Post by GreyPoopon on Sept 7, 2013 21:16:14 GMT -5
Annie has been here for almost three months, but this thread was delayed by my tardiness in posting Graham's Rainbow Bridge thread.
About a week after I said goodbye to Graham, a return appeared on the Adoptables page: Sansa (Do Marcia). I noticed her because she was 9. But I didn't need or want another dog, and Bill can usually place a 9-year-old fairly quickly.
That didn't stop me from having a look at her greyhound-data page. A few things stood out: she hadn't raced long, retiring shortly before her third birthday. She'd competed in Florida, and had probably been brought north by another group. Her birthday was September 3. That meant she was almost 10. And September 3 has been a big day here: Tally (1999) and Graham (2000) were both born on September 3, and Cora arrived home on September 3 (2007). Plus I think Sansa was added to the Adoptables page on my birthday.
The annual GRA Picnic was on Saturday June 8. I wondered if Bill would suggest that I meet Sansa. Shortly after I arrived, I was standing with Forum member moncheri, who had lost her her grey Buffy a few months earlier. Bill drove up. He said he wanted to speak to her. About Sansa. She said she could not adopt again until the end of July because she was going to be on vacation, but if Sansa were still available then, she'd meet her. Bill assured her that Sansa would not last the day--someone at the picnic would take her home.
Someone didn't. When the list was updated to reflect the picnic adoptions, Sansa was still on it.
In the meantime, I realized that I had arrived home without Poppy's muzzle. I thought it had fallen out of the car when I'd stopped near the kennel to drop off donations. I sent an email to Bill asking him to save it for me if it appeared. He called Monday to say that it had been turned in. He joked that I could get it when I came to pick up Sansa. He was astounded that she had not been adopted at the picnic. He said she was one of the sweetest hounds that he'd ever had there. I asked if he thought she'd fit. She'd fit anywhere. I asked if he thought she'd be OK crated. She didn't object at the kennel.
I thought about it for a few hours. I still didn't need or want another dog, but it kills me to see an almost-10-year-old, who has been in a home for almost 7 years, back in a kennel. (Her family's schedules changed and she wasn't getting enough attention. She was very well cared for in that home.) I had room, and I expected to have even more shortly. (I was wrong about that, fortunately--all my old dears are still hanging in.) I checked to see if I could get her into the clinic for a checkup and bath, and made sure there was space for her at school. Then I called Bill and arranged to meet her.
On Wednesday June 12, I met Sansa and brought her home. I wasn't fond of her name and she wasn't responding to it particularly well, so I renamed her to the sort-of-similar-sounding Annie. (Apologies to fans of Game of Thrones.)
Bill was right. She fit in beautifully. Plus, after 4 losses in 7 1/2 months, she's been a breath of fresh air.
I have a lot of pics, so here are some from the first few days. I'll post more and tell you about her in another thread.
Greeting Bill and saying goodbye:
Wondering what's awaiting her in the outside world:
Waiting for me to join her in the turnout area:
Getting to know her new Mom (She's since had a dental, and the lump on her neck visible in the second pic has been removed):
OK, Mom, I'm ready to go! (I think the hands belong to a volunteer):
Lying quietly on the long ride home:
Standing on the driveway, checking out her new yard. I wish I'd gotten all of her ears:
After introductory walks with her new sisters, lying a couple of feet from where she was in the previous pic, watching the world go by:
We had a bit of a wait before we could go to the clinic, so she settled in and enjoyed the attention:
Trying out the beds in the living room on the first night. Minnie, bottom right, thinks I should be paying attention to her:
Also on the first night, sharing the beds in my office with Perry (cell phone pic):
By the next afternoon, she was snuggling with Pink (cell phone pic):
The day after that, she was snuggling with Poppy. Poppy is not a snuggler (cell phone pic):
Pretty girl on the beds:
Enough with the flashy box!:
Welcome home Annie!
About a week after I said goodbye to Graham, a return appeared on the Adoptables page: Sansa (Do Marcia). I noticed her because she was 9. But I didn't need or want another dog, and Bill can usually place a 9-year-old fairly quickly.
That didn't stop me from having a look at her greyhound-data page. A few things stood out: she hadn't raced long, retiring shortly before her third birthday. She'd competed in Florida, and had probably been brought north by another group. Her birthday was September 3. That meant she was almost 10. And September 3 has been a big day here: Tally (1999) and Graham (2000) were both born on September 3, and Cora arrived home on September 3 (2007). Plus I think Sansa was added to the Adoptables page on my birthday.
The annual GRA Picnic was on Saturday June 8. I wondered if Bill would suggest that I meet Sansa. Shortly after I arrived, I was standing with Forum member moncheri, who had lost her her grey Buffy a few months earlier. Bill drove up. He said he wanted to speak to her. About Sansa. She said she could not adopt again until the end of July because she was going to be on vacation, but if Sansa were still available then, she'd meet her. Bill assured her that Sansa would not last the day--someone at the picnic would take her home.
Someone didn't. When the list was updated to reflect the picnic adoptions, Sansa was still on it.
In the meantime, I realized that I had arrived home without Poppy's muzzle. I thought it had fallen out of the car when I'd stopped near the kennel to drop off donations. I sent an email to Bill asking him to save it for me if it appeared. He called Monday to say that it had been turned in. He joked that I could get it when I came to pick up Sansa. He was astounded that she had not been adopted at the picnic. He said she was one of the sweetest hounds that he'd ever had there. I asked if he thought she'd fit. She'd fit anywhere. I asked if he thought she'd be OK crated. She didn't object at the kennel.
I thought about it for a few hours. I still didn't need or want another dog, but it kills me to see an almost-10-year-old, who has been in a home for almost 7 years, back in a kennel. (Her family's schedules changed and she wasn't getting enough attention. She was very well cared for in that home.) I had room, and I expected to have even more shortly. (I was wrong about that, fortunately--all my old dears are still hanging in.) I checked to see if I could get her into the clinic for a checkup and bath, and made sure there was space for her at school. Then I called Bill and arranged to meet her.
On Wednesday June 12, I met Sansa and brought her home. I wasn't fond of her name and she wasn't responding to it particularly well, so I renamed her to the sort-of-similar-sounding Annie. (Apologies to fans of Game of Thrones.)
Bill was right. She fit in beautifully. Plus, after 4 losses in 7 1/2 months, she's been a breath of fresh air.
I have a lot of pics, so here are some from the first few days. I'll post more and tell you about her in another thread.
Greeting Bill and saying goodbye:
Wondering what's awaiting her in the outside world:
Waiting for me to join her in the turnout area:
Getting to know her new Mom (She's since had a dental, and the lump on her neck visible in the second pic has been removed):
OK, Mom, I'm ready to go! (I think the hands belong to a volunteer):
Lying quietly on the long ride home:
Standing on the driveway, checking out her new yard. I wish I'd gotten all of her ears:
After introductory walks with her new sisters, lying a couple of feet from where she was in the previous pic, watching the world go by:
We had a bit of a wait before we could go to the clinic, so she settled in and enjoyed the attention:
Trying out the beds in the living room on the first night. Minnie, bottom right, thinks I should be paying attention to her:
Also on the first night, sharing the beds in my office with Perry (cell phone pic):
By the next afternoon, she was snuggling with Pink (cell phone pic):
The day after that, she was snuggling with Poppy. Poppy is not a snuggler (cell phone pic):
Pretty girl on the beds:
Enough with the flashy box!:
Welcome home Annie!