OCTOBER GAP E-NEWS
October-Halloween Edition 2007
Welcome to the Spook-tacular Halloween
Edition of the GAP E-news!
Come on in…If you dare!……………………………………………………………………………….
(**creeeeek goes the door**)
GAPSA 2008 CALENDERS
Thank you to all who have submitted photos for the GAPSA 2008
Calendar. The photos have been selected and Neil has been working hard on
the calendar. It will be finished soon and sent off to the printers! If
you are interested in pre-ordering your copy(s), then please call GAP or
contact us here at the newsletter and let us know how many calendars and
CD desktop calendars you wish to order. Pre-Order date is October 31, 2007.
So don't delay!
It's going to be an awesome calendar and I can't wait to get my paws on
one! So get your orders in ASAP! (Contact info is available at the end of
this newsletter.)
THANK YOU!!!
We would like to say a big Thank you to the previous committee members and coordinators for a job well-done! You all have done such a greyt job. Some members have been with GAP many years and your loyalty and compassion give people like us motivation to continue in your footsteps. It takes a wonderful person to open their hearts to helping greyhounds find a loving home. And for that I give out a big cheer and say Thank you so very much. :
Today we would like to give a warm hug to one of our long standing committee
members. Sue Kain. Sue is officially retiring from GAP. She put in her resignation
to Tom recently. She was our awesome Secretary for quite a few years. And
I can honestly say I'm sure we all gave her a few grey hairs during that
time. : GAP would like to say Thank You Sue for all your generosity and
all your time you volunteered to help GAP and the beautiful greys that went
through the program. You will certainly be missed!! Take care and be sure
to drop in to any of our events in the future!
EVENTS
Greyhound and Whippet Club Event
Well unfortunately I didn't get to personally make it to the Greyhound and
Whippet Club event but everyone said what a greyt time they had! There's
even pictures of some of the events….have a look! Visit http://www.whippetgreyhoundclubsa.com/fun.htm
You can also read the PPD below to see all the fun events that took place
that day!
FUN STUFF
OOOH! we have some new merchandise coming online shortly. Our greyt merchandise coordinator Jacquie Todd has whipped up some awesome goodies that will be ready for purchase soon. We have tote bags, key rings, coffee cups, so far. And we will be widening our range in the very near future. The logo on the merchandise will look like this:
And will have "S.A Greyhound Adoption Program" written on it.
We will have the merchandise available at our Christmas Picnic in November so make sure you bring your doggy-bag money!
PPD - Princess Pretzel Diaries
Well hello to you all again. What a time we have been having up here.
I went to see my specialist Dr Andrew Carter last week about my nails and the good news is that I am no longer on my tablets. Dr Andrew and Mum have decided to see how I will go now. It's been 18 months since it all started and I cannot tell you the relief of not having to take tablets all the time. It is still early days yet, and Mum is understandably a bit nervous but we are keeping our paws crossed.
We went to the Whippet and Greyhound Fun Day and
had such a good time. So many of our friends were there and Lady Vixen made
friends with the most beautiful 16 week old white Standard Poodle. There
was also the most gorgeous Italian Greyhound there who took Lord Jaydyn's
treat and he was so small and so cheeky that Jaydyn just did not know what
to do. Jaydyn's regal bearing and manners came to the fore of course but
really, the cheek of this little thing had to be seen to be believed.
We had competitions and races and every one joined in. There was even a sausage sizzle and of course we helped Mum eat hers, we are of course just helping to watch her waist line. Eemia and Cairo were dressed as fairies, and we were dressed as the Royal Family with our tiaras and capes, Jay of course only had his cape as boys don't need any thing on their heads to look regal is just natural, and he won Best Dressed Grey. Kofi won the Fastest Eater, Blue won Longest Tail, Tiger (Ice) won Best Greyhound and Jaydyn won Best Headed Greyhound. Lucy and Max were also there and we also met Monte. He was the greyhound that was at Animal Welfare that we were all so worried about. He now has a new Dad and a wonderful new home and he is such a handsome big black boy. http://www.whippetgreyhoundclubsa.com/fun.htm Check out the photos!!
