Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Finnegan, Begin Again!

Last weekend Shawn and I packed up our bags and hit the road on our way to Project Racing Home, a Greyhound adoption organization in Randleman, NC.

The group takes in retired racers from all over the east coast, they have a great kennel with kind and knowledgeable staff.  On our way we were nervous and excited to meet the dogs at PRH, and after we arrived we were taken to a back pen where we met various lovable dogs looking for a forever home. After meeting them all, we took two on a walk and quickly realized that one special boy had won our hearts!


CLICK THIS COMIC TO READ IT in LARGE FORMAT




We decided that the sweet, friendly, loving brown-eyed gentleman would be the newest member of our family and I went to grab my camera to get some photos before we headed home to prepare our house for Finnegan's arrival. As I walked away from Shawn and a kennel manager to get my camera, sweet Finn followed me ... how cute! I gave him a pat on the head and continued to walk away ... he kept following... my heart melted. 



Finnegan was a racer at the Daytona Beach Greyhound Track where he raced in roughly 40 races, his last one being just after Thanksgiving 2010. The greyhound racing industry breeds approximately 50,000 puppies each year. Of these animals, only 15,000 actually become racing dogs. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the treatment and cruelty of race dogs or dejected greyhound puppies that never become racers ... regardless of the side you fall on, everyone can agree that these beautiful dogs deserve to be in a home where they are loved and appreciated. We certainly hope we can provide our new boy with as much love as he can handle! 

Because he was a racer, Finnegan will be entering the house-pet world with puppy-eyes which means we will be working with him to learn how to climb stairs, ride in a car, recognize mirrors and glass (they often run into glass doors or out glass windows!), and develop a friendship with Lexie-Mae.
We cannot wait to get Finnegan home! We are so honored to be able to take in a retired racer and to give a dog like Finn the chance to begin again ... So many challenges will come with owning a Greyhound, but we are up for it and eagerly anticipating his arrival!

To learn more about Project Racing Home, please visit www.GetaGrey.com




Sunday, March 6, 2011

Lexie Mae and the Couch-Scratching Saga

Lexie-Mae is THE sweetest cat ever, my wonderful little furball ... but she has VERY sharp nails! I really couldn't consider declawing her, but her accidental scratches that were caused when jumping on our expensive leather couch started to become a big problem! How could I keep Lexie from ruining my prized furniture?


See pictures below of Lexie-Mae loving her couch time ...





Lexie showing off her super sharp dragon-claw nails! eeek!



So what was our solution to the kitty-scratch problem?


Solution: Softpaws! 

I am so thrilled with this great alternative to declawing that I just had to share! Softpaws are thin caps that go right over sharp-claws - they come in tons of colors and Lexie hasn't even seemed to notice! I would never do it just because it's cute (even though it is!), but if a cat owner is faced with the possibility of declawing - clearly this is the perfect alternative.