Farmers' Market: This Saturday!

This Saturday we will be having our monthly event at the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market at 400 N. Portland Avenue! Bring your greyhound to help us spread the news about what greyt pets retired racing greyhounds make!


We have a shady spot to relax with our dogs and chat with those interested in learning more. Dogs are not allowed in the pavilion but you can walk around the outside vendors and have someone hold your dog while you go indoors to explore all the fresh produce, meat, herbs, plants, cheeses, baked goods and more- all produced locally!


Support greyhound adoption and local farmers by visiting the OSU-OKC Farmers' Market THIS Saturday and the last Saturday of every month from 8:00 - 10:00 AM.


Read more about our monthly events on our Event Calendar at http://www.greyhoundpetsok.org/EventCalendar.aspx or scroll to the bottom of this blog to view.

Another cool blog feature!

Our blog is now set up to make sharing information about our organization and adoptable greyhounds faster and easier! At the button of each post you will see icons that look like this:

You now have the option to share any of our blog posts with your friends directly from our blog with the following {in order from left to right}:

E-mail
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Google Buzz

Give it a try today!

Spotlight on Frenchie!

**Frenchie has been adopted!**



Ooh-la-la! Frenchie is a delightful young lady. She is a white beauty with her "beret" brown ear and top of her head! A young greyhound (born January 2007), she is still a bit shy around newcomers but once she warms up to you, she loves to stay right by your side! She has a cute little paw movement with her front paw when she wants your attention. She walks well on a leash. She doesn't walk directly into her crate, but lays down once in there.

Stay tuned for personality updates and more pictures of this beautiful girl!

Testimonials

If you are reading this blog, you may have adopted a greyhound from us in the past: tell us about it! Give us the opportunity to see how your retired racing greyhound has affected your life. The best way to spread the good news to others is to show them how happy our past adopters are with their greyhound- you have the chance to convince someone to adopt a greyhound!

Drop us a line, and we'll quit bugging you! :)

Send testimonials to EmilyHummel@GreyhoundPetsOK.org

Thank you for your support!

Testimonials can be found in the bottom left column of this blog.

Required Reading

To all potential adopters and anyone interested in purchasing a copy of our required reading to keep as a reference:

We have signed up for a partnership with Amazon.com where we get a percentage of the purchase price if you buy from Amazon.com. If you are interested in purchasing one or all of these books, please visit our Amazon.com box on the left column of this blog. In addition to the books, any qualifying purchase made during that session will contribute to our cause.

Thank you for supporting adoption and Hounds of the Heartland!

New website feature!

We have made our Hounds of the Heartland Handbook available for viewing anytime on our website. Our handbook is a go-to reference for recent adopters or anyone looking for tips and information about greyhounds as pets.

To view our HOH Handbook, visit http://www.greyhoundpetsok.org/ -click "Resources" then "Handbook. This file is in Adope .pdf format. If you do not have Adobe reader you can download it at http://www.adobe.com/ free of charge. A shortcut to the adoption handbook is also available on the left column of this blog.

Direct link to the HOH Handbook:

http://www.greyhoundpetsok.org/HOH_Handbook.pdf

The results are in!

We recently polled our visitors to find out YOUR favorite greyhound feature!

55% of you love their long needle noses!
29% admire their muscular thighs...
2% think their teeny tiny head is the cutest
1% are in awe of their skinny tails and bald behinds

Thank you for participating in our monthly Blog Polls! Check the left column to vote on this month's Blog Poll: What's your favorite HOH monthly show & tell event?

Car Rides!

Submit photos of your houndies goin' for a ride! You know they love to go!


Olive loves to go everywhere!
Submitted by Angela Flynn

Spotlight on Yankee!

**Yankee has been adopted!**



Yankee is a tall handsome boy who is cat safe. He is 5 years old and needs a great home! He loves to be outside playing and his foster mom nicknamed him "Velcro" because he loves being with her so much! If you are looking for a loving companion, Yankee's your man. Yankee enjoys being in his crate so if you plan to crate your dog it will be a breeze. Check Yankee's impressive track record here: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1345082

Meet Yankee at our Norman Petsmart event {the 4th Saturday of each month from 12:00 - 2:00!}

Cat Testing

We often get asked "How do you know if a greyhound is cat safe?"

When we bring a new foster dog in we are generally told if they are cat safe or not. Until they've been in a foster home with cats we can't really be 100% sure but we do our best to introduce them to the variables and make an educated decision. Greyhounds are bred to chase and they have been raised in an environment where chasing is encouraged (you know... the whole chase-the-rabbit-to-win thing) so you can hardly blame them for following their instinct!

Some of the greyhounds have a very strong prey drive whereas others couldn't care less about the small animals. It truly depends on the dog and their personality. We determine if a greyhound is cat safe by introducing them to a cat in a controlled environment. We will typically muzzle them and keep them on a short leash for safety when we introduce them to the cat. If they have a very strong glazed-over stare and cannot be distracted or if they lunge for the cat we will deem them NOT cat safe. If they seem interested but can be distracted easily we will deem them cat workable or cat safe.

It is a common misconception that greyhounds and cats cannot live in harmony together. The majority of our wonderful foster homes have cats and we have adopted many dogs out to families with cats and small dogs. Let us introduce one of our foster greyhounds to your cats... you'll be glad you did! :)


Simon, one of our test cats, loves his new friend Zoe!

Happy HAPPY Tails!

We love to hear happy stories of greyhounds we have adopted out, and we love pictures of them even more! Here are some recent adoptions we've done and some great pics of them in their new happy homes!

Achilles can be ready for a close up at a moment's notice! How cute is he?

