One day an email dropped into my inbox from a good friend who’s name also happens to be Heather. She’d been on a distro list asking for help for two senior greys that were retiring from blood donor duties at a vet clinic in Alabama and were now looking for a home. Heather forwarded me the email not because she thought we would adopt them, but because she thought we might have some connections with other groups to help these two out.

When I read their names I was taken aback: Elvis and Casino. Since Ken and I were married in Las Vegas their names seemed to be a sign! So I read further…Elvis was 9 and Casino was 13. Both were retired racers who’d left the track and started a second career living at a vet office and saving the lives of other dogs by donating their blood. When I saw their pictures my heart skipped a couple beats and I knew they were meant to be a part of our family. So I emailed the adoption rep that was placing them and started the process. It seems that there had been a few inquiries on Elvis and Casino, but their adoption angel was holding out for a very special home. A home that would appreciate them and love them…and she decided that that home was with us.

A short time later, I was driving to Alabama to pick up our new babies Elvis and Casino. As it turns out, Casino’s racing name was Rapido Casino. And donating blood wasn’t her second career, it was actually her third! She’d also been a brood momma at some point and whelped two litters. By learning her racing name, I also learned that she was a whole year younger than we’d though…a spry 12 years old! I can’t imagine the life this old gal has lead and all the people she has met along the way. On the way home, I told her that her long-deserved retirement had begun. And all she had to do from now on was be happy and loved.

Casino and Elvis' Adoption Day

Casion explores her new yard

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