A Very Special Treat

A while back, I mentioned that an essay I had written was chosen to be in Celebrating Greyhounds.  They were looking for stories about how your greyhounds inspire you.  After I heard the stories some people had to tell, I really wasn't sure I'd have a chance of being selected, but I was.  Since today would have been Treat's thirteenth birthday, I thought I'd share the article today.

My life seems to be divided into two distinct categories that are separated by December 30, 2000. That was the day we went to the adoption kennel and came home with a little brindle greyhound princess named Treat. Her name seemed too perfect to change and it suited her. So, there was our life before Treat and our life after Treat. I had no idea on that day how she would make such an impact on my life.


Through Treat, we experienced many things that we never would have otherwise. While I tend to be a shy person, Treat was extremely outgoing. People everywhere were charmed by her, which gave me an opportunity to meet a lot of people I wouldn’t have otherwise. Being on the other end of Treat’s leash suddenly inspired me to be more outgoing with people that we met in everyday life.

We began to do meet and greets with our local greyhound group and I found that being a volunteer was something that I could actually do. Treat ate up the attention and I found that I really enjoyed talking to people about how wonderful she was. Then we took volunteering to a new level. Treat inspired me to do something that I’d secretly thought about for some time, but hadn’t quite had the courage for. We began to visit nursing homes together. Treat and I became a certified therapy dog team and later a READ team, as well. Visiting the nursing home was something we enjoyed a great deal, even though there were some nights when I came home and thought I was too tired to go. She would give me that look and I’d go change my clothes, pick out a fancy collar for her to wear and we’d go to visit.

I also began to diet while we had Treat. I wanted to be a person who looked like her dog a bit, I suppose. It wasn’t enough to just eat right, however. I had to exercise, as well. Treat never let me get away with skipping a walk. She let me know that I had to get up off the couch and go out into the world. She would have walked off the ends of the Earth if I’d have gone with her. Every day, she inspired me to get up off the couch and make myself move. We were both much better off for it.

Treat also helped me to return to something else that I dearly love. Throughout school, I dreamed of being a writer. However, my dad convinced me that I couldn’t make a living as a writer and I pursued a different path. After we adopted Treat, I joined a message board. Soon, I was sharing stories of her exploits along with pictures of her antics. Through Treat, I found my voice as a writer, although I didn’t realize it for several years. Her inspiration lives on now as I dabble with fiction, poetry and keeping a blog of the funny things that happen in our everyday lives. If I hadn’t gotten inspiration for anything else from her, finding the outlet of writing again would have been worth every penny we paid for her adoption fee.

About a year and a half ago, Treat had to leave us after a brief battle with a spinal tumor. However, she left me with one final inspiration. After she was gone, I found myself adopting another greyhound, because I wanted to continue on the journeys that she’d started me on. Even though she wasn’t the only greyhound here in our house, she and I had a very special bond and closeness. It was as if we were each an extension of the other. Two of our hounds were seniors and couldn’t do nursing home visits or some of the other active things that Treat and I did. Our younger hound is really my husband’s dog and partner. That left me with only one option, which was trying again. Her inspiration lives on now in the form of Bunny, a very young greyhound who inspires me to try even more things and to continue on the journey that I began with a beautiful brindle greyhound almost nine years ago.

I will always be forever grateful for the inspiration and encouragement that Treat gave to me. My life has been enriched in more ways than I can even describe or recount. I have met wonderful people, traveled to places I never expected to, tried things I didn’t think I could do and have discovered more about myself through her inspiration. I have truly been blessed to have known her.