Our own Leslie Glynn of Miami and her dog Skye (Where’s Niurka) won both prizes for the most Facebook “Likes” as well as the final judging from the United Greyhound Racing Board of Directors. The winning photo below shows Skye cuddling Leslie’s Skechers.  Leslie says Skye will grab just that one shoe and her stuffie and head for her dogbed.  She doesn’t know why Skye needs just that one shoe but it has served Leslie and FoG well.  

The winner received a $300 donation to the greyhound group of her choice and Leslie graciously arranged for that money to come to us.  Thank you Leslie & Skye and all those big-wig Greyhound people.  We’d like to see more photo contests like that!

Florida Renaissance Festival - Quiet Waters Park, Deerfield Beach  – Every Saturday and Sunday from February 11 thru March 11 plus President’s Day, Monday February 20, and Student day Monday, February 13th.  Festival Hours are 10 AM to Sunset except Student day which is 9:30 to 2:30.  

Collar Lady’s Coming! – Lynn Piper who makes those wonderful Martingale collars will be at the kennel with her entire inventory on Sunday, February 12th.  (open house hours 10- 3)  This may not be an “event” to others but to us Greyhound people, it is!

Horses & Hounds – Lake Worth.  This lovely day at Simpatico Farm  has become an annual fundraiser for FoG. This year it will be held on March 25th.   Our success has been mixed in the past so we are going to point blank state that a minimum $20 donaiton is suggested.  

Dinner With The Dogs – Woodmont Country Club, Tamarac – Saturday, March 31st will be the first time we have ever been able to offer a special night of dinner and entertainment in a gorgeous Country Club main dining room and you will be allowed to bring your greyhound!  We’ll have entertainment, Silent Auctions and Raffles.  Watch for your invitation.

Pompano Beach Seafood Festival – On the Beach at foot of Atlantic Ave in Pompano. – Friday, April 20th (5 pm to 10 pm), Saturday, April 21st (10 am to 10 pm – but it always runs late) and Sunday, April 22nd (11 am to 8 pm).  One of our most popular events!

Poker Tournament & Slot Machine Tournament – Friday May 18th. – Mardi Gras Casino, Hallendale/ Hollywood – This is our first Poker Tournament and it should be a lot of fun.  The more people, the better! Buy in is $100 for Poker with first prize of $1500.  We’ll have lots of other levels, too.  Ticket includes valet parking, drinks, prime rib buffet and the tournament. Re-buys will be allowed.  Slots Tournament is a $50 ticket which also includes dinner, valet and drinks and there will be lots of prizes.  You must be 21 to play poker or 18 for the slots.  Registration starts a 6 pm and play begins at 7:45.  

And while I’m begging, please remember we have some big events coming up and could use high-end silent auction items. Greyhound items (statues, etc.) and non-greyhound items of all types are in need.. If you need something picked up, just call me! See you at the kennel.

Can I buy this, Mom?

    You may even want to set up your own booth.  The fee is only $25 and it goes to help out this struggling lodge that has worked for so many years to help our community.  So please come on out – and bring your friends to shop or to sell.  They’ll even rent you the tables and tents if you want!  (Contact russgevents@gmail.com for reservations) Tell your friends!  We’ll see you there!

Peaches & Carter

New Year’s Resolutions – This is a traditional time of resolutions – something I have never done.  But with your help, let’s all make some Greyhound resolutions this year.  For instance:
    I resolve to be really,  really good about the monthly Heartworm and Flea & Tick medications that are so important this year.
    I resolve to cut my dog’s nails  regularly so they can be worked back to be short and neat like they should be.  I’m a terrible offender on this and I know that long nails make their toes and feet twist wrong and get achy. But I’m turning over a new leaf.  I may have to have a mobile groomer visit regularly to do this, but it is worth it.
    I resolve to take better care of my dog’s teeth.  It’s basic to us to brush every day but there are so few of us that do this for our dogs like we should.  Brushing helps prevent gingivitis and decay which will cause them to swallow steady streams of bad bacteria and causes all sorts of intestinal issues.  Vets can do expensive dental cleaning under anesthesia and often have to do extractions.  You can postpone some of that by brushing.  If you just can’t brush them, use  a groomer “basic dental cleaning” every couple months.  It’s similar to a scaling and can help you hold off the expensive veterinary dental.  You may need to do it a little more often to get them caught up at first. Good (American only) rawhides or raw turkey necks will help clean teeth, too. 
    I resolve to make sure my dog’s shots and bordetella are kept up to date.  I will organize this so they don’t slip by anymore!  Rabies shots can be annual or every three years and must be done by the vet. The vet will advise you on the 5 in 1 shots (parvo, distemper, etc.) according to your dog’s age and needs.  Bordetella is an intra-nasal (nose drops – not a shot) that should be done every 6 months for kennel cough and dog-flu.  We have it available for $6 at the kennel so come down for Open House!  Or if you are due to go to the vet, let them do it.  But this is cheap insurance and should not be skipped.
    I resolve to hug and kiss and cuddle with my dog for at least a few minutes every day.  It’s good for the dog and good for our own blood pressure.  They’re not getting any younger, you know.
    I resolve to have a special, family portrait made.  And your dog, your pets are part of the family.  Time goes by quickly and lets face it, these are the things that we remember – that give us that sense of family.  More and more professional photographers are allowing dogs to come to the studio.  
    I resolve to look around to see if I know anyone else that might need a ride down to the kennel to meet the dogs and maybe adopt one.  And I’ll look around my own house and see if I can fit in just one more.  Okay, I threw that one it – but it’s true.  There’s probably room for one more. 

