Photos, above, are from a very fun photo shoot with Kyra and her “pack” whom I met though Colorado Greyhound Adoption.

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Felix stepped into his fairy-tale beginning last week. His new family is everything we prayed for and more.

He was with us longer than we expected, longer than normal for a foster greyhound placement. All retiring greyhounds are tested to determine if they are safe with cats or not. Felix is not cat-safe. An abundance of not-cat-safe males arrived in Colorado Greyhound Adoption (CGA) foster homes around the same time, even as a wait list developed for cat-safe dogs. And so, Felix remained in our care for two months.

Felix was a gift to us, and we needed him every day that he was here. We decided before we ever met him that we would only be a foster placement. We felt fairly confident that we were a one-dog family. We were also grateful to the family who helped our permanent hound transition from kennel life into a household, and we wanted to give that gift to someone else. Cody’s “foster mom” said something to me that sticks in my soul:  that she no longer feels she needs to keep all the good things for herself.

Felix

Felix is a “good thing.” He knows how to love. His favorite place in the world is snuggled up to another being. One of my kids in particular needed that affection every day of Felix’s extended sojourn with us. As for me, many mornings, I called Felix during my prayer time and he settled on my lap and chest with a contented groan. I will often remember this visual parable of what prayer should be, as I try to approach God the same way Felix nestled into me.

The house is very quiet now. Felix brought a happy, chaotic energy with his keen curiosity and zest to express his emotions, whether affection or dismay. If we left him outside a few minutes too long, he howled in agony. A couple days after Felix left, a neighbor asked if our dogs were okay because he heard Felix “dying” earlier in the week. Admittedly, some members of the family appreciated Felix’s energy more than others. Felix sometimes annoyed Cody; but now Cody is searching for him, restlessly asking to go outside and then back inside. After Felix left, Cody seemed drawn to a section of grass at our curb, the spot where Felix hopped into the car of his new family. I sentimentally wondered if Cody was sniffing for his friend. My husband set me straight when he explained that he’d dumped there some water in which he’d boiled chicken!

I miss Felix. And yet there is a great joy in updates from Felix’s new family and in feeling grateful that he stayed with us as long as he did. It’s amazing how many times when I set out to be the “giver,” I end up receiving far more in return.

Saying Good-bye to Felix

And I’m not so sure anymore that we are a one-dog family, so we’ll see where the adventure goes from here…

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After writing the draft for this post, we suddenly and unexpectedly welcomed home a gorgeous brindle foster dog, Romeo.

Romeo, right, with our sweet hound Cody, left.