Stony Point Walk

Yesterday some GPA-Richmond members braved the cold and freezing rain for a walk around Stony Point Fashion Park, a local outdoor shopping mall. The hounds received a lot of attention, and we did manage to hand out Greyhound adoption info to a few interested folks. So, even though the weather was lousy, we had fun and accomplished our mission!

Sorry about the lousy pictures… the boys (especially Harvey) were very curious about everything, so my camera work is a bit unsteady!

(Note to Kenney... Thanks for taking the camera briefly so I'd have at least one decent photo! :)

It's Times Like These...

Every morning I turn Harvey and Jackson out to the yard. The yard is fenced, but I still monitor the boys from the door. Well, yesterday I stepped away for only a moment... When I stepped back I saw Jackson playing with his AKC Squirrel stuffy. He was having a grand time with it... throwing it in the air, doing zoomies... Then I realized... his stuffy was on the ground... Jackson must have...?!?!

Jackson caught a squirrel!!! Boy, he was one happy dog. My neighbors, probably not so much. I opened the door and screamed at the top of my lungs... "DROP IT!" To my surprise, he did! Somehow I managed to get both boys in the house.

Oh, the horror. What to do with the squirrel? Since I live in the city, I had to be careful about how to "take care of it." I won't share the details, but I did "do the right thing."

Now, I'll disclose a bit about myself. I live alone, and other than my fear of my basement (an after effect of Hurricane Isabel), I manage just fine. Sometimes my friends ask if I wish I had a husband... and sometimes I really do. Like when it's time to flip the mattress... or when my dog manages to catch a squirrel.

Retirement Party

Today was a very good day for 5 lucky hounds from the Jefferson County Kennel Club. The hounds (Throttle Up, Jet Master, Rj's Greatful, Eric Whistler, and I'm Worthwatchin) left Florida yesterday and arrived in Virginia this morning. Several other hounds were also on the hauler, headed for destinations north of VA.

Here are a few pictures to chronicle the first steps of retirement for these gorgeous hounds.

The hauler arrives!

Rj's Greatful and Jet Master in my "hauler." Jet Master gets a warm bath...All cleaned up!

A new mommy.

What a greyt day!

Tiny Tots

Yesterday we represented Richmond GPA at a Meet & Greet. Our group was stationed near a doggie apparel display. Several folks visited the display with their toy hounds in tow. To my knowledge, Jackson has never encountered small dogs. Needless to say, he was very interested in the wee ones! And Harvey? Well, he could have cared less. You'll see!

Jackson spies the wee ones. Harvey's so over it!

Can we go now?Heading back home.

Jackson took a nap.
Hooray, home at last!

Names Explained

Just thought I'd take a moment to explain how the boys got their names.

Harvey's registered racing name is "Get the Chance." When I adopted him, I thought (for a nano-second) about naming him Chance, but it just didn't suit him. I had other names selected too, but none of them seemed appropriate. Then it occured to me. Harvey.

Harvey is named after the rabbit in the Jimmy Stewart movie Harvey. If you haven't seen this wonderful film, I highly recommend it. Jimmy Stewart's character (Elwood), has an invisible friend (a pooka) named Harvey. With Harvey at his side Elwood is able to find contentment in his life (as his life is), and is gifted with the ability to allow others to do the same.

My sweet, sweet, Harvey. Oh, how he adds peace and magic to my life.

Jackson's racing name is "Bd's Joshua." Before I met him, I wanted to name Joshua "Ralph." Ralph is one of those names that just makes you chuckle, sort of like Fred, or Elmer.

After meeting Joshua, I decided that he wasn't really a Ralph. He's too pretty. It was suggested that I call him Joshua, but I know some Joshuas, and that's all I'm going to say about that! I was really struggling with what to call him. Not long after Joshua came home, I was flipping through a biography of Jackson Pollock. I remembered one of Pollock's paintings titled "Lavender Mist" and thought about how the painting so closely resembles Jackson's coloring. So that's how Joshua became Jackson.

Now, there's a slight problem with the name Jackson, and it didn't present itself until the name had already stuck. We live in Virginia, and here there are many associations with the Civil War. So, a lot of folks ask if Jackson was named after Stonewall Jackson. I get a lot of funny looks when I tell them the story of "Lavender Mist." In Virginia, Stonewall Jackson is definitely more popular than Jackson Pollock!

GPA Membership Meet

Harvey?
Yes Jackson?

I'm sleepy, but am still remembering the fun we had at the park today.
It was so neat to see some of our old buddies from Florida. Everyone looks so different now, but everyone seems really happy!
I know Jackson, and it looks like everyone lucked out with awesome families!And it was neat that Grandma came to meet some of our GPA friends, and she gives good ear scritches!Oh, and we got to run in the park, but Mom didn't get any good pictures. Hmph, I know I was faster than you, Harvey!

I don't think so.I'm glad Grandma gave us some water before we had to go home.Oh, and Mom won a raffle prize. Hooray!!Are you done talking Jackson? I'm so sleepy.Yeah, me too Harvey. Zzzz.

Meet & Greet

Harvey and Jackson at the Meet & Greet.

Visting friends.
And Grandpa...
Wearing funny hats...
The ride back home...
How they spent the rest of the day.