It's Jack's Gotcha Day

Today would have been Jack's 5th Gotcha Day. It's the day he was adopted by Mama and Daddy. We are trying not to be sad. We are trying to smile and laugh when we think about him because he was a funny guy. He could always make Mama laugh.

We have started the search for a new brother for me. I'm excited because I'm pretty lonely. It's much more fun taking walks with another dog than just walking alone. Jack used to point out the good things to sniff. I used to like to run laps around Jack and now I'm just running around Mama. It's not the same.

Mama ordered a new dog bed for my future brother. She said that he needs something that is just his and not a hand me down. Mama said she may let the new guy wear some of Jack's collars but probably not Jack's favorite. She said she will see how she feels once he is here. If you lost a brother or sister, did the new brother or sister use things that belonged to the one who died?

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is A Little Sad Today

Sweet Print

This print looks quite a bit like Jack, but I can also see Scout in it. I have it hanging in my office.

Patty
Mama to the Unforgettable Jack and Sassy Scout

Resting After The Meet & Greet

The meet and greet was fun. Mama forget to take pictures, so we have to use a "stock photo" of me. This is me at the old house sleeping. I look basically the same today sleeping on the same couch in a different house, so we are going with it.

There were a lot of greyhounds at the meet and greet, so I did a lot of sniffing. I've decided that I want a brother and not a sister. There is one male that is currently available in our group and he came to the meet and greet, but we didn't have a connection at all. He was actually the only male that I didn't have a connection with. Mama talked to him, but he didn't seem interested in her either. The people who are fostering him are thinking of adopting him, so he's probably wanting to stay with them.

After the meet and greet, we came home and I took a nap while Mama and Daddy went to the store. I was excited when they came home, so I did three laps around the yard. Mama was surprised I had that much energy left.

It sounds like it may be a while before I get my new brother. Mama said I need to make up a "wish list" of what I want him to be like and she will do the same. We looked on the website last night and found a few that we were interested in, but we need more information on them.

It sounds like it could be a rainy day here, so I'm just going to relax today.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Hopes To Have Another Brother Soon

Getting Ready For The Meet & Greet

I'm getting all ready for the meet & greet. I used to go to them a lot, but haven't for a while. The reason I like camping is because when I walk through the campground, people come and pet me. A meet and greet is better because I can just lay on the floor and the people pet me. There is no exercise involved, but I'm still really tired after a day of greeting the public.

What do I do to get ready for the meet & greet? Well, last night I got my nails Dremeled. Today, I'm going to get my hair brushed with the Furminator. I shed a lot. Jack was a non-shedder. I will also use a few moist wipes to freshen myself up and then I will have my teeth brushed. Hey, it's not easy being a diva!

I've been really lonely this week. Mama has been trying to keep me entertained but I've been pretty demanding with her. I've been talking back to her. It's boring here and the cows are not nice to play with. Thank you to Bunny's Mom @ Tales & Tails for giving us some tips on the cows. We will just stay away from them from now on and just look at them from the safety of our house. The rabbits are a little entertaining, but they are not the same as another dog. Daddy said we can start looking for me a new brother or sister! We will never ever forget Jack, but there is a hole in all of hearts and we think a new dog will fill it. Mama says the house is just too quiet. We know the new dog will not be Jack and will probably not be like Jack at all, but there is a greyhound out there that needs us as much as we need him or her.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is Very Excited About Today

Our Neighbor Cut His Grass

Do you want to see how people cut their grass here? This is how:



This is our neighbor cutting his field. It's actually not a farmer, but a pipe line business. Mama and I had been hoping they would cut it because we were scared we would get a lot of snakes from the tall grass. However, we have found that the cutting has brought the snakes out of the field and on to the road. We found two dead ones in one day. We are now even more scared to walk around our yard now

Mama and I are planning on going to a meet and greet tomorrow. I'm so excited.

