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You might notice that I've added a couple of columns to the right side. Music and books. The lists are a bit short right now as I haven't had time to sit down and compile the books I've read in the past couple of years. Music will be a bit more current, keeping up with what I listen to day to day. I'm a firm believer that social networking is the best way to expand musical tastes and experience different genres of music. So, if you have any recommendations, please let me know!

Updating the dogs. Sweeney is just about ready to get running again. His toe looks really good and he's finally not showing any lameness. He's been free running the backyard for a couple of weeks now with very good results. Not sure what's up with Lobo. Talked to one of our friends and she thinks it might be a slight tendon rupture. He's not very lame, even when he is. Right now I think we'll just let him rest a bit. No reason to push too much! Everett is doing well after his collision with Zydeco last Saturday at the Regional. That was one nasty wreck! Everett got thrown into the air ass over tea-kettle! He had the wind knocked out of him, but luckily that was the extent of his injuries. He finished 4th in the Regional.

Everett continues to amaze me. In St Louis, he finished his LCM 8 on Saturday, got first Sunday and took first on Friday before the Regional. So, he has 2 firsts and 100+ points for his LCM 9. I'd like to get that finished this year, just depends on how much we do. I know we'll have the end of year, but beyond that, maybe just ACC. We'll see.

Sweeney and Ruthanna

I love this picture of Ruthanna and Sweeney from way back. Another great photo from Dan Gauss.

Sweeney is a stud!

So Sweeney had his surgery today and is out and on his way home. Dr. Carmichael removed the P3 cleanly and closed the pad over the removed area. Sweeney will have crate restriction for a few weeks while the toe heals, followed by a prolonged rehab period (don't ask how long 'cause we play it by ear).

Now to the really cool part. While Sweeney was on the surgery table a Chihuahua came in needing an emergency c-section. She had already had several pups at home, but evidently the rest just wouldn't come. Well, Dr. Carmichael did the surgery but the Chihuahua needed a transfusion. The clinic didn't have any blood on hand, so they used Sweeney for the transfusion. So while he was out, Sweeney saved the life of someone's beloved pet and mother to puppies. SWEENEY ROCKS!

This is broken

Good and bad from the SEGC trial this past weekend in Cartersville. Let's do the good first. Sweeney won FCh Greyhounds on Saturday pretty convincingly. I do love to watch that dog run. Takes my breath away every time. Everett finished second on Saturday out of 17 FCh Whippets and Lobo tied for NBQ but we forfeited. On Sunday, Lobo finished 2nd in his flight of 10 and Everett finished 3rd in his. So, not firsts, but Maurice and Deb brought some damn good competition! Congratulations to them for their sweep on Sunday (1st in Open, FCh A, FCh B, Vet and BIE). DebMar's Lilly took Best in Event.

Now for the bad news. Sweeney broke a P3 in finals Saturday. He's having it taken care of as I type. With any luck at all, he'll be mended and back on the field soon. After being cared for by the immensely talented Dr. Toby Carmichael, Sweeney was barely aware of any injury and was being his usual goofy self.

If you have any questions about what is going on, or you hear any rumors, please feel free to contact me personally and I'll be glad to give you more info than I'm sure you'd want!

On another topic, sportsmanship is important. Let's keep this in mind especially when we're disappointed in the scores our dogs get. I know that I've had my moments on the field and shown my ass, but I hope that I've been able to make amends for those moments and have been able to grow and learn. Anyway, please try to remember that what we do is fun and a judge's score can't injure your dog. What's most important are the two ends to the dog. If they're wagging their tail and grinning then it's all good. No matter what the judges say.

SEGC

SEGC is this weekend at Old Mill. We should have good weather for the hounds (60's-70'ish) and hopefully dry.

Here's a picture of Sweeney.