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ABOUT US

The GentleHugs Greyhounds

Hi!  My name is Therese Skinner and my Greyhounds are affectionately called the GentleHugs Greyhounds.  You might also recognize us as Heisman's Greyhound Art or Greyhound Planet.

Our signature is one that almost everyone recognizes.  When posting to various list forums, we always end our posts with GentleHugs.  We decided on the signature GentleHugs back in 1999 because we wanted something that associated us with Greyhounds.  We came up with G for gentle and Grey because Greyhounds are a gentle breed and H for hounds and hugs because I hug everyone I meet and we have hounds!  I guess it's the midwest plains hospitality in me that does that.

We first became interested in adopting a Greyhound back in 1995.  I had been involved with animal adoption and rescue since I was a little girl of age 4 thanks to my loving maternal Grandmother, Myrtle.  Her philosophy about animals needing a committed person to love them stuck in my mind while growing up.  It became natural to me to always help an animal in need, to love an animal unconditionally and to provide a loving home for them.  Animals in the wild were to be admired from afar and not made into house pets.  I taught my children that philosophy and I'm now teaching my grandchildren the same, too.

In 1995, I was involved with wild animal rehabilitation.  I was rehabbing orphan cottontail bunnies until they were healthy and old enough to be released back into the wild.  I made my way into town one day to the local pet supply store to pick up some supplies.  That's when I saw my first Greyhound and I knew from the time his eyes looked into mine and he leaned against me that some day I would adopt a Greyhound.

5 years later, we found ourselves looking into the eyes of our very first adopted Greyhound, Hannah.  After Hannah passed, we went on to adopt 6 more Greyhounds to date and each one of the hounds we've adopted were special.  The links to their stories are below.  We've fostered many others, too - most with special needs.  We've donated thousands of dollars to help various Greyhounds out there in need and naturally we will keep on donating.  As long as there is a Greyhound in need - we will continue to donate to various groups through Heisman's Greyhound Art, Greyhound Affair and Books by Greyhound Affair.

During these past few years, our home and our life has never been the same.  We brag the same thing as most Greyhound parents do - we can't remember what it was like not having these beautiful dogs as family members.  Our home will always be graced by the presence of a loving Greyhound and the circle will not be broken.  When we lose one, we will honor their life and memory by adopting another.

Therese and The GentleHugs Greyhounds

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Our Greyhounds

Hannah Catherine Skinner

June 1, 1997 to May 26, 2000

Since Hannah was adopted out as a puppy to her first adoptive family and never raced, she does not have a page on the Greyhound Data website.  However, she does have tattoos in both ears and siblings that raced making her a purebred Greyhound.

Romeo Lee Skinner

April 9, 1991 to January 13, 2000

Romeo's Pedigree on Greyhound Data

Romeo was a beautiful red fawn that lived up to his name.  He was 9 when we adopted him just 4 days after losing Hannah.  Something kept telling me that Hannah knew this boy needed a loving home and made room for him with us.  His previous adopted owner no longer wanted him.  I simply stated - their loss was our gain.

    Romeo was one of the first Greyhounds to race at the Woodlands Race Track in Kansas City Kansas.  In fact, everyone who checked his tattoo's could not believe what they were seeing.  Most generally, Greyhounds have a 5 digit registration number tattooed in their left ear.  Romeo only had a 4 digit registration number and it wasn't a mistake either.  His race name was Bels Slickster but his call name was Romeo and it fit him like a glove.

    Romeo was a very loving boy.  He enjoyed being a part of our family.  He enjoyed the simple things in life.  He was small dog safe, cat safe and bunny safe.  In fact, he befriended our youngest little house bunny named Billiey.  Billiey was a special needs bunny and only had one eye.  My favorite picture was that of Romeo and Billiey together.  Billiey would hop all around Romeo and even over Romeo, too.  Romeo never showed any sign of hurting Billiey.  In fact, he would simply smile and almost fall asleep with Billiey near him.  Lucky?  Of course we were.  Greyhounds are sighthounds and you can never place 100% trust in them around small animals of any kind.

