Two Month Gotcha Day!

I have been in my forever home for 2 months now.  Dad said it seems like forever.  I am not sure if that is good or bad.  I still remember my old life but I don't think about it much.  Mom tells me when my old kennel friends like Batman and Ghost find their forever homes.  I perk up and listen to that.

I have a job now.  I am the mail and small package carrier for Mom.  The mail lady took my photo yesterday because she said I was so darn cute.

My first time.

In the elevator.

I carried a stick for Dad on the beach for about a half-mile.  Mom said I couldn't bring it home, so I found a pile of sticks on the beach and just left it there.

I enjoy spending time at the beach but I don't love it like Joey did.  I only like going when both my folks go with me.

I have taken a few trips to Petsmart.  I enjoy looking at all the toys and bones.  I tried to take a bone but Mom made me return it.  She said it was too small for me. The cashier fell in love with me and gave me lots of treats.

I am learning some "tricks".  I know "down" and "sit" and "stay" but only if treats are involved.  I also can climb up the scary stairs in our building.  Mom is very proud of me because of that.  I could always go down which is important in emergencies but now I can go up which is important if the elevators are out. She tried to teach me when I first arrived here and she had to help me with every step.  Earlier this week, she said she wanted me to try it again and I just did it.  It is no big deal now.

Oh, Mom heard that Joey's photo is going to be in the 2020 Celebrating Greyhound Calendar.  We will post the photo when we receive our copy.

Have a nice day everyone!

Jaxson,
The Greyhound Who Loves Being Adopted!

Road Trip! Greyhound Event in Abilene, KS

Last week, I went on my very first road trip.  I really didn't know what it was all about.  The folks put their clothes in a bag and then they put some of my things in a bag. They also put my food in a different container and then everything went in the car.  Mom and I got up at 3:30 a.m.  It reminded me of my kennel days.  We hit the road at 5 a.m. It was a long drive to Abilene, KS - 13 hours.

Oh boy!  Here we go!

My first rest stop.

On the road again!

This is fun!

I am tired!

 I am not very good at getting in the car by myself.  Mom helps me.  I did fine on a test run before we left, but once we actually hit the road, I couldn't do it.  One time, I jumped in the car and I didn't jump far enough and I landed on the ground on my butt and my back legs went under the car.  It was embarrassing.  I ended up with a cut on my butt.  Mom didn't make me do that again.

We stayed at a Super 8 Motel.  I was surprised by all the other greyhounds that were there.  I think we took over that place.  They didn't have an elevator.  Can you believe that?  I had to take the steps, but I have experience and I even showed another grey how to do it.

I had fun at the motel.  We even ordered pizza.  It was my first time.  It was good!  The next day, we headed out to the greyhound event.  There was a lot of sitting around. There are also loud noises.  One time I was sound a sleep and all of a sudden this really loud music came on.  I didn't like that.

Here I am at the event just watching things.

 We visited the Greyhound Hall of Fame.  Mom did some shopping, but I just looked around and met other greys.

My favorite part of the trip was the motel room.  I played with my ball.  I had a lot of room to run in the room.

I'm on the bed in the motel room.

Abilene welcomed us.

We walked down to Pizza Hut one morning just for fun.

Here I am outside a deli having lunch.

Sign outside our venue.

This nice man, Steve, took my photo.

Another photo by Steve.

 The folks stopped by President Eisenhower's library and they picked up the paperweight that they earned by visiting all the Presidential libraries.  The people there took our photo and put in on their Facebook page.

The paperweight is in the middle along with a book, pin, gift bag and the passport they completed.

I won a trophy for being the youngest greyhound at the event.  Scout won Senior Queen in 2014.

Me and Mom and my trophy.

The event lasted three days and I was glad when it was over.  It was fun but it was very tiring.  We left Abilene on Sunday and drove the long 13 hours back home. We were in rain most of the time.

We had nasty weather through Kansas and Oklahoma.

I slept most of the way home.

We stopped here for lunch.  Buc-ees is a huge gas station that also has a huge store and food service.

More nasty weather about 2 hours from home.

Almost home!

Sorting through my gift bag from the event.