Oh my gosh! Mama and I just got back from a walk and a cow started charging at us. We got scared and we started running. We were scared it was going to crash through the fence. Sorry, there are no pictures to share.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is Ready To Go To A Meet And Greet And Get Away From The Cows

Wordless Wednesday - My Sweet Boy

Patty
Remembering & Missing My Sweet Boy

Awards and A Weekend Update

We were surprised and honored to receive the Inspiration Award this weekend from Hiking Hounds and also Tails and Tales. Thank you very much for thinking of us. Jack would be proud that his blog is living on and now has received awards. Mama said she will help me pass on the awards soon.

Mama and Daddy wanted to stay busy last weekend, so Daddy painted her office. The people who lived here before loved to paint and try out different finishes on the walls. They did a good job on most of the rooms, but the office was not good. It had two walls that had lime green sponge painting and the other two walls had a sandpaper texture with a dark brown paint. A cat would love those walls.


Mama loves the coffee colors, but the room is too small to handle that, so she chose a light color. It's a very boring color. It's called putty. LOL It looks good though even though it is pretty boring.

Mama bought a print last week online that she thinks looks quite a bit like Jack, except the dog in the print has more white than Jack had. She hung it over our bed in the office. The paint color in this picture looks a lot darker than it really is. She didn't use a flash, so that's why it looks so dark.


Mama had always planned to decorate the office in greyhound items. She still needs to hang up our pictures, but she is debating which ones to put up. She may buy new frames. She is just not sure yet.

Daddy put shelves in the closet, so Mama unpacked the office boxes. I get nervous when I see boxes because I think it means we are moving again and I don't want to move. Mama says we are not moving. Jack laughed at me a few weeks ago because Mama was packing things to take to Good Will and I thought we were packing to move. I cried and threw myself on the floor. Jack thought that was really funny.

The boxes that Mama unpacked in the office had a lot of things that belonged to me and Jack. Mama found old newsletters from our greyhound group where Jack had written his blog. She also found the Celebrating Greyhound Magazines that Jack appeared in. He was in three. I have been in two calendars. It was a friendly competition between us. Jack and I have both been on our local TV station as Sammy Stars. They showed our photo and talked about us. She also found our photo Christmas Cards from last year. She didn't mail out very many last year since we were moving at Christmas time. She had planned on sending them out this year. She said she never thought that Jack wouldn't be here for this Christmas. :::sigh::: Mama put all of our items in a special place in the office so that she can look at them whenever she wants. I am glad that the boxes are gone and the office is now unpacked.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is Missing Her Brother Today

Where's The Snake?

Friday night, Mama and I were in the backyard. She always looks around the patio for snakes just because she really doesn't like snakes and she wants to be sure she doesn't step on one. She looked up at the abandoned bird nest that is above a light fixture under the deck and what does she see? A snake skin! WHERE'S THE SNAKE? Did a bird bring the snake skin to the nest for nesting material? We don't think so because the mama and babies moved out a few weeks ago.

Mama always told Jack that he needed to be careful with leaving the sliding door open because a snake might just slither in the house. This snake skin is under the deck so it could have easily have been on the deck. Eeeeek!

Scout
The Greyhound Who Hopes She Doesn't Find The Owner Of This Skin

One Week Has Passed

We have survived the first week without our boy. Yesterday was hard because I was remembering the time line of everything that had happened last Saturday. We stayed busy, but I was still watching the clock and was dreading reaching the time that he had actually died. Jeff painted my office yesterday and needed my help about twenty minutes before "time of death" occurred and when I was finished helping him, the time had passed. I missed it, but that was probably good. I'm feeling a relief to be past the one week mark. Last week was one of the longest weeks of my life and I'm glad it is over. There is no more thinking "last week of this time he was alive" and we were doing this and that.

If you are wondering, Jack loved his jammies. He received many laughs from fellow campers because he would prance around the campground in his jammies. Jack pranced, he didn't walk like a normal dog. He always had a spring in his step.

Patty
Mama to Jack and Scout

My Second Time Being Alone

Mama had to go to the store this morning to replace some of our refrigerated food. She thinks some of it may have spoiled during our power outage on Wednesday because she got pretty sick yesterday afternoon. I had to stay home because they don't allow dogs at the grocery store and Wal-Mart. I did okay, but I sure was happy when Mama got home.

