Thursday, December 01, 2005

Gentle Greyhounds?!?



We think of Greyhounds as gentle dogs...until they demonstrate what they are capable of doing! We made the tactical error of leaving the pizza screen in the sink to cool off after a reheat of leftover pizza. A little cheese was stuck to the screen...Miss Bella decided she needed more cheese in her diet and grabbed the screen while we were out.

When we returned home we found the remains of the screen...torn like it was paper! And Miss Bella has the most ghetto fabulous silver-coated front teeth!

Monday, November 21, 2005

The New "Classic" Look



I wanted to work on replicating the style of vintage postcards so that I could recreate the look and feel using some modern digital photographs that I have taken. Above is my first attempt of the "old" look. I photographed the Clarkdale Classic gas station this past weekend. The station has been around since the early part of the 1900s. The overall look hasn't changed much, but the trained eye will see that the gas pumps are too new, and other items are of the wrong time period. Still, an interesting effect I think. Post your feedback!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Tarantula!



By request, here's one of our friendly tarantulas that sometimes come to the house. This one was at the back patio door and wandered around for awhile and then left. They are really not as scary as they look, they aren't aggressive and you can let them walk onto your hand and pick them up. It takes a bit of provoking to get one to try to bite. And as large as they are, you aren't going to find one in your shoe...like a scorpion. (Shoe shaking is a standard procedure here, just in case!)

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Hey, I Like it Here!



Well, Kingman has been here for over a month now. He has done a great job of adapting to the home environment. He loves to play with his stuffed toys and is quite the companion. We can see why he washed out of the race circuit early...he has no prey drive! He doesn't want to chase rabbits when we're on a walk (unlike Miss Bella!), and is content to just walk alongside at whatever pace we keep. Though for his safety he is always on a leash when we are on walks, he shows no inclination to wander off and prefers to be right next to his people.

We have to get a good photo of Kingman and Bella together because we won a silent auction recently to have an oil painting done of two animals by a local artist. Bella and Kingman will be the subjects, as Boris and Tasha are already in family portraits.

Watch for more soon!

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Welcome Kingman!


One greyhound is not enough! After adopting Bella and seeing what wonderful dogs greyhounds are, we decided we could take on another. So we asked Jim and Leah if they could find us a young male who was docile and fun loving. Shortly afterwards we got the word that some new dogs had come up from Phoenix and we had a possible match.

We went to the ranch and met Kingman (aka XI Express Mail). He is an 18 month old male who washed out racing because he had no drive. Perfect, he doesn't want to chase things! He is a red brindle who is very handsome. He was pulled from the track 9/19, neutered on 9/21, and went home with us on 9/23. In his first week he has done very well adapting to household living, and had no problems with glass doors, mirrors, or steps. He continues to blossom and we will report more later.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

More of Bella

Here are a few additional photos and some info about Bella. Her racing name was "Boccabella" and she raced a lot. In 2002 she raced 67 races, and 57 more in 2003, and 21 more in 2004 before she broke her ankle and was retired. Overall she has placed 1st 11 times; 2nd 15 times, 3rd 26 times. Her fastest time was 31.04 seconds for 503 meters.


Nick and Bella


Tough day at work


Trying to look scary! (Just yawning though)

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

New Family Member - Bella!

We decided to add to the family and adopt another dog in need. Bella is a five year old retired racing greyhound. She broke her ankle and ended up with a metal plate in her leg as a result. Because of the plate, she will always walk with a limp, but it doesn't affect her ability to get around.

She has a very gentle personality and has already made friends with Boris, Sam and Tasha, our other 3 dogs. She's been in the house for about 2 hours now and has settled in for a nap right next to my desk.

Here's a photo of her foster parents when they dropped her off at noon. Watch for more photos soon!