Chicago Shopping

Bunny here at the keyboard with a tale about our special Sunday outing.

Remember back when I asked for help with that contest on Facebook?  Well, thanks to a lot of help from my friends, I was able to win this time.  Thank you to everybody who clicked "like" for me in the Voyager's K9 Apparel contest!  We got the gift certificate in the mail this week and we found out that they were going to be vending at the Greyhounds Only reunion up in Chicago.  We asked them to bring a coat for Blueberry and we made our plans to go to the reunion.

The reunion was fantastic!  There were Greyhounds everywhere to sniff.  Of course, there was also shopping to be done.  We picked out Blueberry's coat and I tried on some boots.  After our outing on Saturday, I can't say that I think I'd mind them too much.  Mom and Dad are hoping we're going to get to go out and do a little hiking this winter and they should help me keep warm and dry while we're out in the snow.  Of course, just walking around town I won't need them, but I do like the idea of my feet not freezing off out in the tundra. 

Anyroo, I saw all kinds of fabulous finds, but we didn't find a ton of stuff.  One of the most exciting parts was seeing my friend Jackson up there.  He and his sister, Emma, stayed with us for a week back when his mom had to take a trip for a funeral.  I liked him a lot better when we saw him today and we hear that he's grown up a lot and learned some manners.  I have to agree that he has!  He's big enough that I could walk under him without having to bend down at all.  Hopefully we'll be able to get together with him and Emma soon!

I think shopping and mingling was a good distraction for Blueberry, too.  She got to sniff a lot, and I was nice and walked with Dad so that she could be with Mom.  Don't believe any rumors that you hear that I was not listening to Mom like I should have been there.  Even if that were true, there were hundreds of hounds there that I had to sniff!   I mean, really, a girl needs to make acquaintances.  Shopping was a little tough, though, because people kept stopping to fuss over Blueberry and me.  For my friends who are not Greyhounds, I should explain that Blueberry is an unusual color for Greyhounds and often when people see it, they make a big fuss about it.  Blue didn't seem to mind, even with everybody patting her head.  I think she's mainly just happy that she's got a stylish coat to wear when we go out this winter. 

We would like to thank everybody for all their good wishes, thoughts and prayers for Blue.  She goes in tomorrow morning for her surgery, and Mom will hopefully pick her up and bring her home after work.  Then we can give her a thorough sniff over and let her rest.  We'll all be together with her on Thursday, too.  We will post an update Thursday morning about how she's doing.  I'll try to get her to let me post a picture of her new hairdo when she gets home, but I can't promise she will.  In case you didn't know, we Greyhounds are a little vain. 

Getting Together At The Reunion

Bunny here, excited to tell you about my trip to the Greyhound reunion this weekend.

I knew we were going right away, as soon as Mom put one of my fancy collars on for me.  Blueberry and I were so excited when Dad took us out to the van.  Morgan was not happy that we left her at home, but Lilac was very glad that she didn't have to go. 

After we drove over the hills and through the cornfields, we finally got to the reunion.  We took some stuff for them to use in the kennels for the hounds who are still waiting for their forever homes.  That left room in the van for us to go shopping and bring home some more stuff.  Mom really liked this stained glass, but she said we had to save money for our trip to the beach, so we didn't get any.

There were lots of hounds there that I knew, or hounds and people who knew me.  I was so excited to meet everybody!  We posed with Joey, who reads our blog sometimes.  He is one handsome fellow!  We also saw our friend Beth.  We hope her surgery goes well on Tuesday to get rid of that cyst.  Allie, Havoc, Gracie and Biggie were there with thier mom, too.  Our friends Steve, Trey and Vanny were hanging out under the tree near us, too.  We saw Pinkie, Hot Rod and Sunny and lots and lots of other Greyhounds there, too!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Me and Blueberry pose with Joey

Beautiful Beth

Singing for supper

Greyhound guys can be well-dressed, too!

Obviously, a fashion forward hound!