Mama said when she was at Wal-Mart, she was thinking that maybe she should get a card for our vet to thank him for taking care of Jack for the past five years. She really likes our vet. She was one of his very first customers when he started his business about twenty years ago. She said he used to have to stand on a regular scale with the animal to weigh them. He now has a real scale, which I don't like because it doesn't take into consideration that I'm big boned. I don't know how he would have weighed me because I don't think he would want to lift me and I don't fit on one of those people scales. Anyway, who walked into Wally World, but our vet! Mama had never seen him outside the office until today. Mama said that he said he had called the E-vet on Saturday night, so he knew about Jack. She said that they talked about Jack for a few minutes and even though she was teary-eyed, it was nice to see him and it made her feel better. Mama hadn't been to that Wally World for quite a while, but today felt like she needed to go there and I guess it was so that she could see our vet.

It's kind of stormy here. I'm a little nervous, but not totally freaked out. I'm glad Mama got home before the storms came.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Needs A Nap After Being Alone For Two Hours

A Rainbow Over Jack's Deck

It's Mama at the keyboard this morning. We have been doing "okay". Jack is never out of my thoughts for long, but the tears are coming less often and don't last for as long. There are times like last night when I miss him so much that I feel that I can't stand it. This morning when I woke up, I still had that feeling and hugging Scout did not help. I looked out the front window and noticed that the sky had a strange color to it. It just had a glow to it. I went out back onto Jack's deck as we've called it since we moved here and looked at our tomato plant wondering when the tomatoes would actually turn red and feeling sad because Jack had helped me plant it and he wouldn't be here to see the tomatoes turn red. I turned to go inside the house and this is what I saw.

I have never been one to believe in the signs of a rainbow. I still don't know if I do, but this was the most beautiful rainbow that I have ever seen and it was over Jack's deck. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but it was very colorful and full. It made me cry, of course. Has my boy made it to the rainbow bridge? I guess it would help if I could believe that, but I just don't know if I do.

Patty
A Mama Who Hopes Her Boy Is Okay

I Went On An Adventure

Mama has been keeping me busy with new adventures. Last night, we walked down our road. It's an old highway and during the day it's very busy. It's not busy at night though. It was fun, but I missed not having Jack to share it with me. Mama kept talking to me and I could tell she was trying hard not say anything about Jack. Daddy asked me all about my walk when we got home, but it's still not the same as sharing it with Jack.

This morning, we had a bad storm and our electric went out at 3 a.m. I wasn't scared. Jack would have been nervous with all the thunder, so Mama said it's nice that he missed the storm. The electric company called us and told us that three poles had come down and it was going to take them all day to fix it. I went back to bed, but then Mama surprised me by asking if I wanted to go on an adventure since we couldn't work without electricity.

Our first stop was Sonic for breakfast. Mama had a breakfast burrito and I had a small hamburger, no bun. I'm watching my weight, you know.

Our next stop was the park.

I had never been there before. It's a place Mama and Daddy used to go when they were dating. Mama said that Daddy proposed to her there. The park was full of ducks and geese. There were a lot of people walking. We also saw some dogs and apparently some people don't clean up after their dogs. We think we know the culprit because she didn't have control of her dog and kept telling him to stay on the sidewalk and not walk in the grass. The "mess" was left on the sidewalk. He's our main suspect. I hope no one thought it was me. :-O

After we left the park, we drove around for a while. We drove past the house Mama grew up in and she showed me her grade school. She took me on a hilly road and said to hang on because it feels like you will loose your stomach on some of the hills. I'm not sure I liked it.

We came home and the electric was still off, so Mama read on her Kindle and I took a nap. Then Mama woke me up and said it was lunch time, so back in the car we went. We had McDonalds. We came home and watched all the people come down our road even though the sign said "CLOSED". They would zoom past our house only to have to turn around. The road was closed due to the power lines being repaired. One big tractor trailer had to back all the way down the road. Mama said that everyone thinks signs are for everyone else and not them.