    Romeo proved to be a fantastic Greyhound ambassador for Greyhound adoption.  Although he was a senior Greyhound, everyone who met him wanted to adopt him.  His gentle eyes were the window to his soul.  He held nothing back in giving his love to you.  He gave you everything he had from every fiber of his body.  He was a fantastic teacher as well.  He gently taught all of the new fosters house rules without raising a bark to them.  It was Romeo who started teaching us not to judge a Greyhound by their exterior but to seek their love through patience and kindness.  He was very instrumental in our decision to adopt our third Greyhound.  We thought we would have Romeo forever.  But sadly, in the middle of the night just 8 months after his adoption, we were awakened by sounds of thrashing near our bed.  Romeo was having a severe major stroke that brought on very hard cluster seizures and we couldn't stop them no matter what we tried.  He died in my daughter's arms on the way to the emergency vet January 13, 2001.

    Once again, we were dealt with another devastating loss to our family.  We didn't know if we should continue to adopt or not after his passing.  We decided on waiting a while before adopting again until we saw how our third adopted Greyhound, Jackie was grieving.  After all, Romeo was her mentor, her life and her first love.

    Little Billiey, Romeo's little house bunny brother, took the hardest blow losing his best friend.  He grieved for a year until he finally died from his rare disease that left him sight challenged and without his right eye.  He passed to the Rainbow Bridge just a little over 13 months to the day after his best friend, Romeo, went to the Bridge.

God Speed Romeo and Billiey.  We will always love you both and we will keep your memory alive in our hearts.  May you wait for us with satiny soft angel wings at the Rainbow Bridge until we meet again.....

Jacquelyn "Jackie" Grace Skinner

June 6, 1995 to May 26, 2007

Jackie's Pedigree on Greyhound Data

Heisman Jacob Skinner

May 7, 1995 to October 1, 2007

Heisman's Pedigree on Greyhound Data

After we lost Romeo, Jackie went into a deep depression.  It was clear she needed another dog in the house to ease the loneliness.  She was now an only dog and although she was an alpha, she still needed the companionship of another dog.  After visiting one adoption group with 15 dogs available, Jackie decided no on each one she met.  Sadly, we returned home with Jackie to keep searching.  It wasn't but a couple days later, I received a phone call from the track adoption kennel.  Both Romeo and Jackie had raced at the Woodlands and the adoption kennel manager knew Romeo had went to the Bridge.  She also knew how challenging Miss Jackie was and suggested we bring her by for her very own "Greyhound fix".   We scheduled a visit for the next day.  My daughter and I got Jackie dressed up in her dress collar, purple sweater, hot pink muzzle, loaded Miss Jackie into the car and off we went.

    We arrived at the kennel compound and the guard waved us on through.  Jackie began to shake and looked a little sad.  After a few words of loving encouragement, she stop shaking but still looked a little sad.   We told Jackie that we weren't giving her back.  After all, she captured my heart and I was not going to let my baby girl go back.  She was a part of our family and that was that.  We entered into the adoption kennel where in front of us were 30 dogs available for adoption.  One by one, they were let out of their crates for a turnout and to meet Jackie through a secured fenced door.  29 dogs passed by that door and I was beginning to feel we weren't going to find that special dog Jackie was looking for.

    Then, it happened.  The last dog to be turned out was a huge black guy with a white face.  When the kennel manager opened the crate door, this guy bounded out, leaped up placing his paws on my daughter's shoulders, gave her kisses all over her face and then promptly went over to meet Jackie.  Jackie let out her little snappy bark.  The big black guy smiled and wagged his tail.   My mouth fell open when I saw Jackie's tail wag for the first time in over 2 weeks!  Bingo!  We had a match!  Jackie and the big black guy were placed in a turn out pen all by themselves.  They got along greyt!  I asked about the boy and the kennel manager said his name was Heisman and he was almost 6 yrs old.  He raced grade A and was retired due to age.  We let them play and get to know each other for a while.  Finally, it was time I had to go home and tell my husband all about the guy Jackie met.

