And then Star started growling and snapping at everyone and every dog. She started refusing meals. Within two days she refused to get up and couldn’t control her bladder or bowels. We immediately took her to our vet who, after a thorough exam could find nothing “wrong” with her. Basically, she was an old dog who was starting to die.

That came down on me like a ton of bricks. As an adult, I have never had a pet  pass away. Never in my life have I ever had to make the decision to euthanize a dog. A couple weeks before, Star was running! How was this happening????? I spent as much time with Star as she would tolerate, searched my soul and had several long and tearful discussions with Ken. We both knew that the kindest gift we could give her at that point, was to help her to the Bridge with dignity and surrounded by love. And we did just that.

Star spent ten, too-short, weeks living with us. She will spend eternity in our hearts and memories.

Burn Bright, Shining Star

That was how the story started.

The woman said that she would put Bridget down if she couldn’t find a good home. She wasn’t willing to let her go to an adotion group unless there was a home already waiting. (Can you see this going downhill?) We didn’t know how old she was, what color she was, how big she was…We only knew that a senior greyhound needed a new home, and that was all we needed to know. We decided that we had room in our hearts and home for Bridget, so we started the process to adopt her. The woman wanted pictures of our yard, references, etc., which we gladly provided. The owner “approved” us and transportation was arranged with the help of fellow GreyTalkers. We began counting down the days until we met our new baby. Although we decided to adopt her sight-unseen, the owner did email a few pictures of Bridget from her ounger days, so we learned she was a light brindle beauty. When we met our ‘connection’ at Project Racing Home in Greensboro we were absolutely shocked at what we saw. This poor girl was at least 15 lbs underweight. She only had 6 teeth left in head and they all needed to come out due to severe tooth and gum disease. Her nails were easily 2 inches long and had curled under. She could barely stand and had difficulty walking. Her ancient martingale had to be cut off of her neck. Every person at the kennel that day was stunned into silence, tears welling up in their eyes at the sight of this poor baby.

We thought: ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? The woman who neglected Bridet into this state was being picky about where she was re-homed?

Our first meeting with Star in the turn-out pen at Project Racing Home

Ken holding Star after her bath; given at Project Racing Home

After a nail trim and a bath, we coudl already see her spirits lifting. We replaced her dirty old collar with a beautiful new Majestic Collar picked out especially for her. We decided to sever all connections to her previous life, giving away everything that came with her (I’m pretty sure it was all thrown out because I don’t think you could wash the terrible stink out of  the blankets). After all of the neglect and abuse (it is abusive to let a hound get into her condition), with just a little care and tenderness she started to rebound. On the way home from Greensboro, this greyhound that had trouble standing when we first met her a few  hours earlier got up to look out the window with her new brother Prajna. She was a bright, shicning example of why we love this breed…and we decided her new name would be Star.

We later learned that Star’s racing name was K’s Dianne ad that she was 14 years old. She was also deaf…It actually took about a week to figure out that she couldn’t hear, because she integrated with the pack so seemlessly. She simply queued off them to know when it was time to go outside or eat.

Star and Prajna looking forward to making new memories.