Your Home, Garden and Travel

Do you have a pet that loves to walk through your gardens with you? Our adopted, retired racing greyhound, Charm, loves to promenade in the garden. Every morning, she counts our cups of coffee and she knows we'll walk through the garden with our second cup!

Charm is very careful in the garden -- no digging. She stays on the paths and has never trampled a single flower. Charm has been known to stop and smell the flowers quite often. She doesn't chase the bunnies, squirrels or deer, although some greyhounds will chase small critters and need to be on a leash or in a fenced area. Most greyhounds won't sit or sleep on anything that isn't soft, so Charm does get tired of standing around in the garden and eventually has to go inside to nap on her big, soft dog bed.

Being so much a part of the family, Charm doesn't like to be left behind when we go on vacation. So, Charm went with us this week to vacation on Hatteras Island to promenade on the beach.

Taking a greyhound out in public is like escorting a celebrity! Greyhounds attract a lot of attention so you have to allow extra time for your walks. So many nice people come up to us to meet Charm. She just loves to meet and greet nice people, so it works out well for everyone. After a few days at the beach, Charm had a few fans who would call out to her on her morning walks with us. Her propeller tail would start spinning when she'd see her new friends up the beach from us. Being a sight hound, Charm could see them before they could see her.

Charm raced on the track until mandatory retirement age of 4 years and she's been with us for over 5 years. We adopted her from Project Racing Home in Randleman, NC.

There are greyhound rescue and adoption groups throughout the US. These wonderful dogs make the very best indoor pets -- and garden companions. Yes, they can run over 40mph for 31 seconds in a race. However, they love to sleep on soft pillows the rest of the time.

If you hug a greyhound, you'll want one, too!