Submitted by Emily Williams

YooHoo... she even smiles when she sleeps!
Submitted by Brad Whitley


Raider... apparently this was his first time to be "caught in the act!" :) :)
Submitted by Denise Riebau

Zody... what a beautiful, happy girl!! Beautiful picture too.
Submitted by Aimee Duke

Send your Happy Tail pictures to EmilyHummel@GreyhoundPetsOK.org and we'll post them for all to enjoy!

Spotlight on Lucky!

**Lucky has been adopted and is now sisters with Annabelle/Annie!**



Lucky is very sweet but still a little shy. She is doing very well with housebreaking and sometimes even looks at the door when she needs to go out. She is coming out of her shell a little bit each day and is learning to play with toys. She isn't into treats yet, and will lie down to eat her meals- what a hoot! She sleeps in the car is quite the lady at our adoption events. One of her ears sometimes flips forward- she's adorable! Doesn't she have beautiful brown eyes? Check back for picture updates on Lucky!

NEW: Donate to HOH with PayPal!

We have made donating to Hounds of the Heartland faster, easier & secure with PayPal!

If you would like to make a secure online donation to HOH, please visit our website (http://www.GreyhoundPetsOK.org) or the left hand column on this blog and click the PayPal “Donate” button. If you do not already have a PayPal account, signing up is fast, free and secure.

Cash Donations are always spent on the direct care for our foster greyhounds.

We spend donation money on the following items:

Veterinary Care:
Vaccinations
Spay/Neuter
Heartworm Medication
Worming

Foster Supplies:
Crates
Food
Bedding
Imodium
Plain Canned Pumpkin
Elevated Feeders
Compressed Rawhide Bones
Kong™ Toys

We also accept donations in-kind of any of the supplies listed above!

Hounds of the Heartland is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are always tax deductible. We can provide you with a receipt for your records.

We will continue to accept mailed donations to the following address:

Hounds of the Heartland
PO Box 57507
OKC, OK 73157-7507

Thank you for your continued support!

longliveadoption.

Zody finds love in Ponca City!

I would like to share a message with you from Greta, one of our amazing volunteers and greyhound mom to Daisy and Rose. Greta and her husband Mike delivered Zody to her new home in Ponca City yesterday and it is so special to hear stories like this. They remind us all why we work so hard and give us hope there there is a home for every hound just waiting out there!

"Mike and I had the best time today delivering "Zody" to her new forever home! We played hooky from work and drove over to Pete's to pick her up. She watched out the window for a while and then slept the rest of the way. We felt almost guilty with pleasure - like we stole someone else's fun job from them!

We arrived just a couple minutes late to Aimee's house. The front door swung open wide to greet us - before we could even get her out of the car!! She had done her homework: she had the crate ready, water in the water bowl, and a shiny new toy in her crate. She was full of questions and we were happy to share what works at our house. We are convinced that Greta's Zodiac has found a life where she will be showered with love! What a greyt day for all of us!!"



Zody with her new mom!

Special thanks to Mike & Greta for making the trip to Ponca City to take Zody to her new home!

Submit your best photos & stories!

We are always looking for great photos, stories and information for our HOH dog blog and we love when they come from volunteers & adopters like YOU!

Where did you meet your first greyhound? Was it love at first sight? Do you have a special memory of a loved & lost greyhound that you want to share? Send it to EmilyHummel@GreyhoundPetsOK.org and we will post it for others to enjoy.

NEW: Each month we will vote on a submitted photo for our Banner at the top of the dog blog. Submit your photos now for the July drawing! We love to show off our happy hounds! Photos must be medium to high resolution for proper cropping and resizing. Greyhounds only, please! Send digital photo submissions to EmilyHummel@GreyhoundPetsOK.org

Thank you for your continued support.

5 new dogs on their way!

Here's a preview of the 5 new cat safe dogs we will be getting in the next couple of weeks! Check back periodically for more information, pictures and their official website listings.


Ah's Tang - "Mustang"
3-1/2 year old Male
See Mustang's Pedigree: http://greyhound-data.com/d?d=ah%27s+tang


"Yankeedoodle Dog"
4-1/2 year old Male
See Yankee's Pedigree: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1345082


"JJ's Lucky Charm"
1-1/2 year old Female



Greek's Shine - "Star"
6 year old Female
See Greek's Pedigree: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1182207


Speakthelanguage - "Frenchie"
3-1/2 year old Female
See Frenchie's Pedigree: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1542950

Weekend Recap!

Spring/Summer Fling Cancelled

We are sad to report that we will be cancelling the Spring/Summer Fling this year due to the heavy rains and humidity this past week. We have no immediate plans to reschedule although we may plan an indoor event in the future. Thanks to Susan Albertson for all her help and time planning this event!

Instead of committing your Saturday evening to the Fling, why not commit your Friday evening to LIVE on the Plaza? Bring your greyhound(s), family and friends for an evening in OKC's Historical Plaza District and show what greyt pets greyhounds make! Walk around or lounge at our booth- your presence is appreciated! We will be handing out free popsicles to anyone who pets a greyhound! Check the Event Calendar for details.

Read more about the Plaza District at http://www.plazadistrict.org/ and http://plazadistrict.wordpress.com/

Raffle to be held on July 10th!

This just in: EIGHT of Jane's martingale collars will be available at Saturday's raffle! This is in addition to other fancy martingales as well as other greyhound apparel and a couple surprise items! Remember: everyone's invited to this Saturday's rescheduled "Summer Fling" and we would love to see you! Scroll down for details about time, location & RSVP information. See you there!

Happy 4th of July from HOH!

Greyhound America 2010!