A to Z Challenge: O is for Orphan Train for Dogs

Orphan Train, a best-selling novel by Christina Baker Kline tells the story of orphans of chance, brought from cities on the East Coast to Midwest homes between 1854 and 1929—their fate dependent on their adopters.

A similar, modern sort of “orphan train” does the same for orphaned dogs. The Sighthound Underground (SHUG), a rescue group dedicated to all sighthounds (greyhounds, galgos, Borzoi, Ibizan hounds, Italian Greyhounds, Salukis) regularly flies to Spain, Qatar, Korea, and brings back dogs whose pasts are often turbulent and terrible. Once on U.S. soil, the “train” transports anywhere in the United States or Canada. "The train" is actually hordes of volunteers willing to give a little of their heart, soul, and time to drive these dogs hundreds (sometimes thousands) of miles to their new homes.

All of the dogs come with stories. Natty a 20-month old galgo and a recent transport from Spain, was slated for euthanasia. Luckily, the veterinarian burdened with this task called a galgo rescue in Murcia, and Natty's life was spared. Many of the galgos in Spain are used only for a season of hunting; afterwards, they are promptly killed, euthanized, or abandoned.

Jojo, a two year-old Saluki from Kuwait, was rescued from the streets. Although she has all four legs, she is unable to use her front right one. The doctors don’t know if this is congenital or from an injury, but she gets around just fine and she’s as sweet as she can be (and so cute).

 

I’ve featured Reyna several times before. She’s a sweet, sweet four year-old girl who arrived in the U.S. terrified of men (another Spanish transport); she's probably endured some cruelty in her time. Now doing extremely well with her foster mother while waiting for her forever home, she loves other dogs, and is less terrified of men than when she first arrived, but she'll probably still need an all-female household.

Trinity, my Italian Greyhound, was adopted through this wonderful organization, and I cannot say enough about their dedication and commitment to helping these sighthounds (who cannot help themselves).

You can learn more about the organization and all of their adoptable dogs at the following link:  www.sighthoundunderground.com
 

 

A to Z Challenge: I is for Italian Greyhounds!

I know, I know. This is another easy one.

On Wednesday's post, I talked about Chase, my retired racer. For today's letter, my little Iggy (short for Italian Greyhound) was the natural choice.

This is Trinity.

Trinity came to us in the fall of 2013 when we discovered that Tessa, my beloved little girl of 11 years had lymphoma. We knew that her passing was going to be terrible, so we put in an application to adopt another sighthound to keep Chase company. Because Tessa had been a small dog (a Dachshund-beagle-terrier mix), we thought an Italian Grey made sense.

Within weeks our whole world was turned upside down by this 12 pound bundle of energy, light, and personality.

I'm happy to say that even though she's a purebred, Trinity was a rescue. She was found wandering in the streets somewhere near Pulaski, Virginia, where she was picked up by an animal control officer. Thankfully, the animal shelter knew what kind of dog she was and called an Italian Grey rescue. Most likely, she was an escapee from a backyard breeder.

From the moment we met her, we were in love.

This is how she rode home with us on her first day.

Even though they're tiny, Italian Greyhounds are actually Greyhounds. They originated as small Greys, although as time went by small Greyhounds were bred with terriers to further reduce their size (never a particularly good thing for a breed in general). The "Italian" part really has nothing more to do with the breed other than the fact that they were popular in Europe. The IG's existence may date back to the time of Pompeii, but their resounding popularity in Europe appears around the 1600s. You'll often see these companion animals within the Renaissance painting sections of art museums.

Temperamentally speaking, IGs are very different from their larger counterparts. Like the larger Grey, they are fast (reaching around 25 miles per hour), highly intelligent, and extremely affectionate (they're often termed the "velcro dog" because they want to be right up against you at all times).

 But they are NOT couch potatoes. They are active and engaged and much less laid-back than the big guys.

Trinity sometimes amazes us with how far she can leap (nearly halfway across a room at times). She loves to play with her toys, go on walks, and chase squirrels in the backyard. Sometimes it's like having a pinball in the house!

