Group photo: OSU Campus Greyhound Walk

 

Here are the brave souls who participated in/endured today's wet and rainy OSU campus Greyhound walk!  Thanks to all of you!  Not pictured:  Eric Merchant, who took the photo.

October Greyhound Walk - Sunday, October 26th - Oregon State University Campus

 Where:  Oregon State University Campus

When: Sunday, October 26th, 2025 @ Noon

Let's enjoy a beautiful (or potentially rainy....hey, it's Oregon!) Fall afternoon strolling the tree-lined walkways of the OSU Campus.  This will be a flat, non-strenuous walk with an opportunity to pause for coffee at the campus Dutch Bros.  Total time of the walk will be no more than 1 hour.

...and we'll likely see a few food delivery robots rolling around the campus, delivering food to the unambitious Sunday college students. 😉

We'll meet at NOON at the McNary Field parking lot (the "banana-shaped" lot), one half-block north of 14th & Monroe (see map below).  See you there!

2025 Willamette Valley Greyhound Lovers Great Global Greyhound Walk

 

Thanks to all who participated.  It was a GREYT success!

Eugene

Corvallis

REMINDER: Great Global Greyhound Walk - THIS SUNDAY, September 28 - Corvallis & Eugene

 

In 2024: 13,383 Sighthounds from 42 Different Countries Walked Together on One Special Day

Eugene Walk When: Sunday, September 28th @ 11:30 AM Where: The Amazon Community Center @ Amazon Park 2700 Hilyard St. Eugene, OR 97405

Let’s meet in the parking lot by the Community Center at Amazon Park. This is located on the south-east side of the park on Hilyard St. From there we will head down the Amazon Running Trail, onto 24th St., and finally looping back to our starting point. Bandanas and bling for your greyhounds are encouraged as well as people tee shirts promoting greyhounds and/or greyhound adoption. See you on Sunday! Kym Fleming

Corvallis Walk When: Sunday, September 28th @11:30 AM Where: Crystal Lake Sports Fields 100 SE Fischer Lane Corvallis, OR 97333

Please meet in the parking lot of Crystal Lake Sports Fields at 11:15 AM. There will be plenty of parking. The walk will combine an easily walkable, shaded dirt trail and a paved trail. Duration of the walk will be 45 min to 1 hr. Crystal Lake Sports Fields are located in South Corvallis. Join us even if you don't have a Greyhound but would like information on Greyhound adoption or you'd just like to get up-close and personal with a Greyhound!  Representatives from Greyhound Pet Adoption - Northwest will be on hand to answer your questions. Barry Bottger

September Birthdays!

 

Logan

September 20th

8 Years Old

Toffee

September 26th

12 Years Old

Great Global Greyhound Walk - Sunday, September 28 - Corvallis & Eugene

The Great Global Greyhound Walk 2025!

 

Corvallis:

Where:  Crystal Lake Sports Fields - Corvallis

When:  Sunday, September 28th, 11:30 AM

We'll meet in the parking lot of the Crystal Lake Sports Fields at 11:15.  The walk should take no more than 1 hour.

All Greyhounds, Sighthounds (and a few Greyhound wannabes!) are welcome!

We'll stroll along the shaded path along the Willamette River.  As of this writing, forecast temperature is in the mid-70s.  

More info here

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Eugene:

When: Sunday, September 28th @ 11:30 AM Where: The Amazon Community Center @ Amazon Park 2700 Hilyard St. Eugene, OR 97405

Let’s meet in the parking lot by the Community Center at Amazon Park. This is located on the south-east side of the park on Hilyard St. From there we will head down the Amazon Running Trail, onto 24th St., and finally looping back to our starting point. Kym Fleming

Dog Food Recall - Viva Raw

 

August 25, 2025 Viva Raw LLC is voluntarily recalling two lots of dog and cat foods due to contamination with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

 

What was recalled?

 

The products affected are listed below. Because Viva is a subscription service, only customers who have received a direct email notice will have received these lots.

