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| 19-APR-2003 | |
On April 19, 2003 Sandy, Oneone, and Bud went to meet a prospective addition to the family: A four year old former racing greyhound. We adopetd him the following week. We adopted him through a great organization called Greyhound Friends For Life.
He and Oneone got along just fine. He made a fine new pack member.
We think he may have raced under the names "Blazing Beaumont" and "Atomic Arrow", but he was called "Gordo" after he was rescued, while he was living in the adopter's home. "Gordo," meaning "fat" in Spanish may seem to be a rather oxymoronic name for an underfed greyhound but apparently he and all the dogs he was rescued with were named for the characters on a TV show called "Lizzie McGuire." The naming task was performed by the twelve year old niece of the dogs' foster parent Lita.
While we were trying to come up with a permanent name for him "Trabi" and "Maru," being the Arabic and Sanskrit words for "sand," were high on the list. Oneone was also named for the coloring of her coat. "One" means "sand" in Hawaiian, "Oneone" means "a lot of sand," as on a beach. Finally, the name that gained the most momentum was "Kwa Kasi" (Swahili for "fast") or just plain "Kasi" ("speed") for short. Once he was home, Kasi it was.
Greyhounds are never known as meaty, husky dogs, but racing greyhounds are not well cared for (especially towards the end of their career). When they come from the track, the poor things are covered in fleas and ticks, they've got cuts, and scars all over, and the fur has been worn off their butts from being in a 3'x3'x2' kennel twenty or more hours a day. They seem a bit amazed, and very appreciative when people actually show them kindness and affection. At first he didn't know how to accept treats or eat from somebody's hand. He seemed to catch on pretty quickly.