Now as you all know I am not one to complain, but really I just do not know what is happening up here. The Royal schedule is being disrupted with Mum going on holiday with Nanna and leaving us at home with Dad. Of course the biggest problem will be Lord Jaydyn who really is very sooky and is a Mum's boy (it's really a bit embarrassing) so here is hoping that he will be ok. Really, we would love to go on a shopping trip with her and Nanna and we would be so good, but no, she's just going anyway. All we can say is that there had better be some presents brought back…
Dad is really busy getting the calendar together and it looks really good. Then there is also the new merchandise that is coming on line. It is just so exciting to be in GAP at the moment, make sure you bring your bone money to the Christmas picnic; there will be lots of things to look at and buy.
Well I had better be off now, it is my tea time and I don't want the others to get there before me.
Look after your families and don't forget how greyt it is to be retired.
Lots of love,
Princess Pretzel, Lady Vixen and Lord Jaydyn
(ps
Mum and Dad send their love)
Laughs and Giggles
Doggy Dictionary
| LEASH: | A strap which attaches to your collar, enabling you to lead your person where you want him/her to go. |
| DOG BED: | Any soft, clean surface, such as the white bedspread in the guest room or the newly upholstered couch in the living room. |
| DROOL: | A liquid which, when combined with sad eyes, forces humans to give you their food. To do this properly you must sit as close as you can and get the drool on the human. |
| SNIFF: |
A social custom used to greet other dogs, similar to the human exchange of business cards. |
| GARBAGE CAN: | A container which your neighbors put out once a week to test your ingenuity. You must stand on your hind legs and try to push the lid off with your nose. If you do it right you are rewarded with margarine wrappers to shred, beef bones to consume and moldy crusts of bread. |
| BICYCLES: | Two-wheeled exercise machines, invented for dogs to control body fat. To get maximum aerobic benefit, you must hide behind a bush and dash out, bark loudly and run alongside for a few yards. The person then swerves and falls into the bushes, and you prance away. |
| DEAFNESS: | This is a malady which affects dogs when their person wants them in and they want to stay out. Symptoms include staring blankly at the person, then running in the opposite direction, or lying down. |
| THUNDER: | This is a signal that the world is coming to an end. Humans remain amazingly calm during thunderstorms, so it is necessary to warn them of the danger by trembling uncontrollably, panting, rolling your eyes wildly, and following at their heels. |
| WASTEBASKET: | This is a dog toy filled with paper, envelopes, and old candy wrappers. It is important to evenly distribute its contents throughout the house before your person comes home. |
| BATH: | If you find something especially good to roll in, humans get jealous, and they use this degrading form of torture to get even. Be sure to shake only when next to a person or a piece of furniture. |
| LEAN: | Every good dog's response to the command "sit!," especially if your person is dressed for an evening out. Incredibly effective before black-tie events. |
| BUMP: | The best way to get your human's attention when they are drinking a fresh cup of coffee or tea. |
| GOOSE BUMP: | A maneuver to use as a last resort when the regular bump doesn't get the attention you require ... especially effective when combined with the sniff. See above. |
| CHILDREN: | Short humans of optimal petting height. Standing close to one assures some good petting. When running, they are good to chase. If they fall down, they are comfortable to sit on. |
| LOVE: | A feeling of intense affection, given freely and without restriction. The best way you can show your love is to wag your tail. If you're lucky, a human will love you in return |
Since it is almost Halloween, (my favourite holiday of the year!)
I thought it would be fun to add some fun to the newsletter.
So here's a nifty little
crossword for you to print and enjoy. It's Spoooooktacular!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
|
ACROSS 1 Bar |
DOWN 1 Doctoral degree |
RAINBOW BRIDGE
As we all know, from time to time, we all experience the loss of one of our beloved companions. This segment of Rainbow Bridge is dedicated to Star.
This article was sent in from Jennie & Bruce Alcorn, Star's foster parents:
Fostering Star
It was obvious from the moment I first met her that Star was going to be special. When I went to pick her up from her trainers, the Aitkins, she came out of her yard full of enthusiasm dying to make friends. Doug barely had time to say goodbye as she leapt around me. Noreen gave her a hug and a kiss as I put her car harness on, then we were away in a flurry of thrashing tail and a few good licks on my ear.
