by Animal Gambill LouisvillePetPals.com Staff

Canine Column Greyhounds have a "Greyt" time at the Greyhound Festival of the Bluegrass

LOUISVILLE, July 18, 2006 -- Greyhounds are calm, laid-back canines – right? Well, a sweet white Greyhound named Rosey tried to shed this stereotype by partying like a puppy at the Greyhound Festival of the Bluegrass which took place at the Holiday Inn on Hurstbourne Parkway in Louisville, Kentucky on July 14-16. Actually, Rosey is a 3-legged puppy (nine months old and full of spunk). Rosey and many of her “furrific” friends shared the weekend with their human companions and had a Bow-Wow Blast at this first-time festival organized by the Greyhounds of Shamrock, a non-profit Louisville based Click to view full-size images


"Rosey"
Greyhounds
of Shamrock organization dedicated to finding homes for retired racing Greyhounds. Rosey had the puppy dog pleasure of meeting many new buddies, several of whom are retired Greyhounds exhibiting a calm stride, gentle spirit and easy-going personality. Rosey’s mamma (one of the 26 vendors present at the event) had the opportunity of socializing with fellow Greyhound enthusiasts and celebrating the love of their pets, and the breed as a whole.


Resting The three day festivities kicked off on Friday with an Ice Cream Social. The fun continued on Saturday and was accompanied by some very educational presentations. Dr. Robert Gaston, DVM, CVSMT (Veterinary Wellness Center in Harrison, OH) discussed his veterinary practices which combine traditional and alternative medicine to provide a
Cooling off complimentary holistic approach to health care. Dr. Guillermo Cuoto, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM (Ohio State University in Columbus, OH) discussed his areas of interest which include clinical oncology and hematology, transfusion medicine, clinical immunology and infectious diseases, interaction with owners, and Greyhound medicine. Claudia Presto (founder of the Greyhound Gang – a non-profit Greyhound rescue organization) addressed issues regarding senior hounds and identified ways to help Greyhounds and their human companions navigate the road to aging gracefully and healthily. A Greyhound massage demonstration conducted by Leann Zalasky (Licensed Massage Therapist and founder of Rescued Racers of St. Louis) rounded out the informative presentations.

The Greyhound Festival of the Bluegrass surely did not miss a beat in the eyes of its furry guests as they participated as canine contestants in numerous interactive games with their
Measuring tails
Bobbing for treats
Wet T-Shirt contest human companions. Such festivities included the following games: “Blind Owner Bluff”, a game in which blind-folded owners made efforts to pick out their own furry children from an array of Greyhound participants; “Twins Contest”, a game which rewarded Greyhounds judged as looking most similar to each other; “Longest Tail”, a game which rewarded the Greyhound with the longest tail; and the ever-entertaining “Greyhound Wet T-Shirt Contest”, a game which rewarded the Greyhound whose owner could most quickly slip a wet t-shirt over his/her Greyhound’s head and body.

When guests were taking a break from educational presentations and “Greyt” games, they shopped to their heart’s content at various vendor booths which sold specialty Greyhound clothes, accessories, pottery, books, jewelry, magnets, coasters, pictures, tote/messenger bags, aprons,
Local artist
Greyhound pottery stationery, toys, chimes, art and yours truly sold her children’s book and “Gambill Gear”. Animal Communicator, Latifa Meena, also participated as a vendor while discussing ways to help humans and their animals enjoy a more rewarding relationship. Guests and vendors traveled from as far away as Michigan, Texas, and Rhode Island in order to enjoy this unique event.

Contest winners
I am told that the event organizers are very pleased with the vendor participation, speaker presentations, raffle and silent auction donations, and guest feedback. One hundred and twenty-five guests pre-registered for this festival. Therefore, they are seeing no reason to keep from planning for this event to return in Louisville in 2007 – I gotta say, “THAT SOUNDS ‘GREYT’ TO ME!!!” Sorry, I can’t help it – I have doggie dialogue issues (among other issues, but we won’t go into that).

Animal Gambill
Make Every Day a Bow-Wow Blast,

Animal Gambill
ag@louisvillepetpals.com
ag@animalgambill.org