Hey!

Don't forget about me!

I happen to know a thing or two about this flutter-bunny chasing too you know!

Let me show you my stuff. ;-)





Zephyr better watch out! Today 50 feet, tomorrow .... I sleep!

Signing Out,
Astro

Field Champion Zephyr!

Two weeks ago Zephyr, Astro, and I went to New Mexico for a two day lure coursing trial put on by the Albuquerque Whippet Fanciers Association and Zephyr finished his field championship! Yeah!! I actually didn't find out until this Thursday because I had thought he needed two more points. It turns out he only needed one, which he got on Saturday at the trial. I had made a mistake on figuring out the points he got for a Best in Field win from last spring. All of these great photos were taken by Shot On Site Photography, except one from Robin Greene!


Yes, I feel kind of like a dork for messing that up but, I am pretty new at all this. None the less, I am very proud of Zephyr. We're planning a celebration involving baked goods, Zephyr takes after his mother, maybe pie or muffins. :-) When we go to New Mexico he courses with some very awesome greyhounds, and that's not an exaggeration. Here in Arizona he is usually the only greyhound so, I'm really happy that he was able to finish his field championship running with such great dogs!

As usual, Zephyr was so excited to be able to go coursing that he could barely contain himself. The next few pictures show me barely containing him. It was all very fun, I felt like I was the hopping bunny.

Here's the face of determination. Thanks to Robin Greene for this picture!

Notice how far ahead of the other dogs and handlers we are yet everyone is still holding their hounds? Well, that's because Zephyr was pulling very hard and I lost balance and took two hops to get to this point. All I could do was hold tight and pray for the "Tally Ho". The next pictures shows what happened when I released him.

Pretty funny!

A much smoother release on his second run.

Putting on the brakes!

One very, very happy boy! ZEPHYR LOVES TO COURSE! It is definitely his favorite thing to do. Thanks to everyone who has helped and encouraged us along the way, I really appreciate it all. I still think one of the best things about having dogs and going to events is all the great friends you make. We're headed off to Phoenix, Gilbert really, for a trial on Sunday. Happy, Happy, Safe Coursing!

Brothers

Things are going well here in puppyhood. Zephyr and Astro are still getting along really well (with the rare little grump from Zephyr). They really love to play tug together, this is new for Zephyr. Crate training is going well, although Astro has figured out how to escape from the top by pushing the zipper open and climbing out. He is very smart! So, today I had to make paper clip locks.


Zephyr likes him so much that it lead to an injury this weekend. Zephyr accidentally squashed Astro's leg. :-( Astro cried a lot and then wouldn't put pressure on it so I rushed him off to the vet. There is no break, but she said it is really bruised, gave him a low dose of Rimadyl, and said no rough housing for awhile. I'm not sure how that worked out this morning because when I came home a few hours after leaving Astro was out of his crate and curled up in Zephyr's bed. Who knows what happened in between.


Astro is sleeping through the night now. Yeah! Training is going well, he already new how to sit and down (a gifted child) and we are working on leash walking. I'm working on teaching him to ring bells to go outside and potty.



I think Zephyr looks like a lion in a tree waiting to eat all those gazelles on the chair in this picture. Zephyr can't wait until Astro gets a little bigger and they can run around and cause all kinds of trouble. Currently he is talking (barking and making the fun rumbling sounds) it up and saying who knows what to Astro.