This blog started when the Pritchard family adopted retired racing greyhound - Winnie. It still carries her name. Winnie died at Christmas 2012. This blog has now been archived and is no longer updated
I was really impressed by the long but thoughtful and information-packed post the author has written about 'bull breeds' and the failings of the UK's current Breed Specific Legislation.
The RSPCA and other rescue kennels in the UK have lots of lovely dogs waiting in vain for a forever home because they are seen as 'dangerous' bull breeds. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, for instance, is one of the loveliest breeds with a fearsome reputation it just doesn't deserve.
The Lady Of The House had a good cry last week when she watched a documentary on the BBC called Death Row Dogs which showed a lovely dog called Tyson being put to sleep because he was classed as a "Pit Bull Type" and although everyone agreed he was a lovely dog and had never shown aggression, because he was a banned type he could not even be offered for re-homing.
We hope the Dangerous Dogs Act in the UK is soon replaced with more fair legislation that penalises the deed not the breed and places the emphasis on making irresponsible owners face the consequences of their actions. In the hands of the wrong owner any dog can be a loaded gun waiting to go off.
I also know that Manchester and Salford RSPCA has been helping look after more than 100 animals rescued from a fire at a garden centre in Oldham last week. So a big PAWS UP to them.
Anyway, more about me!
My second lot of blood tests came back fine, but after a chat with the eye specialist the Lady Of The House has now decided not to go ahead with surgery for the time being. My eye seems slightly better again and it's not causing me pain or discomfort and the eye doctor is SURE it's "nothing sinister" so we're carrying on with the steroid drops and cream and we'll review it again in about five weeks.
I am very pleased and proud and I do hope that you don't think I was ungrateful for not mentioning it before.
The Liebster Blog award is given to help promote young and growing blogs. To accept the award properly I have to pick my five favourite blogs - with less than 200 followers and pass it on to them.What a lovely idea!
In return for the Kreativ Blogger award I am supposed to tell you 10 things about myself that you wouldn’t know and pass the award on to six other bloggers.
Hopefully it's not cheating TOO much if I just pick five blogs with less than 200 followers (and one with more!!) If any of the blogs I nominate have already had one of these awards, please feel free to accept the other one.
Flora, Fauna, & Food - is a new blog I've only recently started following. 'Garden Girl' explores the world through nature and food and also shares lots about her three wonderful dogs (and her two cats).
Finn's dog blog - is a blog I've followed for a while because two-year-old bulldog Finn just has the handsomest face ever (and I love him - but please don't tell him I would be embarrassed).
Grey hares on my sofa - is a lovely blog about re-homing, fostering and adopting retired racing greyhounds (like me).
The Circus Dog - is another bulldog blog. This one tells the adventures of Lola, and American Bulldog.
Kind Hearts - is one of my all-time favourite blogs that I followed soon after I started blogging. In north east England Grumpy Bobby and Dippy Pip watch foster dogs come and go and the blog is always full of love and laughter. Grumpy Bobby is my Boy Of The House's favourite dog in the world (after me of course) and he loves watching the videos they often post.
My sixth choice - which has MORE than 200 followers - is Homer the Golden Retriever, international jet setter and another very very handsome boy who makes my heart flutter a little.
Ten things about me then......Hmmm. You may well know some of these, but here goes....
1. I can dig for England (in fact I may well be digging for Australia at the rate the hole in the back lawn is developing)
2. I love Cheese and Marmite biscuits made by the Bespoke Dog Bakery (who do NOT pay me for my endorsement of their products!)
3. I like to dig in my loose blankets and make a warm and cosy nest for myself.
4. I bark at cats, would love to chase a squirrel (if I ever got off my lead) but if I see a wild rabbit I just stare at it silently.
5. I get so excited when the Man Of The House or the Lady Of The House comes in the front door that I put my paws up on their chests.
6. I love car rides, and if we walk past a car with its boot up I often try and jump in.
7. I have an unusually long nose and an overbite that gives me character.
9. I was humiliated this summer by being entered into a greyhound fancy dress competition as a camel and came 5th (out of 5).
10. I have a scar on my nose from an operation where the vet removed an abscess by going in through the top of my snout (that was before I came here).
