GPA Communique
The Bulletin of Greyhound Pets of America--Vol 9, No 1, Spring, 2000
|
Wedded Bliss by Pat Quinn Reprinted from Daytona Beach Tails, Fall '99 Lisa Wilkerson of GPA/Houston, TX, is proud to announce the wedded union of her two greyhounds, Queenie and Blaze. The wedding was held on Sat., Feb.12 as part of a fundraiser to benefit SNAP (Spay and Neuter Assistance Program). It was a beautiful day for a double dog wedding. The other couple was a Corgi mix (Bennie the groom) and a German Shepherd mix (Brandy the bride). There were approximately 140 people and 90 dogs in attendance. The couple enjoyed the Beast Feast after the ceremony and had several pieces of the cake. There was local news coverage of the event and many pictures being taken. The event may end up on CNN and/or Animal Planet and photos may be published in Texas Monthly or other publications. There was a carob dipped dog biscuit wrapped in lace and the dogs broke it and ate it at the alter. The cake and biscuits were donated by the Houston franchise of Three Dog Bakery. They have been very generous to GPA/Houston and allow us to sell our dog necklaces in their store. Congratulations to Queenie and Blaze. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at my home: E-Mail to: quickhound@aol.com or: lisa@gpahouston.org or by phone 281-894-5719 (home). International Canine Sports Medicine Symposium by Dennis Tyler, GPA/Central FL On January 15-16, the Sixteenth Annual meeting for the International Canine Sports Medicine Symposium was held in Orlando, Florida. This event is held in conjunction with the North American Veterinary Conference that is held each year in Orlando. For the past several years, GPA Central Florida has attended the two-day event. Each year we attend the event we are able to capitalize on the wealth of information this forum provides and the ability to interface with some of the foremost authorities in Greyhound Veterinary Care. In 1999, when there were outbreaks of Kennel Cough, we were fortunate to have listened to Dr. Brad Fenwick from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University give a lecture on Modern Principles of Infectious Disease Prevention, Control and Treatment. Shortly after attending the State of Florida was put on quarantine when several of the tracks were reporting widespread outbreaks. We were able to utilize the literature that we obtained at the seminar and give it to kennel personnel to help combat and prevent any major mishaps at the Melbourne Greyhound Park. During this year's symposium, several topics were useful in the area of helping with the Diagnosis and Treatment of Muscle Injuries. Considering we presently have eight greys in foster homes recovering from breaks, this is very timely and also helps give a better understanding of what we can do during recovery and what measures we can take to aide in a full range of motion in the effected limb. During the opening ceremonies, a special presentation was made by Gary Guccione from the National Greyhound Association on behalf of the American Greyhound Council and Rob Christmas, Manager of the American Greyhound Track Operators Association (AGTOA) to Dennis Tyler, President of GPA Central Florida on behalf of National GPA. A check for $12,500 was presented to NGPA for use in establishing a grant program within GPA. This check was made possible from a special night of racing called "A Night of the Stars". During this event $25,000 was raised for the benefit of Greyhound Adoption Programs. All the money raised is intended to be used for grants to organizations involved with greyhound adoption. Greyhound Pets of America/Houston, Inc. One of the founding chapters of Greyhound Pets of America, GPA/Texas was formed in 1987. Operating on a skeleton crew of a half-dozen volunteers, the organization hobbled along until 1990. At that time, several new adopters took on the challenge of replacing a very tired and burned out Board of Directors. In 1993 our name was legally changed to GPA/Houston, Inc. due to other GPA chapters being formed across Texas. Early in 1992 we were offered an unbelievable deal from Irv Harrison, then owner of a local boarding and grooming facility called The Pet Hotel. They would lease us one wing of kennels along with a small office space (about the size of a closet) for $10.00 per year. What a deal! Unfortunately, they also required that we have someone on location at the Pet Hotel during normal business hours. After a much agonizing debate the Board presented organizational and structural changes to the group for a vote. Although not a majority, the vote was in favor, and our Placement Director agreed to become our first salaried employee, in charge of shelter operations. This would ensure that all greyhounds in our care continued to receive the personal attention that they deserved. We limped along for a couple of years, struggling financially and experiencing massive turnovers in officers/directors, but continuing to find homes for more greyhounds. A major impediment to our progress was not being able to get any media attention. Our members were attending festivals and storefront appearances, but felt we needed to get our message out to the entire Houston Metropolitan population. Then, late in 1995 a very unfortunate incident changed everything. The Juarez, Mexico track announced it was closing. Once again we notified the TV and print media of the situation, not expecting much of a response. We were overwhelmed when all 5 major local TV stations showed up for interviews and video footage. The response from the public was overwhelming, both emotionally and financially, and it allowed us to play a major role in moving 225 greyhounds from Juarez to adoption