my Thoughts given to me by my friend Evelyn, & a soft sculpture of a running hare, made by my good friend Annette from a beautiful Jane Walker fabric.

& around my neck, next to my own heart, hangs the clay memory heart made by my Canadian friend, Pey, which is inscribed on one side with Max & on the other with run free.

Max is most definitely still with us in spirit, & he will live on through my artwork, & in every single hound I help rescue.

over the rainbow

Hoping you have had a Merry Christmas, & wishing you & your furry families all the best in the New Year ahead! I’m looking forward to sharing Molly, Sandy & Dennis’s adventures with you on the blog…

reindogs Sandy, Dennis & Molly

Show Me The MONEY: a small victory

Published on October 17, 2011 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: adopt, animal rights, bbc, campaign, colin murray, compensation, complaint, copyright infringement, design, dog, etsy, folksy, greyhound, greyt exploitations, handmade, kicking off, legal action, moral rights, pet portrait, racing, radio 5 live, rescue, retired, scottish greyhound sanctuary, screenprint, sgs, show me the bunny, showme thebunny.

A month ago I blogged about my disgust at BBC Radio 5 Live’s so-called “adoption” of racing greyhound ShowMe TheBunny & my horror at discovering they were using one of my screenprinted designs as the avatar on the Twitter account they have created in this greyhound’s name & are using to promote her races.

I wrote 2 separate letters of complaint to the BBC, one explaining why I felt their endorsement of the greyhound racing industry as “a great fun night out” was highly inappropriate, & another demanding the immediate removal of my image from their Twitter site due to breach of my copyright.

Well, I think you will all be familiar with the completely unsatisfactory reply I received some week later from the BBC in response to the former, given that they sent the same blanket response which did not properly address the questions or issues raised to everyone who submitted a complaint! Well, at least the latter complaint resulted in the swift removal of my image from their Twitter page. However, I wasn’t through with the BBC yet…

With the help of my Trademark Attorney friend (who I should mention went into labour the day after!) I sent a further letter demanding compensation for their breach of my moral rights by associating me & my work with the promotion of greyhound racing, & advising them that I would be prepared not to take any further legal action if they made a £250 donation to Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary. The BBC took me seriously & before I knew it the sum of £250 had arrived in my bank account along with an apology from BBC Senior Rights Executive David Knight. Of course I immediately donated all of the money to SGS, where it will help save the lives of a few lucky greyhounds & find them loving forever homes.

I want to thank everyone who helped me to achieve this small victory: all those who supported me via my blog & Facebook page, the Folksy & Etsy communities, talented Trademark Attorney (& fab friend) Sinead Byers, tireless campaigner Trudy Baker who helped publicise my copyright infringement case via Greyt Exploitations, Holly Denton whose rescue greyhound Bomber my design depicted, & everyone on the SGS forum who was routing for me!

However, this is just a small victory, & the BBC continue to race ShowMe TheBunny & to support & promote the greyhound racing industry. So please don’t give up! Just this week Greyt Exploitations have revealed video footage filmed ShowMe TheBunny’s kennels in South Yorkshire showing the grim conditions in which she & countless other dogs are being kept, together with evidence that this dog is in fact owned by Colin Murray despite the BBC’s claims to the contrary.

Please ask the BBC once more to retire ShowMe TheBunny, withdraw their support of greyhound racing & stop promoting gambling on dogs.

Sally’s Story

Published on September 29, 2011 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: abercorn, adopt, anaesthetic, charity, dentition, dog, edinburgh, elderly, euthanasia, foster, greyhound, healthy, portobello, pts, rescue, retired, rgt, scottish greyhound sanctuary, senior, sgs, shawfield, vet.

