Quiet Weekend

Just a few photos from the weekend, which was fairly quiet. Friday night Harvey & Jackson attended a Meet & Greet at PetSmart and on Saturday they went to an environmental fair sponsored by Bank of America. The boys made new friends and enjoyed free hotdogs at the fair, courtesy of BofA!

Have a great week!

Bon Air Victorian Day Parade

On Saturday, GPA Richmond participated in the annual Bon Air Victorian Day Parade. Bon Air is a beautiful and historic village just outside of Richmond. During the late 19th century many Richmond residents began escaping the heat of the city by spending their summers in Bon Air. It's a wonderful area.

The parade was a blast, and was especially fun at the end because everyone clapped and cheered as we walked by. The Greyhounds were a big hit with kids young and old, and all of the "resident hounds" made sure to bark their protestations!

On our way to the parade start we picked up a clown hitchhiker. He was a hoot.

Getting ready to line up.

Harvey doesn't miss a chance to relax.

Bagpipers!

Jackson spies some horses.

And we're off!



Harvey (with his grandma!) greets the crowd.


It was over all too quickly.

Picnic!

Last weekend GPA Richmond held their annual Spring Picnic. The hounds had a great time visiting, running, playing and napping with friends. Some very special GPA volunteers hosted the event at their home, which was wonderful (thank you Morris Family!).

Harvey and Jackson had tons of fun, and Jackson was reunited with his sisters Janie and Jewel.

Our photos from the day.

A couple of hounds hitched a ride with us to the picnic. Flying Incubus couldn't wait to see all of her friends!


Harvey surveys the scene.

Hounds having fun!


Jackson sports his new Houndstown collar.


Hooray, ice cream!!

Jackson (center) with his sisters Jewel (left) and Janie!

Here's Jello Shot Dot. She's enjoying her very first (full) day of retirement. She looks happy, don't you think?

Twister enjoys a nap.


Sable!

Harvey's done for the day.

Want to see more photos from the day? Just go here here and here. Have fun!

All For the Hounds

Last weekend was jam-packed with events to benefit the hounds!

Friday night Harvey & Jackson visited with friends at a PetSmart Meet & Greet. Then, on Saturday, GPA Richmond welcomed seven lucky Greyhounds to Richmond, then started them on their way to forever homes. Finally, on Sunday, GPA Richmond hosted their annual Spring picnic. We'll post about that later. Meanwhile, here are some photos from Friday and Saturday!

PetSmart Meet & Greet


May Haul

The hounds arrive!



They're famished.

This pretty boy is SS Rio Eightball.

Here's Alkay Olbie.

This little girl is Jello Shot Dot. She went straight to her forever home!

For more photos from the day, please visit the GPA Richmond blog.

Roozer's Home!

Roozer's home! He lost quite a bit of weight, and he's taller! The guys at Iron Pig said that when they removed the old bumper Roozer popped up 2 inches! They weighed the old bumper, and it topped the scales at 600+ pounds. The back bumper (also replaced at Iron Pig) was about 300 pounds, so Roozer lost almost 1,000 pounds!

Roozer's new bumper:



Harvey and Jackson were glad to see their buddy, so we've been tooling around town every chance we get.


Unfortunately, Roozer's going back in the shop soon... Some unfortunate soul with nothing better to do did a nasty key job on Roozer. Recently we attended an event that was held on private property, and someone there keyed several cars. Roozer got the worst of it... carved on the back gate is "The Crest." The carving is about a foot square, so it'll cost a bit to fix. Some people are stupid.

Look back here soon for photos from the annual GPA Picnic. Harvey and Jackson had so much fun, and Jackson got to see 2 of his litter mates, Jewel and Janie!!

The Cranky Boys

Yesterday we finally had a respite from the rain, so we stuffed ourselves into the VW and headed out to visit with some GPA friends.



Harvey and Jackson (aka The Cranky Boys) were enjoying the sunshine and surroundings, until... One of the GPA members arrived with her hounds in tow, and... The Puppy.


That's when it all fell apart for The Cranky Boys. Jackson broke protocol for a moment, Harvey got snippy, and then there was a brief altercation. Not exactly the impression we'd hoped to make for folks who were meeting Greyhounds for the first time!

Then the clouds moved in.


Just as The Cranky Boys were making a spectacle of themselves the skies opened up.

So we stuffed ourselves back into the VW to head back home. Unfortunately, The Cranky Boys weren't quite finished with their argument, which resulted in me pulling off of the road (in traffic, during a crazy downpour) to settle their disagreement. Oy vey.


We did manage to make it home safely, and The Cranky Boys spent the rest of the afternoon in time out.

On a positive note, I stumbled across this giant pet bed! It's a great color, washable, and was priced right.


And... just the perfect size for a Cranky Boy.


Enjoy the rest of the weekend!


P.S. Roozer, please come home soon.

About Roozer (It's a Truck)

Before I adopted Jackson I asked around about how I might possibly transport two Greyhounds in my VW Passat. Everyone said the same thing..."It's no problem!" I heard about the lady who toted three hounds in her Honda Civic. I heard about the two in the Mini Cooper. And on and on.

Apparently transportation wasn't going to be an obstacle, so I decided to adopt Jackson. And hauling Harvey and Jackson in the Passat was fine... for a while.

You've heard (and maybe were one) about young siblings traveling in cars. You know, "Mom, he's looking at me!", "Mom, he's touching me!", or "Mom, he's on my side of the seat!" That's exactly how it was with Jackson and Harvey. Having those two in the car was like transporting a small circus.

Enter Roozer, my 1983 Toyota Land Cruiser.


Harvey and Jackson gave me an excuse to buy something I always wanted, and before them, I could never justify the purchase. But hey, I needed something for the hounds, and for all of those bags of mulch, right?

I found the truck via Craig's List. Turns out, the owner lived close by. The truck was in great shape, ran ok, and had lots of room for the boys. When I took the boys for a "test drive", they jumped right in, which if funny, because Jackson would never get in the Passat on his own.

Harvey and Jackson love that truck. One day, Jackson tried to jump in the truck before I lowered the gate and was left dangling by his armpit.

Here's the thing about Roozer. It has a crazy bumper. The story is that the truck belonged to a Texas cattle rancher. He had a run-in with a steer that resulted in a missing bumper. He replaced it with a homemade bumper with a horseshoe embellishment. That bumper is cool. Who cares if it weighs a few hundred pounds?


Right now my beautiful truck is sitting in one of the bays at Iron Pig. I gave the guys at Iron Pig a laundry list of things to check/fix, including the wipers that gave out while I was driving down I95 during a rainstorm. And the bumper? I hated to do it, but with gas prices the way they are, the bumper's getting replaced by an ARB bumper (it'll look like this). I have mixed feelings my decision, and will really miss that horseshoe.

I hope the guys at Iron Pig finish soon. Harvey and Jackson have places to go, and driving them in the Passat is like driving a couple of six year olds to Disneyworld. From Virginia.

Roozer, we miss you. Please come home soon.