TGIE Back In Black Foster Experience

On Thursday, July 7th, Rhett and I took a small road trip to Valparaiso, IN to pick up a greyhound. This Greyhound's name is Shadow. He came in with the "TGIE: Back in Black" Greyhound group from Coldwater, MI. TGIE stands for The Greyhound Inmate Experience. Yes, Shadow spent 10 weeks in a prison with 2 handlers named David and Tom. They kept a detailed log of Shadow's experience at the prison and when the time came, they gave him to American Greyhound to be fostered and adopted. "Back in Black" refers to the fact that every dog in this haul was black. Black dogs are least likely to be adopted from shelters or anywhere else, so the group decided to raise awareness for this issue by taking all black dogs this time. Shadow is, as his name suggests, quite the shadow dog. He's adorable! His racing name (from a track in West Virginia) was DKC Burrito, but all dogs at the prison get renamed to something more "pet-like."

I'd like to give you a rundown of the prison programs for dogs, because it is one of the most positive, amazing programs out there. All involved are benefited, from the inmates, to the grey's, to the future adopters, and even for the rescue groups. The dogs get picked up from a track and dropped off at a prison, where they undergo veterinary care such as worming treatments and vaccinations. Then get a bath! They are assigned two handlers and spend the next 24 hours/day, 7 days/week with these men for 10 weeks. During this time they are trained, socialized, fed, played with, and loved. The inmates sew dog beds and coats, knit blankets, compose poems, and for Shadow's group, they all hand painted bags to send the Greyhound "home" with. Inside the bag was Shadows stuffed bunny, fleece blanket, toothbrush and toothpaste, and the log of his stay at the prison. David and Tom wrote about how he did each week. How is appetite was, if he was scared of anything, how well he followed commands, how well he socialized with other dogs and inmates, how he played, etc. One of the things that touched me most when I read Shadow's log was that he sought out the disabled inmates and would let them pet him as long as they liked to. The whole log of Shadow's prison experience was seeped through with love. Tom and David really fell for him, not that anyone could really help themselves around him.

The prisons which are elected to have this program, must have all the inmates on good behavior. Good behavior means some of the inmates get dogs! The inmates who get to be handlers are serving life sentences, and must show exceptional behavior. Though all the inmates get to interact with the hounds during outside time, etc. It's a great reward system to keep prisons safer for all. Morale gets boosted for the cops and the inmates at the prison. The whole prison environment becomes enriched. The inmates families have comfort when they talk to their loved ones and hear the joy in their voice about working with the hounds. The greyhounds come out well trained, and very adoptable, which is great for the rescue as it makes room quickly for more hounds to be rescued. The future forever families get a wonderful dog. For me, the best part is hearing how these men, who have committed terrible crimes against humanity, now get to experience unconditional love. It gives the inmates more sense of purpose, to provide love and hope to a dog just rescued, and to even provide coats and beds and blankets that they make themselves! They learn hope and joy from these hounds; they learn what it is to be accepted for who they are. The hounds don't care what crime was committed, they have the best deal of all: and they are given the means for a successful adoption into a loving forever home. On top of which, they are provided with lots of affection until the time they leave the program. And did I mention, it's FREE?? That's right, it doesn't cost the prisons a dime (no taxpayer money), as all food and supplies are donated to/by the TGIE group. They're non-profit organization that manages the hounds going in and out of the program.

I know it is hard for the inmates to say goodbye to these beloved dogs, but they know that the dogs will be going to good homes. And after the dogs leave, a new haul arrives! A new hound to bond with, train and love.

Next post I'll actually talk some about Shadow. He got adopted almost a month ago now! I emailed the TGIE program head about Shadow's stay with Rhett and I, as well as his adoption, and she then sent the update along to his handlers. I'm just so impressed with the whole program.

A few pics to show Shadow's experience with us:

The black dogs. Pick up point in Indiana.

Shadow's Inmate Journal.

His ride home with us. He was tired, and just wanted to be close to us.

He liked going for car rides.

