Your Donations Have Helped...

Your donations have helped ...

   DELLA .... by Patty Comerford

Della, a beautiful black greyhound girl with a white chest, paws and tip of her tail, was born on May 21, 1999 as part of a litter of 10. She never raced, and was adopted through GFNJ from the Plainfield track in Connecticut in December of 2002. Della's first owner was an older retired military man whose wife had recently died. He was fond of saying "Della saved my life". Over the next year this man adopted two other greys from GFNJ - Bambi and Max.  I knew Della from Meet & Greets, and would baby-sit the three dogs a couple of times a year. Della always reminded me of the oldest sibling from a dysfunctional family - serious, responsible, always watching out for the other dogs.

Della loved her owner.   She would look at him exclusively - pretty much ignoring everyone else when he was around. However, this man decided that his younger girlfriend was more important than his three dogs, and returned Bambi and Max to GFNJ in July of 2005 where they were readopted to new loving homes. Della was given to someone which was a breach of the adoption contract and she did not have the "safety net" of Greyhound Friends of NJ.

Our paths often cross again with those that we think we will never see again. In May of 2006, I received a phone call from a receptionist at my regular vets office, Berg Animal Hospital in Matawan. They had received a phone call from a woman who had a greyhound that she wanted to put to sleep. The dog had been limping over the past couple of weeks and this woman was not willing to have testing or treatment. The receptionist said that they would not put a dog down without an exam, and asked the woman to call me. Fortunately, she did. But before I even spoke to her I knew the greyhound in trouble was Della. I just knew.

This new owner said that Della wasn't eating, walking and "laid around like a lump". I asked her if she wanted to return Della to GF, and the answer was "Yes". I made arrangements to pick Della up and immediately bring her to Berg Animal Hospital for an exam. When I arrived to pick Della up, she got up and greeted me. Della was returned with a dirty bed soaking wet with urine, a bag of Kibble and Bits and some cans of Pedigree. She was limping but mobile.

Della was examined at Berg Animal Hospital - blood work and x-rays. My worst suspicions were confirmed - she had osteosarcoma in her upper left shoulder. We discussed several treatment options, and Della was given pain medication. Arrangements were made for her to be seen by Dr. Fred, an oncologist at Red Bank Veterinary with the sanction of Greyhound Friends of NJ. Dr. Fred laid out the treatment options - pain reduction using medication, radiation, chemo, amputation or a combination of several of these things. His recommendation was amputation and chemo, with a CT scan first to make sure that the cancer had not spread to Della's lungs. According to Dr. Fred, amputation is the only true way to stop the horrible pain that comes with osteosarcoma. Della's blood work indicated that she was a good candidate for amputation - she also was not overweight and did not have arthritis. But at age 7, was this something that we wanted to do to her?

Greyhound Friends of NJ, without hesitation agreed to undertake the financial responsibility for Della.   We scheduled the CT scan which would help us determine if amputation might make sense - if the cancer had spread to Della's lungs it did not; but if the lungs were clear then we needed to seriously consider removing the leg. The CT scan was clear.

Arrangements were made for Dr. Zolton, an orthopedist from Round Valley Veterinary Clinic to remove Della's leg. The surgery was on May 25th. I brought Della to my mom's house the next day. Why my mom? Well, she has two greyhounds who have had osteosarcoma and legs removed, and both have survived much longer than anyone ever dreamed (Bojangles is 4 years post surgery and Midnite Missy is 3 years post surgery). Della was up and moving around the night of her surgery and walked out of Dr. Zolton's and to the truck.

Since the operation, Della has done very well. Initially we kept her separated from the other greys as we were afraid she would get bumped by them, but Della decided after a few days that being alone wasn't for her. She is now in the middle of 9 other greys. She jumps on the couch, has never had an accident, and loves to be petted and kissed. The girl who was somewhat distant and aloof is now looking for affection and giving kisses. We put a tee shirt on her so she doesn't lick her stitches, and she looks really cute dressed up.

