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2011 Solvang Greyhound Festival2011 Solvang Greyhound FestivalAbout Us
Hi, we're Dave and Polly. Dave is an Ojai, CA native and Polly grew up in Meriden, CT. We met at a country western dance hall named The Crazy Bull in 1995, and have been married for
16 years. We share our cozy home with two adopted greyhounds, Sammy and Fernie. As you browse around our site, you can't help but notice we adore our two hounds.
We still go country western dancing every chance we get and love listening old time fiddle music, which led us to become very involved with the California State Old Time Fiddlers Association District 8.
We are perenially remodeling our home, inside and out - lots of ceramic tile and stone, much of it recycled. Our front yard garden feeds us delicious vegetables much of the year, no wasteful lawn. Our motto, "If we're gonna water it, we might as well eat it."
We hope you find something of interest to you on our website. Glad you're here, drop us a line if it's not too much trouble.
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Adopt A Greyhound
The greyhound is as ancient as the desert from which he sprung, and for thousands of years they were the dogs of choice by kings, queens, pharaohs, sheiks, and people of distinction. Their ability to blend speed, coordination and strategy have made them great hunters as well as racers.
Greyhounds are the fastest dogs in the world, and second only to cheetahs in speed among land animals. They can reach a top speed of 45 miles per hour or a bit more, and average 30 mph for a mile. When a racing greyhound competes at a racetrack, he thinks that he is hunting, not racing. Their keen eyesight allows them to spot small animals up to a half mile away.
After their racing career, retired greyhounds make wonderful pets. Greyhounds love people and tend to be quite sociable. They have been handled a great deal during their early years by dog walkers, trainers, veterinarians, and others. Generally, greyhounds are quizzical, sometimes shy, very sensitive, and surprisingly gentle. They possess superior intelligence and can exhibit a quiet but surprising independence. These are not animals whose spirit has been broken by their training or racing experience.
Why The Name?
When we moved to our present home, it became our little quarter acre "ranch", complete with a view of the surrounding hills, some native oak trees, a working garden, and woods nearby. No ranch animals, unless you count our topiary horse, or want to refer to our hounds as small horses. The area is also home to countless 'possums, racoons, coyotes, even a mountain lion occasionally. We feed hummingirds, and have up to 50 in the height of summer, drinking quarts of nectar we prepare ourselves. Not a ranch in the strict sense of the word, but it's our little piece of the earth God gave us.
Two Hearts is built on the Thematic framework
Solvang Greyhound Festival Primer
We don’t have the exact number of greyhounds that will be in town with their families, but a guess of 250 -300 wouldn’t be too far from the truth. The town gets involved in the festivity too, the mayor welcomes us with a speech at dinner, shop and innkeepers make us welcome with hound-friendly rooms, water bowls on the sidewalks everywhere, and houndie cookies are handed out frequently. Most shops display some sort of poster welcoming the hounds to town and into their shops. Our Greyhounds page has a few photos from last years event. If you are free that weekend, head on up to Solvang – you’ll be glad you did!
From the festival website:
“Greyhound owners are always ready to gather in large numbers to show their love and support for Greyhounds, to enjoy the company of others who share the same compassion and to show others how wonderful Greyhounds as pets can be. After all, it is the Greyhounds that bring us together and naturally this event is all about the Greyhounds!
There are many Greyhound gatherings located on the east coast and in the Midwest of the United States. However, Greyhound lovers on the west coast of the United States often found it difficult to travel such a long distance to enjoy the company and gatherings with other Greyhound lovers. They wanted a place closer to home to celebrate Greyhounds. That’s when the West Coast Greyhound Gathering now known as the Solvang Greyhound Fest was born!
The West Coast Greyhound Gathering site needed to be very Greyhound friendly with a small town atmosphere but with plenty of other activities for visitors to partake in other than Greyhound related activities. Solvang, California fit the bill with comfortable weather, friendly small town atmosphere and plenty of activities to enjoy – not to mention that the whole town is excited (right down to the Mayor, shop keepers and inn keepers) about the Greyhounds coming, too!
We are excited to hold the gathering in Solvang and we hope everyone enjoys their time as well! Proceeds raised from the Solvang Greyhound Fest will go to benefit GREYT LEGS – a 501c3 non profit support group to aid various groups with broken leg veterinarian bills through grants.”
Filed Under: Greyhounds