Thursday, September 20, 2012

Mandy (2000 - 2012)

The only near-relative I have ever met of any of the four greyhounds that we've adopted over the past 20 years was Mandy (racing name Bb's Luv), a half-sister of Sadie's. I met Mandy and her owner Beverly in Gettysburg, outside of the Travelodge, near the end of my first visit to GIG in 2010. It was so cool to actually meet a greyhound that shared a sire of one of our pups. (We have yet to meet any littermates of our hounds, so a half-sister will more than suffice.)

The next time our paths crossed was later in the year at Dewey. I was standing near one of the carports on Dagsworthy where some of the vendors had set up shop, when in came Mandy and Beverly. I asked Beverly if I could take Mandy outside in the shade and take a few pictures. Beverly was happy to oblige, and Mandy posed for me.

Mandy

I love her ears. I went away happy to have seen the both of them again.

2011 was the first year I started doing photo sessions. When I posted that I was going to GIG Beverly asked if I could do a session with Mandy. I was more than happy to do so. We met on a warm Saturday morning at Sachs Covered Bridge outside of Gettysburg. Beverly explained that Mandy's hind end had been getting weak over the years so my friend Aimee and I worked quickly to get some shots in before Mandy tired:

Mandy Mandy

Mandy

Mandy is...well, it was hard not to spend a little time cuddling with her:

Aimee and Mandy

Aimee and Mandy

Even though the session was supposed to last an hour, Mandy was pretty spent after 30 minutes so we called it a day.

We met again this past April for another session in Gettysburg. The morning was much cooler, which suited Mandy just fine. We spent some time in the bridge:

Mandy

Mandy

We turned around and walked back towards Beverly's SUV, but then detoured and instead stopped at a grassy bank. Mandy sniffed and looked around while I took a few pictures:

Mandy

Mandy

I will never forget her ears: they were the best.

Mandy

Yesterday, when Mandy passed, I received a request from a veterinarian at OSU GHWP (the Ohio State University Greyhound Health and Wellness Progress) for a picture of Mandy so she could write a memorial page for her on their website. I understand that Mandy played a large part in her being a part of GHWP. Mandy must have been an amazing greyhound in the years before I met her -- and still was amazing after I had.

We were planning on another photo session at Dewey Beach in a few weeks, but she collapsed late Monday night and had great difficulty using her hind legs. It was a sign that her time had come, so later the next morning Beverly let her go.

Before we parted ways at the bridge for what turned out to be the last time, I asked for a chance to bury and rub my face in her neck fur because it was so bunny-soft. It reminded me so very much of how soft our second greyhound Nikki's neck fur was. So I had my friend Meredith take a picture of me while I planted my face in her fur, and gently moved it back-and-forth, back-and-forth. Then I was done and bade Mandy goodbye.

It is a good memory.

10 comments:

  1. Mandy is beautiful. She must have been very special. You're lucky to have been in her world, and she lucky to have met you. xoxox

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    1. she was special even if she wasn't sadie's half-sister. i'm sorry that mandy and sadie never met since we live on opposite coasts. who knows if anything special would've happened if they had. perhaps it would've been all anti-climatic. no matter -- i'm glad i met her.

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  2. What a sweet girl. How cool that you actually got to meet a relative of one of your kids. Love them ears. Oh yeah, beautiful pics of her.

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    1. there was once a woman back in the 90s who had a littermate (a brother) of nikki, our second. she lived in iowa or illinois, i think. while we did correspond a bit we never met. that would've been interesting to have gotten our pups together if it had been possible.

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  3. What a beautiful girl and a heartfelt tribute. I'm so glad you got to meet and my deepest sympathy to Mandy's family and all who miss her so much.

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    1. according to greyhound-data she had 134 races. i haven't yet reviewed them to see where she raced and what grade she attained. mandy was in the game a lot longer than sadie ever was (she has no record that we know of).

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  4. Lovely tribute. We love the ear action. Have a terrific Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. thanks, molly. her ears were indeed wonderful.

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  5. What a fantastic tribute! It's always hard to say good-bye, but some hounds are harder to say it to than others. It sounds like Mandy was a total sweetheart! The photos of her are absolutely beautiful!

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    1. i have that picture of me blowing a raspberry in her neck on my phone. it sits in an FB album. it's a stupid, silly picture. but it's one of an act that i think most of us who've adopted racing greyhounds can relate to.

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