    A few days later, we got another call from the kennel manager asking if we could foster a dog.  She needed room for more incoming dogs and since Jackie liked Heisman so well, she wanted to know if we could foster him.  My husband and I scheduled a time to meet Heisman again the next day.  We arrived at the track compound with Jackie in tow.  When we left, we didn't leave with just Jackie.  We left with Heisman and Jackie.  Heisman wasn't a foster dog either.  He was ours.  We decided to go ahead and adopt Heisman because not only did he charm Jackie, my daughter and I - he charmed my husband, too!  Heisman was a very happy camper!  Heisman proved to be a very special boy.  He cockroached, smiled, playbowed and was just a joy to have as our own.  Jackie knew what she needed and what our family needed, too.  We needed Heisman.

    Heisman went on to become a somewhat famous boy, too.  He helped other Greyhounds in need due to serious medical problems through his store "Heisman's Greyhound Art".  He was an ambassador for Greyhound Planet and held countless raffles and auctions to help various groups.

    Heisman was diagnosed with Wobber's Disease in February of 2004 just about a month short of his 9th birthday.  He had his good days and his bad days.  He still had all the charisma he had when we first met him and his most favorite thing in the world were human babies.  He smiled and melted right there when a baby was placed near him.  You can just see the love he had for babies right there.

    Heisman brought alot of joy to our family and we were very proud to have him as a part of our family.  We were hoping to have him around for a few more years.  He was getting a little shaky in the rear end sometimes but he still loved his short walks.  That was our boy Heisman and we wouldn't have changed him for anything in the world...... but he changed us totally.

With profound sadness that at 1:15pm, Monday, October 1, 2007, Heisman crossed the bridge being held in my arms and surrounded by his loving family.  Heisman was 12 1/2.  His Wobbler's finally took it's toll on him.  He started collapsing very badly and got progressively worse.  He had a very hard time controlling his back legs (especially his left leg - it's swinging all over the place when he walked) and had to be supported now while standing.  He was knuckling under and couldn't stand for longer than 30 seconds before he collapsed.  It was time to sadly but lovingly let him go be with Jackie and all of the other pups we've lost.  After 3 1/2 years with this slow progressive disease of Wobbler's slowly robbing my boy of his mobility, it was time he rested in peace.

This was not an easy decision for me to make but I know in my heart it was the right decision and the best for him.  I set aside my selfishness, stood up and fulfilled my promise I made to Heisman when we first adopted him over 6 1/2 years ago to love, honor, care, cherish him and to let him go when the time came.  It wasn't fair to him to keep him going just for me.  As much as I dearly loved him, I had to let him go and be with Jackie.

Heisman was what most would call a legend in the Greyhound world.  Many people knew Heisman's name before they could recall mine.  He was Jackie's dog love.  I credit her for choosing Heisman to become a member of our family.  Heisman was a Greyhound full of pride, goofiness and genuine love.  He helped many, many pups through donations from his store with thousands of dollars of donations.  He was one of my inspirations for starting Greyhound Planet.  He was my ambassagrey here locally to represent all of the Greyhounds throughout the world and my very first service dog for me.  His sweet and gentle disposition with children especially can not be replaced.  His nurturing the baby bunnies outside will always be remembered.  His smile, his roo and his goofy ways will always remain in my heart.
 

    His personal vet came to our home and helped us assist Heisman to the bridge.  We felt this was the best for Heisman - to be surrounded by family in the comfort of his own home.  We were lucky to have found a very compassionate vet 7 years ago when we first adopted Hannah.  Dr. Cupp is one of the greytest vets I could know and to see him shed tears for the loss of Heisman that day, touched my heart.  Run free and ROO loud my boy.... I will miss you, never forget you and I will always deeply love you.

