It's
been a while since I wrote here and boy have many things happened. Last week
was the first week of school for my kids. It was nice to have them back there.
This year they went back a week early and they were the only ones happy about
it; most of the newspaper coverage quoted unhappy parents saying the school
board took away precious family time. I really wonder how much time since 60%
of the residents in my community commute 30 minutes or more to work each
workday. Me, I was as happy as my kids that they went back early.
This past week has also made it quite clear we're in the
last stages of Chester's life. We took him to his six-month senior checkup to
get his rabies and it didn't go well. We opted to get his rabies because it was
due but everything else that was due was put off. Poor Chester has diarrhea and
has had trouble with vomiting, our vet gave us a medication to help settle his
stomach and we also opted to try the antibiotic to see if it might help with
his diarrhea. There's nothing available for his arthritis due to his age and
the vomiting has started again after about five days of not throwing up and
while the diarrhea isn't as terrible it's still visible. My husband and I are
left with the terrible task of deciding his fate and quite frankly I'm tired of
having to make these decisions this year.
With
bad news, comes happy news last Tuesday afternoon my new friend Debbie from
Virginia Greyhound Adoption called me to say she'd found the perfect match for
our family on their visit to Orlando, Florida. VAGA is a non-profit
organization that matches retired racing Greyhounds with forever homes so that
these beautiful creatures avoid euthanasia. Friday September 2 brought our
newest canine family member three-year-old Conch Statesman, a.k.a Dexter.
has transitioned nicely into our home; it's fun to watch this beautiful
creature experience home life for the first time. Friday afternoon was his
first experience with stairs and our first time having to teach an adult dog
how to use them. He surveyed the backyard cautiously and curiously checking out
the fence line rubbing his basket muzzle on everything. His basket muzzle is
not a cruel device; it's used when the Greyhounds race as a safety measure and
to judge a close race. 
muzzle on as a safety measure since it was quite possibly the first time he'd
ever seen another breed of dog and true to what all the VAGA volunteers and
kennel manager said he was a complete gentleman. Two more firsts were fun to
watch, the best being his first reaction to a doggy bed. When we crated him
Friday night for bedtime he was unsure of what to do, he'd never had a comfy
bed before our home and Saturday when we brought home more comfy beds for the
floor he took to them right away. He also found the basket of dog toys Sunday
and just like a puppy started throwing a rubber dino bone around and happily
playing with it. So far so good, Dexter, Wyatt and Josie are bonding and things
will only get better the more Dexter learns.
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