Greyhounds Party in Campville, New York

Dozens of greyhounds from the Binghamton area, Elmira/Corning, Shamokin, Pennsylvania and Altoona, Pennsylvania kicked up their paws September 29th for the annual Monica's Heart Greyhound Adoption group's Fall Fling hosted by the Campville Fire Department.  Even some greyhound wanna-be dogs (other breeds) joined in the fun.

The dogs played a greyhound version of Musical Chairs, called Musical Carpets. The hounds paraded around a circle of carpet squares until the music stopped. Dogs had to have at least one paw on a square or they were eliminated.

A young artist selected a hound to make a crayon portrait of. Everyone at the Fling took quesses as to the identity of the dog pictured. Boon's owner recognized him immediately!

A giant jar was filled with dog treats. The person making the closest guess of the number of treats won a delicious prize for their pooch.

Since greyhounds are so muscular in the back-side, it is difficult for them to sit.  A challenging contest was Pants on the Ground. Owners had to try to get their hound to sit. Once the dogs 'pants' hit the ground, the timer started. The winning dog stayed in a sit for a whole sixteen seconds!

The final contest was the hilarious Doggie Dress Up Race.  Owners ran to the end of a field, dumped out bags containing shorts, t-shirts and hats with with an elastic chin strap.  The human dressed the dog and had to run back to the starting point with all items of clothing clinging to the dog in some fashion.

Other highlights included a Blessing of the Hounds by Rev. Werley and a dog CPR demonstration by representatives of the American Red Cross.

A number of new retired racers ready for adoption arrived in the area and are in local foster homes.

I'll have more on my new foster dog, Leroy in a future post.

To find out more about greyhound adoption and to view photos of dogs available for adoption, go to www.monicasheart.com.