These few things can make your life and your dog’s life just so much better this year.  Every year we all resolve to be more organized.  Make this the year of the dog and help get that component of your life into tip-top shape.
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Just so you have no excuses, here are some resources for your resolutions:
Boss the Pet Connection – does dental cleaning ($25), nails ($10) & grooming in Sunrise shop (954-572-2677) and in Coral Springs (954-345-6611)
Flea/ Tick/ Heartworm Meds: Check out:  Petmeds ,  Dead Fleaz & Equine Megastore. 
Nail care: visit groomer shops at Boss (above), or your local Petco, Petsmart, etc. Or call a mobile groomer like our adopter, Mike Griesemer at Groom Waggin.   You can learn more about clipping  your dog’s nails yourself  with these links for Pet Greyhounds Info or about Dremeling Nails.  New sites appear regularly so just try to Google “How to cut greyhound nails” for the latest guides.
If your photographer won’t let the dog come, one of our adopters/ volunteers is a professional portrait artist and has a  studio in his home.  He can do family portraits with your dog.   Click Here to see some of Larry Warsh’s work. He’s amazing especially with the dogs.
So Happy New Year to all.  It’s bound to be another roller coaster ride so buckle the seat belt and grab the bar and let’s decide right now to make it the BEST!

There’s a nice patio-like sidewalk area and lots that we can do. Lenore is trying to find out the judges’ criteria so we can work with that.  We hope you will ALL find time on Thursday (12/1) between 6 pm & 9 pm to come down and maybe come earlier to help.

We’re thinking along the lines of a Santa Claus (Steve from Sheepdogs if he’s up to it – but he’s fighting a bad flu) but we need a big fancy chair for him.  We could do digital photos with Santa (including dogs) and email them to everyone.  Jerry wants all the dogs dressed as elves with jingle hats and collars so dig out that Christmas finery!  He’d also like to have someone do painted decorations on the windows.  Anyone have experience with this or know the right paints to use?  From what I read, I think they’re going to accent community commitment.  That could just mean how many people show up to support the group and I hope everyone will come out with the dogs.  But along that line, I was thinking of a display of about 6 “posters” or displays (?) with themes like the prison program, volunteer hours, From Track to homes, Therapy Dogs, etc.  Wanna help?  I’d like to put them together this weekend at the kennel.

Other ideas, décor, help of all types is encouraged.  We have a very short timeframe but a generous prize being dangled before our noses.  On Dasher (Bold Dash?), on Dancer (SK Dancing Queen), on Elvis (Bow Elvis) & Trixie (Cold B Big Truck)!!!  Santa’s crew’s got NUTTIN on FoG!  Let’s make this happen – a good time for a good cause!

This is the link to the event on Harbor Shop’s website.

So tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 23rd, led by Ilene Krietzer, we will be at 5950 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs from 10 AM to 4 PM. It takes a lot of people and dogs to make this work and we could use some more help. I’ll be there all day but I know I’ll be looking for a break! And we’ll have dogs there, too, who will need breaks. (Please no more than one dog per person coming. You’ll need a hand for accepting donations and handing out the Wish Lists.) Jerry will manage volunteers from the house. Call him at 954-937-3647 with questions or just come on out and pitch in.

By the way, I’ve taken the liberty of inserting our wish list here. When you are doing your holiday shopping, please remember the dogs. And check out the regular wishlist when you can. Happy Turkey Day!

We’ll need volunteers to work the show both days.

It’s an indoor event and hours are 10 AM to 6 PM and yes, we will have dogs there.

Check out their website (click here), there’s a ton of entertainment scheduled.

Potential volunteers should call Jerry (954-937-3647) or email at jerry@friendsofgreyhounds.org

A big and grateful thank you for the donated BobCat and to the volunteers who raked out & smoothed the sand.

Here are a few photos showing the 21 tons of sand being moved to the turnout pens.

We may be out of sand, but we still have a problem. There are lots of hot dogs & hamburgers remaining. So as originally mentioned we still will be enjoying the party part of the event on Sunday. Come to the kennel & join us.