Meet Sally, the beautiful greyhound who has spent the past fortnight with us:

Sally, 15/9/11

On 15th September, 13 year old Sally was handed into an Edinburgh vet to be put to sleep. Though underweight & with terrible dentition, Sally was otherwise in good health. The vet made a few phone calls to various charities, but to no avail – all were either too full or wouldn’t take her on because of her age. However, Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary came through for this old girl, & with their support we took Sally into our home & gave her the TLC that a mature lady like her deserves.

comfort at last

We don’t know too much about Sally’s history, only that she was raced briefly at Shawfield, before being homed by RGT in 2003, & that her elderly owner’s family were unable to cope with looking after her when he no longer could himself. But she is a lovely natured dog – the first thing she did when she arrived at our house was hop right up on the sofa & stretch out, as if to say “now, this is more like it!”

SGS arranged for Sally to have all her rotten teeth removed, & we looked after her here in our home whilst she recovered from her operation (not a small one by any means, given Sally’s age & weight) & got the old girl eating again & starting to put a bit of weight on.

before & after shots(!)

Sally really does amazingly well given her age. Not only does she like to follow you from room to room to check what you are up to, but she gets all excited when it’s time for walkies & keeps up a fair pace once you’re out there too!

out with friends at the park

keeping watch over us in the kitchen

Raring to go! Sally up Blackford Hill

It didn’t take long before SGS found the special long term home that Sally needed, where she will be able to live out the rest of her days in comfort, without fear of neglect or abandonment. Sally’s new Mum, Jaclyn (another SGS volunteer), reports that she has settled well already & is enjoying the company of Jaclyn’s existing greyhound, Gem, as well as ‘eating like a horse’ & stealing the hearts of all who meet her!

Sally in her new home: Did you ever see a dog look for comfortable?

Sally in the sunshine

Although Sally was only with us here for a short time, she had a big effect on me & we really miss her now that she has gone. I am so thankful that I was in a position to help save this beautiful girl’s life by taking her in that day, & I’ll always remember her twinkly eyes & the way they seemed to say ‘thank you’ every single time she looked at me. I hope they go on twinkling for a long time to come…

those eyes…

Happy Families

Published on September 19, 2011 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: adopt, charity, dog, foster, greyhound, home, kenny, kevin, poppy, rescue, scotland, scottish greyhound sanctuary, sgs.

I’m always happy when one of our foster greyhounds goes to their forever home, but was chuffed to bits when I found out where, or rather with whom, our Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary foster dog Kevin (/Kenny) was going to be living…

Mr K

The handsome Kevin was only with us for 3 weeks before a couple contacted SGS looking for a companion dog for their existing greyhound. & you’ll never guess who said existing dog was… None other than our previous foster girl, the beautiful Poppy!

Poppy Popstar

SGS & I felt that Kevin’s laid back attitude would be a nice calming influence on the more energetic Poppy, whereas Poppy’s playfulness would likely help to bring Kevin out of his shell. So, the adoption was all set to go ahead, providing the 2 dogs got on when they met up ‘in person’.

No issues there whatsoever – it was love at first sight for these guys & after sniffing each other over they were running around the park together like old friends. & it didn’t take long for Poppy’s playful side to rub off on Kevin, as he got to grips with playing with a ball for the first time!

Friends reunited: Poppy, me, Kenny & Martin

It was wonderful to see Poppy again – she has grown into a beautiful, sleek girl & is all toned & muscly now she is getting to run off lead regularly. It was fun to hear about her antics too, how she’s been stealing sausages at barbeques & making friends with spaniels at the park

Happy families: Poppy, Susan, Kevin & Kenny

Kevin & Poppy are very lucky to not only have each other, but a fantastic couple to look after them, & I wish them both a lifetime of happiness together in their forever home with Susan & Kenny. Endings don’t come much happier than this!

Kevin & Poppy on sharing their forever sofa

Hello, Goodbye

Published on August 25, 2011 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: adopt, animal, charity, emotions, etsy, forever home, fostering, greyhound, kenny, photographs, play, poppy, rescue, scottish greyhound sanctuary, sgs, treasury, video.

