Bendy Minty

Kelly February 08

Kelly February 08

If I could speak   I awake from my sleep and stretch open my eyes I must have been dreaming but to my surprise The children rush in and they’re followed by Mam I do my best leap’s and I don’t give a damn They stroke me and pat me and call me by name I give them my best licks then run round the garden again I spin and I turn and I slam on my brakes I’ve come to my new home and I’ll not make mistakes   I’m fed this big breakfast it’s like being at the Ritz The on slip’s my jacket and I’m thrilled to bits It’s off to the park where I see my new friends I meet Dotty the poodle and Mum feeds the hens On the way home we stop at the shops Mr. Fenwick the butcher he gives me a treat It’s a nice juicy bone scrummy to eat We pass by the school and the children they shot “Look there’s Jonty the new dog strutting about”   We arrive back home and I feel rather sleepy I climb into my bed but then I feel weepy I soon drift off and I dream of the past Thos long endless days when life was so sad I dreamed of my old friends still living that life Still trapped in their kennels from morn until night No cosy fire to warm them right through With big plumped up cushions if they could only come too   I’ve got toys and chews and a garden to roam This is now a place I can call my own But what can I do for these friends of mine I have no voice so I cry and I whine But maybe just maybe I’ll wait and I’ll see For one day soon they may come and join me   Bev Riddick A Happy Tale   Another dawn another day the greyhound man he comes our way Another long and boring day, it’s endless in this cage No gentle strokes no play no love, Oh what I’d give for some undying love The hours and days tick by at a pace, But my time moves slowly except when I race   Then one day I hear him, that dog will have to go He never wins his races he’s too old and slow I shiver and I shake oh what am I to do If I could only break fee I could run away too   A day has now passed and I see him this man He walks down our yard, with his cap in his hand He stands and he looks with a smile on his face I can hear him say ‘you’ve run your last race’ He puts on my lead and he takes me away We travel sometime on the cushion I lay   We stop with a jolt and arrive at this house He calls “we’re home Judy” and I hear her shout “Oh you poor little thing so hungry and cold” As tears fill her eyes and she kneels on the ground With the gentlest of voices she talks in my ear “You’ve found your safe haven and here’s where you’ll stay Come meet your new friends they’ll all want to play”   I’m given a name and they call my Rose For they say that I’ll blossom with each passing day I feel so much better just in this short time And upon my face I manage a smile   I’m taken one day to my new family It’s out in the country I’m happy as can be I’ve a new Mum and Dad there’s a boy and a girl They laugh and they shout as they spin and twirl They seem so happy just like me And now we’re a complete forever family   Bev Riddick 16th August 2006   Dear DGR readers, Just to let you know that I have now been happily living with Anne and Robin Yates in Repton, Derbyshire for the past 16 months. Although I am still rather apprehensive of dogs other than in our family, Spring the greyhound and Scaffey the boxer, I do enjoy free runs whenever possible. I am now playing with my toys but of course I will never be interested in retrieving [not in my nature]. My most favourite occupation, apart from eating and sleeping, is lying in the back of the car, moving or static. I do love travelling. Everyone was relieved when I stopped stealing food when no one was looking. I once peeled a bunch of 6 bananas carefully, leaving the peels laid out in a line. They also were not too thrilled when I disposed of 2 phones [well the answer phone disturbed me]. All that is now well in the past. I can honestly report that I am extremely happy and thank you Al for placing me as you did.   Yours Grace. [Previously Iris Grace].

Molly in the woods August 6th 2006   Dear DGR   We got Molly from you in February 2005, she was called Ruby but we didn't like the name so we changed it. I will never forget the day she arrived with Al, her coat was scruffy and she had never been inside a house before (she was taken straight from the owner's kennels), so the first thing she did was wee on my new carpet. We already had another greyhound called Sally, we got her from the greyhound trust 4 years ago, at first Sally and Molly didn't get on and Molly bit Sally, which resulted in a £200 vet bill, but now they get on really well and Molly is so playful, she has loads of toys and likes nothing more than to go in the park with a ball. Sally just likes to eat and sleep, which I believe is very common in greyhounds!   Molly was quite bad tempered when she came to us, but she has mellowed with a lot of TLC and I'm so glad she came to us.   Yours sincerely Joanne Wilkinson   DGR comment - It is often the case that dogs have to establish a 'pecking' order, but this is the first time, to our knowledge, that it has resulted in real injury to one of the dogs!