Hi, dog buddies! For the past few days, I’ve had this strong urge to RUN, and I’m fairly sure it’s because of my latest interview. I got to yap with Atascocita Moxie Balcerak, a recently retired professional racing Greyhound, and, Dog, is she Some Pup!!!
I was nervous ‘cuz I know dog racing’s a Serious Business to Humans, who spend lots of money which they sometimes get back, plus a bunch more, if the dog they say is gonna win Wins! Then, they’re all Happy. But, if that dog doesn’t win, which is most of the time, far as I can tell, they don’t get anything and they get in a bad mood. Since there’s lotsa pressure on the dogs, I figured Moxie might be sorta Tense and Prickly and Jumpy.
Well, she turned out to be the opposite. Happy, friendly, talky – PLUS, she had the longest two pairs of legs I’ve ever seen! Moxie is long and tall and built for speed, even her pretty face, which tapers into a long slender nose, very aerodynamic. Her coat color is called Blue, buts it’s steely grey, very shiny and, her Mom says, rather rare.
When Moxie and her Mom met us at the door, she trotted right up for the Wag-and-Sniff. “Welcome, Mr. Bonzo. Please come in! I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding the house. Some Humans do.” Her voice was soft. Knocked the woof right outta me there for a moment.
“Er, Um, Yes! I mean No. No trouble. None. Not at all,” I said brilliantly. She laughed and led the way into the living room. “Please call me Moxie. This is my Mom, Leslie.”
“I can’t wait to hear about your career and what it’s like to retire so young,” I told her. (She’s just 3 ½.)
She settled into her big lounge/bed, heaped with pillows and toys. “I was born and raised on Atascocita Farms. They raise racing greyhounds. My dog parents, Leroy and Wilda, grew up there, too.
“I’m pedigreed and registered, and I have tons of papers Mom keeps in a big book. The dogs from our farm race at Daytona. My first race was July 15, 2013.”
“Wow. Were you nervous?”
“Sorta. But once we took off, I wasn’t any more. I ran 117 races in my career: 7 wins, 21 seconds and 23 thirds. I’m plenty fast, but I kept bumping into other dogs and getting bounced off the track. Embarrassing. Anyway, there’s this lady who gets the retired greyhounds and brings ‘em to a Greyhound Adoption place.
“What happened with me was that my human Mom and Dad, Leslie and Richard, lost their other greyhound, Aggie, last April. The lady who got Aggie for them called and said there was this Blue who was gonna be a therapy dog but that fell through. Well, that was ME! Mom and Dad came up to see me the very next week. You know how sometimes you just – KNOW?”
“Yes, I do!” I said.
“Well, I right away went to Mom and gave her a smooch. Then I went over to Dad and plopped right down by him. Before I could go home with them, the adoption people had to make sure I was cat-, little animal- and kid-safe. I am!”
“Is it hard to not race anymore?” I inquired.
“Actually, no. I miss my racing buddies sometimes, but this life is GREAT. Plus, I developed an ow-ee on one of my right rear toes, the ones that get all the pressure when we race. And my leather racing collar rubbed the hair off my neck so Mom got me special fleece-lined collars, see?”
“Anyway, I get all the exercise I need. I run around our backyard or with my pal Bogey next door. He has a big fenced field we call Bogey’s Park. Bogey’s dad calls him a Belizean Purebred Coconut Retriever, but Bogey says, ‘Hey, I’m just a mutt from Belize.”
“And I love to collect Dad’s stuff. I go in his closet and get shirts, sox and left shoes, and bring ‘em to my bed to snuggle when he’s not here.”
I had noticed a left sneaker in her bed. “Whaddya like to eat?”
“Kibbles, and sometimes a little chicken. I love bananas and apples. And ice cream. I always follow Mom to the freezer, and carry my ice cream cup into my bed to eat it.
“Oooo, and I’m learning to help Mom with a special project. She helped Aggie write a book about greyhounds called ‘The 45 mph Couch Potato’ because that’s how fast we can run, and when we’re not running, we’re snoozing. Mom’s writing another one and I’m gonna be in it. Aggie’s gonna come to me from Dog Heaven in a dream and help me learn important dog stuff. Then I’ll visit schools with Mom like Aggie used to, and read to the kids and teach ‘em about dogs. Isn’t that so neat?”
Then it was time to leave. I think I’m gonna ask my photographer to make me a copy of Moxie’s picture to put on my wall. Guess I’d better ask my Mom if I actually have my own wall first.