He thought he was sooooo sneaky, just putting his bum on the couch, but not his paws. 

The ride to Petco in Indiana where he was officially adopted.

Love you, Shadow!

The American Greyhound Picnic

It's been awhile! Roxie has been keeping us busy, you know all that sleep wears a dog out ;)

On September 12 Rhett, Roxie, and I got to experience our very first American Greyhound picnic, down in somewhere, Indiana. About an hour and a half away. They do it annually. There's costume contests, a dog run, vendors, groomers, photographers, etc. It is quite the ordeal! We had a blast. Everyone knew or knew of Roxie. She's just famous. I finally got to meet Sharon, who did our whole adoption. She interviewed us over the phone, called our references, and approved us to adopt. It was great to actually meet her face to face after so much phone time. Barbara, who was Roxie's foster mom was also there, and it was good to see her, too. We keep in contact via text. Especially those first few months we had Roxie and had lots of questions/updates for her. Roxie spent 3 months or so with Barb after all. It wouldn't have been a greyhound event without seeing Julie, Roxie's dog-sitter and honrary aunt. I made some new friends there, too. Roxie of course snubbed all of them, including Julie and Barbara. They are scary...

Roxie's emotions of the day went as follows:
You're packing up chairs and food? OMG why?! Fear.
You got my leash! Hooray! I love going with you! Joy.
We get to go in the car?! Hooray! Joy.
Oh no, there's a scary person in the crosswalk we're stopped at. Fear.
Oh good, we're on the highway. Content.
Snooze.
Arrive at the picnic. What? Where are we? Curious.
Get out of the car. There are people 20 feet away. Fear.
The whole first half of the picnic terror. Why are all of these people fawning over me?? Tell them to stop petting me cuz I'm too scared to... Oh when will the horror end?! (She's a bit of a drama queen).
To the dog run. No leash?? Joy!!! Run and play! Be the center of attention. All these male dogs are really liking me. I'm so cute. I'm so tricksy. (She waits till they're all distracted then bolts off in the opposite direction so she has a head start, they of course follow.) This is weird that I'm not the fastest dog here. When we go to the beach I'm always the fastest dog. Play! Fun! Tired now...

After that our pretty girl was much more relaxed around the people at the picnic. There was a silent auction, but we didn't win anything. We did, however, get to dress Roxie up in adorable snoods and collars to see what we liked. We also bought her the most beautiful winter coat. We've been wanting one since last year. All we had before was a fleece lined windbreaker. No bueno. She just looks adorable! And it's thick and warm. Best part is, all the proceeds from buying the coat went straight back to American Greyhound.

Even better, Julie gave me the name of a woman who makes collars for Grey's. (If you didn't know, they require a special collar cuz their heads are the same size as their necks. A regular collar just comes right off.) We just ordered a purple collar for Roxie. She's gonna look so beautiful :D Rhett laughs at me for always wanting different color snoods, scarves, booties, collars, coats, and costumes for her. She's just so pretty, how can I help myself?!

Overall, the picnic was a success. My mini cupcakes went pretty fast. The hamburgers and sides were delicious. I give it an A+. The only problem was that we got rained on. Roxie wasn't a fan. She got laughed at by a guy who's dog she took shelter under. Yes, under. Just like she would do with Bob, her brother. She's so small compared to all the other Grey's! What the guy was really laughing at though, was that she sat under his dog. She just backed up and sat so his dog was standing over most of her. Silly girl... That's what we get for teaching her to sit. (Side note: Greyhounds don't natually sit. They stand or lay because of their build.)