 

• Ground Beef for Dogs – Lot 21495
• Beef & Turkey Recipe for Puppies – Lot 21495
• Ground Chicken for Dog – Lot 21975
• Chunked Chicken for Dogs – Lot 21975
• Chicken for Cats – Lot 21975
• Pure Chicken – Lot 21975

 

Viva Raw Issues Voluntary Recall of Two Lots of Dog and Cat Foods Due to Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes Contamination

Happy National Dog Day!

 

Excessive Heat Warning!

 Please keep your pets (and yourselves) safe!

 

10 Healthy Dog Food Additives to Improve a Dry Food Diet

From the Whole Dog Journal:

Do you ever wonder, "What can I add to my dog's food?" Give your dog's processed diet a fresh, nutritious boost by adding some of these healthy foods that are safe toppings for dog food.

America’s most popular dog food is kibble or dry food, which, because it is convenient and affordable, accounts for more than 60% of all dog food sales. Unfortunately, dry dog food is far from perfect. 

The good news is, that you can vastly improve a dry diet by making simple additions of cooked or raw foods, says Mary Straus, long-time pet-food researcher and owner of the DogAware.com website. “Today’s consumers have many dog food choices,” Straus says, “but kibble is the diet that most benefits from enhancement since it is so highly processed and because it tends to be high in carbohydrates, which are needed for the extrusion process.”

Continue reading here

August Greyhound Walk - Sunday 8/24, Alton Baker Park in Eugene

 

August Greyhound Walk        When: Sunday, August 24th @ 9:30 AM        Where: Alton Baker Park         200 Day Island Rd.        Eugene, OR 97401        Let's be up with the birds to beat the late summer heat!      We will meet in the east parking lot (closest to the Frisbee  Course) and walk east on the running trail. The walk is  level and rated easy but we may go a round trip  distance of about 2 miles or so.

 From The Whole Dog Journal:

The Best (and Safest) Chew Bones for Dogs

We tested 7 dog chews to find out which ones are worth your money.

By

 Jae Thomas, CPDT-KA

 -

Published:February 6, 2025

0

When deciding which chew bones are best for your dogs, it is important to consider how strongly they chew. Credit: Jae Thomas

Chewing is an instinctive dog behavior. From puppies chewing on everything in sight to older dogs settling down with a good stick, dogs love to chew. Chewing is a self-soothing activity, and dog-safe chews are good for stress release, teething, and can even help with teeth cleaning.

 

 

However, chewing inappropriate items poses health and safety issues for our four-legged friends. From gastrointestinal upset to obstruction risk, finding the best and safest chew bones to keep your dog occupied can seem like a daunting task.

Which Dog Chews are Safe?

Continue reading here

FDA Warning Letter Sent to Answers Pet Food

This is not a recall

On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a formal Warning Letter to Lystn LLC, also known as Answers Pet Food, based in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania. The action followed an inspection conducted from July 18 through October 4, 2024, which identified serious violations of federal pet food manufacturing standards under 21 CFR Part 507.

You can read the letter here.

In a direct address to company owner Keith Hill, FDA Director of Food Compliance Isaac K. Carney stated, “Your products are adulterated in that they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” The letter characterized the presence of pathogens as a prohibited act under federal law, emphasizing that “the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that is adulterated is a prohibited act.”

Central to the FDA’s concern was a retail sample purchased on August 22, 2024, and a subsequengt voluntary withdrawal. The agency confirmed that four lots of raw Answers Pet Food contained Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes. The letter notes, “Sample analysis revealed that all four sampled lots contained Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes,” listing specific lots in raw beef and chicken formulas.

The FDA also flagged deficiencies in the company’s hazard analysis and preventive control measures, stating, “you did not identify and implement preventive controls … to provide assurances that any hazards requiring a preventive control are significantly minimized or prevented.” Environmental swabs taken in July 2024 detected L. monocytogenes on seven food‑contact surfaces, with genetic matching confirming contamination linked to finished product samples.

Additional observations included reports of poor manufacturing practices: an employee handled frozen turkey packaging, touched a trash compactor, and resumed unpackaging without changing gloves or washing hands, and cleaning crews sprayed water that splashed onto in‑process food.

The FDA has demanded a written response within 15 working days detailing corrective actions, complete with supporting documentation. Officials warned that failure to comply “may lead to legal action, including … seizure, and injunction.”

