Campaign season has gone into full swing, but I just had to do a birthday post for our special princess. Lily Ann is 12 years young today! As a retired greyhound, she works hard to sleep as often as possible on as many soft, cushy surfaces as she can. Couch? check. Bed? check. Lots of blankets and pillows? ….well, you get the idea.
Happy Birthday, Princess!
On January 4, 2011, this little (okay, BIG) bundle of love and energy came into our lives. It was Lily who decided to take him home from the kennel that evening, and after “fostering” him for a few months, we all agreed he was meant to be part of the family. Cousteau, of course, knew all along that he’d be staying with us forever.
We didn’t pick his name, but after getting to know him these last few years, I can’t imagine anything different. He is curious, adventurous, spontaneous, and probably has ADD. He sleeps most of the day, and then suddenly becomes distracted by toy, after toy, after toy. Most importantly, he has been there for me during some tough times, and I always know I can lean on him at the end of the day.
And today, Mr. Cousteau turns 5 years young. Happy Birthday, Cousteau. We’re lucky to have you!
Most of you know that Jake and I have two beautiful greyhounds, Lily and Cousteau, who we often refer to as “the kids.” Lily just turned 10 in March, and Cousteau turned 3 in October. Both came to us through the rescue group Kansas City REGAP (Retired Greyhounds As Pets).
Lily came to us first. When we set out to rescue our “first-born” back in the summer of 2009, we came across the rescue group at a Petsmart one day. After meeting greyhounds for the first time and getting to know the REGAP volunteers, we definitely felt that greyhounds would be a good fit for us. Sure enough, about a month and an application later, we walked into the group’s kennel, Pooches Paradise, and met Lily. It couldn’t have been 10 seconds before she looked at us, leaned against Jake’s leg, and said, “Okay, you’re taking me home now!” We didn’t stand a chance, and it was one of the best decisions we ever made!
So fast forward to January 2011. Lily was (and still is) such a perfect angel, and we had started fostering with the group. The first 3 fosters were darn close to perfect. They were all sweet, loving, well-behaved, and really difficult to let go of when they got adopted. It was the first Tuesday of the year, and Lily and I drove over to Pooches to meet a new boy that we were going to foster. We weren’t planning to take him home that night, but I wanted Lily to meet him to make sure he was acceptable to her standards. He was. So much so, that she looked up at me and said, “Mommy, I hate to break it to you, but we’re taking him home tonight.” At some point you’d think I had enough will power to tell my little girl “no,” but of course, I do not.
So that night, we took home Cousteau, a beautiful brindle boy. He had way too much energy, carried our throw pillows around the house, and was terrible at walking on a leash. None of those things changed, but pretty soon, we adopted our second child. Now they are like two peas in a pod. They really have nothing in common, except that they are both beautiful, lazy, loving greyhounds. However, they complement each other well, and together, they make up the perfect pair of canine children.
I highly recommend rescuing a greyhound. They are fast, yes, but mostly they just like to lay around and be loved. Lily and Cousteau have been absolute blessings for us, and every single person I know with a greyhound feels the same way. They truly are angels.
In Kansas City, you can contact KCREGAP at www.kcregap.org for more information. In the wine country here in California, you can contact Wine Country Greyhound Adoption at www.winecountrygreyhounds.com.
Shifting the Balance 