Happy to be home again!

I am more than ready for another trip.  I keep taking Mom out to our car but so far she is not getting the message.  I guess I will just have to enjoy the beach.

Jaxson,
AKA Island Boy

Jaxson's First Post

Hi Everyone!

This is my first post so my new Mom is helping me with it.  I have had an awesome week in my new home.  I have been living in a kennel at GPA Houston since the end of January.  The people are very nice there.  I used to have my breakfast at 3:30 a.m. and then my dinner was at 3:30 p.m.  It was early to rise and early to bed for me and my roomies.  I tend to sleep in here and get up around 5 or 6 a.m. It depends on when my folks get up.  They used to Dremel my nails at the kennel, so when Mom did it this week, I fell asleep. My registered name is FAREWELL.  I never raced.  Mom doesn't know why and I don't know either. I am two years old.  My birthday is May 12th, so I didn't get to celebrate with my new family this year.

Here is my adoption photo that the folks at GPA Houston took of me with my new family.

Mom says that I am a really good boy.  I haven't marked anything in the house.  I actually don't mark things outside either.  Today was the first day that I actually did "my business" on the beach.  I really thought I should only be doing that on the grass.   She also said that I am a fast learner.  I learned the "down" command in just a few minutes. She laughed really hard at me because I did the down command and then just laid on my side.  I didn't understand why it was so funny but she said it was.

I guess the worst thing I did was my first night here.  Mom put some raw hamburger in the skillet to fry and I decided to help myself to it.  I was hungry!  As I stated previously, I am used to eating at 3:30 p.m. and it was 6 p.m.  Mom didn't know about my eating times until the next day.  I do like to see what is on the counter, but I really haven't done any counter surfing after Sunday.  The last time I did it was when Dad was making coffee.  I was fascinated by the coffee maker.

I love living here.  When I go downstairs to the lobby, there is always someone to give me attention.  Everyone seems to love me. If they are not interested in me, I just lean into them and then they pet me.   I especially like kids.  They are fun.  I don't mind other dogs which is good because there are some dogs here that just don't have good manners.  I did play bow to two dogs today, but they didn't accept my invitation.

I have been to the beach five times and I like it but I mainly like it when there are people who want to love on me.  I did put my feet in the water yesterday and that was different. I am really good at going up and down the steps to the beach now.  I was scared the first day because the steps are really steep.

Here I am watching the water and getting ready to get my feet wet.

Here I am with Dad showing him that I am not scared of the water.

Everyone that I have met who knew Joey say that I am not at all like him.  They say that he was a good boy but he really didn't care if people petted him.  I am always asking people to pet me.  I love to put my head in peoples' laps.  I am told that my hair is really soft. Mom says I look like Scout and my personality reminds her of Jack.

Me and my Dad

Today, I helped Mom clean the sliding door.  She was on the outside of the door cleaning it and I followed the towel on the inside and I left lots of nose prints on my side of the glass.  I also helped Dad sort socks.  Socks really look like stuffies, don't you think?

I went to the vet on Thursday for a check-up.  He seems nice enough but I hope I don't have to go there very often.  It is a little scary hearing the other dogs bark and cry.  He said it was nice to see a nice, young greyhound in his office.

Your new friend,
Jaxson

It's A Boy!!!!

Meet Jaxson!  We adopted him on Saturday, May 25th.

This is the photo that was on the GPA Houston site.  I fell in love with him when I saw this photo.

He is a beautiful brindle boy.  He never raced, but his registered name is Farewell.  He loves toys, people and watching TV.  He reminds me of Jack because of his love of toys and the TV.  He looks more like Scout. He is very soft.  He is a sweet boy and loves to nuzzle up to everyone he meets.  We thought he chose us but after seeing how he reacts to people, I think we were just the lucky people who snatched him up.  I knew before I ever met him that he was the boy for us. 

This picture looks so much like Jack watching TV.

He is doing really well.  The first night, he didn't sleep much, but the second night was great.  We are working on his alone training and so far he is doing fine with it.  He lived in a kennel, so everything about home life is new to him.