groups across the US. Since that time we have continued to receive periodic support from the media, and our benefactors at the Pet Hotel have continued their wonderful gift to us on a yearly basis (they even moved us into a larger office space). We have wonderful veterinary support from several clinics in all areas of the City, and a host of volunteers that perform tasks ranging from kennel cleaning to public speaking engagements. Much of our financial support now comes from a variety of merchandise sold through our gift shop. We have a membership of 500+ adopters, and they enjoy such annual activities as an Easter Hound Hoopla (greyhounds on an Easter egg hunt—quite a sight to see), a Summer Dinner fundraising event for human members only, Halloween Party and Holiday Party. In addition, we participate in over 10 storefront appearances each month, participate heavily in the Barnes & Noble holiday giftwrapping fundraisers, have a booth at the Astroworld Series of Dog Shows, and participate in area parades and celebrations. We are proud of the fact that our efforts have paid off with the reward of placing just under 200 greyhounds into homes for each of the last several years. Chris Ryan Historian, GPA/Houston, Inc.
Free Internet by Tom McRorie Here is a list of Free Internet Service Providers and Internet Service Provider information. I have included the phone numbers for getting their CDs so you don't have to download anything. If you have a current ISP or AOL you can check them out.
I have checked these out and they are for real. Perhaps it will help communications. The ones listed with no numbers or notes are ISP information.
Daytona Beach Chapter Profile Daytona Beach, Greyhound Pets of America, officially became a full chapter in July of 1999. As a subchapter we met the Daytona Beach Kennel Club in fear it was going to be an "Us Against Them" relationship. What a pleasant surprise it has been. The General Manager expressed his feelings that the dogs were their problem and they were grateful to GPa for our promise to help. They have absolutely bent over backwards to accommodate our needs to fulfill that promise. The Daytona Beach Kennel Club (DBKC) provides us with an adoption office, which is located on the premises and includes all the utilites and printing needs. In addition to the adoption office we are fortunate to also be provided with a fully equipped heated/air conditioned kennel with 1 full & 1 part time kennel master. This past year DBKC made a substantial cash contribution and matched that with a new extended cab pick-up with a 6 hole dog box to transport our greys. In October of 1999 DBKC spared no expense when they hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for all of our hard working volunteers and their (human) families. Again in December of 1999 they catered a bountiful holiday party for our volunteers including their greys, which was followed by a beautiful blessing of the Greyhounds. It was truly a moving experience when they brought racing to a halt and nearly 100 retired greyhounds and their owners paraded onto the racetrack where a pastor performed the Blessing of the Greyhounds. We have an outstanding group of volunteers, approximately 75, some more active then others, that do a greyt job. Everyone has his or her own strengths & weaknesses that really seem to compliment each other. We have a volunteer orientation program that everyone goes through before working with the group. We have volunteers trained to do home visits, someone else that does follow up phone calls for all adoptions, a newsletter staff, a PetSmart coordinator and a volunteer coordinator. We offer an excellent support system that is available to adopters 7 days a week 24 hrs a day. As of today we've never turned a grey in need away—that includes returns, strays, and those left at the humane society. Recently one of our volunteers rescued two heartworm positve greys from the Jacksonville, FL, Humane Society (which is a 4-5 hr round-trip). We provided them with the required treatment and both are now together in their forever homes. Because Daytona Beach is a tourist town, many nights every visitor through our doors is from out of state. Since our policy is not to adopt out of state, our volunteers spend much of their time providing referrals and educating those inquiring about adoption of a greyhound. One of the biggest challenges for our group has just been getting the word out about the adoption program. You would be amazed at the number of people that don't realize, even with a race track right here, that the dogs are available for adoption. We did have the pleasure of having our operation filmed recently for a segment on the cable tv program "Animal Planet". We also have started a "Therapy Dog" program that has brought us a lot of positive P.R. The dogs are observed and tested by a registered observer with Therapy Dogs Inc. out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and we now boast 6 graduates that visit the local nursing homes. DBKC has been very good to us and nearly 450 greyhounds passed through our doors last year. But the bottom line is, Daytona Beach track is open year around and if we don't keep moving the dogs in our kennel the ones on the waiting list disappear. With 17 tracks in Florida we are saturated and of course all of the Florida groups are working with and hauling to the same out of state adoption facilities. Fortuantely we all work well together. I believe our group works so well together because there are no egos or politics involved, but rather everyone stays focused on the same goal—the dogs. We extend a warm invitation to anyone visiting Florida and encourage you to please get in touch with us or stop in to see us.
