It all started on September 14, 2024 at Wagfest in Sedona, Arizona.
My reason for attending this free public event was to help, encourage, and support the Greyhound Rescue Group responsible for bringing Zeven (the subject of my inaugural blog) from Australia to the US. Three dedicated ladies drove from Tucson to Sedona—a five hour drive!—to attend and get the word out about Greyhounds.
I never could have imagined the direction this simple yet unusual-for-introverted-me act of attendance would send me.
Sedona’s Wagfest was a sweet, small event located amidst killer red rock views.
Smoothly MC’d from beginning to end, the Dog-focused affair kept up a steady pace of games and information with just as steady a flow of participating Pups! Thankfully, except for the pair of barking Huskies (who seem to show up everywhere) there was very little barking or posturing. Responsible PupPeople, both vendors and attendees, helped make what I imagined was going to be a hokey, barky event into something quite lovely and enjoyable.
Zeven’s Foster Mom gave a short talk about what goes into bringing Australia’s retired racers to the United States. Bow wow! 
I had no idea! I found myself feeling even more grateful for all the effort and time the Group’s dedicated volunteers expend. One thing once again rang through loud and clear: Greyhounds from down-unda are regarded and treated a thousand times better by authorities/groups/agencies than those in America.
Soldier’s Best Friend is an organization located in Peoria, Arizona that pairs Dogs with Veterans living with Post-Traumatic Stress or Traumatic Brain Injury and trains them to be an effective team. I was quite taken with the woman manning the Soldier’s Best Friend booth at Wagfest, she was outgoing and so positive and upbeat that I took an informational postcard with the intention of asking AlphaMate about donating to SBF on our tax return. At one point I asked the SBF representative where the Dogs they used in the Program were found. Her answer was “mostly Humane Societies”. Hunh. Well, would SBF consider going to a Rescue to check there for suitable Canines? “I don’t see why not” was her reply as she handed me a card with the contact information for the organization’s Adoption Coordinator, a woman named Blake.
Blake is incredible! Upbeat, positive, just friendly enough, always prompt, knows her stuff, and she doesn’t waste time. We 
carried on an email conversation and eventually set up a day and time in December for her to visit Pets Return Home in Clarkdale, Arizona, the Rescue where I had found my wonderful Cowboy Corgi (aka Cattle Dog mix), Jethro, in 2022.
Blake and Jim, another Soldier’s Best Friend representative, uncomplainingly drove over two hours each way to make this meeting happen. Throughout the entire process I was blown away by Blake’s willing open-mindedness; nothing seemed to faze her!
Mark is the Pack Leader at Pets Return Home, where on any given day, he keeps the peace and provides care and Love and sustenance for at least thirty Dogs. When a Friend and I ventured out to Pets Return Home for the first time, I was thrilled to find both a PackLiving environment and a gregarious, realistic Pack Leader. Here was a Rescue with a philosophy I could understand…and get behind. So I did. And do.
Mark makes volunteering a hoot! Once reminders about the serious stuff are out of the way (ie remembering not to pet Zoe on the head because it sets her off, or not putting my arm into Django’s crate to pull out the empty bowl because he’s “quirky that way”), time spent at Pets Return Home is pure joy. The Pack Leader encourages lots of interaction with his charges. My favorite thing to do is Poop Pickup, a highly satisfying activity due to the volume available (it’s not the ‘treasure hunt’ I perform daily with having only six Pups) and the Canine Companions who come over periodically to check on my progress keep me entertained. One day I picked up Poop for four hours (I’m very thorough). The next day my quads were a wee bit sore!
Four criteria needed to be met for a Dog to be accepted into the Soldier’s Best Friend Program:
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- The Pup needed to be three years old or younger.
- The Pup could not weigh more than 99 pounds.
- The Pup needed to be okay with being touched and having his paws and body manipulated.
- The Pup needed to NOT BARK at an unknown/neutral Dog when meeting on-leash.
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While a few Dogs were being tested on-leash with Blake’s Standard Poodle, Oz, I stood outside the enclosure with Jim, who filled me in on the incredible program provided free of charge by the Soldier’s Best Friend organization. The salient details I remember: The Veteran commits to working the Program for a year. Dog and Veteran live together and are responsible for each other from Day One. During the training period both Pup and Person are exposed to myriad scenarios—everything from teaching the Dog to walk behind the Veteran in the mall, effectively ‘having his back’, to learning how to negotiate the tight conditions in airplanes (including the bathrooms!)—all geared towards making an independent LIFE possible for the (PTS or TBI) Veteran. Bow wow! After completion of training there is a graduation ceremony.
There was a reward for those logged miles: one Pup went back to Peoria with Blake and Jim. He was their second choice. Second choice? Yes, that’s right. Another Pup had what Blake was looking for, but he failed the NO BARK test. Not his fault! The 14-month-old Puppy had lived as part of the Pets Return Home Pack since he was four weeks old; he was just doing what he knew to do whenever an unfamiliar Dog appeared. I had noticed this Puppy while volunteering at the Rescue and at an Adoption Event and agreed with Blake’s assessment that he was something special. Seeing an opportunity to help the Pup, Pets Return Home, and Soldier’s Best Friend, I asked Mark if I could take the Dog and work with him on some NO BARK training since there is a strict NO BARK policy here at Canine Kid Care. “He’s a good boy. Sure.” was the reply.
The next step was to clear this idea with my Pack and with the Pup himself. I wanted to make sure he was on-board with the plan being made for his Life, so I scheduled an Animal Communication Session with Sharon Loy, telepathic communicator extraordinaire. My Pups (aka The Pack) were all amenable to the scenario I presented once they understood the Pets Return Home Pup would only be staying at Canine Kid Care temporarily and because there was a purpose to his being here with us. Oh, and AlphaMate was okay with the scenario as well (he was just glad I wasn’t wanting to adopt the Dog!).
So on March 10th, 2025 I drove to Pets Return Home and picked up the Pup named Ari. He seemed to recognize me from our Communication Session when he had told me to “come and get him”. We had an uneventful 45-minute drive back to the Den except for Ari losing his breakfast on the fifth roundabout…and the sixth roundabout…and finally purging his tummy completely on the seventh roundabout. And so, at the Den, when I opened the vehicle’s back hatch to grab Ari’s leash, a huge pile of stinky barf slid off the protective comforter, onto the bumper and went plop on the driveway concrete. Lovely. (But still better than Nala the Greyhound’s more liquid projectile vomit–also a result of roundabouts; it ran down the door, the floor and surrounding seats, soaking into each surface. Gross. One of the nicest things AlphaMate ever did for me was clean up that particular mess.)
Ari is about as sweet as he is handsome and photogenic. Our NO BARK Training was a resounding success…I never had to do anything! Once Ari was in a calmer, quieter environment he adjusted his behavior to that of The Pack’s. During the time he was here he barked twice, once was when one of the Goats smashed her horns into the fence right near his face—he was a little startled, and the other time was when he wanted to play and was trying to get another Pup’s Attention. Oh the irony!
This blog story has several parts to it. Now seems like a good place to end Part One. Check back in a few weeks for Part Two: Ari’s ‘Training’ progress, his re-evaluation by Soldier’s Best Friend, his medical evaluation, and subsequent placement. Woof woof!
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