Hi Linda,
Just wanted you to know we all made it home happily and safely. Pabby settled down right away in the car and Pilar was a little more inquisitive with the traffic and views. It cost her though; she threw up about an hour into the trip and then just a few blocks from home again. We stopped at a few rest areas along the way and they handled well on leash and getting into the car. They really love being on the leash and exploring, just as you said.
I can’t believe these guys haven’t been pampered in a house before. They have been wonderful in the house so far. As I type, Heidi and I are on the couch and flanking Heidi are Pab and Pilar. Yes on the couch, it only took them about 10 minutes before they discovered it and fell in love. They are both asleep. I’m sure that was quite a drive for them.
They explored the yard with us when we got home and have been pottying on leash really well. Then we came in and room by room had the tour. Lots of sniffing and no big reactions. Nell was excited to see us all and the three of them had a light bite of dinner. Then outside again a few times to start some good habits and comfort with the chilly but great outdoors.
My parents came by with some dinner and Zola who spent the day at their house. She met them for the first time and it was very uneventful. They have sniffed and have loads of time now to get to know each other. While we ate dinner Pabby and Pilar went into their crate for the first time because they were very much interested in the food and that will take some work. I think Pabby all but had his mind on taking a burger right off the plate as he was honing in on his target. They settled immediately in their crate and about 15 minutes later were out with us again.
Descending and climbing stairs were a funny first walk but the best I’ve seen to date for rookies. Pilar loves the stairs actually and will teach Pabby in no time because she loves running up and down the stairs and he’s slowly getting into it. And then there is the TV, they seem to be mesmerized by it. They are funny to watch experience all the firsts. It’s be so long since I’ve done this, it’s all kinds of fun and so cute. So here we are, watching a movie and everyone with a comfy spot. It’s been a very amazing and emotional day. They are such a great addition to our family and going to bring us sooo much joy. I can see why you became so attached to them and yet we have only spent mere hours with them so far.
Thanks so much for believing in us and for doing what you do so well. I can only imagine how many people’s lives you touch with your work. When we were half way home we realized we forgot their teddies. Sorry I guess it slipped all of our minds in the transfer. Rest assured we will always stay in close contact and send lots of pictures of Pablo and Pilar’s progress and daily fun and bloopers. There will always be time in the future to make day trips now and again with Pabby and Pilar to visit you. As Heidi mentioned as well you are always welcome to visit if you find yourself in the area or want to stop by, we have a guest room and loads of space.
I’ve attached a few pictures from this evening. They are low resolution to send easier and quicker but if there are any you would like, let me know and I will email the full size images.
Tomorrow we’ve got a big day planned of relaxing and getting to know the house a bit better and then taking a few trips to the park. Take care, and we’ll be in touch very soon.
Heidi, Bevin, Alexandra, Zola, Nell, Pablo and Pilar, the new and improved Anderson Family J xoxo
P.S. Thanks again for how much time and love you’ve given these guys, it’s obviously paid off so well for them
From Pablo and Pliar's new dad:
Here are some more pictures. These are from day 2, aka the first
trip to the park. We have a great area just a couple blocks away that is
a fenced in ball park and it's off season now. They have met the other
dogs in the family there and everyone gets along really well. They are
fast runners and exercise each other well. They spark each other up and
off they go running the usual greyhound circles around us. They are
pretty good on their legs avoiding collisions with each other the odd
time by jumping the other like a gazelle in slow motion.
Back in the house things are going really well still. Our daughter is
all smiles as the dogs play around the house, she could watch them for
hours. Pablo has had two minor mistakes inside. He raised a leg and
peed on a chair the first time and this morning he had to go out so bad
he was just starting a few seconds early. All in all I am amazed at how
well things have gone. The stairs are still their favorite playground
apparatus. We have now gated the bottom of the stairs as the top was
previously or they would run up and down all night long. :) The couches
are the next favorite and where most time is spent. The daily exercise
regime we have been introducing them to on walks has kept them pinned
dead asleep to the couches asleep and entangled in each other or laying
all over us. They are such sweet dogs.
(To Praveen Mutalik, who paid Pablo and Pilar's airfare to the USA)
We had thanked Linda for all of her hard work in general and with our
two new sweet pups. She has mentioned to us of your contributions and
the help you gave for Pabby and Pilar's way to the U.S. which then led
to our home. We are equally as thankful to you for helping Linda with
her work. These are just two examples of what I have come to learn over
the years as the best animals in the world. My wife who is much newer to
greyhounds has been converted more recently too.
Many thanks, and we'll keep you posted with their progress,
Bevin, Heidi, Alex (Daughter), Pabby, Pilar, Nell (Whippet), and
Zola (Afghan)
They were two emaciated dogs, a sister and brother, from a small town in Spain, about an hour north of Madrid. At the end of the hunting season, in January of this year, they were turned in to the Scooby Greyhound Refuge, the largest in this country known for its brutal treatment of unwanted greyhound racing and hunting dogs. A friend of their owner took them, when the owner told him he planned to hang them (a common method of disposal for these dogs in Spain). Instead, the friend took them to the Scooby Greyhound Refuge, where their lives took a fateful turn.
Enter Greyhound Adoption of Ohio (GAO). A group of volunteers had been helping at the refuge for three weeks and were to return home to the USA the next day. They had chosen 8 dogs to bring back and find homes for. Pablo and Pilar (as they were later named by GAO volunteers), however, were so frightened that the folks from GAO knew their future would be bleak, in Spain. Who would take these pathetic, terrified, shivering pups? They exchanged Pablo and Pilar for two dogs they knew would have no trouble finding homes in Europe and, the next day, the two sad little dogs, along with six others, were on their way to the United States, sponsored by a stranger, who paid their airfare. That was 10 months ago. It took Pablo and Pilar several months to stop crawling in fear when a stranger approached and several more months to wag their tails. Since then, they’ve made great strides in their emotional rehabilitation and became available for adoption. Now they run and play with abandon! But who would adopt them? There was no doubt in the minds of the GAO staff that they would not be separated. They had come through so much together and are completely dependent upon each other. When they’re sleeping, it’s often difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins, as they cuddle and snooze, each using the other for a comfy, hairy pillow.
Enter Heidi and Bevin Andersen of Ontario, Canada. Having become interested in the plight of the Spanish greyhound, they were searching the internet one day and came across Pablo and Pilar. Heidi is a business manager and Bevin works as a veterinary technician at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Ontario. A call to GAO resulted in the Andersens making a trip to Ohio to visit the pair. The dogs were everything they had hoped for and the Andersens were everything GAO had hoped for in potential adopters. Soon, Pablo and Pilar will take their last big step to their forever home, as they head for Canada with their new family!
It took ten months, many miles by air and land, a number of dedicated people and a trek through three countries for Pablo and Pilar to fulfill their destiny. This Friday, at 12PM, the staff at the GAO kennel will hug them goodbye and help them into their new family’s van with a mixture of sadness and joy. Pablo and Pilar. Happy at last!
