The Greyhounds Were a Big Hit:)

Beryl and I spent the past 2 days at a huge agricultural, rural event held this time every year in our town.  We were helping man the Greyhounds As Pets marquee and had a good muster of people and hounds on Friday.  I couldn't be there Thursday as I had to work but I think the same crew were there.  On Friday we had a steady stream of people showing lots of interest and wanting to pat our lovely guys and learn more about them:)

Stanley, Beryl and a sleepy Tina:)

This is the only photo I got of Stanley:(  He's a lovely boy who's been with his new family for about 3 weeks now (that's his Mum, Sarah, holding his lead) and they love him to bits.  Tina's Dad is Graeme who is in the blue.

Tommy (National Debt)

Tommy with his Dad, Norm, and Mum, Maxine, Andrew and his Mum, also Maxine:)

The interesting thing about Tommy (apart from the fact that he was a top racer who is loving his new life as a pet!) is that he is a stumpy tailed Greyhound like Beryl!!  Same problem with the happy tail syndrome.  So Beryl had company.  Tommy's new parents are amazed and very impressed at how well he's settled into his new life:)

Andrew; such a lovable guy

Tina enjoyed herself:)

Beryl being abducted by Dennis, our CGC instructor:)

Dennis loves dogs and when he'd need a doggy fix he'd come and take off with Beryl or maybe Billy and wander around with them for a while and help spread the word on what wonderful pets Greyhounds make:)

I can see my Mum!!!

Adorable Billy resting on my leg:)

Beryl napping with Sarah

Tommy making some new friends

Where you going Mum?

At one stage I handed Beryl's lead to a very surprised lady and just asked her to hang onto it so I could take some photos.  Beryl wasn't real impressed to begin with but after the lady started scratching her hips she decided it was OK:)

Yep, that's the spot:)

All in all Friday was a successful day:)  We made lots of new friends, so many people have never patted a Greyhound and don't know they can be pets!

Yesterday (Saturday) was VERY busy!  Big crowds, I hardly had time to take photos as we rarely had a break from talking to people and with only me and Beryl and Michelle and her 2 lovely boys, Rozzo and Jumbo, there for most of the day it was pretty full on.  And very tiring for the dogs.  Beryl took to hiding behind the table so she could have a break!!

Monique, Jumbo and see Beryl hiding behind the table, lol!

Monique is a special young lady.  She just turned 10 years old and is saving up for a Greyhound:)  She comes along on all the GAP walks and to events like this to learn and get a Greyhound fix!  Her Mum told me Monique won't have to wait much longer:)  Monique and her girlfriend, Nieve, spent the afternoon with us and loved taking Beryl and Jumbo for little walks, which gave the dogs a bit of a breather too.

Rozzo gazing adoringly at his Mum:)

Rozzo, Michelle, Monique, Jumbo, Nieve (Monique's gf) and Beryl

I have no idea who the girl on the left is, lol!  A member of the public who happened to be sitting there admiring Rozzo when I took the photo.  I'd just called Beryl to get her to look at me but she decided she'd better come and see what I wanted:)

Meredith and Seth

Later in the afternoon we were joined by Meredith and Seth (who used to be Snuffles;) and they were soon being admired by the public!

Beryl wants to go back to her hiding place!

Seth looking handsome:)

You could buy everything from licorice to leather goods at the show!

Just around the corner from us was a stall selling natural dog treats.  How lucky was that!!  I bought the kids a 1 kilogram bag of dried liver and a 1 kilo bag of seconds which contains all sorts, pigs ears, sheep ears, deer ears, liver, beef cakes etc.  Hopefully that will last them for a while!  Jo, from the stall, gave me a small bag of dried chicken necks to give to the Greyhounds and they went down very well.  If anyone from New Zealand is interested, they have got a web site (they do post overseas too!) www.pet-care.co.nz and their stuff is very yummy!

Beryl posing in front of the Feilding information area

On Saturday I must have told thousands of people why Beryl didn't have a tail!  I was wishing I'd written it all down and copied it off so I could just give people the story, lol!

But you don't need a tail to be beautiful!

When we finally got home Beryl was understandably exhausted and the thought crossed my mind that I'd leave her home to sleep while I took Frankie for a walk after we'd had tea.  But as soon as she heard me starting the 'we're going to the park' routine she sprang back to life and made it clear that no way was she going to be left behind, lol.  And she really enjoyed being outside without any people around and stretching her legs with a gallop, big grin all over her face:)

I was so proud of Beryl.  She's not a dog who needs much patting or attention and she accepted it all from thousands of strangers, a lot of whom were children who she doesn't have much experience with.  She made it plain late Saturday afternoon that she'd had enough when she started going behind the table to hide but she'd still come out, without grumbling, to be patted yet again when asked to.  Plus she's still not 100% after her tail docking, it still worries her a little and is tender but thankfully nobody touched it or trod on it when she was lying down!

Hopefully some adoptions will result from the show.  I know on Saturday, especially, we gave out lots of brochures on adoption and quite a few people went away giving very serious thought to adopting a Greyhound:)

Now, who has noticed something different about Beryl apart from her tail?  Yes, she's sporting a new collar;)

She's the Sun, Moon and Stars to me xox

Totally an impulse buy but as soon as I saw it I knew it was Beryl and couldn't resist.  It was going to be a Gotcha Day present (which isn't far away!) but shortly after I ordered it we had to dock her tail so it became a Happy Nubbin present:)

And it's Saturday Blog Hop time.

Wander over to any of the co-hosts Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers  or Confessions of the Plume! for the instructions on how to join in and have fun:)