I came in the living room at 1:15 p.m. to tell Mama the electric was back on. The fan in the bedroom came on and that's how I knew. Mama thought I was coming in to complain about the heat, but then she screamed "THE ELECTRIC IS BACK ON SCOUT". No duh, Mama. See, everyone thinks that I'm not that bright, but I'm smarter than they think. They will learn.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Thinks Having No Electricity Isn't That Bad

We Are Doing Okay

Hi everyone, it's me, Scout. I am going to try and carrying on the blog for Jack, but it will be hard to fill his paws.

First of all, we want to thank everyone for their kind comments about Jack. We cried while reading the comments, but it has also been a comfort.

We are doing okay. Saturday and Sunday were terrible. Mama and Daddy cried so much. I sat on the couch with Mama almost the entire day on Sunday, which is not my normal thing. I usually sleep in the bedroom during the day, but I felt she needed me. Yesterday, Daddy went to work and Mama went to work in her home office. Mama cried several times yesterday, but the tears are not coming quite as often and they don't last as long, so we feel we are moving on in our grieving process. We are trying to create a new normal by changing our routine a little bit. Mama said it would be hard for Daddy when he came home and was only greeted by me. I tried to make it extra special for him. He didn't cry when he saw me, so I think I succeeded!

Mama and Daddy cried a little bit last night talking about Jack, but then they started laughing about things Jack used to do. Daddy got a toy out and started playing with me and Mama laughed even more. I can't make the toys come to life like Jack could. He would fling them high in the sky. He loved his stuffies. I try, but I just can do it like he could.

Mama and I are going to start doing meet and greets again. She says I need to get out and see other hounds. I'm more excited about the people. I love people! Mama also said we are going to start walking at night. I gave her a dirty look because if she thinks I'm going to walk in the heat, she is mistaken.

We are not changing the name of the blog because we are going to adopt a new brother or sister for me, but we haven't decided when. Mama brought it up on Sunday, but Daddy didn't say much. Last night, Mama said maybe we won't get one because it's so easy just taking care of me and I kind of like being the center of attention. Daddy said that I need a sibling, so it sounds like he may be thinking of adopting sooner than Mama thought. They both said that I get to help pick out my new sibling because we want one that I really like and one that will run with me. Mama said she would like a smaller grey than me because I'm big. I'm a female that weighs 85 pounds, actually a little less than that because I lost weight at the hotel. I'm taller than Jack was, so it's NOT like I'm obese, I'm just a "big boned" girl. LOL She wants a smaller only because it was hard to get Jack in the Jeep and that has been her fear all along if one of us got hurt.

I need to get back to bed, so I will close for now. Again, thank you for your comments about Jack. He is missed more than we can say.

Scout
The Greyhound Who Is Trying To Make Her Brother Proud

My Jack Is Gone

I'm typing to you with tears as I tell you that my Jack is gone. I know you are all as shocked as we are. He broke his femur this morning. We took him to the vet who took X-rays and then we were told to go to the emergency vet. It was determined that he had the dreaded cancer. I knew in my heart he would get it some day. There are so many greyhounds who do. We chose not to amputate because for one I had already decided if either of my greyhounds faced the cancer, I would not do that and for the second reason, it wasn't just in his leg.

I enjoyed every day with Jack. I really was thankful every day that he was healthy. The dog I had before him had lived for 15 years and probably the last three years, she had many ailments. I wanted to adopt a young dog and hoped I would have several healthy years with him. Jack was 2.5 years old when I adopted him. We had him for almost five years. It was not nearly long enough. He didn't live to see his 8th birthday. I was planning on teasing him about being a senior.
Jack was never sick.

My heart is broken. I'm not sure if I will continue the blog. Scout and my husband both say that she is blog worthy, but I just don't know if I can continue it right now. This was Jack's blog.

Jack was a dog that was full of life and had such character. He was funny. He had such a personality. He would get so excited over things that it sometimes drove me crazy, but I knew one day I would miss that and he's only been gone for an hour or so and our house is so quiet without our "Crazy Jack Erdman". That's what I called him. Erdman is our last name.