 Trinity came from The Sighthound Underground, a group I highly recommend for all of your sighthound needs!

What's your favorite breed of dog?

A to Z Challenge: G is for...oh, it's too easy...Greyhounds!

 

 

This letter was almost too easy. I only had to think about 2.2 seconds to come up with the topic.

 

Everyone knows I'm a dog fanatic, and for the last two years, I've become a sighthound--specifically a greyhound--freak. So I'm sorry, but you will have to suffer through more pictures of my furbabies in this post.

 

 

 

Some general information about greyhounds first of all. They are sighthounds. Whereas most dogs operate first on scent and hunt thereby, sighthounds visually spot their prey and their speed does the rest. Incidentally, the greyhound is the second fastest land animal. They can hit 45 miles per hour in three strides, which is why they can never be off-lead in an area without a secure fence. You will not catch them by foot if they take off.

 

Often people assume greyhounds are in need of a lot of exercise and space to run. They're actually okay on leash walks. It is true that they LOVE to run, but they also sleep 18 hours a day. Hence, they are often affectionately nick-named, the 45 mile-per-hour-couch potato.

 

This is Chase.

 

 

 

Chase has lived with us since June of 2012, and I can't imagine life without him. He is highly emotional (he hates it when we leave, and when we come home in the afternoons he throws a party). He loves all forms of touch (behind the ears, on the belly, at the base of the tail), and I swear he understands what I'm telling him (he listens like a champ).

 

His racing name was Starz Megabucks (a mouthful!), but since we don't have kids, I like my animals to have human names, and "Chase" definitely fits him. Chase ran 74 races and won 7 of them, and he regularly placed 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. He retired due to a hind leg injury, but he was basically mandatory retirement age anyway (around 4 and a half).

 

Chase was adopted by another family for about five months after he retired, but he was returned when the owners fell on financial hardship. Sad for them, but a huge blessing for us. He has changed our lives in such wild and wonderful ways. He's our goofy, crazy, gentle, FAST, and playful "son" who loves to eat and squeak toys and sleep like a dead roach.

 

(Yes, he is sleeping here)

 

If you're interested in adopting a greyhound or a sighthound, there are hundreds of adoption agencies around the country.

 

Chase came from Greyt Expectations out of Lusby, Maryland.

 

For greyhounds, Spanish greyhounds (galgos), Borzoi, Italian greyhounds, Salukis, Irish wolfhounds or Afghan hounds, I highly recommend The Sighthound Underground.  

Favorite Things Friday (A Day Late): Reyna Revisited

Sorry, everyone! I'm a day late in posting. It's been quite a week (and that's a whole separate blog post for another time).

A few months ago, I featured a hound named Reyna who was in need of a home and available through The Sighthound Underground. Well, guess what, folks? She's still in need of a home!

This month I wanted to revisit Reyna because she's such a great dog, and she's made huge strides of progress since she first came on board at SHUG.

Like a number of Spanish galgos rescued and brought to the U.S., Reyna arrived in America suffering from man-phobia--most likely due to mistreatment by men in her home country. She's still shy of men, but that might change with time and a lot of patience. However, she would do best with a single woman who might already have a couple of dogs in her household. Reyna loves other dogs and loves to go on walks. She's extremely sweet and would make a wonderful addition to an all-female household.

Reyna is spayed, neutered, and updated on all shots. Her adoption fee is $300. If you're interested in Reyna, or know someone else who might be, contact The Sighthound Underground and fill out an application. Or just stop by the website anyway...there are plenty of wonderful, beautiful, adoptable hounds in need of a home!











On an unrelated note, next Friday, March 27th, I'll be participating in a multi-author Facebook party. Song From the Ashes will be featured from 5-5:30, but the party will be ongoing between 3 and 9 p.m. There will be free giveaways (my book, other people's books, and other fun swag). Stop by and join in the festivities!  There will be lots of food! (Ha, just joking...). Stop by my Facebook page to join the fun!