Taking a break from the action

Five members of the pack, although they have twelve Greyhounds and we've seen them all walk together at the same time!  Top that, Hu-Dad!

Relaxing in style!

Shopping is hard work!

Of course, people couldn't help themselves!   They just had to pet me!  I was more than happy to oblige.

Blueberry had fun, but needed a rest.

Sadly, not one of my littermates or my mom made it to the reunion.  That's okay!  I still had a great time!  I can't wait to go back next year!  Blueberry and I were pretty darned tired after we got home, though.  I'll need a little time to recover after all that fun.

What's Better Than Family?

Bunny here, taking a little time at the keyboard while I wait for tomorrow morning to finally get here.

Tomorrow we're going to the Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption reunion.  That's where I was adopted from.  Blueberry is going, too.  There will be lots of Greyhounds there, shopping to do and food to be eaten.  All of that excites me so much, my tail's been doing helicopter spins all week.

The best part, though, is that my mom and most of my littermates were adopted through the same group.  I have my paws crossed really tightly that some of them come.  Last year, we saw two of them in the kennel, waiting for their forever homes, but none of the others came to the reunion.  I just don't know what I'll do if I see some of them there this year.

It made me think a bit, though.  As excited as I am to see all my littermates, I still have my family here at home that I love a lot, too.  Lilac and Blueberry really are related, and sometimes I feel a little bit left out, but they are always nice to me and we share stuff.  Morgan looks out for me, even when I can take care of myself.  Of course, Mom and Dad spoil me and give me all the stuff that I want.  That's the stuff about a family that's really important.  So, while I'm excited to see my blood relatives, I'll still always be glad to be coming home with Mom and Dad!

I'm still really excited about the reunion, though!  I'll have plenty to say about it on Monday. 

Greyhound Reunion or Bust!

We have been looking forward to attending the annual Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption reunion for a while now. Bunny, Hawk and Treat were all adopted through QCGA and they're a wonderful group to work with. Bunny's mother and many of her littermates have also been adopted through QCGA or are waiting there for their homes. Bunny's sister, Gizmo is waiting for her spay surgery to be finished and then she'll be going home and Andy is still waiting to be adopted. So, we have really been hoping to see some of her littermates and see how they're doing.

This week we really weren't sure if we were going to make it. I've been really sick with what I suspect might be swine flu and we had Lilac's scary episode on Thursday. Since Lilac is resting very comfortably at home, we decided to let her rest in peace with Hawk and take Blueberry and Bunny up to the reunion for a little while. I am also feeling somewhat human today, so I figured that as long as I don't overdo it, things will go okay. I did ask who wanted to do before we left.

Me: Well, we're heading to the reunion! Who wants to go?

Bunny: I've got my collar on already! Meet me at the back door and sign me up for petting!

Blueberry: I'm in! Give me the cushy bed in the back of the van!

Hawk: The sky could fall there at any minute! Are you crazy?! Rattle the treat jar when you get back!

Lilac: In that moving, rattling box of potential death? Um, no, I think I've already cheated death enough this week, thank you very much! I'll be here on the big dog bed when you get back.

And so, it was decided. We all got comfortable in our selected spots and started the day off. The sun was shining, the air was cool, but not too cool and it seemed like the perfect day to get some rest and relaxation in at the reunion.

We had a safe and uneventful trip to the reunion and saw some people and greyhounds that we usually only get to see online. It was very nice to catch up with people and pet hounds. Bunny was in heaven with lots of people petting her and fussing over her. There were also lots of hounds to sniff. Blueberry relaxed and enjoyed herself in her own way while Bunny worked the crowd. There were a lot of volunteers who remembered her from when she weas in the kennel and she was more than happy to let them pet her. We thought we'd share some pictures of our day in closing. We'd also like to send out a huge thank you to the volunteers who help put on this wonderful event and keep the kennel running.




















And yes, we did get to visit Bunny's siblings in the kennel!