Ashley Nicole Skinner

December 21, 1997 to February 13, 2011

Ashley's Pedigree on Greyhound Data

A few months after we adopted Heisman, we got a phone call from another adopter stating they couldn't handle Ashley's separation anxiety any more.  She was becoming very destructive to their home and also to herself.  They didn't know what else to do other than return her.  My words were clear - bring her to me.  She can live here with us.

    That evening, they brought Ashley over to our house with all of her belongings.  It was a very tearful time for them because they loved her so but for Ashley, she never blinked an eye when they left.  She was 3 1/2 when she came to us.

    Her destruction consisted of eating a vari kennel and pottying all over the house.  When they got her a wire crate, she broke her canine teeth off trying to get out.  When they allowed her to have free reign in the house, she tore a door completely off it's hinges laying it out in the hallway.  The door and the door frame moulding around the doorway were completely chewed.  It was very obvious Ashley didn't want to be there.

    We went back to square one with Ashley - just like we did with every other foster dog that came through my door.  Little by little, she did better each day.

    When Heisman was diagnosed with Wobbler's, it brought a devastating blow to Heisman and to me, too.  Heisman was my service dog and now had to be retired from service duty.  But something clicked in Ashley.  She started taking up where Heisman left off.  When I saw that Ashley had a knack of knowing when I needed help and where I needed help at, I started training her.  After all, she was a big, strong girl, younger than Heisman, healthy and I thought she could handle the job.  She was fairly good with people, could sit and lie down on command and was very attached to me.

    So, Ashley began an 18 month long extensive training to become my service dog.  We worked hard and she finally achieved her status as a medical alert service dog November 2005.  Her primary duties were helping me with balance issues, alerting me to someone at the door and also waking me up when I stop breathing at night.

    When she's not on duty, she's a playful pup that does some adorable things.  And as for her separation anxiety, well, let's just say she no longer exhibits any of those behaviors.  She needed to find her place in the family and to know she was loved unconditionally.

    She's trained to not bark if she knows the person entering the home lives here.  She barks once if it's someone she knows but doesn't live here.  She barks twice if it's a stranger but poses no threat to the home and she will let out a loud long roo if it's someone she does not know and she feels poses a threat to the home.  During the hours of 3am and 5am, I stop breathing so Ashley is trained to wake me up to jump start my breathing.  Since I also have MS, she's also trained to detect the changes within my brain due to the MS and alert me to when a Transient Ischemic Attack (mini stroke) might happen.  She does extremely well at her job.

    Ashley is a marvelous service dog even if her ears curl backwards!  We call her Curly Sue for short sometimes - especially if those ears of hers are in an alert position and curled at the tip.  Since she's been with us she's never looked back.  She enjoys her job as a service dog, a member of our family and I wouldn't know what to do without her........  Thanks Ashley for stepping up to the plate and taking over where Heisman had to leave off.......

As of April 2010, we made the decision to retire Ashley from medical alert service work due to her age and senior health issues.  She's been my lifesaver for 5 years and I'm very blessed to have Ashley in my life.

After enduring 2 blizzards in a weeks time, it is with greyt heaviness and sadness in my heart that Ashley Nicole Skinner passed away in my arms February 13, 2011.  Ashley was diagnosed with end stage Adenocarcinoma in the nasal cavity.  She was 13 years and 7 weeks old.  God speed my beautiful golden girl until we are together again.

Lou "LuLu" Annabelle Skinner

October 14, 2002 to

LuLu's Pedigree on Greyhound Data

When our little baby girl Jackie left us for the bridge May 26th, 2007, we were literally devastated.  Jackie was our rock and our alpha among our small pack of Greyhounds.  She was also the glue between Heisman and Ashley and were just as devastated as we were.  Heisman fell into a depression and Ashley was close behind him.  Most Greyhound people know that Greyhounds are sensitive and when we lose one, the others mourn deeply.  I cried for days because I missed Jackie's presence.  I wanted to get back into our normal routine but just didn't seem to have the motivation to do so any more.  Jackie had been my inspiration for 7 long years and when she died in my arms, so did my inspiration and my heart, too.