Favorite Things Friday: Meet JoJo

As many of you know, The Sighthound Underground is a rescue near and dear to my heart. We adopted our little Trinity through this wonderful charity, and I sometimes have the privilege of helping them process incoming applications for the dogs. Unfortunately, I'm not one of the heroes or heroines flying to Spain or Korea to rescue dogs and bring them back to the US, nor do I drive any dogs from Virginia to Florida or New York to Missouri to transport them to their new homes. But the other volunteers in this organization do. These are people who love these dogs and will do anything to get them into the right homes.

One of the facets of SHUG that I admire the most is the willingness and dedication to rescue dogs internationally. In previous blogs, I've talked a little about the terrible fate befalling most galgos (Spanish greyhounds) in Spain, but that's not the only country from which SHUG rescues. My featured dog of the month is JoJo, and she comes all the way from Kuwait possessing great exotic beauty and mystique (as you do when you come from Kuwait)! JoJo is a type of sighthound called a Saluki (well, she's actually a Saluki mix, but that just adds to her mystique, right?).




Isn't she a charmer? 




In addition to these pictures, there is a short video of JoJo on Petfinder. Go here to see her sweet, wagging tail in action!

Salukis are readily found in the Middle-East, and much like the galgos of Spain, they are used for hunting and flushing quarry. Unfortunately, many of them also end up wandering the streets as strays. They are fast like most sighthounds, and possess a great deal of agility and endurance. They are also sweet-tempered, gentle, and very loyal dogs. Sociable, sensitive, and dignified, Salukis make wonderful additions to YOUR home! (Disclaimer: As with any breed, one should research and make educated decisions about what dog is right for them and their lifestyle).

So back to JoJo...She's around two years old, and when she arrived from Kuwait (where she was rescued from the streets), she had a leg injury (or it may have been something congenital), but it is now completely healed. She still doesn't use her one front leg but is in no way slowed by it. Currently fostered in North Carolina by a foster family (but as I said before, this is the underground and legs of transport can be arranged anywhere throughout the US), JoJo is very sweet and desperate to be loved (although she will need a little patience ). She has bonded with her foster furry brothers and sisters, loves to sleep on the bed and couch, although her crate is her safe place. She's a quick-learner, intelligent, loves short walks and having her chest and ears rubbed.  She is also house-trained, spayed, and up-to-date on all of her shots.

JoJo would do best in a quieter home without small kids. She does get a little nervous with loud and fast movements. 

JoJo's adoption fee is $300, and interested applicants should rush over to The Sighthound Underground and fill out an application. So what are you waiting for? JoJo is waiting for you!

By the way, I am once again participating in the April A-Z blogging challenge! I met wonderful people online last year, and I had a lot of fun participating. If you're interested or if you just want more information, you can sign up or read about it here.  The idea is to blog about a topic every day in the month of April starting with each letter of the alphabet.

Favorite Things Friday! Top Ten Favorite Movies, an Adoptable Dog, and a Free Book Giveway!

The third week of the month is usually the featured adoptable dog week. I’m still going to feature a dog in need of a home, but at the request of a friend, I’m going to feature my top ten movies of all time.

I have to dig back a few years for these (in fact, none of them are later than 2007, so clearly I’m not an avid movie goer these days). Okay, so here we go:

1.       The Remains of the Day

Any friend of mine knows about this era of my life. It marked an intense love affair with England, a long-lasting May-December crush on Anthony Hopkins, and an early-life reflection (I think I may have been 22 at the time the movie came out) regarding whether I was missing out on what was left of my life. This is an outstanding movie based on an astonishing novel by Kazuo Ishiguro about a butler in the evening of his life trying to correct mistakes from years before. I recommend both the novel and the movie (but especially the movie).

2.       Revolutionary Road

Every year for the past few years I’ve read and re-read this novel. I think Richard Yates may have been one of the best writers of the twentieth century. The movie only captures the flavor of the novel, but it successfully highlights the truths about the difficulties of marriage and the disappointments in life. Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet star.

