I Am Still Here!

 Hi Ya'll!

I know, I haven't posted in almost two years.  I am still happy and healthy in Galveston, TX!

How are you all doing?  Hasn't the past year been crazy with Covid?  It got really bad here because as you may or may not know, Galveston is a tourist town.  People flocked to our beaches to get away and the crowds were crazy!  People were parking on the sidewalks and boy were they nuts!  

The hardest part of Covid for me was when the folks wouldn't let people pet me.  They were concerned that I might carry Covid on my fur and pass it on to others.  They have gotten over that and I am back to greeting people.

My folks are very serious about Covid.  They do all their shopping by curbside pick-up.  I like that because I get to go with them to pick up the groceries.  They have also not eaten in a restaurant since last March.  We have had a few food deliveries, but we mainly do carryout.  Mom actually cooks most of the time and at the most, we do carryout once a week.  

Dad bought us a van that he is turning into a camper.  We will be hitting the road in a few months.  It is a very small van, so it won't be like what they used to have.  I have never been camping, so I don't know what to expect.

Oh, I did stay in a hotel three or four times last year.  We were not on vacation.  Dad was asked to help out at a hotel during the tropical storms that occurred in our area.  We stayed in the presidential suite and the place was huge!  It was two floors. I didn't like it the first time we stayed, but it was kind of fun after I got used to it. 

My folks are full vaccinated now, but they are still being very careful.  My grandparents are getting their second shots this week, so in a few weeks it will be safe to see them.  We have to wait until our van is ready before we make that trip. 

That is all for today!

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Loves His Daily Beach Walks

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.