    A few days later, out of the blue, a friend emailed me one day about something totally unrelated to Greyhounds.  It was also that day a small, strong voice kept entering my head telling me that we needed to adopt again.  I tried to ignore it but that voice was persistent so I finally gave in.  I knew that voice was Jackie's voice.  I told my friend via email that I lost Jackie and we were planning on adopting again but just didn't know when yet.  She sent an email back with a link and a short message stating *no pressure but this little girl keeps getting overlooked*.  My wise and dear friend (Kelly Graham with Golden Years Senior Greyhounds) knew I always try to adopt the kids that have been overlooked for some reason or another and I also had experience with special needs kids, too.

    Before I knew it, I had clicked on the link and came face to face with a little special needs girl named LuLu.  Once I read her story, I called the entire family in to look including Heisman and Ashley, too.  We feel adopting a Greyhound is a family thing.  Every one was in agreement.  LuLu was the one for us.  Before I even finished filling out the application, I got a couple of phone calls stating if I wanted LuLu - she was mine.

    LuLu had a rough year in 2006.  She had been racing at the Birmingham track in Alabama and her last race recorded was August 6, 2006.  Race name Solitary Lou, call name Lou or LuLu as a nickname.  She was racing grade D but she won her last race!  Then she disappeared.  No one knew exactly what happened to LuLu.

    After being on the run and trying to survive for a few months on her own, LuLu was found in December, 2006 in southern Alabama near death.  She was still wearing her muzzle, weighed only 46 lbs, severely emaciated, had a severe staph infection, her digestive system shut down and she had barbed wire wrapped around her leg.  She was rushed to Walking on the Moon Animal hospital for medical treatment.  She was in very critical condition.  The veterinary staff didn't think she was going to make it.  Somehow, LuLu found her inner strength and will to live.  She rallied back improving each day.

    After a few months of care in Alabama, she was transferred to NorthCoast Greyhound Connection adoption group in Cincinnati, Ohio where her new foster mom discovered some additional medical problems.  LuLu had a hip fracture that was a few months old, never treated and it healed wrong.

    After the group contacted Dr. Couto at Ohio State, he reviewed LuLu's exrays.  Based on his opinion, LuLu would not benefit from hip replacement surgery because of how old the fracture was.  So, LuLu became a special needs kid at the age of 4 1/2 in March, 2007.

    After being passed over probably because of her medical background, hope for a forever home was beginning to fade for LuLu.  She is a sweet, loving, affectionate girl who loves kids and enjoys toys but her foster mom could not adopt her.  It seemed no one else wanted to adopt her either.  Well, that is until our family came along.  We didn't mind adopting a little girl with a *hitch in her get along* at all - especially with all the kisses she so freely gives every day.  It's almost like she's saying thanks for loving me and giving me my forever home.

    So to make a long story short for LuLu, she arrived in Kansas City, Saturday June 16th, 2007 by means of a private GUR by some wonderful, Greyhound loving people!  (Thanks Susan, Tom, Marilyn and Kim!)  We anticipated her arrival with greyt happiness and excitement!  We know LuLu will never replace Jackie but she will help heal our hearts and in turn, she will receive the love of family from us.  We welcomed her with open arms.

    LuLu is a star of her own by being the little black, crazy Greyhound that does some of the most outrageous things!  Since she loves making people laugh, I decided to write a book about her titled "LuLu - Slightly UnHiNgEd" and a follow up book titled "LuLu - Perfectly ImBaLaNcEd".  She has her own fan following and everyone loves to hear about what LuLu does next - like playing soccer with a live snapping turtle and almost dying from licking a common toad!  Since she's came to live with us, she's been diagnosed with Pannus and a long list of mental behavioral issues, too.  Her mental health issues inspired us to write yet another book titled "Coping With a Mentally Challenged Hound".  All 3 books are available for purchase on our Books and Art page.

    Thanks to Jackie for nudging us and keeping the circle of Greyhound love going in our household.  Jackie will be forever in our hearts and LuLu will hold a special place in our heart, too, just like all of our adopted Greyhounds before her.