3.       Howard’s End

Okay. Clearly I love English films. Clearly I love English films based on novels. And this IS another Anthony Hopkins movie. I’ve been watching this movie since 1994, but I just read the novel last year. I loved the novel every bit as much as the movie, but the film is visually stunning and worthy of repeated viewings. With a cast that includes Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham-Carter during the height of their careers…well, I just don’t know what else I can say. The story line follows three families from each socioeconomic level, and asks the questions with great subtlety, who will inherit England?

4.       Lantana

This is a little-known film in America, but it was critically acclaimed when it came out in 2002. The film is Australian, and I was in living in Australia at the time. I remember going to see it in the theater at least twice while I was there and finally buying the film when I returned home. Very much like the movie Crash, Lantana follows the lives of different couples and individuals who are all intertwined and connected by the death of a woman (shown at the beginning of the film). Until well into the film, you don’t know who the woman is, whether or not she was murdered, or her connection to these other characters . Starring Anthony Lapaglia, Jeffrey Rush, and Barbara Hershey, this is a gritty, honest look at marriage, infidelity, and miscommunication.

 

5.       Shadowlands

Okay! I know! I know! Another Anthony Hopkins film. There for a while he was on a roll of wonderful films. This is another English film about the wonderful Christian writer and theologian C.S. Lewis and his romance and marriage to Joy Gresham. Make no mistake—this is a tear-jerker, but it’s powerful and redemptive. Shadowlands is a beautiful movie that unashamedly reveals the danger, joy, and pain of true love and poignantly conveys that God’s plan is perfect--even in the midst of the pain. I used some of the music from the film in my wedding!

 

6.       Rebecca

Yes. The 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier and based on Daphne du Maurier’s extraordinary novel. The film is black and white, but I show it to my 9^th grade students every year after we read Du Maurier’s short story “The Birds” and they almost always love it. Hitchcock was simply ahead of his time. He knew what he was doing with shadows and camera angles, and his choice of casting Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers, the creepy, obsessed housekeeper was nothing short of brilliance. The mystery of finding out what really happened to the doomed (and apparently wicked) Rebecca still appeals to modern audiences.

 

7.       The Others

I'm beginning to realize that almost all of these films I’ve mentioned are foreign (mostly English) and many are period pieces to boot!) The Others is a late 90s film starring Nicole Kidman. A ghost story taking place on the island of Jersey  during World War II, the protagonist’s husband has apparently gone off to war leaving his wife to care for the huge, isolated mansion with her two children suffering from porphyria (an illness that prevents them from being exposed to light). This is not a horror film, but it is a scary thriller with a completely unexpected twist at the end.

8.       Bridget Jones’s Diary

I loved the book. Dare I say I loved the movie a teensy bit more? Bridget, the unlucky-in-love heroine is sympathetic and adorable (played perfectly by Renee Zellweger), a train-wreck every time she opens her mouth or attempts a romantic relationship. Colin Firth is the perfect Mr. Darcy (not only because he played THE Mr. Darcy in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice but also because he embodies that attitude of the English gentleman who is aloof-bordering-on-rude but actually turns out to be a warm-hearted softy). Hugh Grant knocks Daniel Cleaver’s character out of the park. Who knew Grant--usually the bumbling, mumbling, self-effacing English gent--could play the smarmy, sleazy, yet devastatingly attractive scuzball so well? Laugh-out-loud funny movie.

 

9.       Christmas Vacation

Two comedies in a row! And no one even knew I could laugh! This is the film I view every year while assembling the Christmas tree. It is a favorite of my family and we regularly recite lines to each other (we know every single one of them). If you’ve seen National Lampoon’s Vacation or European Vacation, you know the sort of humor you’re dealing with here. It’s slap-stick to be sure. But the glory of this film resides in its indisputable truths of family and the holidays. Nothing ever goes the way you expect; there is always drama of some sort; and invariably, something always goes up in flames. Enjoy the laughs on this one!