Like everyone who follows lots of dog blogs I have been shocked and saddened by news of the devastating fire that destroyed the home of the Houston Pittie Pack and killed five of their seven dogs - including the amazing Shelby, a severely abused dog found in a car park covered in puncture wounds and sores. One theory is that she had been used a live bait for fighting dogs. Bloggers around the world followed Shelby's fight to live and recover from the summer of 2010 onwards.She made it - but has now been cruelly cheated out of her happy-ever-after along with fellow rescue dogs Guero, Coco Chanel, Tiger and Lucky.
Sandra Gonzalez lost everything, but was able to escape with her mother, son and two of their dogs. Bloggers have been raising funds since the tragedy on December 16 through a Chip In fund. You can see a link to it below. Although the initial modest total has been reached, anything you can spare this holiday season will help this devastated family.
How very kind of Chancy the Gardener to honour my blog with the Noteworthy Archive Blog Award. Thank you SO much!!!
This means a lot to me, and the Lady Of The House, because when she helped me start this blog (it was MOSTLY me, of course) after I came to live here last year we thought that probably only our close friends and family would look at it (if that!).
And in the early weeks (quite a lot of weeks, actually), that was how it was.
But I really wanted to tell people all about what great pets greyhounds make...and correct some of the myths that stop people considering us as pets, so I kept going in the hope that a few more people might find me. Just a few though. I never dreamed that just over a year later I'd have 160 people following my blog!!
The turning point came when my blog was found by some really kind and supportive bloggers who now feel like really close friends. One of the first was 'Houndstooth' from the wonderful Tales and Tails blog. She is still so generous with her time and her thoughtful comments and helpful advice. If there's anyone out there who doesn't read the great posts she writes .... please DO have a good browse through her archives. The LOTH has learned SO much from her and the wonderful Bunny, Lilac, Blueberry and Morgan. I am sure you will too. Their posts will make you laugh, cry and think.
If you have not yet received this award, Houndstooth, I'd be honoured to pass it along to you as the holder of one of the most noteworthy archives I know.
For any of you who are new to blogging....do keep going if you have the time as there's such joy to be had in meeting good friends like I have done - Peggy, Mr Pip, Benny and LilyGrumpy Bobby and Sue and Song to name just a few.
Perhaps your own blog may help another pet find a forever home - or maybe you'll just make someone smile in their busy day.
I think it's good for us all to look back over our blog archives every now and then and reflect on the good times, the not-so-good times and the good friends we have made - and be grateful for every day we are lucky enough to spend with our families (regardless of HOW many feet they have).
That's Take Your Dog To Work Day - which you can read more about here
The Lady Of The House works from home....so she thought it was more a case of bringing some work to me.
She appointed me Director of Marketing. As you can see, I took a very laid-back approach to the whole idea.
Well, it IS Friday.
Now, earlier this week I mentioned about the two awards we'd recently very kindly been awarded. Now as a condition of accepting these awards you are asked to share the love around and award them on to other blogs.
I thought the best thing would be for me to choose ten blogs I'd like to share with you (you may know some of them already) and the owners of these blogs (listed below) can choose which award (if either) they would like to accept. Some of these blogs may already have been given one of these awards of course....in which case they've now been given another copy.
Thanks again to K-Koira and What Dogs Do who gave us these awards originally.
1. CowspotDog - I love the story behind this blog's name (you'll have to read it to find out if you don't know) The blog is about Reilly who is a beautiful Shetland Sheepdog
2. Two Greyhound Town - I admire Scout's folks so much for keeping on with this blog since the recent sad and sudden loss of Jack.
4. Kind Hearts - The unmissable adventures of Grumpy Bobby, Dippy Pip and a succession of foster dogs who share their lives with the very wonderful John and Brenda in Sunderland.
5. Bouncing Bertie's Blog - I always smile at the pictures and stories from Berties (and Gail) in Aberdeen, Scotland.
7. Graceful Greyhounds - Sue makes some lovely crafts as well as being 'mum' to Song and she was one of the first bloggers to follow me and make me welcome and I will always be grateful for her kindness.
8. Scottishdogs Blog - I was delighted to find this entertaining blog - and even more thrilled to find out they lived just a few miles away from us.