Jaxson likes kids and little dogs are not a problem.  He is not scared of the traffic noises.  He is exactly what we needed for our lifestyle.  Tomorrow, he will test out the beach.

Stay tuned as Jaxson takes over the blog.  I think this boy will have a lot to say.

One More Week!

My husband retired early on April 12th.  We drove to Michigan to visit the Ford Presidential Museum.  We have now visited all 13!  It was on our bucket list to do this.  Joey was with us for all of them except for Ford's.  We then went home to Missouri and visited family for a few weeks.  It was a very nice trip.

We received the call from the adoption group this week.  They have a few dogs for us to see.  Our appointment is for May 25th.  We may be bringing a new boy or girl home with us.

The new pup is hopefully going to Abilene KS with us in June for a greyhound event. 

I hope the next time I post I have a new pup to tell you about.

Another Step Closer

We are another step closer to adopting our new grey.  The greyhound group that we are adopting from came out Saturday to do the home check.  They showed us how to teach our new pup the stairs.  We have an elevator, but in an emergency, he needs to know how to do the steps. She told me a technique that I had not tried before. She said when going down the stairs to put the dog on the side of the wall and put my hand through the loop of the collar.  When going up the steps, the dog is still on the side of the wall put you pull with the leash, if necessary.

We passed the home check and now they are checking our references.  We were hoping to adopt in early May but they are backlogged, so that may not happen.  I am hoping we are able to adopt early enough that we can take our new guy to the greyhound event in KS.  We will just have to wait and see how all that works out. 

I have been a little sad that Joey hasn't been sending me signs that he is okay but he may have done that on Thursday.  I was at a thrift store and saw an angel greyhound ornament that kind of looked like him.  It was the first time I have seen any greyhound items here.  Later in the day, I received the call from the greyhound group that they wanted to come out on the 6th.  Joey died on Thursday, the 6th.  Thursdays and the 6th are hard for me but when I realized the connection, I smiled.   I also found several dimes last week including on Saturday before the home check.  Can greyhounds send dimes?  I don't know but it is strange since I really use cash or coins. :-)

Ready To Adopt Again

It has been a very long winter without our wonderful boy, Joey.  He is missed every single day. I swore when he died that I would not adopt again.  I think that thought lasted just a few days but I knew I needed time before adopting again. We put in an application with a greyhound group in Houston and the process is underway.  We are hoping to bring a new boy home in May.  Yes, I am hoping for a boy but we will see who picks us.  The dogs at this group live in a kennel, so we will meet a few and decide who wants us.  I have been stalking their website since January and I have my eye on one but he may be gone before are able to adopt.  We did meet three dogs at the office visit and they were all sweet. 

We kept Joey's collars, leashes, and toys but not his bed or his raised feeder.  We repurchased those items last month and have them in place for our home check with the greyhound adoption group. We also purchased a nice car hammock.  Joey always rode in the Jeep but the Jeep is 15 now and we do not take it on long trips and we wanted the new guy to be able to ride safely in the car.  If the new guy arrives in time, he is headed to the Hearts of America Greyhound Gathering in KS in June with us. 

I decided that the new guy will carry on the tradition of writing this blog. I realize that blogs are not that popular any more, but I enjoy looking back on our adventures.  I have found that when I am really down, I come here and read about all the adventures that Jack, Scout, and Joey had and it makes me laugh and smile.  The new guy will definitely have a lot to say about his new life with us. 

We hope the new guy enjoys the beach as much as Joey did. It really was Joey's favorite place. The beach is not as much fun for me without Joey.  I actually quit going to the beach until recently because I couldn't walk on it without crying.  There were just too many memories.  I did take some of Joey's ashes to the beach, so he is there but it is still painful.  I started taking my camera to the beach recently and that has made the beach enjoyable again.  The camera gives me something to do other than think about who isn't with me. 

I have found that not having a dog is easier.  There is no one to worry about.  There is no one to walk in the rain, cold and wind.  There is no one telling me to get up.  So why do I want another dog?  My heart is empty.  My days are long.  I am lonely.  My life is easier but it is not better. 

Stay tuned... a new greyhound is coming!!!!