Kobey: Tall, Dark and Handsome

Today, on the first day of my annual Birthday week stay-cation, after being incredibly productive this morning, I traveled up to Wrigleyville to meet the newest recruit to the Chicago crew - Kobey - my friend's adopted greyhound dog. This was a scheduled play date that I set a week before Joanna even got the dog - as I was sending her Petsmart coupons. Needless to say, I was excited to meet him. And he was definitely excited to meet me... or was overwhelmed by the smell of my cat. Either way... we hit it off.

I also have learned a lot more about greyhounds that I never knew. Things like...

• They have a second eyelid. Don't be fooled if they are laying down and looking at you. They could still be sleeping.
• They dream about the race track, and you're not supposed to wake them up during these. If you have to, you're supposed to yell out their name... as opposed to touching them.
• The soles of their feet are sensitive... that's why you might see them in booties walking around the streets of Chi-town.
• While at the race track they are caged for 22 hours a days, so they are actually good city dogs. Take that pug-lovers.
• Although city-friendly, they aren't sidewalk-trained, and therefor are required to be on a leash at all times... because they can run up to 40 miles an hour and were trained to run after bunnies - which in a greyhound mind is anything small, quick and furry.
• They don't wear sweaters in the winter for fashion; they need them to keep warm. Their coat is very thin and fragile.

Joanna adopted Kobey after the announcement that Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kinosha was closing at the end of the month. He was one of the 400 that were in need of a loving home. I'm sure there are still dozens more. If you are considering getting a furry friend, you should consider one of Kobey's crew. Here's the latest Tribune story on the track closing, "Love on long legs."