Now for the part of the picnic that wasn't so great. Rhett and I were getting ready to go, I had my Tupperware and was standing near a pavilion, Rhett had Roxie and was walking towards me from another pavilion. It was raining and kind of cold. Suddenly we both heard this yelping and whining. From my standpoint I looked over and saw a man wrestling his greyhound, it looked like he was trying to get a collar on her. Several Grey's on leashes stared at her and started to make growling and barking noises. Then she got away and bolted towards a group of trees that lined the highway. Something spooked her. A small group of people ran towards the fence that lined through the trees when one of them ran back and said to us all, "she doesn't have a collar on!" At this point everyone ran down there, myself included, only to see that there was a large gap in the fence. Two women immediately started crying, several people started running along the highway to look for her. A few others were calling for someone to bring a hot dog. Luckily, I had a hamburger patty in my pocket (we were using it in pieces as treats for Roxie). As I pulled it out, Rhett caught up to me. I looked at him, and I could hardly speak. My eyes had watered up. I told him that she didn't have a collar on and she got out, and I had to go help look for her (at this point the only thing holding me back was my Tupperware in hand, and wanting to let Rhett know that I was going out there). He said, "I know, give me the patty." He handed me Roxie's leash, kissed my cheek, and without another word he left. I think he knew if I were to see something horrible, I'd lose it, and my own safety could be at risk so near the highway. (Funny, I'm a nurse, and I've seen horrible things on/in/done to people, and I can put on my nurse face and I help them. With dogs, there are no words. I can't see sad things happen to them without crying. My nurse face is only good around two legged people.)

After a few minutes looking around the gap in the fence, some people were coming back to get in their cars and drive along the highway to look for her. There was a small group of us left at the pavilion. Every single one of us had a silent prayer on our lips as we went about organizing other search parties and calling the state troopers. Roxie could feel the tension. She kept her butt right against my legs and her little body shook. I just waited. And prayed. I was losing hope fast, and hoping that I could hold my tears in. That's when a miracle happened.

Rhett texted me and said, "We got her." I jumped up and yelled the message to everyone. The sigh of relief was audible. Happy tears were being shed.

The state troopers were called again and told that we had found her, so they didn't need to worry. They asked if we were going to take care of the body or if they needed to come pick it up. When we told them she was  alive they were shocked. The troopers told us that finding a dog loose on the highway alive almost never happens.

I got a picture message from Rhett right as he was getting back with the dog. Rhett was the second person to her, and the first to give us the update. I felt a little more validated for staying behind with Roxie during the search since I was the one able to share the news. I had been praying so hard... (Even typing this story is making my heart race). I could never even imagine something like that happening to Roxie. I would lose all function if it were her who had bolted off. I don't want to think about the wails that would come out of my body at even the thought that she might have gotten hit by a car. The whole time we waited, I kept her very close to me and gave her a few hugs.

I'm grateful to my Father in Heaven that the story had such a happy ending. The whole way home I kept saying little thank you prayers in my heart. Julie's nephew was the first to get to the dog (he was the one holding her in Rhett's picture message), Rhett was second, and everyone hailed them as hero's. I think it made them both a little uncomfortable, but I couldn't stop kissing Rhett. My hero husband, and Roxie's hero dad. I was so impressed with Rhett when he just came to me, got the hamburger, kissed me quick and left. No words were needed in that moment. My tears and his actions spoke enough for us.

The whole way home Roxie slept. It was kinda hilarious. She usually doesn't sleep well in the car, she just snoozes on and off. She was out cold, though. She was a bit wet, so I covered her with a blanket and she didn't even budge. She just snuggled in farther. She slept the rest of the day, that whole night, and most of the next day. It was a stressful event, so it took awhile to recover I guess. Haha.

As a note: this is the first time something like this has ever happened at an American greyhound event. At the same time, what better place for it to happen, when so many greyhound lovers are gathered in one spot? Every single one of us there jumped into some sort of action. It affected every single one of us. I don't know if there was a dry eye in the pavilion.

Hug your dog tight, and never let go! Miracles do happen. God hears our prayers. People are good. Greyhounds are the best.

Mary and Roxie, signing out. Time to go snuggle in bed for a good day of sleep! Zzzzzzzzzzz....

A family picture :)

Some of the silent auction items. I was in love with all the greyhound art.

Rhett and Roxie (who is wearing pearls, cuz she's so pretty) with a few of the greyhounds attending the picnic in the background. <3