9. Going Gently - This one is the LOTH's choice (I thought I'd let her choose one). She thinks John Gray from Wales is always an entertaining and thought-provoking read and his television memories indicate he's a similar age to her!
10. The Court of Tails - Always interesting posts about training tips and other dog-related fun and games from the owner of Jess and Lola
The Lady Of The House has been hogging the computer again so it's all I can do to get on here and try and catch up with all the things I've not told you yet......
Firstly, for those of you in the UK, PLEASE don't forget that it's the second-ever Great British Greyhound Walk coming up on Sunday (June 26). I'm sorry to exclude so many of my dog friends but it IS just for greyhounds and lurchers and the idea is to get as many people walking their hounds at the same time across the country.
It's about getting our people together to socialise and also raising the profile of greyhounds and lurchers.
I'm not happy because it looks like I can't join one of the many organised walks, which is a shame now I'm being a lot more sociable and confident with dog friends.
But the LOTH is in another play next week with Little Theatre Company and Sunday is the day they set up the scenery and have the technical dress rehearsal. And as the Man Of The House doesn't drive we can't get to one of the walks without her.
Maybe next year.....
Anyway, I've had a couple of new experiences this weekend. Whenever I go out with my family we usually keep on the move - either walking across country or maybe walking round a country show or a fair. But on Saturday we went to watch the Boy Of The House play his first official game for Rolleston against Stretton. So there's all this grass and we're just standing there. I couldn't quite understand it and after we'd stood there for a while watching the BOTH and his friends run about I "roo-woo'd" a bit to tell my folks I was confused.
After that they took it in turns to take me for a little amble round the pitch now and then and to watch the Swifts who were swooping down and around (I love watching those clever little birds). The MOTH and the GOTH tried to persuade me to sit down with them on the grass but I wasn't having it. I did like being with them all - and the BOTH's team won 6-3 so that was good.
You can see the BOTH on this picture in the red "No 5" shirt. Look at those black clouds too! It rained on
us three times but then was really hot in between times.
The LOTH and the GOTH decided I needed to have a few more experiences that involved me realising that sometimes we go out and we stay in one place for a while.
Today it was lovely and warm and sunny and so the GOTH and the LOTH took me for a nice walk down the canal and then we stopped on some seats outside a canalside pub for lunch. I was a bit confused again and "roo-woo'd" a bit again. But after a while I lay down in the shade. But I stayed alert and was quite happy when we moved off again.
By the way, I am still on my lead in these photos. It's loose behind me but the LOTH has still got it in case I spotted something chaseable. The LOTH thinks that might be what confused me. I associate my collar and lead with walking. I'm not sure what it is.
Anyway, next thing to tell you....it was Father's Day this weekend too and the MOTH was HUGELY surprised that the rest of us had organised for him to fly to Ireland for five days next month with the GOTH. Here he is reading the piece of paper that explained about this little holiday. We wrapped it round a bottle of Guinness. The MOTH's grandparents were from Ireland but he's never been there. The GOTH went to Dublin (which is where they are staying) last year so she can show him round.
Me the LOTH and the BOTH will do some nice fun stuff while they are away so don't worry about us.
Finally - because the LOTH is looming as if she's going to demand the computer again - a BIG and VERY belated thank you to K-Koira who awarded us the Versatile Blogger award AGES AGO. I LOVE reading about the adventures of the Flyball dogs but it sometimes makes me feel quite tired because they have so much stamina. Do check this blog out if you don't already visit.
More recently, What Dogs Do - another great blog by some fellow Brits (hurray!) - passed on to us an Inspiration Award. Thank you so much too. I was really really pleased and proud.
I am supposed to pass on these awards to other blogs....and I PROMISE I will but I really have run out of time today.
What a lovely surprise when I was catching up on the news from my namesake - The Other Winnie Cooper - last night and found that she had very generously passed on to me the Awesome Blog award.
I felt very privileged and proud.
If you've not met the other Winnie yet - she's a Shih Tzu and very very cute and clever. So do stop by and say hello to her.
As is the way with these awards I now have to tell you a few things about myself that you might not know. Hhhmmm! Let me think.
