Dog Blog

Country living continued...the story of Debbie and Pete's first rescued Greyhound, Abigail.

We still had Bubas and Skippy and had just lost our Cinders to Pancreitis.
There was a sign at the vets on the bulletin board about adopting retired racing greyhounds. I had bugged Pete for a greyhound ever since I met him. When I lived in Florida I wanted to bring one or two home and ended up just bringing Skippy my cocker spaniel.

So now that Cinders was gone, we decided to adopt a retired racing greyhound. Off we went to a farm in the London, Ontario area. They had about 45 greyhounds in a barn. We walked in and were overwhelmed. How do you pick one??? Well we had to have a female, since we had Skippy and Bubas and they were both males.

We ended up taking Abigail (racing name "DV's Gail")
That was it, we were hooked. Greyhounds are like potato chips..............you can't have just one! She was my sweetheart.

Abigail - the greyhound that started it all.

We only had her for a very short time. She passed away suddenly with Osteosarcoma cancer at an early age of 7 years old. We had her for only 2 years. We have learned that approximately 1 in 5 greyhounds will end up with osteosarcoma cancer. So sad, and even though Abby broke our hearts, we couldn't say that because of this weakness we won't adopt anymore. Actually when we lost Abby we had 3 greyhounds.............stories to come ! as well as Skippy and Bubas.

Abigail started it all, and that is why we have 8 more!

For any of our readers out there that are interested, Debbie makes amazing Stained Glass Suncatchers, or Windows of your favourite pets, all breeds, & Pete makes beautiful Dog Beds in wood, that can match yours, be it a Sleigh style or a Country Spindle, for your big or small companion. If you would like additional info please contact Pete or Debbie at petedeb@sympatico.ca

Well fellow dog lovers, Woofstock has come & gone & I am a bit late sharing with you my thoughts on what went on this year! I am always so impressed & this time was no different! So many amazing dogs & their devoted owners, it is a happy place to be.

This year was not over the top as in past years, & it was a good thing as some outfits were very uncomfortable for the dogs & your heart went out to them. This year we saw lots of t-shirts, many with the funniest sayings that just had to make you smile, & we saw the cutest sun dresses & those have got better & more comfortable over the years, for the little ones. And my very favourite, was the fancy harnesses that come as a vest or dress, or just in multi-colour fabrics...so practical & easy.

The majority of dogs, regardless of size, were wearing harnesses this year. It is such a good thing, as the dogs are so much more comfortable. The bigger dogs did not go for fancy, just plain patterns or leather strapping, & it looked so good.

Rescue Organizations had a big showing, which I am always so glad for as they need all our help & being at such a high profile event brings awareness to the different breeds.

Again this year my beloved Yorkies took first prize for the most seen!! Having 3 of my own tells that story! Second place, also the same as last year, was our favourite the Pug! My daughter has a Pug so I felt very happy seeing so many.

Another happy sight again this year dog strollers definitely a thing of the future. Not as many this year as last, but I believe the reason is that Woofstock attracts more & more crowds every year & so it becomes awkward to maneuver. My solution to that is to get one of the sleeker 3 wheeler models, they really move so much easier than the square ones. If you are a jogger or runner, go for the stationary front wheel & for those of you that just want good maneuverability to go out for walks etc. For your older or disabled companion, go for the swivel front wheel ones, they just give new life to your pet. That is it for me at this time, we will meet again for our Christmas review. Be safe over the Summer & keep your FurKids hydrated at all times.

We lost our little Skippy in July 2004. I bought Skippy in Florida when I lived there and brought him back when he was 4 years old. He was a great Cocker Spaniel and when we lost him, we just had to have another Cocker. So off to a breeder we went.

Jasmine (aka Scooter) was born in August 2004. We had to wait until October to bring her home. She is the only dog we currently have that isn't rescued. But she is the one in charge of the world. She owns the farm, so she thinks, has big attitude and follows dad around everywhere. She has a sleigh bed in the workshop and will stay with Pete all day long.

The story of Jasmine - a rescued Cocker Spaniel

She is fabulous at Agility. I taught her when she was only 8 months old and by the end of that summer, she was beating out the advanced class and she had barely finished beginners.
She loves it.

So here she is attitude and all. She frustrates us at times, but we love her just like all the others!

For any of our readers out there that are interested, Debbie makes amazing Stained Glass Suncatchers, or Windows of your favourite pets, all breeds, & Pete makes beautiful Dog Beds in wood, that can match yours, be it a Sleigh style or a Country Spindle, for your big or small companion. If you would like additional info please contact Pete or Debbie at petedeb@sympatico.ca

Our business, K9Kloud9.com, is run by the Fleming family. For the past few years we have operated on a long distance basis with myself here in British Columbia and my parents in Ontario. This has been challenging to say the least, but that is soon to change. Effective mid-August they will be re-locating to B.C. and K9Kloud9.com will be consolidated. To prepare for this move they have sold their house and are temporarily renting a place in the country where they are staying in a guest house belonging to an amazing couple who have committed themselves to rescuing animals.

As many people know greyhounds are commonly used for dog racing and once they have passed their prime many of these wonderful animals are discarded or put down. It is a horrible scenario but thanks to people like Pete and Debbie many greyhounds have found a slice of heaven at their country property. This life is not only reserved for greyhounds (even though they have 8 living with them currently) the couple also rescues any and all types of animals from horses to various dog breeds.

Life is looking good for these rescued dogs.

As my parents have come to know this wonderful couple they have been kind enough to share their stories for each animal they have rescued and we would like to share these amazing tales with you. Each week we will post a story so you can come to understand the wonderful difference Pete and Debbie are making in the lives of so many dogs.

The story of Bubas:

Bubas joined us in May 2000. He was 5+ years old at the time.
We had a customer come to buy some furniture from us and they said our place was perfect for Bubas. I said "What is a Bubas"? Well he was their neighbours dog, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

He lived in a garage in the city. He was never allowed in the house and the man of the house knew this wasn't fair. They were looking for a home for Bubas in the country. So after I went to see him, I talked Pete into going the following week, although he said no way, we already have two dogs. We had Cinders (Rotti cross) and Skippy (cocker spaniel). Well Pete took one look at him and that was that. He was ours. He bit me the first day, and bit Pete twice since. We learned to never touch his collar or you were in for a bite. Other than that, he is a gentle sweet 14 year old, slow but happy fella!

Welcome to our blog and thank you for reading. We are changing things up slightly so as we move forward we would like to use this blog as a place to share opinions, dog experiences, dog stories and more. I hope that by sharing our personal experiences, thoughts and perspectives on owning dogs, loving dogs, operating a dog business etc we can connect with other dog lovers and hopefully provide valuable information, entertainment, and even just a place to see that you are not alone in your experiences - good and bad. We encourage comments and feedback along the way.