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Loved Hound

Your hound can be featured as a Loved Hound, too. Just bid in Greyhound Gang's on-line auction (during the first two weeks of every month) for your chance to be spotlighted. Once you've won, I'll contact you to get your story. You'll email me pictures, and text, and the following month, this is where you and your hound will be. Loved Hound. Our wish - love for them all.

Mandy - written by Cathryn & Robin Vaughn, owned by Miz Mandy

Auction Spot won, and donated by Grace, Mandy's daughter, loved by Diane Jackson of BurpDog Biscuits.

Mandy, She came and She gave without taking...

“No”

“But she is almost 9 years old and has never had a home”

“No, we are over our pet limit, we can’t have anymore”

“Her name is Mandy, listen to Barry Manilow, her life is just like the song, she came and she gave without taking”

“Absolutely not”

 

 

That was the way the conversation went between my sister and I, a few days before Miz Mandy came home and changed our lives forever.  At the adoption kennel, Mandy made her first impression by speeding though the living room with a direct path to the couch.  Her shiny black coat and round pot belly reminded us of a greased pig running crazy with a mission to make her mark on the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

As seasoned greyhound owners, we had the house prepared for Mandy’s arrival but nobody expected a homecoming like this.  She jumped from couch to couch, sliding on the end table and smashing against the wall.  Without any hesitation she zoomed up the stairs then on her way down, flew from the top step and fell the whole way down.  With 22 offspring, her two new 85-lb male greyhounds were no match for Mandy.  She immediately let them know she was the princess and send them a silent reprimand that continues to keep them in line. 

 

(Where's lunch?)

 

 

 

Once the dust settles from Mandy’s spastic romps, you can see the most beautiful graying pattern around her kind eyes.  Despite years of kennel life, she is at her happiest when she is as close as possible to someone who loves her.  Mandy doesn’t just want affection, she demands it from anyone who looks her way.   

 

 

 

 

 

For the next three and half years, Mandy would let us know what she wanted and when she wanted it.  During our kitchen renovation she learned to open the microwave.  If you shut her out of a room she learned to push the knob with her nose.  She never knew the meaning of the word NO, stealing snacks from the kitchen counter were a frequent occurrence.  This was HER life and we were so happy that Mandy ALLOWED us to be a part of it.

 

 

 

 

Through all the naughty antics and stubborn behavior, there was so much unconditional love from her and for her.  She never missed a night in bed curled up next to me or a rainy day on the couch.  Her oversized ears and huge heart made even the worst day worth living.  With every year we tried to prepare for the day that Mandy would break our heart. 

 

 

 

 

 

A year ago, Mandy began having seizures and fainting spells.  We had the veterinarian run every test possible, she saw specialists, cardiologists and neurologists but nobody knew what was wrong with our sweet old momma.  After a number trips to the vet and uncountable tear soaked nights, we found that Mandy had a pancreatic insulinoma.  At 12 years old, her condition was inoperable and the medication to control the insulin spikes was expensive and rare to find. 

  

 

 

 

 

 But this is Mandy's world, after extensive research, we found a pharmacist to compound her medication.  We monitor her insulin levels regularly and learned her “trouble signs”.  Mandy turned 13 in May, she has good days and bad days, but she still finds the strength to hit us with her paw when someone is not petting her.  On bad days, she is hand fed, usually something that has been specially prepared just for her like a steak or liver.  She has nutritional drinks and baby food when things are very bad.  Her coat is often wet from the tears of the people that can’t imagine the world without her.  But on the good days, she is still stealing treats, still digging in the dirt, still zooming up the stairs and still demanding to be loved.

(Note: this couch needed to be moved outside, but Mandy was not moving. So we moved the couch with her on it.)

Opportunities to adopt seniors or broods may be rare, but if you should find one, do it. You won't regret it, because the love you receive from them is extraordinary.

 

 

 

Every group has seniors in need of homes. Click here to read about the Best Kept Secret. Contact your local adoption group - our database has links - and find a senior to love.