1. My dad was an Australian greyhound called Hahn Bale who came over to the UK to sire puppies. I look a lot like him going by the picture on Greyhound-Data.com
2. I love sharing Sunday roast dinner with the family - well they save some for me to eat after them - but it does mean some rather bad smells coming from the direction of my bottom on a Sunday evening which I pretend are nothing to do with me.
3. I like having my teeth brushed with chicken-flavoured toothpaste.
4. If we see people jogging on our walks I act like I want to join in (you can take the greyhound of out of the stadium but you can't stop her wanting to run).
5. My favourite toy at the moment is a squeaky plush reindeer that I had for Christmas - but that will change again soon.
Now for the blogs that I would like to honour by passing on the awesome award. This is really hard because I LOVE all my virtual friends who I follow. But here's who I have decided to recommend to you this time.
Presley the Lurcher (also known on Facebook as 'King Presley') - A Lurcher from Scotland with a lovely accent
Hope you find some new blogs there that you perhaps didn't know about.
Have a lovely week. It's school half-term here so I may get busy helping the LOTH look after the BOTH (he's not only on holiday from school but he's got a nasty cold too) so if I go a bit quiet you will know why.
Since I joined the world of pet bloggers a few months ago I've been amazed by how many lovely, lovely people I've "met".
It was (and still is) all a bit new to me. The Lady Of The House used to do some blogging for work in her last job so she helps me out sometimes when my claws get caught in the keyboard and stuff.
One of the first people to ever come and say hi to us was Houndstooth who (you probably know) writes a wonderful blog about life with her three greyhounds and a GSD and shares writing duties with Bunny the greyhound who (yes, I'll proudly admit it) looks a little bit like me...except younger.
Well, Houndstooth teased me yesterday with a comment that she had a surprise me for me on her blog today. I couldn't imagine what it might be.
How excited was I this morning when I visited her Tales and Tails blog to discover that she had shared with me a Stylish Blogger Award! My very first blog award!!
Now the rules are we have to list a few things about ourselves and then choose five other blogs to receive the award. So here goes:
I believe that three is the magic number and third time is lucky as when I came here to Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England in August 2010 it was the third time I'd been re-homed since the end of my racing career (but the two that didn't work out weren't my fault). I am eight years old now and I'm not going anywhere else...ever.
I really missed being in a home and when my family first saw me in the Crossing Cottage Retired Greyhound Trust Kennels I was looking very very sad. John and Judith who looked after me there were very kind and really hoped I'd get a new family that would be mine forever.
When we go to agricultural shows I sometimes see some of the RGT volunteers who used to walk me and I always remember them and put my paws on their chest and give them a greyhound hug (if they ask me nicely).
I love pilchards, cheese, cuddly toys, squeaky toys, walks, zoomies in the back garden (even though there's not much grass left now thanks to me), being groomed with a grooming glove, people (especially my family) and going out in the car.
And so for the REALLY hard bit, choosing five more blogs to ALSO receive the Stylish Blogger Award. Houndstooth chose some really good blogs that I follow as well and I could easily have listed them....but I think I should spread the love around, so....
My first Stylish Blogger Award goes to Kind Hearts, Pawzforthought. The very stylish star of this blog is Grumpy Bobby, the long-term foster dog who never fails to make me laugh with the words and pictures (and sometimes videos) about his daily adventures with ever-patient dog-fosterers John and Brenda and his squabbles with 'Dippy' Pip the terrier.
I recently discovered The Pet Museum which always finds some very stylish pictures and interesting stories to share about pets down the ages. It always offers something new and thought-provoking.
Beverley Cuddy edits the very stylish Dogs Today magazine and she's also a passionate campaigner on important dog issues issues so I like visiting her Coldwetnose blog.
I love seeing pictures of dogs having fun and there's plenty of those on Two Pitties in the City which does a stylish job of correcting the misconceptions some people have of pit bulls.
Last but not least, for being so stylish and cute I choose Mr Pip from Pip Gets Back in the Game. I loved his Christmas story, It's a Wonderful Life Mr Pip - and his recent post about yoga had me in stitches as well as knots.
I'm quite exhausted now and off for a lie down. Too much excitement. Hope you enjoy calling in at the blogs I chose. See you soon.
