I was living in Lakewood, CA, with my then beau. It was his house, and he "wanted a dog." I was a cat person and never really interacted with dogs. I also knew the amount of responsibility it would require, and I wasn't up for it, as I knew I'd be the one taking care of the dog.
I lost.
We first went to check out Rhodesian Ridgebacks. But I said no; although they were gorgeous, one kept barking. I said no barking. So we went home, and he brought up greyhounds next. I had no idea why, as I thought they were so ugly (can you believe that??). But we went ahead and bought a bunch of books on greyhounds, read them all, and learned about the breed. I found them to be very interesting.
Our next step was to head down to the greyhound rescue facility Operation Greyhound in El Cajon, CA, to check out the dogs. They housed a bunch of greys, stacked in crates, and the first thing they did was let out several dogs onto their outdoor patio so we could watch them trot around in a circle and choose the one we wanted. I saw Caesar and said, "What about that one? I like him b/c he has so many scars." They said he probably would not be chosen just b/c of that. I said, "Done, then we'll adopt him." His rescue name was Drew, and all we knew was the information revealed by his tattoo "45D"--meaning he was born April 1995, 4th in the litter, and he obviously had raced for a long time, as he was just shy of 5 years old. The rescue group sent us home since "Drew" had to be neutered.
In the meantime, we discussed names. I liked Scooby, and he liked Caesar. Again, I lost. Shortly after, we drove the 2 hrs. back down to Operation Greyhound to pick up our precious boy. I housetrained him in 5 mins., and we were set. That first night before we went to bed, we put him in huge crate in the kitchen, which was adjacent to our bedroom. He howled and howled. We both looked at each other in bed and said, "What have we done?" I said that we were not going to keep him in a crate that night or ever again, and that was the end of that.
In no time at all, Caesar became the love of my life. He was such a funny dog, and boy did the camera love him. I never saw such mesmerizing and seductive mascara eyes, and his dark muzzle was amazing, too. From then on, it was all about dogs. Cats no more. I got into not only greyhound rescue with GPA-OC/LA (from whom I adopted my second greyhound, Roman, the other love of my life) but also all-breed rescue and volunteering at a local no-kill shelter. I kept reading, learning, and researching about the plight of all animals and quickly became a serious animal activist/advocate for those in need, both domestically and internationally. To this day, this is still my life's passion. Thank you, Caesar...you started it all!
I lost.
We first went to check out Rhodesian Ridgebacks. But I said no; although they were gorgeous, one kept barking. I said no barking. So we went home, and he brought up greyhounds next. I had no idea why, as I thought they were so ugly (can you believe that??). But we went ahead and bought a bunch of books on greyhounds, read them all, and learned about the breed. I found them to be very interesting.
Our next step was to head down to the greyhound rescue facility Operation Greyhound in El Cajon, CA, to check out the dogs. They housed a bunch of greys, stacked in crates, and the first thing they did was let out several dogs onto their outdoor patio so we could watch them trot around in a circle and choose the one we wanted. I saw Caesar and said, "What about that one? I like him b/c he has so many scars." They said he probably would not be chosen just b/c of that. I said, "Done, then we'll adopt him." His rescue name was Drew, and all we knew was the information revealed by his tattoo "45D"--meaning he was born April 1995, 4th in the litter, and he obviously had raced for a long time, as he was just shy of 5 years old. The rescue group sent us home since "Drew" had to be neutered.
In the meantime, we discussed names. I liked Scooby, and he liked Caesar. Again, I lost. Shortly after, we drove the 2 hrs. back down to Operation Greyhound to pick up our precious boy. I housetrained him in 5 mins., and we were set. That first night before we went to bed, we put him in huge crate in the kitchen, which was adjacent to our bedroom. He howled and howled. We both looked at each other in bed and said, "What have we done?" I said that we were not going to keep him in a crate that night or ever again, and that was the end of that.
In no time at all, Caesar became the love of my life. He was such a funny dog, and boy did the camera love him. I never saw such mesmerizing and seductive mascara eyes, and his dark muzzle was amazing, too. From then on, it was all about dogs. Cats no more. I got into not only greyhound rescue with GPA-OC/LA (from whom I adopted my second greyhound, Roman, the other love of my life) but also all-breed rescue and volunteering at a local no-kill shelter. I kept reading, learning, and researching about the plight of all animals and quickly became a serious animal activist/advocate for those in need, both domestically and internationally. To this day, this is still my life's passion. Thank you, Caesar...you started it all!
Again a lovely story. Have you checked out the greyhound book group on google? It is for people who want to tell their greyhound's stories, and stories about their greyhounds. It is being compiled so the book can be published and raise money for rescue. We have a publishe, donating his time, and materials and expertise in getting the book out, an editor to put it together and lots of people who are writing about their hounds. Sounds like you'd fit right in. The link is: http://groups.google.com/group/greytbook if you decide to join you will be very welcome. Janice
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