If you are interested in LuLu's Behavioral Evaluation Report from March 2010, please feel free to contact us.  It's VERY interesting!

Patrick "Sidey" Martin Skinner

August 14, 2001 to

Patrick's pedigree on Greyhound Data

When we tearfully let Heisman go to the bridge in October, 2007, it devastated our family once again.  We didn't want to let him go - we had to.  He went into end stage Wobbler's and was slowly losing all mobility.  We couldn't let him suffer just for our selfishness.  We loved him too much so we made the decision to help him to the bridge October 1, 2007.

    Nothing seemed the same anymore.  We were missing a big piece of our hearts that hadn't quite healed from Jackie's passing.  Heisman knew that when it came time for him to leave us, he still had one more thing to accomplish.  He needed to send us someone extra special to carry on and keep the circle of Greyhound love going.  Of course, knowing our furkids like we did, we left it in the paws of Heisman to send someone special our way.  He never failed us here on earth and he would never fail us at the bridge either.

    It took a few days but finally Heisman's heart person, Sadie, came to me very quietly, looked at me with her big blue eyes and somber face and said matter of factly, *Heisman said to wait until Spring and he would send us a special boy.*  Now, Sadie was 6 and she and Heisman had an incredibly close bond.  Their love for one another was immense but Heisman also knew Sadie would need someone very gentle and caring to help guide her the rest of the way through life after he earned his golden wings.  So, we decided to leave things be as they were and trust in Heisman.

    Winter came and gone.  Ashley and LuLu did well together but it was clear they both missed their older brother and needed a boy in their lives, too.  Down deep in my heart, I felt the same thing.

    Finally, 4 days before the official first day of Spring, I receive an email from Ashley's race owner.  She had two Greyhounds that were ready to go into adoption.  One was a little girl and the other was a middle aged boy.  She preferred the boy to be placed nearby because her little boy was attached to him.  I asked for additional info on each so I could find the right group for each.

    When I got the bio on the boy, the more I read, the more I realized this boy was meant for us.  He was everything we wanted.  He was gentle.  He was excellent around children.  He was a middle aged male and did well around other Greyhounds.  When I showed his picture to Sadie without telling her anything else about him, she said excitingly *Grandma!  That's the special boy that Heisman is sending us!  That's him!  That's him!*  I asked if she was sure and she said yes.  So, after discussing it with his owner, we decided to adopt this boy named Patrick Martin.

    We found out that Patrick Martin was quite a boy, too.  He was a grade A / stakes racer out of Naples, Florida winning 32 out of 57 races.  He broke the metatarsus bone in his right rear leg so they had his leg fixed and brought him back to the farm to become a stud dog.  He's sired 23 pups so far and most of them are still currently racing.  They decided he was not getting any younger so they had his semen frozen and put him up for adoption with hopes he would stay close to them.

    It took a couple of months but Patrick Martin finally arrived May 24th, 2008.  He's a tall boy with such a wonderful personality.  He has his greyt grandsire's eyes who just happens to be Dutch Bahama.  His sire was Gable Dodge and he also has HB's Commander in his bloodline, too.  Coming from such a studly line of Hall of Fame dogs, you would think this boy has alot of ego, too, but he doesn't.  He's mild mannered, very loving and oh so kissy!  He loves children of all ages and is perfect for our family and house that stood empty without a boy for 7 months.  He's our 7th Greyhound we've adopted and our 3rd boy out of the whole entire pack.  I'm sure Heisman is very pleased with his pick.  I know we are.

    Welcome Patrick Martin!  We adore gazing into your beautiful eyes and we love to see that boyish trot once again here in our home.  We hope you love us as much as we love you.
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    We are currently looking for Patrick Martin's offspring, littermates and half littermates.  Patrick Martin's sire was Gable Dodge and his dam was Nitro Feistycurl.  If you have a dog that is related to Patrick Martin in some way, please feel free to contact us.  We would love to share stories and pictures with you.