A couple days ago, in my hometown, a very serious situation occurred, which could easily have

become a tragedy, if not for the quick thinking of some alert citizens. Here's the report I received last

Monday:

K9 Rescued After Being Left in Hot Vehicle

Valparaiso Police were called to the Walmart parking lot, 2400 Morthland Dr (3:45 p.m.) for a K9 locked inside a vehicle. Police arrived and located the K9 locked inside a vehicle and the windows slightly down.

Witnesses informed police the dog had been inside the vehicle for approximately one hour. The K9 was panting heavily and appeared to be in distress. Numerous attempts were made to locate the vehicle's owner inside the store with negative results. Porter County Animal Control were called to the scene. Police and the Animal Control Officer were able to unlock the door and the K9 was rescued from the hot vehicle.

Once outside the vehicle the K9 was given water and Animal Control took possession of the dog. Police later located the K9's owner and police/animal control continue to investigate the incident.

Important reminders during this time of the year--- Every year dogs die from being left in hot cars. Many studies show that an open window makes little difference. An outside temperature of 78 degrees reaches120 degrees inside a vehicle in just 30 minutes.

During this time of the year, leave your dog at home where it's cool and safe!

Pretty scary stuff! So, please, remember, leave your hound at home in hot weather if you are doing any shopping or have to leave them in the vehicle for any reason. Also, make sure they have plenty of fresh water available to them and that they don't over-exert themselves during the hottest part of the day. Be especially vigilant with black or other dark colored dogs (their dark coats absorb the sun's heat faster than lighter colored dogs).

After the winter we just suffered through, we're all glad for some warmer weather. Let's just take the proper precautions to assure that the warm weather doesn't turn a nice day into a tragedy! 

-Jeff Coggins

It's not too late to get your Corvette raffle tickets!

Tickets for the raffle are $100 and a maximum of 250 tickets will be sold.  You can purchase your tickets here:  http://www.leavingtracks.org/default.html. The drawing will be the second weekend in August, location to be announced. 

Years ago, I was made aware of a recreational activity, lure coursing, that many sight-hounds, greyhounds included, were able to take part in. I learned that lure coursing field trials took place on a regular basis in Northwest Indiana. I decided then and there that I would attend one of these field trials, learn more about them, and possibly pass the information along to our adopters who may be interested in participating with or without their hounds.

But, as I mentioned, that was years ago, and of course, I never made it out to see what lure coursing was all about. Then, earlier this spring, I ran into a couple of our supporters, Mark Laatsch and Sue Bond. Somehow, the conversation turned to Mark having Afghan hounds, and that he participated with them in lure coursing. I mentioned that I had always wanted to attend a trial, but never found time in my schedule to do so. They mentioned that Mark would be running his girl Nina at Stoney Run County Park in a couple of weeks if I'd be interested in attending. Well, here was an opportunity to take a look at this activity and I did happen to be free that day, so I put it down on my schedule.

When I arrived at the park on the morning of the event, I was taken aback by the numbers of different sight-hounds in attendance. In addition to greyhounds, I saw Borzoi's, whippets, Scottish Deerhounds, Salukis, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and Afghan hounds. It was actually kind of interesting to see all these other breeds, and to see how similar they were to greyhounds (for the most part anyway, it would have been a stretch to see a greyhound in the Rhodesian Ridgebacks).

Lure coursing is a performance event developed in the early 70's by California sight-hound fanciers who hunted jackrabbits in the open field, which risked the harm caused by barbed wire fencing. They invented lure coursing as a safer, more controlled sport for sight-hounds that would recreate the physical requirements of open field coursing, allowing them to continue testing the functional abilities of their sight-hounds. The hounds chase plastic bags on a course laid out to simulate escaping game. The bags are attached to a line that is pulled an electric motor, through a series of pulleys laid out to

cause the lure to change directions. The hounds are judged and scored based on the following criteria: follow-15%, enthusiasm-15%, agility-25%, speed-25%, endurance-20%. The hounds pursue the lure in groups of up to three, and at the start are slipped (let loose) by handler.

I witnessed the first round coursing of all the hounds participating that day, so I was able to see all the different breeds work. It was very interesting to see, and not just for me. Whenever the course was being run, the hounds on the sideline (those not running at the time) would get very excited to see the lure running through the course, in some cases were actually howling with excitement. There was absolutely no doubt, these dogs enjoyed being out there.

On a side note, while running the course, the hounds were off lead and in an area that was not fenced. While I would not be completely comfortable with exposing my hounds to this level of freedom, there were absolutely no issues with dogs running off, or even exhibiting interest in doing so.

If you are interested in joining in on the fun or would just like a little more information about lure coursing, go to the American Sighthound Field Association's website, www.asfa.org. The ASFA is one of the governing bodies of lure coursing, the other is the American Kennel Club (AKC). Whether you participate with your hounds or just go to enjoy the sights, and sounds of sight- hounds doing what comes natural to them, lure coursing should be of great interest to those of us who

own and love greyhounds. -Jeff Coggins

Hi! You may remember my previous articles regarding the unfortunate and tragic events of our sweet Netti suffering with Blastomycosis. Then you may recall my "calls for updates" from those of you who are the proud parents of TGIE graduates. Thank you to those of you who submitted stories and pictures of your greys.

The beautiful picture you see is our precious Marley, aka Sweetie. She was a TGIE graduate on December 12th, experiencing the loss of Netti in September. Unfortunately, Marley became ill the first of the year, suffering from what was determined to be a brain tumor. We loved and supported her in our efforts to save her, though she died on March 17th. However, the story did not end there.

Gaye Ann reached out to us after hearing our heartbreaking news. She informed the handlers, who were very sad, remembering Sweetie from such a short time ago. Over the next few weeks, we received emails from Jeff and Gaye Ann, expressing their disbelief and sympathy over losing two greys within 6 months of one another. Near the end of March we received a package in the mail. Inside was a beautiful handmade card with poems, personal memories of Marley, little prayers and hand drawn pictures. The handlers had created their own sympathy card, unlike any other, and certainly one that

brought tears but also smiles of peace.

If you have a TGIE dog in your home, please reach out to the handlers with updates on your grey. The dogs are like distant family members, out in the world with no knowledge of their well being. My husband, Stan, and I were so touched and moved by the love, sincerity, and heartfelt tribute the handlers expressed about Marley. They truly connect with the dogs and openly care for them.

Send me any updates or pictures you may have. They don't have to be anything special, just a few words to let them know how your special family member is doing. We all know how full our lives are with our hound, you can imagine how empty theirs become after they leave.

A final update from me....we are getting a new TGIE graduate on July 10th! We can't wait. You know how when you are standing or sitting somewhere and your grey comes up to your side? You automatically place your hand on their head and stroke them.....our hands are lonely.

Send your updates to: [email protected]

Thanks!

Cheryl Tyson

 It's that time of year again.

Time to start putting together a picnic committee, so they can put on a picnic.

This year's picnic will be held Saturday, September 6th, and once again our Chairperson is Loree McKinney.

Trust me when I tell you, putting together the picnic takes a lot of effort from a lot of people. So, if you are able, we'd sure appreciate your help in making this year's picnic even better than the last.

To be a part of this effort, please contact Loree at (219)241-5051 or e-mail her at

[email protected].

Check out this great new item we are offering!  This zip up hooded sweatshirt is $43 and comes in the colors shown with our logo on it.