National Directory Goes Electronic! As you well know, the task of keeping our National Directory up to date is impossible. Just as soon as it is published, a sub-chapter is formed, a new chapter appears, and several chapters have elections. Within the next month, I will be adding our national directory to the national web site. With the help of Linda Adame, we will be setting things up so that each chapter has the capability and responsibility of keeping their information current in the directory. For those of you who are not hooked up, you can contact me and I will update the information for you and print out a hard copy for you as well. With any luck, this innovation will help us communicate with one another more efficiently. Cheers, Joyce McRorie
President's Message The plight of the Spanish Greyhound is almost beyond belief. Bless the people that are doing whatever possible in order to help these dogs. Public awareness is all-important but cultural change is not an easy prospect. Anne Finch who runs Greyhounds in Need (GIN) has set up international accounts so anyone can donate if they desire. The Citibank account for US Dollars is 0081076391. A check or telegraphic transfer can be made through any Citibank branch or sent to Citibank International pic. P.O. Box 5350, Hammersmith Grove, London W6 OWT. Write the check to BA Finch, Greyhounds in Need. Please notify Anne if you send a donation so she can let you know how your donation was used: anne@greyhoundsinneed.f9.co.uk As my heart breaks for the greys in Spain and I am writing out a donation, it must be remembered that our country has major issues also. There are still too many greys not finding homes and too many being euthanized. The more the public becomes aware of our greyhounds by the hard work all of you do, the better some of their living conditions have improved. We must be very careful that as awful as it is in Spain, we don't let ourselves and the public, focus so much on Spain that we are disregarding our own. We all know the horror stories, and even though things are improving, there's still miles to go. For every Spanish grey that is brought into our country, there will be one less home for one of our own. Please try to keep things in perspective. Greyhounds die every day. I don't like it and I know you don't either. But if a choice has to be made, it is crucial that we help one of our own. Pat Toman
Magnum at Sea World Thanks to all of you who share in our enthusiasm about sending a greyhound to SeaWorld--even if it isn't in Orlando where we can see him often! This is something we've worked for ever since they started the Pets on Stage show several years ago and are thrilled that we were finally able to make it happen. I've spoken with the head trainer about another greyhound for the Orlando show—after all, it's quite difficult to face all of these volunteers in Orlando who are so anxious to get over to SeaWorld now to see Magnum perform. They will be revamping the Orlando show after Labor Day and are very interested in adding a greyhound to the new show. So the search for the right dog continues. For those of you who might be concerned about how Magnum will be cared for while he is in their care don't feel you have to worry any longer. We delivered Magnum to the "ranch" where all of the animals in the shows are kept while they are in training or between shows. Believe me, if I could have grown two more legs and a tail, I would have been jumping through hoops to convince them to let me stay also. The area is on a lake in Osceola County, south of Orlando, surrounded by protected wetlands. The housing for the animals is as plush, or more so, than most pets will ever get in a home. The home is gorgeous and filled with pets and the landscaping has been done by the professionals at SeaWorld. And the attention and love that these trainers give the animals there never ends. We met all of the trainers, including the ones that will be going to Ohio with Magnum. They all love their jobs and agreed that it was the dream of a lifetime to be able to work for a group like this. Before we agreed to place Magnum with them, we told the head trainer that we would want Magnum back in our program if he didn't work out for any reason, or when he was retired from the show. They were thrilled because none of the rescue groups they had worked with had ever made them the same offer so all of the animals retired with them on the ranch. (But they did ask that if they wanted to adopt him for a pet afterwards, would we allow it.) Well, after seeing the ranch and meeting the folks there, I'm not so sure Magnum will even want to come back. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, be assured that Magnum will be given the best care possible, lots of love, soft beds to sleep in and plenty of "Billjack" food! We'll keep an eye on him and visit between shows when he's back at the ranch so we can send updates. Lisa Nolet, GPA/GO Visit our new website at www.gpago.bizland.com for more news about Magnum
