Being a retired greyhound in our house means bonus time during the holiday season. There are more visits from friends and family as well as the UPS man and mail carrier. There’s the extra baking and cooking which means extra opportunities to swoop in on anything that might drop on the floor. Or in Bandit’s case, the opportunity to lick anything that might be placed too close to the counter’s edge.
When Bandit first arrived he was just under a year old and he showed up a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. It was his first holiday season with people and he was curious about anything and everything we were doing.
He was sure he could help with the turkey. He was thrilled to get a bite of raw potato before they went in the pot. He did his best to convince us he would be the best one to taste-test the gravy.
Dinner that first year was a test for all of us. I sincerely believe Bandit wanted to behave and use good manners, but there were so many people, and so many wonderful smells. Our other two retired greyhounds were setting an ideal example of resting on the floor until cleanup time, but Bandit paced around and managed to steal the napkin right out of my lap.
While people food is NOT recommended for retired greyhounds, a bite of apple or potato is a traditional treat for our adopted greyhounds. And fair warning, turkey isn’t the best type of treat. Too much turkey can result in painful leg cramps, among other problems for greys.
How do I know?
It’s a lesson we learned the hard way when everyone at our Thanksgiving table bought the pitiful look Kayla was sporting as the feast wound down. She’d managed to sneak a bite of turkey from each one of us and ended up pretty sore and limping around. It really impeded her evening romp. The cramps passed after a few hours, but it wasn’t much fun for her. And we felt terribly guilty.
Wishing you the best this holiday season and as always…
Live the greyhound adventure!