Back in June I introduced you to our Scottish Greyhound Sanctuary foster dog, Poppy. Well, Poppy was with us for 2 fun-filled months whilst she waited for her forever home, during which time she made lots of friends,

with border terrier pal, Fidra

played with lots of toys,

with her favourite pink ball

& gave us lots of cuddles!

with foster dad, Martin

We will miss you big time Pops, but seeing you walk out that door with your new family, all waggy-tailed & full of smiles, I just knew you were going to the right place: SGS have found the perfect home for you!

beautiful Poppy

We managed to last a full 3 days with just the 2 dogs in the house after Poppy left, then along came our next foster dog, Kenny (formerly known as Kevin)!

new boy, Kenny

Kenny is a gorgeous brindle & white lad with a velvety smooth coat & a big thick cuddly neck. Despite his wise old face, he’s still a youngster really at 4 years.

isn’t he gorgeous?

He’s been with us for almost a week now & taken some time to settle into living in a house – everything is new to him.

Woah – what’s going on out there?!

He has adapted so quickly though & is already well on his way to becoming a chilled out sofa-hog just like the rest of them

Max & Molly have been showing Kenny the ropes

Yesterday he rolled over on his back & had a wee roach for the first time,

learning to relax

& today he tentatively started to play with a ball for the first time!

Kenny learns to play

Fostering can be pretty emotional. You inevitably become attached to these dogs & it can be hard to say goodbye when the time comes. But you know that they will always remember your kindness, & the space that they leave means you can help yet another dog on that special journey towards their forever home.

‘Hello, Goodbye‘: an Etsy Treasury depicting how I felt about letting Poppy go

Old Dogs, New TrEATs!

Published on July 16, 2011 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments Tags: adopt, age, animal, bag, canine, charity, dog, etsy, foster, hand screened, handmade, old, older, oldies club, pet, print, rescue, screenprint, senior, treasury, treats pouches, young at heart.

The Oldies Club rescues & rehomes older dogs (aged over 7 years) via a network of foster homes spread across the UK, as well as working with other rescues to publicise the plight of their older dogs. Dogs come into their care from a variety of situations, often because their elderly owner has had to go into sheltered accommodation where dogs are not allowed, their owner has died & there is no-one that can take care of their beloved dog, or their owner’s circumstances have changed & the owner simply can no longer give their dog the care it needs.

Last month I was contacted by a member of the Oldies Club who’d come across my Etsy shop enquiring if they could purchase a bulk order of the little treats bags I print to sell at fundraising events for their dogs.

A few weeks, & many hours of printing later, I had their order of 200 treats pouches ready to post out to them!

The brightly coloured bags are made of 100% cotton & measure 10 x 13 cm. I have hand screened the text ‘treats’ onto one side & there is a drawstring closure to seal the bag & slip it over your wrist – Perfect for storing your dog’s favourite treats in when you are out for a walk!

The bags are available to purchase individually in both my Etsy & Folksy shops, priced £3 each (or 2 for £5). I also make custom treats pouches, personalised with your pet’s name on one side & ‘treats’ on the other in the colours of your choice. These cost an additional £3.

Adopting an older dog has lots of potential advantages: they often need less exercise, require a shorter time-frame of commitment, & generally do not need much guidance or training as compared with younger dogs . Despite this, these dogs still have so much to give, & reward their adopters with the knowledge that they have provided a noble, faithful animal with a loving home for the last few years of their life.

Older pets are the inspiration behind the above Treasury I have curated of Etsy artists’ work depicting the joy these animals can bring to our life, & us to theirs. I wish more people would choose to adopt older animals – Give me an old dog over a puppy any day!

& finally, as if to prove the point that old dogs are ‘still game’, my 9 year old greyhound, Max, after watching me carefully package up all the bags ready for posting, waited till my back was turned for a minute then chewed his way through the packing & started pulling the treats pouches out & flinging them around in the air! Naughty boy – he must have been convinced there were some actual treats in there! Luckily no harm was done & the package has now been resealed & is safely on it’s way down to the folks at Oldies Club

We’re at it again! (fostering greyhounds)

Published on June 30, 2011 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: adopt, charity, edinburgh, foster, greyhound, lurcher, photographs, rehome, rescue, scotland, scottish greyhound sanctuary, sgs.

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.

3 Glorious Years: Celebrating Max’s Anniversary

Published on May 3, 2011 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: adopt, anniversary, arthritis, brindle, dog, edinburgh, greyhound, happy, max, pet, play, rescue, retired greyhound trust, scotland, walk.