E-Mail List The Greyhoundpets email list is up and running! We welcome Board Members, local Chapter Officers and Newsletter Editors from all GPA Chapters and National Committee members. After a quiet few months, the list is moving along nicely, boasting 78 members who represent nearly all of the GPA Chapters nationwide. To get a feel for the list, here's a sample of some recent discussions:
To join the list, please contact Lynda Adame at: Lynda.Adame@trw.com
Web Page Changes Send changes or additions or updates for the GPA National Web site to: Kari Morrison Young, kari@kat-house.net Although Jim Jeffers is the technical contact I am the one who updates the chapters--otherwise he just sends it to me! Kari Morrison Young for Elsy Bless Greyhound Pets of America, San Antonio Join the Elite--Adopt a Greyhound http://www.gpasa.org http://www.greyhoundpets.org
Greyhounds on TV If you watched the TV mini-series Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal, Feb. 13 & 16, on CBS, you may be interested to know that the white Greyhound that appeared in a costume ball scene with Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, was GPA Richmond's Sandra Erdle's white Grey Mask. Our congratulations to GPA Richmond for helping Greyhounds get more exposure. |
2000 GPA National Meeting The GPA National Meeting "GPA 2000" will be held August 25th through the 27th, 2000, in San Antonio, Texas, under the joint sponsorship of GPA/San Antonio and GPA/Central Texas (Austin), and GPA/Houston). Details are being finalized with Holiday Inn Downtown Market Square. We are also working with American Airlines for discounted fares to San Antonio. When arrangements are finalized, Information and Registration packets will be sent to all Chapters and Sub-Chapters. It looks like room rates will be $95 per night and we may get taxes waived because we are not for profit. The deal with AA will be 10% off regular fares booked at least 60 days prior and 5% after 60 days. I'll keep you updated. Lee Edgington, Treasurer
Camping with Greyhounds, K. Gilley, Dancing Greyhounds Gilley Camp Rules Sweetness, our first Greyhound, has logged over 111,000 miles in a motorhome as of the beginning of the new millennium. Here are some of the things that will help you have a safe and fun vacation. (This does not deal with the obvious like tags, collars, vaccinations, etc.) 1. Teach your Grey not to run, trot or walk out any door before you. He does not have to sit. He can stand still until you say the "magic word," i.e., "OK." You proceed out the door while telling him to "Wait!" Don't yell and don't say "Stay." Speak normal English to him, he will understand. If he tries to follow you (tent, trailer, van or car) before you are ready, put your hands on his chest andshoulders and push him back inside. When he will hold still for three seconds, say "OK" and invite him out. He should catch on in five times. He will hold longer and longer as you get it right and are consistent. 2. Do not hold on to him when someone comes to the door. He will not learn anything this way. Put a leash on him and give him a tug if he moves toward the door. Praise him when he makes no attempt "to go see for himself." If you feel the need to say something to him, use the word, "Wait." 3. At first, take him walking on a short leash. You need to learn a few things about his behavior in strange or wilderness surroundings before putting him on a longer one. Does he shy easily? Does he want to eat (not carry) foreign objects? (Cigarette butts are foreign objects; plastic bottles and beer cans are for carrying.) A surprising number of Greys like to tote things around. This is OK as long as it isn't a glass bottle or an object from someone else's campsite. 4. When doing nature trails, if you have to step over a tree, put a word, like "hup" to it. Praise him as quickly as he completes the crossing. Soon he will be able to apply this to muddy streams, ditches and other stuff you don't want him stepping in. Also, watch out for foot and bike traffic. Always yield the right-of-way. Step off the trail so they may pass without being Greyhounded. People will thank you for this and think better of our magnificent breed. 5. Watch very closely he does not take an interest in wild animal droppings. Wild animals carry many diseases and parasites. If he does this, or takes an interest in road kill, give him a tug, say "Leave It!" and then praise when he does. Never let him bark at or molest wild life, including squirrels and even if you allow this at home. It will make the people who came there to see these animals very angry at you and your Grey. 6. DO NOT let him drink out of clear mountain streams, lakes or any other source of "wild" water. It is full of giardia! He will get rampant diarrhea and your trip will be ruined. If you go hiking, share your canteen with him. 7. Plastic bags, especially freezer zip locks, because they are heavy duty, make excellent reusable, fold-and-go water dishes on a hike. A big gallon one, with his measured amount of food can be stored in your backpack. Then soak with legal water. If you roll down the edges and hold the sides for him, he can lunch out. No bulky food dish. Never pour his food on the ground! Even if you normally feed dry, on a hike, DON'T. He needs all the water he can get to avoid dehydration. 