Well I decided to start a blog featuring each of the Magificent Seven with just a little bit of information about them and their daily lives. Dogs have such a way of enriching the lives of those who choose to be their guardians. Their love is unconditional and they always want to please their leaders. Our pack is no exception. They always make us laugh with their antics..JPG)
Tasha is the oldest of our Magnificent Seven Pack. We adopted her when she was just 8 weeks old . We brought her and her brother Boris home from a rescue organization in San Jose, CA. They were very small back then but loads of fun. We started training them right away and they were quick and eager learners. Tasha obtained her AKC Canine Good Citizen Certificate back in 1996. 
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Bella was our first greyhound. She is a retired racer and her racing name was Bocca Bella. She raced in Phoenix and a broken leg ended her career. The story goes that while she was recovering her trainer died and amidst the chaos she removed her cast/splint and really messed up the joint. Her guardian angel Leah came along and rescued her and made sure that she received proper care. The choice was made to save the leg and surgically install a steel plate. 
Eleven months later we came along and she captured our hearts. We were not looking for another dog at the time but she found us and we took her home. 
She has a funny little hop due to the injured leg but it ties in so perfectly with her bouncy personality. Bella is such a flirty girl and very mischievous. 
We are very happy that she entered our lives and our hearts.
About 2 months after adopting Bella we decided that we would like to have another greyhound in the house. We had recently lost our beautiful Rottie, Sam to cancer and our home just felt empty and four dogs was really a good number for us. So shortly after that Kingman entered our lives and hearts. His racing name was Xl Express Male so that was promptly changed to Kingman. Of all our greyhounds he was the one that came off the track and into our home in the shortest time. He raced in Tucson which is really an "end of the line" track. Look how sad he looked on the first day we had him.
We first met Figgy at a greyhound adoption event called a meet and greet in March 2006. She was such a happy girl with alert ears and a wagging tail. She was very good natured and she got along so well with our only 2 greyhounds at the time Bella and Kingman. 
She settled into life in our home very easily and has become very much the "middle child". She gets along with everyone and just loves to lounge on the couch or any available bed. She likes to wear jammies to keep warm during the cold winter nights.
When she first came to live with us, we noticed that she did have some difficulty sitting from a standing position and getting up from laying down. We heard about a new supplement at that time called DGP we started her on it and saw a dramatic improvement in less than a month and she has been on it ever since.
As you can see she is a very happy girl and we are just delighted that she is part of the M7 pack.
About a month after Tasha's brother Boris passed away we got a call from a couple of friends asking if we had seen the local Humane Society's pet of the week "Vader" in the paper. Well coincidentally we had seen his picture up on Pet Finder, but mind you we were not seriously looking for another dog - our interest was mildly casual. By the time the third reference to this "Vader" dog came to us we decided that it was at least worth a look. Well what we found was a very stocky, personable and funny Am Staff mix that had been in the shelter for over 5 months. He had the most intense gold eyes I had ever seen. They thought he was about 3 years old and he was brought in as a stray. The shelter staff went on to tell us that he was really good with children and other animals but we wanted to bring Tasha back to meet him and get her vote.
Well the next day after their meeting he came home to live with us. There was some adjustment period we had to get through as he figured out his place in the pack and our home. One of the adjustments was a name change. We did not feel that a dark and scary name like Vader was a match to his personality so he became Sparky which is a much better fit. He is the most gentle, obedient and eager to please pup ever. He loves to sit in my lap, your lap, well any body's lap. He just doesn't understand why at 70 pounds that is not always a welcomed option.
As is typical with most Staffies he loves to make us laugh. He is always the clown.
He also loves to go in the Jeep with us or go camping. He has a special harness that he wears in the Jeep so that he can be buckled in and not fall out. When we go camping he makes an excellent space heater and likes to sleep right between us to keep us warm. 
Sparky will always be the dog that got us involved with the Verde Valley Humane Society. After his adoption Nick became their webmaster and later a board member. We are now very involved in the operations of the shelter and Sparky is always a welcomed visitor to his old sanctuary. 
Tillie is the sweetest old girl. She is always ready with licks and kisses and is always happy to be with you. Her quality of life has greatly improved since coming to live with the M7 pack which is clearly evidenced in her shining coat, sparkling eyes and cheerful demeanor. 
I wonder what she was like as a puppy because you can see she does have a devilish streak when she runs to the yard barking just to look back and see if the rest of the M7 pack is following her.
She does get cold in the winter so we got her a special pair of greyhound jammies to keep her warm.
Well Parker is number seven, our youngest and most recent addition. I first saw him on July 5th at the Pioneer Days parade in Prescott. Our adoption group traditionally walks in this parade with several dogs to raise awareness of the breed and our group's charter to adopt out these wonderful creatures to loving homes. This year though they brought Parker to walk in the parade. I am not really sure if it was his stoic appearance, sympathy for his limp or his gorgeous eyes and adorable face but I immediately fell for this dog.
Well, we did not take him home that day. We went home and talked and talked and talked and went through careful deliberation and a week later we took Kingman to an adoption event in Flagstaff where he was to meet his new brother. We took Parker home that day. 
Parker quickly made himself at home. He was roaching on his back within the first hour in his new home. His racing name was Ucme Garrett and he only raced 16 races before he was retired back in 2006 due to a broken leg. He probably should have had surgery to repair the break but it was splinted and he was in a kennel for 2 years to recover. The problem is that it never healed properly. 
In November after we adopted him the old fracture broke again and ruptured calcaneus ligament (like our Achilles tendon). We had to rush him in for emergency surgery so they could put a pin in and wire the damaged bones together. We were given strict orders to limit all his activity so that the healing could occur. Not an easy feat with a very active 4 year old. 
As of this posting he is still in his cast, but he takes it all in stride. He goes to the vet for weekly bandage changes and checkups. They are not saying yet how much longer he will be in the cast but they are saying it will be a very long and tedious process. 