It’s hard to believe that until 3 years ago there were no greyhounds in my life! Adopting Max changed all that, & he’s definitely got me hooked for life

Max & I sharing a moment in the sun

My beautiful brindle boy is 9 years old now, but still enjoying life to the full. In fact, in many ways he has grown younger & more puppy like over the 3 years we have had him, showing a much greater interest in playing & toys than he did in the earlier years.

Max with his ‘Mr Funny’ toy - one of his favourites!

Enjoying ‘nomming’ on a stick

Max is such a happy dog, & he shows it! He just loves meeting new people & dogs, greeting them with a smile that spreads all the way from his lips to his ears & a big waggy tail. At Lush’s anti greyhound racing campaign launch last year, Max was the perfect ambassador for what fabulous pets greyhounds make. He basked in all the attention of the passers by, soaking up the sites & sounds of Edinburgh’s Princes Street – people kept asking me, ‘Is he always this happy?’!

my happy smiley boy

He’s had his fair share of health problems, most recently arthritic problems in his toe joints, but he is very stoical about it all, now enjoying walks just every other day so as to rest his joints in between times & avoid further flare ups.

Even ‘the cone of shame’ didn’t stop Max playing with his fluffy bunny!

We take extra special care of Max’s feet

Whether it’s his reduced mobility or a general mellowing with age, Max is the perfect walking partner, walking to heel & sitting at road crossings. He still manages a quick blast around the fields on a good day though, even if he does need to pause for a wee breather afterwards!

Pausing for rest in the grass

Max is such a special dog & there’s not a day I regret picking up the telephone to the RGT & bringing him home with us. Every day Max adds so much happiness to my life, just by being there, & I want to thank him for 3 glorious years!

Looking out over Edinburgh with Max

Introducing Ziggy

Published on March 9, 2011 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: adopt, blackford hill, border terrier, cavalier king charles spaniel, cavoodle, crossbreed, designer dog, dog boarding, edinburgh, fidra, fluffy, lively, manchester, max, miniature poodle, molly, mongrel, mutt, photograph, pride, rescue, retired greyhound, shelter, small, toy dog, ziggy.

Max & Molly are currently sharing their coveted sofa space with their ‘cousin’ Ziggy, Martin’s Mum’s dog. Ziggy is a 6 month old cavoodle (a cavalier king charles spaniel crossed with a miniature poodle) who has come to stay with us for a fortnight whilst Margaret is on holiday.

Ziggy

& whilst I can’t say I wholeheartedly approve of the whole designer dog movement (there are after all thousands of intelligent, genetically balanced cross-breeds already waiting for homes in dog shelters up & down the country), there is no denying that Ziggy is cute, & it has been fun having him around these past few weeks…

Ziggy doing his chewbakka impression!

cuddling up on the sofa

Molly & Ziggy had already been introduced down in Manchester when Ziggy was only 3 months old, with Molly being admirably tolerant of all his puppy antics, so we knew that the pair of them would get along fine. & it didn’t take long to establish that Max was happy enough to welcome Ziggy into our house as well.

when Molly met Ziggy back in December 2010

Max, Ziggy & I curl up on the sofa together

Ziggy certainly has a lot more energy than our greyhounds, but they have been teaching him a thing or too about the virtues of ‘deep sofa relaxation’! He has also enjoyed meeting & socialising with the other dogs that I walk, in particular my neighbour’s dog, Fidra, an 8 month old border terrier – the pair of them have gotten up to no end of mischief together on our daily walks at Blackford Hill!

the terrible twosome at Blackford Hill

a brief pause to rehydrate…

…before coating themselves thoroughly in mud!!

a slightly reproachful Ziggy in the bath afterwards!

Many people would be surprised to learn that 2 retired greyhounds could live quite happily alongside a such a small, fluffy & lively young puppy. However, I am beaming with pride at the way my two taken Ziggy in their stride & would confidently offer to look after him in their presence again (though I think we all may need a wee break first…!!).

a full sofa