Fawnie, a.k.a. Kesslari’s Goldie Fawn, C.D., is a butter pecan fudge swirl
lightning flash of a greyhound who dropped into our lives, almost by
accident, on a November day in 1993. She is a riot of love, color,
energy and humor. This is her story.
How Fawnie came into our lives
That summer we lost Deva, our 9 year old Fawn Doberman to one of those odd
neurological disorders - her end, though sad, was mercifully quick,
surrounded by her family. We had been researching dog breeds for over a
year, looking for a large breed that was sound and healthy, and had settled
on the Anatolian Shepherd Dog, a rare breed from Turkey. We had found a
breeder and were waiting for our litter to be born. As this was likely to
take a year or so, and our other dog, a magnificent Lab/Staff mix named
Joshu (one of the wonders of the dog world - but his story will be told
elsewhere) was lonely. We offered to provide foster care for a local dog
rescue organization. At no time did the thought of a Hound ever enter our
minds.
We wanted a dog that was young enough, large enough, and vigorous enough to
play with the phenomenally strong Joshu. What we got was Missy, a very
tiny, very old, blind, deaf, very sweet and quite neglected terrier mix.
A quick exam showed that she had several medical conditions that needed
attention, foremost of which was her nails, which had grown so long that
they were curved back around into her pads!
Now, I can do dog nails, but not like that. That’s Vet stuff. But H.A.R.T.,
the rescue organization, instructed us to see Sheryl Reynolds, a groomer in
the area who also runs Greyhound Rescue (AHA - the Hounds are about to enter the story!).
Muttering to myself that H.A.R.T. didn’t understand the seriousness of
Missy’s condition, we went off to see Sheryl.
It just so happened that Gail Burnham’s book, Playtraining, had been
strongly recommended for us as potential Anatolian owners. So we had just
been reading about Greyhounds. We arrived at Sheryl’s, and she proceeded
to trim Missy’s nails with the easy grace of a pro. So much for needing a
Vet for that. She met Joshu the Wonderdog, and we talked of many things
canine. Of course, we asked to meet her Greyhounds, having never met any
before. So out trotted all of her dogs, including a lovely trio of Reds -
Lucy, Pippi, and Weasel. Last to come out was Fawnie. Sheryl told us that
she was having trouble finding the right home for her, "because she’s such
a special dog that I want to make sure she goes to the right place, and I’d
like her to stay in the area so I can see her sometimes".
Fawnie’s Story
Fawnie had never raced. Her litter was born with a slight protrusion of
one hip bone, and the breeder, certain that they would not be winners on
the track, took them to a Vet to be put down. The Vet (who will remain
nameless but who has our undying gratitude) took the dogs, took the money,
and quietly adopted them out. Fawnie went to a poor family who lived out
in the desert, and who were completely unprepared for the Greyhound
Metabolistic Food Processing Vacuum. She was literally eating them out of
house, home, car, et.al. They clearly loved her but couldn’t keep her, so
off she went, in a harness in the back of an old pickup truck, to Greyhound
Rescue. Sheryl still smiles when she tells the story. The ironic thing is
that Sheryl says that Fawnie is the fastest dog, retired racer or no, that
has ever come through Greyhound Rescue. So much for her protruding hip.
Off we go!
Fawnie pranced out with that complete grace and self assurance that only
Greyhounds have, looked at me, and leaped into my arms. Sheryl said "Wow.
She’s never done that before. Want to adopt a Greyhound?". We played with
Fawnie for a while, but no, we were positive, we were already going to get
an Anatolian, and that would make three dogs - certainly too many for us.
As we left, Sheryl gave us a knowing look. I think that she already knew
the outcome.
Fawnie had already won our hearts. Need I say that we spent the week
talking to all of our dog friends - trainers, breeders, all had only good
things to say about Greyhounds. "They train sort of funny, but they’re
great dogs" was the worst comment we could get. "Three dogs. Do we want
to have three dogs? How can we have three dogs?" By the end of the week
we called Sheryl and asked if she would still be willing to place Fawnie
with us.
She is an incredible dog. She has gone to get her CD (taking Highest
scoring Hound and winning a bunch of goodies in the process) simply because
we have fun doing stuff together, and if stuff means heeling and comes and
finishes, well, it’s still fun. The only thing keeping her from a C.D.X is
that I don't have the time to put into it right now. But Fawnie's patient...
She’s got an incredible sense of humor,
and an unbelievable sense of her body in space (I think of all the times
she’s run full speed toward a wall or fence, only to pull out at the last
moment). Her most impressive demonstration of this came when Beth
(my wife) and I were out hiking with the dogs. We were walking along,
holding hands. Fawnie came down the path at a full gallop and ran BETWEEN
us without touching either one of us - except that the top of her back
brushed our hands as she flashed beneath. Amazing. I thought that all
Greyhounds had that same body awareness until I saw Fawnie run a Greyhound
playmate into a tree. Ouch! He just didn’t have that pinpoint control.
Fawnie gets cabin fever when it’s rainy and she has to stay indoors. After
a while she just wants to go out and run! So I’ll bundle up and take her
out to a field or to the beach. When she’s running she doesn’t even notice
that it’s raining - but when she’s done and back inside she’s rather upset -
"Hey! I’m all wet now! That’s not fair!". It’s amazing to see her running
in the wet, spraying rooster tails behind her like a water skier.
She loves Beka, her Anatolian companion, although they’ve learned some odd
cross-breed behavior - Fawnie has gotten some guarding instincts and has
learned to wrestle, and Beka has learned to course game! Anatolians,
although molossans, seem to have some sighthound in them way back somewhere
- they’re lean, tucked up and very fast for big dogs. The two of them can
be a terrifying coursing team - there’s no escape!
It’s most upsetting when the two of them team up on Joshu. In his youth he
loved the challenge of being set upon (playfully) by two dogs, but now that
he’s an old man of 13 he’s not quite so keen on it. You can see him screw
up the reserves of his Staffordshire courage and make a mad bulldozer charge
through the gauntlet toward the safety of the house. Sanctuary!!
Fawnie has made a tremendous hit at a local halfway house as a Pet Therapy
dog. She’s friendly and attentive without overwhelming her admirers. The
staff have even taken the clients out to a local beach to watch Fawnie run!
We now have a 4 month old baby, and the dogs are having to make do with less
attention (for a while). Fawnie is surprisingly good with children, but she
does have her limit and will walk away when pressed. She has learned to
quietly slip out the door with me (without the usual fanfare and excitement
that would alert the other dogs) to go on my early morning walks with Sam
(the baby). We usually slip off to a field and have a mad bit of a run.
I could go on and on...
Postscript
In July of 1999, on the day that I was offered my dream job and that we received the
offer that purchased our house in Santa Barbara, we found out that Fawnie had osteosarcoma,
a generally incurable form of bone cancer. The prognosis was grim - even with the best
treatment available (amputating the cancerous leg and intensive chemotherapy) her chances
to survive for a year were about 10%.
We had enough money left after selling our house and buying a new house in Boulder Creek to
either get Beth a newer car or to do the chemo. We opted for the chemo.
Fawnie fought hard, and was in great spirits until the end in January of 2000. The chemo gave her 6 more
months with uss. She loved it up in the mountains, running faster on three legs than
most dogs do on 4, going to the beach and generally living a good life.
She passed away on February 4, 2000. She was an incredible dog - full of love and life and joy.
We will always miss her.
