Friday, July 13, 2007

The Story.

To get where we are today, I have to go back almost 10 years, when I found this picture..

Image Copyright Doma Vaquera Kennel

..on the internet. I thought, what a magnificent hound! I immediately forwarded the link to the Deerhound list, jokingly stating that here was the way to bring back the red deerhound! That's how my quest for the Galgo Espanol, or Spanish Greyhound began. I found more websites on the breed, most notably The Little Lobitos site, run by Claudia and Thomas in Germany. That was well before the charming critters you see here (click on the link, click on "Puppies", Click on "A" box) were born. I emailed my compliments on the great photographs on their website, one thing led to another, and we were soon in preliminary email discussions on getting a puppy from Germany when Paula was bred.

That process was interrupted when that staghound icon you all know as Buffy the Vampire Slayer became available at the Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption in Illinois. The rest, as they say, is history. Until now.

Last month, at the Saluki specialty in Lexington, KY, many of the folks we hunt with were all abuzz about a new litter of Galgos bred in New Mexico by Chris Mason... that being the reason Chris was not at the specialty.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I received an email from an aquaintance of Chris's in New Mexico, (who also happen to have Galgos). Chris wanted my phone number. I joked that I couldn't imagine what Chris wanted to talk to me about.. could it be she wants to sell me a puppy? I said I was fine waiting for puppies from her Camille, ( one of the finest jackrabbit hunters I've ever seen). I was assured that when she had puppies, one was mine.

Last week, I was sitting in the shade at the BGCC trial while the course was being re-strung (a rare "drag" meet in the East), and my cellphone rang. It was Chris Mason. She said she wanted me to have a puppy, because I "like Galgos". No argument there! The rub is that we're full up in the Express... 4 dogs, a cat, and two humans is about all we can handle. That was going to be my excuse, although the other problem is that we couldn't afford one. We would wait for a Camille puppy.

We chit-chatted, and I innocently asked what she was asking. She said, "I'm asking a thousand dollars a puppy...", and then gave me an offer that was impossible to refuse. Sent me pictures..
(Puppy image by Steve Garth)
..and said "pick one". The brindles and one fawn (not shown) were taken. You could say the puppy came right to us!

She'll hang out in New Mexico until Fall when, if travel plans work out, she will probably make her public "debut" when we're at the ASFA Greyhound thingy in Oklahoma. By then, I hope she'll have a name! Chris has given her a name for now, but she's not stuck with it. I've looked at some Spanish names, and I really like Adelita. We've also just read Larry McMurtry's Buffalo Girls, which is a good name in itself, but one of the main characters is Calamity Jane... another great name. Maybe a new, non-binding, poll will turn up here soon.

That's our story. We're sticking to it.

The Superstitious Would Be in Panic Mode!

Just a little anecdote before I post about the new kid coming...

Today, Friday the 13th, we had lunch at Tray's China Garden restaurant in Columbia, KY. Good place, been there at least 7 years. My fortune cookie was empty! I've never seen that before. And with the tip, our bill came to $13.13!!

Am I worried? Hell no.... bad luck and trouble, I laugh in your fa

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Return of the "Longdogs With Pedigrees"

I wish I had a good excuse for not blogging lately... laziness seems so, oh, I don't know, pedestrian as an excuse. I have so much to catch up on, like the return to Wheeling, and Dr. Radcliffe's office... yes, Rally is progressing nicely, and a second visit to Metropolitan Citi Grill proved the excellence of the first trip was no fluke.. I love Chilean Sea Bass!

Anyway, there were so many other things I wanted to post I can't remember half of them... a Penn & Teller bit from YouTube, and several other things. But this news supercedes it all. Someone's coming to live with us...

Story to follow.....

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Where I Spent the Week

 


Well.... where else would you park the "Express"?
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fun Site.

But any more bits of information like this, and life will lose a little more of its fun.

VideoJug:

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Caption This!

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Fun image from the Kentuky Horse Park. Send your captions!
UPDATE: I thought this piece was humorously relevant.

Monday, June 04, 2007

IIt's Over.

And the winner of the 2007, American Sighthound Field Association's International Invitational is......(drum roll... rat a tat tat tat rat a tat tat tat..... etc.)...
Not Sailor. (But he was the Gillette winner!).

The winner, in the eyes of the judges (which is all that really counts),
Was the Whippet, Ember.

Congratulations to all who ran fast and safely, and a "well done" to the Minnesota clubs who put on a stellar event. The gauntlet's down for next year's organizers, whoever they end up being.

See? Margaret was afraid I was going to editorialize a little too much. I think it was just right.