A Blast From The Past

We were tagged in the photo challenge that's been going around on several blogs.  I think that we did this last year sometime, but I'm not certain, so I figured we'd go for it again.  We're also tying it in with the challenge thrown out by The Thundering Herd that asked us to talk about a dog that has been very special in our lives who is no longer with us and tell a story about him or her.  The photo tag challenge asks that you post the tenth picture in the first photo folder that you have.

This picture is of Treat.  She was our first greyhound and our first dog after we got married.  The first three years of our married life, we lived in an apartment and weren't allowed to have dogs.  It was the first time either of us had ever been without a dog.  We got our house the very end of October and by the end of December, Treat had moved in to become the Queen of the Castle.  In the photo above, we were getting ready to go to Dewey Beach, Delaware in October of 2007 for Greyhounds Reach the Beach.  For nongreyhound people, I will explain that this is a huge event where thousands of greyhounds and their people get together for the weekend.  It involves seminars, shopping, walks on the beach, ice cream socials, community outreach, and lots of socializing.  Treat always loved to travel.  Heck, you can see that she had her own luggage, and everything inside that bag was hers.  The girl had lots of accessories, and even a lot of internet fans. 

As soon as we'd start packing, she was there supervising everything we did.  I'm surprised she didn't sleep in the suitcase.   Most of the drive to Delaware involved her with her nose pressed to the window or sticking out the window.  When we crossed the state line, I swear she could smell the ocean in the air.  She was the only one of our greyhounds who liked the water, but every year she and I would take long runs down the beach with a longe line and she loved running through the waves.  People would usually stop and watch us, because most greyhounds are made of sugar and will melt when they come in contact with water.  Treat was made of special sugar, apparently, and she could not resist the water.  In October, the air was often warm, but the water was cold.  It didn't matter.  We were getting in and that was that.  She'd run through the waves, then attack and bite them.  Sometimes she'd dig in the water until it looked like a fountain had erupted around her.  Often, I was surprised that she had the energy to walk back to the rental house.  I usually ended up with horrible shin splints, but I had a very happy dog, at least until we'd get back to the rental house and hose the sand off her.  Why the ocean was wonderful but the hose water was offensive I'll truly never completely understand.  It must have had some kind of reaction with the special sugar she was spun from.

Treat was the perfect first greyhound; she truly made me fall in love with greyhounds and I'll always have at least one by my side.  Traveling with her was always a wonderful adventure.  I could tell a thousand stories about her, but that would take too long.  I'll just say that if there hadn't been Treat, there wouldn't be the wonderful hounds that we currently share our lives with.

We're supposed to tag five people to play photo tag.  If you've already been tagged, we apologize, and please, don't feel obligated to play if you don't want to.

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