Della is due to start chemotherapy at Harlingen Veterinary Clinic with Dr. Chris Newman this week. There will be at least 4 treatments - all about 9 hours long each. Fortunately dogs generally don't have the same negative side effects as people with chemo. After chemotherapy, Della will go for lung x-rays with Dr. Fred every 3 months to make sure that the cancer is not in her lungs (the first secondary site usually). She will eat fish and potato dry food, wet food designed for dogs with cancer, and take multiple vitamins recommended by a holistic vet. She will have a home with either me or my mom for the rest of her life.

But none of this could have happened without assistance from GFNJ, who paid the bills as Della does not currently have an owner. And it is through the generous donations of people who support our events, who send in Membership dues, who encourage adoptions and who do lots of other fundraising that greyhounds like Della get a second and third chance at a happy life.

Meeka

Meeka BEFORE surgery A happy Meeka in her new home AFTER surgery
MEEKA .... by Laura Mease

Meeka (formerly Nitro Cookie) is a beautiful, 7 year old, fluffy light fawn greyhound. She was returned to GFNJ by her family on March 14^th, 2006, after 4 years, partially due to a divorce and partially because she had ruptured one of her salivary glands (salivary mucocele), and they didn’t want to pay for the corrective surgery. Meeka lived near us in Hamilton Twp. (Mercer Co.), NJ. Since we had previous experience when one of our greyhounds, Panda, ruptured his salivary gland, we agreed to foster her. When Meeka's family dropped her off, they showed very little emotion. The only thing they brought for her was a wooden elevated food stand with plastic bowls and a dirty old rubber ball. No fluffy toys, no bed, no coat, no paperwork - nothing to show for 4 years of having her in their family. And, her shot records were not up to date. They said they would call in a few days to see how she was doing, but never did.

The first night she arrived, we brought Meeka to meet our good friends and neighbors one street over from us, Harry and Claire Smith. The Smith’s have a black greyhound named Bubba (Halo Appleseed), who they adoped from GFNJ approximately a year ago after he was dumped by his owners in a neighborhood close by when they moved. Because we have a full house with our own 7 greyounds and 5 cats, Harry and Claire offered to foster Meeka.

Meeka bonded with them immediately. Harry is retired and Meeka followed him everywhere during the day. Then when Claire came home after work, she followed her around. She was eating well, playing with toys and constantly showered Bubba with kisses. She has such a nice personality – gentle, loving, and affectionate. After the first night of being sad, she never again showed anxiety. We know she is much happier than where she had been and has been treated like a princess! Harry and Claire fell in love with her after just a few days, and said they wanted to adopt her after the surgery.

Greyhound Friends of NJ did not hesitate to authorize any treatment/surgery required to regain Meeka's quality of life.

We took Meeka to the Veterinary Emergency Specialty Center (VSEC) in Langhorne, PA for an evaluation on March 22^ndwith surgeon, Dr. Cathy Popovich. The checked her right in, and performed surgery the next day. The surgery went very well and cost $1,200! Meeka had to stay at the vet overnight, and while she was there, the Smith’s greyhound Bubba, after only a week together, missed her terribly and was searching their house for her and crying. We picked Meeka up the following day. She had a drain in her throat and was very groggy, so she spent the first night after surgery at our house in the safety of our big dog crate. But she really missed her new mom, dad and brother, and would not eat. So, on Saturday she went back to her new home. She was so excited to be back with the Smith’s and immediately ate one of Claire’s special corn muffins with her medicine hidden inside. Within a day or two, she was eating very well and playing with her toys as if nothing happened. The drain was removed the following Wednesday, and the stitches were remove a week later.

By the second week in April, the Smith’s officially adopted Meeka. As an adoption present, we bought her a pretty pink flowered collar, a matching pink harness and a new leash. She is extremely happy in her new home and they constantly tell us what a pleasure it is to have her with them. She is an angel. Harry and Claire each have medical issues that prevent them from walking the dogs. So, several times a week, Gary and I go over and take Meeka and Bubba out for walks. In a way, she is part of our family, too.

Meeka was given a second chance to a wonderful, loving life through the care given by Greyhound Friends of NJ and its volunteers.