Better Hide The Food! Because Here Comes Hungry Javy!

The First Impression That Lasted A Minute

As we may have mentioned before, Prison Greyhound’s “A Ticket Home” program was a huge success.  If you don’t remember, this was the fundraising campaign that allows us to bring up as many greyhounds as possible.  Our organization was able to bring up almost a hundred greyhounds from Florida over a two year period! However, a consequence of that achievement is the decrease in available foster homes for the most recently available greys. So many foster homes either adopted dogs, and are now at their max, or just tired of the constant fostering.  This particular issue hits close to home since Erin is the Foster Director. With the number of foster parents stretched pretty thin, if these foster folks have to travel and need a temporary spot for their foster greyhound, their options these days are limited. And I wouldn’t call Erin and me “last resorts,” as we love fostering greyhounds but, if all other resources have been ruled out, Six Pack and Callie end up with a foster brother or sister. That’s exactly how The Jesswein’s ended up puppy sitting for two year old foster Javy for three weeks.

Greyhounds are smart dogs….well most of them anyway – I wonder about Six Pack sometimes. So when foster mom Devon dropped Javy off on Easter, I wasn’t offended that he was a little afraid me. I initially thought he was looking for a place to pee because he was running around like he just guzzled a couple of cups of coffee. Turns out, he was just trying to get away from me! His reaction to me trying to pick him up to put him in the car sealed my fate as the jerk and Erin as the protector.  Not much changed after a week and a half.  He still ran to Erin whenever he was spooked. When we went on walks, he had to know where she was at all times. And whenever Six Pack growled at Javy, it’s Erin that he ran to for comfort. On a positive note, he stopped trying to run from me anymore and he learned how to jump in the car. So that meant no more awkward “What the hell are you doing dad?” moments when I would try to lift him up.

Erin’s Shadow

Every now and then a foster dog will initially attach themselves to Erin when coming to our home. But very rarely does the attachment last. It’s not without trying though, as Erin showers all of our foster greys with affection and attention. She also works from home the entire week, so it’s not like the foster greyhounds have much of a way to avoid her. So it kind of makes sense when foster dad Ryan comes home from work and hands out treats like it was greyhound cash, that the fosters lose their mind.

Well that trend had been bucked with foster Javy. Where initial appeal of Erin’s attention wears off for most fosters, Javy never forgot who feeds him. And while former foster Ebony’s face would light up when I entered the room, Javy had the biggest smile on his face and raced to meet Erin whenever she entered a room. Comparable to former foster Duchess following me around the house and trying to cuddle next to me on the couch, Javy would nuzzle his face into her arms whenever he felt lonely or nip at her arms when he felt saucy. The real smack in my face was the Javy kisses. Javy loved to give Erin kisses. I feel like a lot guys could take a few pointers from him. He approaches a little sheepishly, but then lays on the charm with his puppy dog eyes, and then lays one ya! Totally different story for me. He approaches slowly, sniffs a little, and then 9 out of 10 times, sneezed in my face!

The Treats Are Safe….. For Now

If you know your foster is food driven, you have to use it to your advantage. Especially for things like trying to get them to go to bed in the crate.  So after a night or two of Javy getting used to our sleeping arrangement, he settled into his routine. And his routine included a handful of treats to coax him into his sleeping area and convincing him to settle in for the night. As part of the deal Erin and I made with Six Pack and Callie, they also get a few treats as well during these training moments.

After only a few short weeks with Javy, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that he was quickly adopted. Not just because Javy is a fun loving, happy greyhound, but because he adores Erin. By comparison, I got to spend about seven months with Ebony while she patiently waited for the perfect home. Meanwhile, Erin had two and a half weeks of Javy’s complete and undivided attention. The cherry on top of this situation is on what should have been one of Erin’s last days spending time with the newly adopted pup, Erin had to be downtown for jury duty! For all that Erin has done for the breed, the greyhound gods sure do have a funny sense of humor.