The Family

Daisy (Margo to Win)

Trudy to Win

Thanks to greyhound-data.com, I found pictures and information about some of Daisy's family members. For those who follow Daisy's tweets, you know that her sister, Trudy, is up for adoption. The family resemblance is strong. Both Trudy and Daisy have the white blaze on the front and adorable assymetrical white coloring around the nose. The chest coloring is identical. Both of them have never officially raced, so they are both technically undefeated! If there was a second greyhound in my immediate future it would definitely be Trudy. I bet she is as sweet as my girl is.

Trent Lee

As for the rest of the immediate family, no photos are currently available of Marissa to Win (mom) or Lennox to Win (brother). Lennox seems to be a strong racer and is still in the biz. The father, Trent Lee, is a black greyhound with white markings. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is where the kids got their coloring from.

Daisy's Fashion Wishlist

Coach skull & crossbone

Coach rockstar

Gucci metallic

I have a morbid curiosity of how much a Burberry dog coat would cost. I'm not even sure if they make one but on my Internet search for dog accessories, I stumbled across some really cool designer collars. These would look SO great on my dog! However, as much as I appreciate high quality Coach leather, I don't want to spend $100 on a dog collar. Besides, these are regular dog collars, not martingales*. Daisy would slip her slender head out in no time. Goodbye, $300 Gucci collar!

*Martingales are the collars of choice for sighthound owners. They are designed for dogs whose necks are bigger than their heads.

The dog loves fashion

When I first met Daisy (formerly Margo to Win) at the kennel, she was awfully interested in my gold Coach purse. Constantly sniffing and poking around. She continues to seek out the finer things in life, which is a detriment to me.

Latest casualty: one pair of pink cashmere gloves. Daisy's attempt to make fingerless gloves for me? I shudder to think that the fingers are most likely ingested into her greyhound tummy. Other items that survived the wrath of Daisy's muzzle are 1) a small Tiffany's suede bag used to hold a necklace. Only a few tears. But now I can access the necklace from not only the top, but the bottom AND side as well. 2) New pair of Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Citizen's jeans dragged through the house. No apparent damage, which is LUCKY FOR HER!! As that is my favorite sale bargain this year.

Interestingly enough, Daisy is now feeling special because some Nordstrom staffers are following her on twitter.

Wiggle Nose Art raffle-WINNER!

A few weekends ago Daisy and I attended an art show benefiting Greyhound Pets, Inc. Stephanie, also a greyhound owner,  paints really great portraits of dogs using bright vibrant colors. (See sidebar for link to her site.) Needless to say, beer was consumed and raffle tickets were purchased. I am now the proud winner of either a painting of my choice or a portrait of Daisy. As tempting it is to choose an existing portrait...particularly the one with the yellow dog and blue background, I'm going for a portrait of Miss Daisy. After all, how could I hang a portrait of someone else's dog on my wall? Daisy would never forgive me!

Hot dog!

Corny joke, but so appropriate. With the hot temps this past week it has been tough keeping my black doggy cow cool. Someone recommended a cooling vest. Basically a terry cloth cover that you wet down and wrap around your dog's body. Another fun suggestion was to freeze a bowl of water, that way the dog can lick it for hours while it melts. Anyway, by Sunday it had cooled down enough for Daisy to enjoy her weekly greyhound meetup at the dog park. Owners have noticed that she has changed so much. Daisy now trots around as soon as we come in, greets the other hounds and even shows interest in the other breeds. While she still keeps tabs on me, she no longer sticks to my side constantly. OK, she does a little but not nearly as much as she used to. During the visit, I turned around and noticed that Daisy had plunked herself down in the kiddie pool. It was so adorable, wish I was able to capture it. By the time I got over there she had already stood up. (By the way, notice the other dog with her. Doesn't it look like he is grinning ear to ear?!)

Mischievous Daisy & the 4th of July

Daisy is SOOO coming out of her shell. That is a good and bad thing. Last weekend she found and ate: 1 lb bag of bulk treats, 1/2 cup peanut butter treats, 4 cookies and tore open a practically new 40 lb bag of dog food. She also enjoys chewing headbands, eating paper and relocating all my footwear. Fourth of July evening, she stretched her lanky frame and managed to grab my purse off the dining room table (it was near the center, not the edge) and emptied all the contents out. Must really dog proof the home now! She had lulled me into a false sense of security.

As for fireworks, my neighborhood was full of loud fireworks sounds and booms. Daisy seemed totally unaffected by them. Either she's deaf, seriously calm or was exposed to horrendously loud sounds at the racetrack. Maybe a combo of all three? Hoping it is her non-chalant nature, because of it, I can be at work all day with minimal separation anxiety. I am very lucky.

"Enough watching, I want to run too!"

Had a great time at the dog park yesterday. I was wondering if Daisy would be bored with no greyhounds there but she ended up having fun anyway. After sticking to me like glue for awhile she got more comfortable in the park and started venturing off. She was fascinated by a great dane and quickly went to check him out. Probably because he was the closest shaped dog to her. But obviously, he was huge and made Daisy look like a lap dog. Later she started playing (yes, playing!!!) with another medium sized red dog. He came up to her and they did the stare down stance thing. The owner assured me they weren't being aggressive. Pretty soon the dog took off with Daisy running after him. They did a couple circles around the park with Daisy almost knocking someone over that was in her path. My dog is fast and I loved seeing her run and enjoying herself. Hopefully this is the start of many more happy park visits.