8. If you are planning many outings in the greyt outdoors, get some paw pad toughener and start applying it a month or more before your planned trip. Make his pads sore the first day and your happy trails will be all over the first day. 9. Make sure you take along a goodly supply of his normal food, plus extra. Designer dog food is not available in most out-of-the-way places. If you don't plan for extra, and your basic cache gets eaten by bears, rained on,or lost, you will be up a creek without a poodle. 10. MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN UP ALL STOOLS MADE BY YOUR GREY!!! If you are in the wilderness, bury them, just as you would your own. Stools of most animals are not as biodegradable as one would think. Out west, in the arid climates, they dry into adobe-like concrete material. Dog stools become even more durable than old cow pies. The anti-dog/pet people have already gotten all trails in National Parks put off limits to dogs just because ignorant, inconsiderate people would not scoop. Always carry poop baggies with you, especially in the campgrounds!!! 11. READ the SIGNS! If is says No Dogs, it includes Greyhounds, whether you think Greyhounds are "dogs" or not. Obey the rules. 12. Do not let your Greyhound approach other campers or hikers without asking them first. Your vacation is not a standard Meet and Greet. I ask, "Have you ever met a Greyhound before? Would you like to pet one and see how warm and soft they are?" 13. If your Grey is inclined to either rush toward strangers or jump on people, put a loop in your leash that reaches the ground, then put your foot on the leash. The leash should not be tight when you put your foot on it, so you are NOT holding his head to the ground. He can only move forward so far, the leash will tighten and he will back up. He cannot jump up, period. He will learn to greet everyone in a more mannerly fashion, if he thinks or knows your foot is in the middle of his leash. This will cause him no discomfort and the two of you will make no enemies for Greyhounds. 14. Remember you are in the public eye. You are a walking billboard advertising Greyhound adoption, whether you want to be or not. Carry some brochures. Behave both yourselves. You are responsible for everything he does and he cannot do what you have not taught him. Happy camping!
Picnic Tips and Ideas With the picnic season approaching here are tried and tested picnic ideas from several different GPA groups. They are about anything and everything regarding your annual event. Meals 1. Sam's. Purchase the food in bulk and sell it at a concession. Have hotdogs, sloppy Joes, soda, bottled water, chips, nachos. 2. Others provide main course, grilling burgers or chicken, and have everyone bring a dish and charge for the meal $3-5. Games and Contests 1. Dunking for Vienna Sausages or Wienies. Fill a big barrel with water and let the dogs dunk for them. Charge $1.It's a hoot! 2. Photo contest. Folks send in their photos, people vote for the best and the winner gets a doggie picture frame. Money Makers 1. Charge for nail clipping, from $3 to $5. 2. Microchip dogs. Get a vet clinic to microchip and donate $5 a chip to your group. 3. Photographer. Do a group picture and charge for that or someone that takes casuals and charges enough for her and a percentage is given to the group. Silent Auctions and Raffles 1. Most vendors will donate an item and be glad to pay for lunch. 2. GPA logo window clings and bumper stickers. Buy more from Andrew Preble for .50 each and no SH chg. Sell for more. His email is natures.halo@xann.com or call 503-253-5699 or write 351 NE 151st Ave., Portland, OR 97230. 3. Raffles consists of smaller less expensive items to large items such as airline tickets, weekend at a resort, an appliance or tv. Some have each family member donate a dog related item. If you're near a track they will usually donate t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, books, etc. Your local supporting pet stores will usually donate dog beds, toys, treats. Get an obedience course donated. Don't forget to use all your adopters as a resource for items such as restaurant owners will donate dinner for two, one large pizza, quick lube & oil changes, vet services, health food store gift certificate, dry cleaners, car washes, lumber yard gift certificate, etc. Guests 1. Invite a pet psychic. She'll give you a percentage of her take and will be busy from the time the picnic starts with people following her to her car on her way out. 2. Botantist or Nursery Professional. Have them talk about plants that are toxic to pets. 3. The Gilley's Dancing Greyhounds. 4. Cynthia Branigan, well-known greyhound book author 5. Keep speakers to short amounts of time, 15-20 min. such as a Vet or Dog Trainer (new owners really go for beginning obedience talks). 6. Foster Dogs. Have a dog pen with each dog wearing a bandanna with it's name tag. Post a story on the outside area so people get a short bio about each dog in the pen. You may get another one adopted.
