This our first official news post about the GreySave puppies.  In early September we got a call from a kennel operator who said he believed he had a pregnant greyhound and could we come get her.  We were not totally convinced but Jay & Stephanie got in their trusty Nissan "toaster" and drove to the track to pick up the hound we now call Sarah.  Sarah stayed with Sandy our foster coordinator for a couple weeks until we confirmed that yes indeed she is with pups and that they are due on or around October 5th. Since we did not have a good puppy whelping set up in CA Sarah as many of our volunteers have jobs we moved to Utah to be with Alan & Cathy and their 4 hounds. Sarah took the greyhound shuttle from Anaheim to Las Vegas, then to Cedar City and then on to Salt Lake city on Sept 14th & 15th. 

Though we still don't know how many little hounds she is harboring in there we are sure she has them as she continues to grow wider by the day. We are looking forward to the whelping with a mix of excitement, concern and panic!  Currently we are setting up the nursery, have ordered supplies and have a friend coming from CA to help with the delivery. Sarah will have her own doula though neither of us know what we are doing, hope she does.  And YouTube is our new friend.   We are planning to have a puppy camera set up like we did with the GreySave 6 born in May of 2013 and though we will put up some Facebook posts we plan to use this news feed as a prime self serve source of information a a location for a scrapbook of pictures.  Our next news item will be the number of hounds "reveal" after her vet visit next Tuesday, the 28th.  

​Cathy

1 - Sarah when she came odd the track. 2 - Taking the greyhound shuttle to Utah. 3 - on the people bed, her favorite place if we leave the door open, 4 - showing off her tummy in a classic greyhound pose, 5 - Sarah hiding her tummy and 6 - Showing it off a bit.

The title of this 1st presentation is Holistic medicine and homeopathic first aid remedies. We are very pleased that our speaker will be Dr. Megan Bamford D.V.M..  Dr Bamford earned her veterinary degree at Virginia and Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and later trained under Dr. Richard Pitcairn in Classical Homeopathy.  She is especially well qualified in these topics and has a private veterinarian practice in Sun Valley, CA. She has cared for most breeds of dogs including many greyhounds. Her holistic focused practice includes homeopathy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, nutrition (wellness medicine), cold laser therapy plus standard veterinary medicine – yes so very unique. To find out more about this presentation and register see Special Presentations on our website.
 

In the past, GreySave has held Spa days mostly in Pasadena but with last years's water issues, crazy traffic and with our adopters and greyhound friends are spread all over So CA we are trying something new.  We are setting up several different sites, on different weekends so they can more of a local area social event. To find out more about Spa days and upcoming spa dates see our web page 

GreySave's 2017 Race to the Park will be held on May 27th at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta.

You saved the Memorial Day weekend date to attend and now you can reserve your spot.
Yes, the Race to the Park registration now up. Find the event information and registration button see our Race to the Park web page  

In the last 6 months GreySave has not only grown quickly but we have been faced with some challenges or maybe just interesting opportunities.

They are in 3 categories:

1. Going into and out of Mexico to retrieve the greyhounds. It gets more challenging every month.

2. An increased number of greyhounds at the Caliente track since Tucson closed and an increased number of broken leg dogs. Broken leg hounds now number 17 for us alone this year. They are all very expensive to repair, about $5K each. However, getting the broken leg dogs back to the states and caring for them is a very high priority for GreySave that is shared by us and the other 2 large southern CA groups that take broken dogs.

​3. We also have a greater need to be supported by social media and labor saving apps. We need to move some of those activities to people who understand them and can take responsibility for their set up, maintenance and then briefing the Board.

So far here is what we have done to solve some of the issues/opportunities.