Star was a beautifully proportioned elegant brindle bitch, with quirky ears, one lay forward, one backwards, her puppyish delight in life and her slim elegance against our Heidi's almost masculine form led everyone to refer to her as the little girl, although there was only 5kg between them.
Heidi was all arrogant disdain at their first meeting, but Star's mad enthusiasm soon melted Heidi's act, and the two of them set off to explore our garden and orchard (just over half an acre of enclosed yard) at a less than sedate pace which ended in Star's first accident. As she tried to come through the French door with Heidi she crashed full tilt into the glass and concussed herself. A trip to the vets, a course of Rimadyl, and she was back to her joyful self - though it took a couple more bumps to convince her that the door (despite the fact that it is covered with plastic stickers as a result of previous greyhound experiences) would not give.
Life was a great game for Star, loving affection for all people poured out of her, each new experience was enjoyed to the full. Walks to check the crops, the horses, and the water troughs were full of exciting sights and smells (though she made it clear walking on ploughed ground was not for her tender toes) Trips in the car were fabulous with the world whizzing past and the wind in her ears, obedience classes were the best entertainment ever with so many dogs to try to play with - Obedience? Why for goodness sake?!
Bruce,
my husband works for the Royal Flying Doctor Service on a 3 week on, 3 week
off roster with occasions where the 3 weeks off become 2 weeks or 1 week
as extra emergencies crop up. We went through such a patch when Star came
to live with us so he didn't meet her for about 4 weeks, by which time she
and Heidi had become fast friends and Heidi, our dignified girl, had become
almost as mad as Star. Crazy games of chase me, and dig to China were part
of our daily ritual - the lawn (well, where the lawn was before the drought)
was looking a bit like a moonscape.
Within 3 days Bruce was suggesting we change our 2 Greyhounds at a time policy and keep Star for ourselves. I'd already thought of this myself, but only 2 fit in the back seat of the Ute, and I really couldn't manage to walk more than 2 up and down the valley paddocks. We wanted to remain committed to fostering, as delightful as she was, Star had to remain a foster dog.
During this time Star managed her second injury, a simple cut to the web of a front foot but it needed stitching and bandaging to ensure it healed properly. Slowed down a little by this she started to take notice at obedience and passed her council obedience test, all our foster dogs have left us with this certificate. She got extra pats from her many admirers at the club that day. I'd told them she'd probably be moving on in a week or so and they'd all grown fond of her.
About a week after this our nightmare started. A gloriously sunny morning
after overnight rain saw us all in the orchard, me anxiously checking the
rain gauge, the dogs tearing around their imaginary race track through the
trees up the concrete step between the orchard and lawn, round the shade
garden and back down to the orchard. By taking a short cut Heidi got in
front so on the next round it was Star chasing Heidi, Heidi jumped up to
the lawn but Star, intent on the chase, ran straight into the concrete step.
Her screams still echo in my mind.
Somehow I got her across the lawn and into the car. I rang our local vets and set out, carefully holding her head in one hand as I drove the curving, twisting road to Kapunda. Heavily sedated in the car, we were able then to transfer her to the operating table without causing her too much pain, and there they anaesthetised her, assessed the damage and repaired what they could. In her favour she had not torn any major blood vessels, tendons or nerves, but the damage to the inside of her upper front left leg was extensive. There was no skin left to cover much of the wound and being a crush injury further damage would occur as bruised tissue continued to die.
I nursed her for ten days, camping on the floor beside her on the nights after dressing changes when the pain made her too restless. After the first dressing change I was appalled at the pain it caused her and by what I could see as mounting costs for GAP, so instead of going home I drove down to Gawler and asked if I could speak to Chris Arnold of the Gawler South Clinic for 5 minutes. He, good man, gave me as long as I needed, and the information I needed. Yes it was worth persisting for a little longer at least, the real extent of the injury would not be apparent for 10 days as the crushed and bruised flesh died. After that he would be able to assess her chances of recovering. I made an appointment and left in a fairly positive frame of mind.
