We said good-bye to our greyhound, Ashley, after 12+ wonderful years yesterday. Ashley left us too soon after complications from a broken leg she suffered this past weekend. Racing, arthritis, and a chronic neurological condition wore Ashley down and we did not want to see her suffer any more pain after a major injury. She was a wonderful, sweet (and unbelievably gentle) dog and we loved her very much. Ashley's original home was Oklahoma and she raced in New Hampshire. We adopted her early in 1998 and she spent many beautiful years in our Somerville NJ home and this year in our new home in Readington. Ashley was the perfect compliment to the Jack Russell Terriers we had. Just the right balance of personalities! She was also the ultimate coach potato (or professional sleeper as we called her). We all wish we could be greyhounds - 3% body fat, a few short sprints, and sleep all day. The end result is that you lose weight. The metabolic rate of a greyhound is off the charts!
While Ashley moved a lot slower and gingerly in her later years, we vividly remember her lightning speed in her younger days as she sprinted "laps" around our yard in Somerville. Greyhounds can run 43 miles per hour and she would chase our Jack Russell, Oliver, around our dining room table at least a dozen times with both blinding speed and perfect coordination. We tried hard to protect wild life in the yard, but Ashley could catch a rabbit in stride before it knew what happened. Fortunately, she thought they were toys and would usually (though not always) drop them upon command.
Ashley ("Stretch" as my mom called her) was loved by all including the family, friends, and others who came to the NJ Greyhound Adoption Program (NJGAP) "meet and greets" that my wife, Fran, attended to support greyhound adoption. We both would like to thank Ashley for all the wonderful times we had together, her loyalty and support for us, and just being there for the 10 years she lived with us through everything. We will never forget her and are just glad that she is now back with her buddy, Oliver, enjoying her sprints, milk bones and naps in heaven! Good-bye Ashley.
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