You Ain't Nothin' But a Houndog!

As my little "sighthound" kept me awake last night jumping at every noise and walking around on my bed trying to settle in, I thought I would dedicate this post to the "cunning and manipulative" hounds that stole my mom's heart... Anyone who has known my mom for the last decade or so knows that my mom had three furry, four-legged children that I think she loved as much as Whitney and me! Cannon, Hilda and Q were the greyhound loves of Mom's life, and they brought her so much joy over the years they were with her. Mom had talked about adopting a greyhound for as long as I can remember. But it was still a shock when she showed up at Dad's to pick me up to go to Lexington, and from the back seat lumbers a gentle brindle giant! It was love at first sight, and I don't think I had ever seen my mom look happier. And the light in her eyes still shone when Cannon walked into my dad's house and promptly peed on the wall!

Over the next couple of years, she adopted two more hounds, Hilde the timed and Q idiot king. Don't get me wrong, Q was the great love of MY life, but he was, in my mom's words, "dumber than a box of rocks"! Even though Cannon was always my mom's baby, "Big" or "Kiki" as she often called him, I think Hilde came in a close second. She was adorable, and she had those eyes that made it impossible to be mad at her. I can still hear my mom in her high pitched "dog" voice saying "Oh, you little Baby Heel. She just a Baby Heel, and she just a Baby Heel". Hmmm...I AM turning into my mother! And oh, how I loved to make them howl! You could get Cannon going, and the others picked right up, and Mom and I would be laughing so hard we were crying! Q and Hilde quickly learned that the bed was the only place fit for them to sleep, and Cannon always slept loyally by my mom's side on the floor. They made me feel safe when I watched the house while Mom was out of town. But Mom could never be gone too long because she always had to go home and "take care of the dogs", which drove a lot of people crazy! But they were her life, especially when she lived in Williamstown. When Mom finally joined the 21st Century and got email, her email and screenname were DJ3hounds. The hounds were her friends, her family, her confidantes, her entertainment and her protection. They were spoiled incessantly, and rightly so after the awful lives they endured at the track. I am just greatful that Mom never had to see them deteriorate because of her own health concerns, so hopefully she will always remember them as they were back then. And I know that she would have fallen hard for my little Ruby, because she is a perfect mix of all three of the original pack. So here's to the hounds that made my mom's last few good years ones filled with wet noses, muddy paws and incredible companionship.