I am missing Baja a lot and I check this site frequently hoping for vicarious escape. I’m sure I’m not the only one so let me share a happy Baja
story -
Say hola to a new member of my family. My daughter graduated from college last year. As captain of an NCAA D1 cross country and long distance track
team she set a goal to adopt a retired race dog. She loves Baja and knows it quite well.
After some research and a few visits to the Greyhound Adoption Center in San Diego her heart was set on a retired Caliente racer from Tijuana. His
racing name was Fiesta Natural.
I cannot recommend this organization enough. A no-kill shelter, non-profit, all volunteer. Pay them a visit and you will either leave in tears or with
a new best friend -
The tattoos in his ears prove he was fast early in his career and won quite a few races but stopped trying to win for some reason so they retired him
early. He is a lucky one to retire so young with no injuries or diseases. The adoption center named him Kirby and it just seemed right. We brought him
home to Carlsbad and realized he had never been in a house before. Stairs were new to him. Everything was new to him. All he knew was life in a
crate... and racing. We have a crate for him but the door is always open.
My daughter is now applying to medical schools while Kirby watches her and follows her everywhere. I can’t imagine enduring this pandemic without
this sweet boy. I didn’t know much about greyhounds and had fears that they aren’t smart or social.
After having this dude in the house for the last 9 months I can’t say enough about how sweet, goofy, graceful, clumsy, smart, social, alert, aloof,
loyal, etc. - just a new best friend who is always happy to see you come home. He loves riding in the back seat of my truck and I can’t wait to take
him on a big Baja trip when people stop acting like this virus is fake.
I can’t wait to see him run free in a safe environment.
I’m thinking of the spit to the lighthouse in Bahia de Los Angeles at low tide. This boy is freaking fast. Scary fast.
45 mph fast. I loves him and am so happy to finally have a Baja dog in the house. Be well.
[Edited on 7-28-2020 by BajaNomad]Fernweh - 7-28-2020 at 04:22 PM
Thank you, for this wonderful story about Kirby.
Enjoy the time with him, even you can't be in Baja right now.chippy - 7-29-2020 at 06:07 AM
Super cool!BajaBlanca - 7-29-2020 at 06:10 AM
Those photos are priceless! Welcome to the world of fun, Kirby!
If he ever needed to wear a mask, from the top photos, I see he has it down! NO sharing the virus coming from him.
Beautiful story, beautiful dog. Congrats to you and Kirby on hitting the jackpot.elgatoloco - 7-29-2020 at 07:43 AM
pacificobob - 7-29-2020 at 08:09 AM
excellent post!AKgringo - 7-29-2020 at 08:43 AM
Good on you folks for adopting a retiree! My long legged girl loves to run off leash with me following on wheels. The fastest steady pace I have
clocked her at was 28 mph. I think she could go a bit faster for a short burst, but 45...no way!
I use a "Sport Dog" training collar to keep control of her, and it has been a life saver! It beeps when i turn it on, and she is happy to come to me
to put it on, because it means we are going outside. I use it as a hearing aid that helps her hear my commands out to 500 yards.
Heart-warming .... muchas gracias Lee - 7-29-2020 at 10:04 AM
Home run. Ball is out of the park! Continued pura vida. JZ - 7-29-2020 at 11:20 AM
Pretty dog.
ehall - 7-30-2020 at 07:16 AM
Great storypacificobob - 7-30-2020 at 08:04 AM
retired racing dogs are used as cadavers at veterinary schools. when a buddy was in school he showed me a photo of a huge walk in freezer full of
hanging greyhounds. this was in the late 70s....not an image easily forgotten. Loretana - 7-30-2020 at 09:44 AM
bajadogs....
I have tears in my eyes after reading this!
Thank you for your positive, inspiring story, and excellent photographs.
TMW - 7-30-2020 at 12:44 PM
Beautiful story, thanks for sharing.
When ever they put on an RV/boat show or Home and Garden show at the Fair Grounds here in Bakersfield they usually have a booth with retired
Greyhounds looking for a home. gueribo - 7-31-2020 at 04:51 PM
Thank you--I love stories of the dogs of Baja. Lovely photos, too.BajaBlanca - 8-25-2022 at 06:03 AM
So, how is Kirby doing these days?