The
second dressing chance went better and the wound still looked quite healthy.
By the 10th day I was feeling very hopeful. Star was using her leg awkwardly
but without crying, she was regaining some of her bounce and thoroughly
enjoyed the trip down to Gawler. The bandage was a bit smelly (actually
I realised from the nurses reaction it was extremely smelly, but I had a
head cold so didn't notice it much) I knew enough to be confident the smell
would be from the dying tissue we had been watching for but we went into
the surgery feeling positive, Star hobbling gamely along demanding everyone's
affection on the way.
Star was sedated, and the dressing removed. My heart started to sink, the wound was clean and terrible, so much tissue had died. Chris examined her carefully then gave me the facts clearly, honestly, and gently. The only opinion he gave was that he could not recommend she remain in the GAP programme. The facts though spoke for themselves, that appalling wound was her exposed biceps muscle with no protective sheath. The sheath would not regrow, there was no place from which he could do a skin graft, the wound would heal in about 8 to 12 months with dedicated nursing but there would be problems with adhesion to the exposed muscle. She would be unlikely ever to run freely again. I do not handle shock well, to my intense embarrassment I tend to faint, and I knew I was about to do so. People were so kind, one of the nurses helped me outside and the fresh air and movement helped. At first of course my panicking mind was insisting "we'll keep her, we'll nurse her, we'll save her" but as I gathered my wits and absorbed what I'd heard, I became more rational. Long, long ago a very wise vet friend had commented "there can be a problem with people's deep love for their animals, sometimes they can be so cruel in their desire to keep the love going." I was determined not to do that. In addition to the cruelty of trying to keep Star alive there were the costs to be born, the monetary costs of dressings, sedations, medication. GAP had already picked up far more expenses for Star then they would normally expect to cover for a foster dog, if we took her on we could be paying thousands over the 8 to 12 month period. What too of the cost to GAP? To keep Star we'd have to give up being fosterers; how many happy, healthy, suitable greyhounds would have to be rejected by the programme because we were no longer available?
There was no choice. I asked the nurse with me to ask Chris to put her down and do it straight away whilst she was still sedated. They waited for me to return to say my goodbyes and allowed me time for my tears. Chris assuring me I'd made the right decision. My gratitude and admiration for the South Gawler Vet clinic is absolute.
I have in fact been strengthened by this tragedy. As fosterer's we must be prepared to make hard decisions, there will be the occasional Greyhound that comes into the programme that is not suitable for adoption, and as fosterers we must be prepared to accept this. It is for this reason that fostering is so vital; if every dog was going to slip easily into being a guaranteed good pet our role would be a very simple one.
Star was induction by fire into the hard decision making, but I now know I can do it. She also taught me how caring the new GAP regime will be. I'd been a little wary of the changes as I've formed a very good ongoing relationship with Phillip and Bradley, but Tom Hayles has been a constant support throughout Star's trials. When I rang to tell him of her fate he was totally caring without becoming sentimental. I have great faith in the support fosterers will continue to receive from him.
I leave the final words on Star to Noreen Aitkin whom I rang that night
to let know the sad news "be comfortable Jennie, in knowing that her
last few months with you were a great ending to our crazy, energetic little
dog's life." I hope Star felt privileged to be here, I know we feel
privileged to have had her.
A Dedication to all the wonderful foster families we have out there, who give up their time, love, homes and sofas for our beautiful greyhounds in need. Without you GAP wouldn't be able to do what it does so well. Thank you, you truly are greyt angels in disguise!
FOSTERING
There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got the call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love.
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend.
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go.
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay.
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear.
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on.
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day.
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by.
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time.
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.
*Author Unknown*
And so that concludes our monthly newsletter for October. Hope you enjoyed it and if you have any suggestions or ideas, pictures, jokes, events etc. Please feel free to contact us! All information is below.
Need to Contact GAP?
Greyhound Adoption Program - SA
P.O Box 2352
Regency Park SA 5942
Phone: 08 8243 7124
Fax: 08 82682870
Website: www.gapsa.org.au
Newsletter Email: coordinator@gapsa.org.au
***See all the Committee Members listed here***
