Who or What is Free Decision?

Where did that silly name come from? Look at the picture over there to the left, you know the “About Me” picture. That’s Free Decision. He is a ten year old greyhound that broke his leg racing in 2002. Our greyhound adoption group agreed to find a home for him. While the track veterinarian advised the owner to euthanize him, his trainer, Jon Venuto, couldn’t do it. See, Cisco (that’s Free Decision’s nickname or “kennel name”) has quite a personality. And he is very much a “suck-up.” He plastered himself to Jon’s side, became his best buddy, and Jon asked us to take him. I agreed to “foster” him when we were advised by my veterinarian to amputate the leg because it was so badly broken. I had been through the amputation thing before with a greyhound with bone cancer, so I volunteered to keep him until he was ready for a home. OK, I was mean, too. I made Jon keep him the first night after the amputation. I knew how bad that was going to be, and figured he should have that wonderful experience. He learned that you have to sit up with them the entire night, touching them, reassuring them. Hey, I’ve done it, it was a great experience I knew he would enjoy.

So he came to my house the day after his amputation. What a big baby! The good thing about dogs is they recover so quickly and adapt so fast. They don’t sit and worry over what they don’t have, or what they have lost. They get on with their lives. And Cisco set about that task right away. In retrospect, he probably had me trained within a couple of days. We had two families interested in adopting him. The first person, Cheryl Bates, came to meet him. I swear, the dog reads minds. He normally loves people, but when Cheryl came in he greeted her, then hid behind me, like he knew she was thinking about taking him away. Cheryl looked at me and said “I don’t think that dog is leaving your house.”

She was right. He is still here. We have had great times. We used to go to Cloverleaf Kennel Club in Loveland, Colorado, to watch greyhound racing, and Cisco had a blast. The really amazing thing was when some people came over and asked if my dog was Free Decision. They were so excited when they found out it was really the dog they had followed when he was racing, and they always came to see him and give him a treat when we were at the track.

Why use his race name for my blog? I like it. It sounds kind of like me, a little stubborn, hardheaded, maybe sometimes a little outspoken. (OK, all of you “greyhound” people can stop rolling on the floor with laughter now!)

Cisco looks pretty good for a “dead” dog, don't you think? You know, we never did tell Cisco’s race owner that he wasn’t euthanized. Wonder if he ever heard?

Hey, Jon, did I ever say "thank you?" THANKS!