The agency will monitor the firm’s remediation efforts and evaluate implementation during follow‑up inspections.

July Greyhound Walk - Dorris Ranch Park, Springfield

 When: Sunday, July 20th

           @ 9:30 AM
Where: Dorris Ranch Park
              205 Dorris Street
              Springfield , OR

Let's be up with the birds to walk in the cool morning air. Bring your coffee and Danish!

We will park in the upper lot and walk down the Middle Fork Bike Path before winding our way into the woods and circling back to our starting point.

We hope you can join us for a morning stroll. The walk is level and rated as easy.

**Dorris Ranch Park is located at the south end of South 2nd Street in Springfield.

Caution: Summer Heat!

 

July Birthday

 

Zoe

July 12

6 Years Old

Greyhounds, Fireworks & Thunderstorms

 

Helping your Greyhound Stay Calm during

Fireworks & Thunderous Weather

From the perspective of many greyhounds (and other dogs), summer is the scariest part of the year. Is it summer heat, biting gnats or the specter of a family leaving on vacation that worries them? No, it’s noisy fireworks displays and summer storms (with the accompanying thunder and lightning) that turn some normally placid greyhounds into desperately panicked pooches.

More dogs are reported missing during the summer than in any other season, due in large part to the terror induced even by storms of short duration. And the week following the Fourth of July is the busiest week of the year in animal shelters across the nation. All it takes is a shrieking rocket, a few peals of thunder or a crack or two of lightning and suddenly that fence that has always been tall enough is no more than a low hurdle for your running, frightened pet.

Fourth of July:

* Be sure your greyhound always wears a full set of identification tags: GPA’s tag, pet’s name/home phone tag, and your county/city licenses.

* Stay home with your pet – your reassuring presence might prevent panic. If you can’t be there, leave your dog in an indoor area where he can neither escape nor be injured if he panics. If he feels secure in his crate, use it. Leave the light on in the room. Keep the radio on or music to mask the sound. Close up the house.

* Reassure your dog in a calm voice; avoid having

other family members respond in an excited or frightened manner.

* Some dogs can be distracted from the noise by

playing a game of indoor ball or tug-of-war with

you – if your dog has trouble paying attention to

you due to the outside noise, don’t insist.

* Talk to your veterinarian about medication to help your greyhound get through the storm season and the Fourth of July.

* Don’t take your dog to fireworks displays, even if you feel you will be a distance from the firing site

or plan to stay in your car. From the dog’s perspective, he might as well be sitting next to the firing range.

Thunderstorms:

* Check you gates and fences prior to letting your dog out. Blown down fences and gates are the primary way dogs are lost during these storms. * Remain calm yourself – your agitation will only increase your dog’s level of fear. Giving your dog a slow comforting massage using long strokes might help you both get through it.

* Desensitize your dog using a recording of a thunderstorm. Start by playing the recording frequently at very low volume (almost out of hearing for you) while you are home. Interact calmly with your dog every time you play the recording. Over time, raise the volume slowly to more realistic levels. Then play the recording when you are out of the house for short periods, eventually working up to longer absences. Eventually, the noise of a real storm should be just normal background noise for your pooch. (This works well for other scary sounds as well, i.e. trash trucks and crashing trash cans.)

* Investigate the StormDefender Cape® (www.stormdefender.com). Many dog owners report remarkable success using this product to calm thunder-phobic dogs.

* We use the poor man’s version, which also seems to help a little bit -- a t-shirt, tightened around Pearl’s body by rubber-banding the loose part up above her haunches. We start using this well in advance of July 4, so she acclimates to it, without associating it directly with the explosions.

NOTE: D.A.P. (dog appeasing pheromones) diffusers have been used with some success to calm anxious dogs whether the anxiety is situational, such as fireworks phobias, or general/non-specific. Many dogs are comforted by this pheromone, which is similar to that secreted by a nursing bitch to calm and comfort her puppies. Diffusers must be used over a period of time to be effective. One commonly available D.A.P. diffuser is marketed as Comfort Zone™ by Farnam Pet Products.

Reprinted with the permission of Fast Friends Greyhound Adoption