10.   The Age of Innocence

Finally! An American one.  Scorcese directed this one back in 1994, and the film was nominated for several Academy Awards.  Of course, my most recent novel, Song from theAshes, is based on this novel. Like Howard’s End, I only read Wharton's novel in the last few years, whereas I’ve been watching the movie for over twenty!  Scorcese’s attention to detail, color, and accuracy creates a visual feast! The genteel appeal of this delicious world of 1870s New York society makes you want to crawl into the screen and live there for a while as Newland Archer fights against the gossip and expectations to decide which direction (and love interest) he will choose.

So there you have it! My top ten of all time! Now it’s your turn! What are you favorites? 

But before you go, check out Polly. She’s a galgo from Spain. Galgos are Spanish greyhounds who have a much harder life than their American counterparts. After their usefullness is over (they're used as hunting hounds) they are abandoned or killed.

Polly is about five years old, and she’s a little shy around men, but she warms up once she gets to know you. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her, and I immediately fell in love with her. She is so sweet! Her adoption fee is $650 which includes her spay/neuter and transportation from Spain fees. If you’re interested, send an application to Sighthound Underground at: http://sighthoundunderground.com

Finally, don't forget to enter my free giveaway on Goodreads!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Song from the Ashes

by Megan Whitson Lee

Giveaway ends February 02, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Favorite Things Friday: Sighthounds! Meet Reyna...

I've decided to dedicate my Friday blogs to my favorite things. The first Friday of the month I will feature something inspirational; the second Friday of the month will feature my wine of the month (I really have a closet longing to write for Wine Enthusiast or Wine Spectator--ha!); the third Friday will feature a sighthound of the month (specifically, one that needs a new home); and the last Friday will feature my favorite book of the month.

So today is Sighthound Friday, but before I reveal my dog of the month, I want to take a minute to talk about her breed and the plight these dogs are currently facing. The galgo is a Spanish greyhound. They look pretty much the same, they act pretty much the same, and have pretty much the same temperament as the American retired racing greyhound. In Spain, the galgos are used for hunting, much like we would use our American hunting dogs (to flush quarry, lead hunters to them, etc.). The difference is that the galgo is not typically considered a companion animal in Spain. They are utilitarian only, and when the hunters (galgueros) are finished for the season, the dogs are discarded, abandoned, or killed (I won't even go into the unspeakable ways many of these dogs are killed, let alone how poorly they're treated in general).

There are now several organizations in Spain attempting to educate hunters and the community at large about these dogs and they fact that they're not just objects to be thrown away (many galgos are actually thrown down wells and left to die). Galgos del Sol and Baas Galgos are working hard to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome these beautiful dogs. Part of the rehoming process involves several organizations here in the states. These organizations work with the Spanish ones to ship the dogs to foster and adoptive homes here in the U.S. One of the organization is The Sighthound Underground. SHUG boasts volunteers all over the country who foster and transport these dogs when they arrive at various airports (some even fly to and from Spain to accompany the dogs' travels). SHUG also transports sighthounds (Afghans, Salukis, Borzoi, etc.) from places like Qatar and Korea.

Finally, I want to reveal our dog of the month. This is Reyna.

Reyna is a four-year-old galgo who has apparently had a very tough life thus far. More than likely she was badly abused by a male hunter, as she is fearful of men. Now, this is not to say that she will always be this way--she needs to have her trust in men rebuilt, but she might do best with experienced dog owners, a single lady, or a household of women, etc. According to her foster mom, Reyna is quiet, crate-trained, and dog-friendly. She is loving and affectionate to those she knows and approaches familiar folks for pets. Having said that, Reyna has been overlooked at adoption events because it takes her a little while to warm up to new people.

In the right home and with a lot of love and patience, Reyna has the potential to overcome her fear of men. She does need to be in a cat-free home, as she's trained to hunt fast, furry critters, but other dogs are fine.

If you are interested in Reyna, you can submit an application through The Sighthound Underground. Reyna's adoption fee is $300.