Ask the Vet About our Vet Dr. Robert L. Gillette, of Auburn, AL, received his DVM at Kansas State University in 1988 & his MSE at University of Kansas in 1998. His specific interests are in areas of injury prevention, lameness, rehabilitation, canine sports medicine, muscle conditioning and performance, on which many papers have been written and published as well as presentations given. He is a member of NGA, AVMA, and is National President of the American Canine Sports Medicine Association, to name a few. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine performing research in wound healing and reconstructive surgery. Through Sports Medicine Veterinary Services, he provides consulting and medical services to individuals and groups that work with the canine athlete. Joyce McRorie of GPA-OC& GLA presented the query: Question We've (GPA/CA--OC&GLA) recently had a few bad reactions to Rimadyl in our greys. We've had two dogs with stomach and intestinal ulcers (bleeding) as the result of Rimadyl "overdoses." The overdoses seem to be somewhat minute: 100 mg of Rimadyl in an 80 lb dog. Apparently the 1mg/lb dosage is VERY important in these hounds. I've spoken with my personal vet (he also functions as one off our program vets) regarding possibly prescribing Tagamet along with the Rimadyl, or another option is using Etagesic instead. Others with similar reactions? (The onset of symptoms are rapid and severe: nasty bloody vomit and bowel movements!) Answer Recently there have been two new Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) come out on the veterinary market that are licensed for use in the dog. They are Rimadyl, produced by Pfizer, and Etogesic, produced by Fort Dodge. In the past, veterinarians were limited in selection when they wanted to prescribe an NSAID. Many used aspirin as their NSAID choice. It was not specifically licensed for use in the dog, so veterinarians used human aspirin when they judged it would benefit the patient. Aspirin is absorbed into the system through the stomach, and patient response was variable. Its side effects are primarily gastrointestinal (stomach ulcers, vomiting, anorexia, & bloody stools). The two new drugs, Rimadyl and Etogesic have been tested and licensed for use in the dog. In 0.14% of the dogs that received Rimadyl there have been side effects reported (usually associated with liver or kidneys). This is a very small percentage, when compared to the amount of dogs using this drug. In general, this is a safe drug for greyhounds. The side effects described in the question are very similar to the ones described in the other breeds. Pfizer has sent out a list of recommendations to veterinarians on how to use this drug and what to do if a dog has a reaction while on this drug. One of the suggestions is to monitor the liver status via blood sample analysis while on the drug. Etogesic is a newer drug and, as of yet, no side effects have been reported out in the clinical world. When this drug was tested, the side effects seen were similar to those of aspirin. Like any other drug, if your greyhound displays any abnormal behavior or appears sick while taking any pharmaceutical, you should contact your veterinarian right away. They can determine the cause of the problem and can initiate treatment if needed. Robert L. Gillette, DVM, MSE Senior Research Fellow, Scott-Ritchey Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University gillerl@vetmed.auburn.edu
Greyt Sites to See Sarah Snavely's Art Works help greyhound adoption at GPA-MN. See http://dog art.com/sale/html. Revolution, new flea/heartworm preventative: www.revolutionpet.com or call 1-888 REVOLUTION for information Need more donation $? See www.gpa.mn.org home page for all icons there of companies that donate % of sales to your group. Shari & Ryan Gray of GPA-MN are their webmasters that deserve credit for setting theirs up. Good job! New note cards by Bill & Sandy Harbort, www.minot.com/~bsbort/HEART.html Holistic medical treatment for pets: www.holistichound.com Site that helps match pets in shelters with people: www.arfdigita.com Sites to add your adoption group to: www.infodog.com/ads/rescue/rescue/htm#G and www.worldanimalnet.org and www.petjam.com Greyhound stained glass pieces, donates 10% to choice of adoption group: www.montanainspirations.com Famed T-Touch person, Linda Tellington-Jones (methods to calm fear biters, erase alienation and relieve stress and anxiety): www.lindatellingtonjones.com Canine flags: www.colorfulcanines.com Greyhound products: www.halemar.com Lots of greyhound photo albums to view, neat site and free: www.zing.com/album/?id Repeats: sign up with www.petsmart.com, www.petfinder.org, www.acmepet.com, www.petstore.com, www.pets.com for donation $ for your group, good newsletters, too, and many other special offers.
