Welcome to MONSTER's page!
MONSTER is our seventh Greyhound. His racing name was Native
Nate (brother of Neurotic Nikke!), but Nate just
didn't seem to suit him. He came to us in January of 1999 as a
foster, along with two other hounds. We didn't intend to keep any
of them, so we called Nate lots of nicknames, but we didn't get
serious about coming up with a new name for him. Then, after a
few weeks, we realized there was just no way we were going to let
the little monster leave. We had fallen in love with him big time!
No, we certainly didn't "need" seven Greyhounds, but
somehow we just couldn't let go.
When Nate came to us he was only 19 months old and still very much a puppy. He had washed out at the race track because he just couldn't seem to get interested in racing. In fact his breeder/trainer, our good friend Harvey, says even HE could outrun Nate. I think Nate had heard about families and home life and just decided to skip the racing phase of his life.
So Nate became a part of the family, and as he quickly blossomed, he became more and more affectionate and funny, and also more and more of a little demon! Puppies are wonderful, but they're not for the faint of heart. Greyhounds don't usually seem to start growing a brain until they're about two years old, and while Monster is no dummy, he's definitely still a puppy. He's a SMART puppy, which is even worse! *grin*
As we pondered names for Nate, we started listening to ourselves as we interacted with him. What we heard ourselves saying most often was "You little MONSTER!!!" Of course it was/is almost always said with a grin or a laugh because he's not really that bad and he's funny and lovable even when he is naughty. As Greyhound puppies go, he's actually pretty good. So MONSTER he became (always capitalized because it's most often said rather loudly). It's a bit facetious because he's at least 20 pounds smaller than any of our other males, and even one of our females is bigger than he is. But I guess monsters can come in small packages, too.
MONSTER
was returned from his first adoptive home because he was somehow
involved in an attack on a cat. But we don't "do" cats
here, so that's not a problem. He was only at his first home for
a couple of weeks, and while he was a bit timid of us and our big
herd of Greyhounds at first, he got over it fast. He didn't want
to go outside with the other dogs, so John and I took him out to
play by himself sometimes. For the first couple of days he would
stick close by us and not play at all. But then John got out the
lure pole! That was the day MONSTER started coming out of his
shell! He LOVED it, and his confidence quickly began to build.
Soon
he began to mingle more with the other dogs in the house, and now
he's made friends with all of them. Cassidy is his best 4-legged buddy.
You'll often find the two of them napping close together. But
MONSTER's all time best friend in the world is his Daddy. Nearly
every evening you'll find John and "his" little dog
cuddled up together on the couch watching TV. And when John's not
on the couch, Nate is usually right beside him, or at least where
he can see him.
Another
of MONSTER's special buddies is LB. The two of them have
endless games of tug-o-war. LB weighs 83 lbs to MONSTER's 63, but
he humors MONSTER for a while and lets him pull him around with
the tug toy. But when LB gets tired or MONSTER gets a little too
rambunctious, LB will drag him around the room. Or, since he
knows the "strategy" of tug-o-war better, he'll
gradually work his way up the toy until he and MONSTER are nose-to-nose.
Then he'll let out a tiny little growl and MONSTER will drop his
end. "Yessir, Mr. LB! You want the toy? You got it! Anything
you say, Mr. LB Sir!" Then MONSTER will usually wander off
to find Cassidy and take a nap... or he'll find another toy and
start the whole thing over again!
MONSTER's
all time favorite toy? The oven mitt! One night recently John put
the mitt on and dropped his hand to his side, waiting to take a
pizza out of the oven. MONSTER thought it was a stuffy and
grabbed it! The next night, I put the oven mitt on and in seconds
there was a rousing game of tug-o-war going on, with MONSTER and Blarney tugging and play growling
like 
mad...
and my hand still in the mitt! Now we're going to stock up on
oven mitts, sew them up with squeakers inside and let them have a
ball.
MONSTER loves ALL the toys! He enjoys entertaining himself by throwing a ball down the hall and chasing it. He squeaks the squeakies, chews the chewies and cuddles the stuffies. He sleeps like the dead for little snatches of time, then he's up and ready to go again. He barks like a Rottweiler at strangers outside, and roos and talks in the house. He cockroaches and snuggles. If he thinks we're not giving him his due attention (and he thinks he's due a LOT!), he'll gently take a hand or arm in his mouth and pull. If we're standing up and he wants attention he'll grab a pants leg in his teeth and PULL! In short, this plain little Greyhound who was so slow and so timid, has moved into a house with two humans, six other Greyhounds and two other dogs and TAKEN OVER! And in case you didn't pick up on it... we're just plain crazy about him!
Visit Monster's brothers' and sisters' pages
CJ's
Hangout
Blarney's
Castle
Cassidy's
Cozy Corner
Lizabon
(Giz's page)
LB's
Black Dog Pub
Tony's
Tail
And visit our other Greyhound or dog-related pages
Our
Family Dogs - Maggie and
Harry and the rest
Our
Fosters and Adoptable Hounds - see who's available for adoption and who's
already been adopted
Sam's Page - Our late great Doberman
Greyhounds!
Hound
Mountain - Gifts and
goodies for Greyhound Lovers
Prayers for Pets - a group of folks who pray for animals who are
sick or in trouble, as well as for the people who love them