I’m a little behind on the last couple of weeks but better late than never. I think just about everyone knows about our most recent family addition but I’ll still document it here for memories sake. 
We’ve been talking about getting another dog for a couple of years but I keep putting the brakes on it because I just wasn’t ready for that responsibility again. But I finally gave in and told a very happy family that I was ready. Around 2 years ago we saw a greyhound at a neighborhood block party and loved it. Michael started researching them and convinced me that was the dog for us. They’re beautiful, well mannered, don’t bark, are crate trained, usually house trained, not a lot of health problems and they only have energy in short spurts. Otherwise they just lay around for the most part. That’s our kind of dog!
We started researching where to adopt greyhounds and found a shelter in Springfield. We’ve been looking at the adoptable dogs for years but again, mommy just wasn’t ready. So when I finally gave the all clear we had to fill out an application, have a home inspection/interview process (including personal references) and FINALLY pick out our new dog. Not a quick process but our boy was so worth the wait.
The weekend before school started we drove to Silver Dollar City for one more hoorah and stayed over in Springfield so we could visit the dogs the next day. We were going to see 3 dogs, Judy, Petals and Cher. She also told me that she was getting another dog that week but didn’t know the details yet. We had looked at each of the dogs pictures, read their descriptions over and over as well as talked to the shelter director about them. We met Cher on Friday morning before SDC because she was staying in a different home and fell in love. She was very shy and hesitant but so sweet. She had not been a racer so she hadn’t been been given the best care. And then we saw our Stan man on Saturday and fell in love with him too. He was so beautiful and easy going and HUGE. She had 10 greyhounds there and he was the biggest one. We talked it over and decided that Stanley would just be a better fit for us and might have an easier transition than Cher. So we loaded him up in the back which was no easy feat for an 80 lb dog that doesn’t know how to ride in a car. It was very odd leaving with a dog that we didn’t know anything about when we had spent so much time dreaming about the other dogs. But it didn’t take us long to fall in love with our big boy. He spent most of the first day in his kennel, wary of us and our crazy kids. But by the second day he was comfortable in his bed sleeping most of the day.
He’s raced in 75 races and won 13 of those. His racing name was Country Stanley and his brother, Country Sammy is still racing. The foster home we went through, www.gpamo.com, also adopted out his mom a few years ago and remembered her as a sweet lovable girl. We couldn’t find pictures of his mom but he looks exactly like his maternal grandpa and great grandpa. Right down to the white patch on his chest.
Stanley is adjusting to being a house dog quite nicely. He gets up a little early for us and is ready to go at 6:00 every morning. And he’s definitely a morning dog. He goes outside then comes in ready to play. So far that’s included playing with my bedroom curtains, pillows off the bed and a pair of pants I left out. Not to mention his other favorite pastime of raiding the kids rooms of stuffed animals and pillows. But after he’s had his breakfast he retires to his bed for most of the day. He LOVES to eat! He has playful spurts with us outside where he can run. We still need to take him to the dog park to really let him run but it’s been a little too warm. He gets hot and gives out very easily. He loves attention and is so gentle with everyone. We took him to the square Friday night and he did so good. He never showed his stress and met lots of new people. The only problems we’re having is getting him to walk on tile/wood floors. He does NOT like those and slips and slides everywhere. And he is just about impossible to get in the car. It’s a 2 person job so no quick rides to school for this boy. And it’s been an interesting adjustment to go from a 3 lb Chihuahua to an 80 lb small horse. Everything is just so big! But that’s what we wanted and Michael is so proud to have such a manly dog after having our little girly girl Ellie. Stanley has been a gentle, sweet, loving addition to our family!
One of Stanley’s races before he retired. He’s the one in front!
Look at those muscles!
This is his “I hear you but I’m not worried about it” look.
Just watching a plane go by. 
Peter was doing a little morning “fishing” and caught more than he bargained for.