Very cool to see these photos again.pauldavidmena - 8-25-2022 at 08:27 AM
Greyhound Friends rescues retired Greyhounds in the Boston area and does wonderful work educating the community. We nearly adopted one, but
instead opted for a velociraptor from the Australian Cattledog Rescue Association, where we've been active for over 20 years, adopting 2 cattledog mixes of our own in the process.bajadogs - 10-24-2022 at 01:40 PM
Thanks for asking Blanca. Kirby is doing well in his second year of med school. Mi hija adopted another TJ racer who shattered his right rear leg on
his 80th race. She named him Lucky Boy. Anonymous donors saved him and paid for multiple surgeries to save his leg but he will never be as fast as
Kirby. He was only 2 years old when my daughter picked him up over summer break. He is big and strong but also sweet, goofy and gentle. So Lucky Boy
and Kirby live in New Mexico in a little cinder block house with a dirt back yard. Because I bonded with Kirby I still miss him horribly and visit as
much as I can - my daughter too of course. I'll try to add a few pix. I hope you and Les are doing well and also hope Les has found a good cheese
source in Turkey.
[Edited on 10-24-2022 by bajadogs]
surabi - 10-24-2022 at 05:24 PM
Good for you guys for giving a loving forever home to dogs who surely appreciate it. I wish people who pay hundreds of dollars for a dog from a
breeder would adopt all the dogs out there who need rescuing, instead. The worst are the people who want a certain breed because its some rare breed
and they derive some kind of "status" by having it.
I'm not one of those bleeding hearts for animals that wants to try to save every dog on the planet, but Kirby and Lucky Boy are both very lucky dogs.
The dog I had for 12 years, who appeared at my house at the age of 5 months and had to be put down last year due to a tumor in her spleen was not a
racing breed (she most closely resembled a Korean Jindo, both in looks and temperament), but she loved to run and was fast. Where I live in the
countryside in mainland Mexico, she would run full tilt boogie straight at the barbed wire fences, flatten herself out and sail between the wires. I
could probably have taught that dog to jump through a flaming hoop if I'd wanted to.
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by surabi]bajadogs - 10-24-2022 at 06:27 PM
Good for you guys for giving a loving forever home to dogs who surely appreciate it. I wish people who pay hundreds of dollars for a dog from a
breeder would adopt all the dogs out there who need rescuing, instead.
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by surabi]
Thanks! It for sure wasn't about getting a pure bred, simply giving an ex-racer a chance to live a full life. I've learned so much since my daughter
brought him home. Fun Greyhound Facts -
Christopher Columbus brought greyhounds and mastiffs to the Americas. Look it up if you can handle nightmarish details.
Oldest pure bred dog in the world (mummified with Egyptian Gods)
second fastest land animal behind cheetah
Friendlier than a cheetah.
Sad, but a good thing is that the race tracks have shut down. The big hounds are becoming rare. Caliente in TJ is the only track still open in all of
MX.
I do not support any form of animals as entertainment.
Animals for entertainment
AKgringo - 10-24-2022 at 07:03 PM
I generally agree with you, but I have seen some some dog acts performing on variety shows where from their demeanor and body language it seems that
they are having a great time!,
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by AKgringo]bajadogs - 10-24-2022 at 07:18 PM
AK, I only come here to butt heads and rile feathers, but I recognize dogs love to run. It's the crating and dark history of the "sport" that bugs me.
Peace.surabi - 10-24-2022 at 07:24 PM
The nature of most dogs is to enjoy pleasing their owners or handlers if that person is good to them, so I would imagine that many dogs do enjoy doing
the tricks they have been taught, but I don't think they have any concept that they are performing to crowds for entertainment purposes.
And even an abused dog will grovel and try to please its abuser, not in anticipation of praise or treats, but to avoid a beating. As spectators, how
do we really know what goes on behind the scenes?
In the case of racing dogs, as bajadogs mentioned, the dogs are kept kenneled when not training or racing. That's abuse, even if the dogs might appear
to us to enjoy racing. What choice do they have? And if they won't race, they are put down unless someone adopts them.
The problem with using animals as entertainers is all the animals which are actually abused in many ways for that purpose. Using dolphins and whales,
or elephants, as human entertainment, for instance, is animal cruelty, regardless of how well they are fed and looked after. They are highly sentient
creatures and their natural habitat is swimming and travelling free over a huge range of ocean or land. Confining them in any way is abusive.
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by surabi]
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by surabi]
[Edited on 10-25-2022 by surabi]Don Pisto - 10-24-2022 at 07:34 PM
I sure get a kick out of those doggie agility events.....I call em doggie cross, they sure seem to enjoy themselves!