Camp "Gone to the Dogs" I attended the summer camp at Marlboro College last June. There is absolutely no way to express how much fun you can have on vacation with your companions. Plug, the 4-year-old Dalmatian and Will the six year old Greyhound and I drove from Mississippi to Vermont. Needless to say we were all stressed out the first day but everything got better as the miles passed. We all became more comfortable with each other and riding all day. We arrived on Saturday and in the middle of the worst heat wave in the last l00 years. We were accustomed to that—being from Mississippi. On Wednesday we had rain, and on Thursday and Friday we wore sweatshirts. So the weather changes as swiftly there as here. There are so many activities, that first-timers like Plug, Will and I tried to cram too much into every day. With lure coursing for the sighthounds, sheep herding for border collies, agility training on every level, obedience and show ring training for human and canine, dancing, massage therapy (human and canine), Touch demonstrations and individual counseling, photo sessions mostly for the canines, swimming lessons for the canines, really reliable recall taught by Leslie Nelson, fun and games with your pets by Sue Sternberg, and all of this open to every breed including Designer Dogs (mixed breed), there is just so much to do. By Tuesday evening we were being more discriminate about our choices of activities. Oh, there is also the Bon-bon Club for those who prefer to sit on the hill and watch all the nuts running with their dogs, being drug by their dogs or dragging their dogs to and from all the activities and up and down the beautiful Vermont hills. This is truly an experience of a lifetime. All the people are "dog people" so it is really easy to make friends. There were strict rules on pooper scooping and leaving animals unattended in vehicles in the heat. Since all meals are included in your fee and are shared in a cafeteria you stood to be admonished in front of everyone. No one was silly enough to break the rules. There is a camp store where you can definitely drop some big bucks and a silent auction with the proceeds being distributed to the charities submitted by the campers. All three of us learned a great deal about ourselves and each other with a much deeper love than I have ever known. My commitment to rescue was renewed as many of the campers were at one time or another alone and in need of rescuing and I am not speaking only of the canine campers. We all made some lifelong friends and really have fun talking about our time at camp and planning next years adventure. Make the decision soon to go in 2000 as the camps fill quickly. I have decided to go to Mid-summer Camp this year and will probably take different companions. This ia a great place to spend a week with your best friend.
A word about Camp Gone to the Dogs Honey Loring, M.A.Ed, is Founder and Director of Camp Gone to the Dogs. She is a lifelong animal lover who has always adored dogs. Part of her background includes touring the US and Canada with two timber wolves to promote wildlife preservation. Her fulltime involvement in dogs began in 1984 with a pet products manufacturing business. The camp has been what she eats, drinks and sleeps since 1990. With her three Standard Poodles and ex-racing Greyhound, Joy, she participates in tracking, agility, doggie square dancing, lure coursing, sleddogging, pet facilitated therapy, educational programs and even dabbles in show obedience. She enjoys trying all sorts of training as each activity gives her and her dogs ways to enjoy each others' company. When asked why she started the camp, she replies, "I wanted to go to a camp with my dogs where the atmosphere was non-competitive, where the emphasis was on fun, where the food was gourmet. Since no place like that existed, I started my own." She hopes to have created a setting where you can enjoy your love of dogs to its fullest. For more information, call or write: Honey Loring, Director Camp Gone to the Dogs, RR 1 Box 958 Putney, Vermont 05346 802- 387-5673, www.camp-gone-tothe-dogs.com (sorry, no e-mail)
New Sub-Chapter Welcome We would like to welcome 3 new Sub-Chapters: 1. GPA/Emerald Coast, Renea Windley, President. Sponsored by: GPA/CA-Orange County and Greater Los Angeles 2. GPA/TN, Tim and Jo Ann Marshall. Sponsored by: GPA/Northern Alabama 3. GPA/Kansas City, MO Heather Anne Norbury. Sponsored by: GPA/Springfield, MO |