Jack was found abandoned in a barn in Kansas with 24 other greys. He was left to die. He was rescued and brought to St. Louis with four other greys. I walked him in a parade before we even considered adopting him. I wanted a fawn female. He was not scared of the bands, fire engines and people, so my husband said he seemed perfect. We planned on waiting a little while before we adopted him, but my husband was sent out of town for an unknown amount of time. I didn't want to be alone, so our greyhound group rushed our adoption through and we got him earlier than we planned. The first thing my husband said when he saw Jack in our house was "He looks a lot bigger in a house than he did at the store" and he did. I was so scared when we adopted him. He had big teeth. Our last dog was not a nice dog at all, so I was somewhat scared of this big buy. He was a gentle giant. I cleaned his teeth daily and although he wasn't fond of it, he let me do it without a problem.

I will leave you a favorite photo of my boy. This was taken in Abilene, KS at a fun run in June 2009. It was our favorite vacation with Jack and Scout. We were able to see them run and it brought tears to my eyes because Jack loved it.

Fly high sweetie, you will never be forgotten. I love you!

Patty,
The Mama of Jack The Greyhound

I Have Very Sad News

Hello everyone, this is Mama typing. My Jack broke his femur this morning. I'm not sure he is coming home to me. He may have cancer. We are waiting to hear from the doctor and really hope we have a definite answer today. The only option if he has cancer is to amputate and do chemo and I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't do that.

I just got the call. He has it. We are leaving now to say goodbye to him.

Camping Jack Is Home

We have returned from our latest camping trip. It was a hot weekend at 95 degrees, but we stayed in the air conditioning most of the time. We mainly watched the other campers from the comfort of our bed.

We didn't have TV reception again this weekend, so it was another Seinfeld marathon for us. We have season 4 and season 6 on DVD, so that's what we watched ALL weekend long. Mama said she will order us something new for the next trip because really how many times can we watch The Bubble Boy?

We went to the river for a few minutes, but we didn't like it. It had lots of little rocks and the rocks hurt our feet. Also, there were a lot of people on the river and they hooting and howling. It was scary for us, so Scout laid down for 30 seconds in the water and I got my ankles wet and we went back to the camper.

Mama and Daddy went to an owl program on Saturday night. We went for a walk after they came back and all the kids were practicing their owl calls. It was pretty funny.

This morning, we had an earthquake here. Well, it was not here, but it wasn't too far from our house. Mama noticed that our deadbolt doesn't work now on the front door. Could it be connected to the earthquake? Probably not, but it did work yesterday and apparently Mama forgot to lock the front door last night and now the lock will not work. Our house can be a little quirky at times, but we still like it.

Jack

Publish Post

The Camping Greyhound Who Is Happy To Be Home

Just Call Me Camping Jack

We are headed out on another camping trip this weekend. It's supposed to be 95 degrees! It's a good thing that we have a two air conditioners on our RV. We will probably spend most of our time indoors, but we may sit in the river for our typical 30 seconds to cool off.

Our last trip was good. We went to Sam A. Baker State Park. We did the typical things. We went to the creek and to the river. We laid on our blanket and watched the other campers. There were ten kids next to us. They were interesting. We walked around a lot as the weather was really nice and the park was almost empty. Our pictures really all look the same from our camping trips, but here are the latest ones.

Here I am at the creek sniffing around.

Scout in the creek. I did get in up to my ankles. I'm getting braver.

Scout in the river.

Me at the campsite on my favorite blanket. It's a Disney Babies blanket that my Foster Mom sent with me when I moved to my forever home. I love it! It stays in the Jeep unless we are camping and then I lay on it outside. It's in almost all of our camping photos. LOL

Here I am at the overlook at the creek. There is a lodge nearby and Mama says they have really good food. I wouldn't know. Oh, wait, I did get a tiny bit of chicken fried steak. It was really good. I would have liked more though.

Me and Dad waiting for Mama and Scout.

We hope you all have a nice weekend and we will update you on our latest trip as soon as we can. Mama has been really busy working. I wish she could retire like me.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Can't Wait To Go Camping

Cicadas

We don't like the cicadas. We saw them when we were camping and they seemed to have followed us home. They are all over our trees and the ground. They are so loud! We can even hear them with our all windows closed. Mama said they will be gone in a few weeks and they only come out every 13 years. We hope so! Scout doesn't even want to play in the yard anymore.

Jack
The Greyhound Who Is NOT A Cicada Fan