Post by jerryrig on Nov 8, 2007 16:26:09 GMT -5
As a teen, I loved the look of the greyhound but mom always said people didn't keep them as pets. Years later (1998) I was leafing through a local paper and found an ad for greyhound adoption. I called the number and spoke to a man by the name of - you guessed it - Bill. He encouraged me to come and meet the dogs. My friend and I made the drive to Drumbo. It was love at first sight!
I chose a 2 1/2 year old brindle male by the name of Jerry (a.k.a. Jerry Rig). Or, should I say he chose my friend. That was all I needed. Jerry came home and became GRA's 200th adoption to that date. My how far they've come! Jerry adjusted quickly and other than a bit of counter top chewing, was everything I could have hoped for.
After several years, we thought Jerry could use some company. By then Bill had moved to their new location near London. After speaking with him, we set off for the kennel with Jerry in tow, hoping he would pick the new friend that would join our family. He chose Fern (a.k.a. Zeke Fern), a sweet, 3 year old fawn on white female.
Fern came home and, for the first year at least, the two got on famously. Then it happened! Jerry bit Fern! Disaster! And a ton of money in stitches. We now kept the dogs apart when we weren't in the room to avoid this happening again. But it did. He attacked again. after 2 attacks, we now kept the dogs totally separated - able to see each other but not directly interact. We lived this way (crawling over benches, child gates, etc.) for the next couple of years.
Jerry had been growing more stiff and we'd been treating him with metacam. Then one day he slid on the patio. He got so much worse, and very quickly. By the time we got him into the vet a couple of days later, we had to towel walk him for support. Our vet sent us to a specialist who did x-rays. The prognosis was not good, and a couple of days later, when he could no longer get to his feet, we had to say goodbye. Jerry was 9 years old.
Fern, who was now 7, had never been alone before, and after only a few month, began acting very strange. She jumped at every little noise, tried digging through the carpet to get out the doors, paws up on the window sills to see if she could get out the window. Despite the anti-anxiety meds we had her on, she went over the top when she chewed a hole through the chain link fencing of an outdoor kennel we had erected in the family room to contain her, and ate carpet, walls, and oak stairs.
After spending so much time trying to settle her down, we finally decided our last option was another dog. Enter Jane (a.k.a. Fever River Jane). Another 7 year old, and also red-fawn on white. We call them the twins. Jane has only been home since May of 2007 but it seems like she's always been here. The girls get along really well. We muzzle them for play as they can get quite rambunctious. Fern has settled right down and we have more furnishings in the house for them than us. Wouldn't trade it for the world!
Thanks again to Bill for working his magic...
I chose a 2 1/2 year old brindle male by the name of Jerry (a.k.a. Jerry Rig). Or, should I say he chose my friend. That was all I needed. Jerry came home and became GRA's 200th adoption to that date. My how far they've come! Jerry adjusted quickly and other than a bit of counter top chewing, was everything I could have hoped for.
After several years, we thought Jerry could use some company. By then Bill had moved to their new location near London. After speaking with him, we set off for the kennel with Jerry in tow, hoping he would pick the new friend that would join our family. He chose Fern (a.k.a. Zeke Fern), a sweet, 3 year old fawn on white female.
Fern came home and, for the first year at least, the two got on famously. Then it happened! Jerry bit Fern! Disaster! And a ton of money in stitches. We now kept the dogs apart when we weren't in the room to avoid this happening again. But it did. He attacked again. after 2 attacks, we now kept the dogs totally separated - able to see each other but not directly interact. We lived this way (crawling over benches, child gates, etc.) for the next couple of years.
Jerry had been growing more stiff and we'd been treating him with metacam. Then one day he slid on the patio. He got so much worse, and very quickly. By the time we got him into the vet a couple of days later, we had to towel walk him for support. Our vet sent us to a specialist who did x-rays. The prognosis was not good, and a couple of days later, when he could no longer get to his feet, we had to say goodbye. Jerry was 9 years old.
Fern, who was now 7, had never been alone before, and after only a few month, began acting very strange. She jumped at every little noise, tried digging through the carpet to get out the doors, paws up on the window sills to see if she could get out the window. Despite the anti-anxiety meds we had her on, she went over the top when she chewed a hole through the chain link fencing of an outdoor kennel we had erected in the family room to contain her, and ate carpet, walls, and oak stairs.
After spending so much time trying to settle her down, we finally decided our last option was another dog. Enter Jane (a.k.a. Fever River Jane). Another 7 year old, and also red-fawn on white. We call them the twins. Jane has only been home since May of 2007 but it seems like she's always been here. The girls get along really well. We muzzle them for play as they can get quite rambunctious. Fern has settled right down and we have more furnishings in the house for them than us. Wouldn't trade it for the world!
Thanks again to Bill for working his magic...