New Van in-bound - We realized that the GreySave hauler with its nice logo and dog crates was making the boarder crossing a bigger challenge every time we went. Mexico saw us as commercial and their boarder agents were freaked out about the crates. The hauler also made it harder to get back into the US as we had to use the commercial exit lanes which were slower and we often got sent to secondary. So we have ordered a used Ford Super Duty Passenger extended van. It is a returned lease vehicle with less than 40K miles. We plan to sell our Hound Hauler soon as it is a great rescue van as long as you don’t have to cross the border.

Enhanced Outreach - As to the cost of medical we have reached out to our adopters, website followers and Facebook friends for additional donations. They have been very generous and we are very grateful but we are still quite short if we plan to save as many as possible from a potentially unhappy fate. So we need to reach out to people who don’t even know who we are today!

A technical advisory team and a few more great social media applications –

• We need a person or persons who can help by answering our technical questions about Google for work, Weebly, Paypal, Mailchimp, Stripe.
• We need to find and set up a contact/donor application system and includes a good and flexible thank you system. We need a knowledgeable person to setup and train or maintain this software. We would expect this contact/donor software to link to Quickbooks and Paypal and be downloadable to Excel or CSV.
• We need some help from people experienced with funding sources e.g.: finding and following up with corporate donors either through their employees or separately. We need to spread out our donation base.

If you are someone who has the knowledge and skills and wants to work with us please call Cathy at 626-354-8476 or email her at cathy@greysave.org

The Forth of July is almost upon us and in some areas, even in high fire danger areas, the celebratory crowd is already making themselves know.   In many cases, there are random fireworks going off nightly so you have a hint that your greys don’t like them but Monday will bring that up to a new level.  I live near the Rose Bowl and they have a huge display on the 4th that makes the ground shake.  Most of my greys cope well but not all.  Holly has already taken to sleeping in the bathroom leaning up against the shower because of random fireworks. Patty used to get stuck under our bed, shake and cry.
 
GreySave has a lot of new greyhounds out there this year and you just don’t know for sure how they will react. Greys in a panic can do some pretty crazy and scary things! In prior years we have had a couple die from injuries sustained over the 4th.  Some will try to hide under beds; in closets; in the bathroom or even climb into the tub. Others panic and run around the house into sharp corners or other objects, jump on counters as Carlee did or even jump over very high fences or break through pretty strong gates.  Once loose, they run in a panic and are in extreme danger. 
 
Greyhounds can do things that you never thought they could do so be prepared.  At my house we close the doors and windows and even the dog door so no one can escape, turn on the AC and music or the TV (without a fireworks display) and stay home with them.  Whatever you do please don’t leave them home alone. 
 
I will put this message up on our Facebook Group page so others can share their experiences and what they do to keep their greys safe.

Warning!!  Extreme heat and greyhounds do not mix well!!  The high heats we are experiencing are very dangerous for all dogs but especially greyhounds with their lack of fur and thin skin.  Their tender feet are a risk too - on the dark hot top or even on lighter colored sidewalks.  Always test the surface with the back of your hand and keep them off the pavement as much as possible.  If walking your grey this time of year it should only be in the early morning or maybe later at night or get them a "cool coat".  I know that REI has them and theirs are made by Ruff Wear but you can also get them on the net.  

For more information and what to do if you grey is going into heat exhaustion see the article on our our website http://www.greysave.org/heatstroke.html

OK this is really the LAST CALL to register for the Race to the Park through the website. So far we have 280 people registered and probably as many greyhounds. I have been informed by a reliable source that Ty, the well dressed boy below, will be there. Come by and let me know at the Adoption Booth if you can find him! He may not have is great Doggles on but another hint is that he wears Therapaws. Yes, I said he is well dressed.
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At midnight tonight or sometime after that when I wake up I will pull down the registration form. NOW that does not mean you can't come join us in the fun it just means you will have to pay $22 at the door and hand write your own own name tag. I know that at least 50 people will find out on Saturday morning that the weather is great and their greyhound heard about the event and is pestering you to go. If so we will be thrilled to see you.

To help you out here is the reservation link!
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http://www.greysave.org/race-to-park-reservation-step-1.html