Why the long face?

How does the song go? “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” Well, the long face in the photo above is because Dash has lost hers … and ten others besides! That now makes a total of more than twenty teeth that have gone missing since she retired. I know what you’re thinking – I’ve been spoiling her with treats and sweets. Not true. She gets two square meals a day and a twice-weekly tooth brushing. Sometimes a tripe stick in between that acts as the equivalent of a good old-fashioned flossing. I even sprinkle the latest seaweed remedy (the charmingly named ‘Plaque off’) onto her food in the hope it might halt the decay. At least she still has all four canine teeth – she’d hardly qualify as a hound without them. Anyway, dentistry aside, here we are at the year’s end. Next February finally sees the publication of the book and let’s hope it’s a runaway success. Who knows – 2011 may prove to the ‘Bitch of the Year’ after all! In the meantime, season’s greetings to one and all. If you’re a greyhound owner, make sure you wrap up the dog as well as the presents. Looks like it’s going to be chilly out there …

Dash back on the blog

Don’t worry – Dash is back and now ‘unmuzzled’! Apologies for the lack of postings over the last month, but a pause/paws was put on the blog due to negotiations with a UK national newspaper who want to run a piece about the story and book. So in this case, no news is most definitely good news! With less than two months to go till publication, momentum is starting to build. Dash herself is limbering up, too, and last Saturday, she led a greyhound walk in east Oxford. About fifteen hounds and their families braved the damp to show off their wet weather gear. There were even a few festive tinsel trimmings on coats and collars. Dash, as you’d expect, was comfortable out in front, and delighted to be among friends. If you’re looking for her in the photo, you can see her rear end actually disappearing off the right-hand side. Typical Dash – always moving at speed when the shutter goes! Also in preparation for publication, Dash is off to get her teeth checked and cleaned at the vet’s tomorrow. This is always a nerve-wracking occasion for owners of ex-racers since, due to the greyhound’s lack of insulating body fat, there’s a real risk in putting one under general anaesthetic. This risk being that it won’t wake up. Yikes! The thing is that, as a breed, greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. Dash’s top front row are so loose they practically rattle, so watch this space in case the next posting brings news that she needs doggy dentures! 

Dash meets the publishing team

The big news this week was our trip to the publisher’s, Summersdale. We drove from Oxford to Chichester through freezing fog and rain (not nice) and had a full day of meeting and greeting, lunch, treats and generally being made a fuss of (very nice indeed). It’s hard to get four lovely ladies in one photo, but they are: Jennifer (glasses; Editorial and Rights Director), Nicky (beads; Sales Director) and Elly (polka dots; PR Manager). All of them are dog-owners or dog-lovers ... and now confirmed Dash-admirers. Dash herself took it all in her stride. She even managed to scale four sets of stairs to meet Abbie, the Editor of the book. As we made the last few corrections to the manuscript, Dash lay under the table and napped supportively. The final encounter of the day was with Alastair. More important than being the Managing Director, he’s the owner of one of Summersdale’s most prolific and best-selling authors: Milly Brown (a chocolate Labrador, no less). All in all, you’d be hard pressed to find a more dog-friendly and charming team!

Dash's auntie approves of publication

Another pair of endorsements for ‘Dash’ to report this week! First of all, from novelist Barbara Erskine: “A heart warming thoroughly enjoyable romp – a must for all dog lovers, everyone contemplating dog ownership and everyone contemplating marriage.” And this lovely one from Hilary Johnson of the Authors’ Advisory Service: “A true romance – the entrancing story of a man’s love for a woman and of how a retired racing greyhound captured both their hearts.” It also turns out that Hilary’s greyhound, Marie, is closely related to Dash. In fact, she’s her auntie! Since the offspring of stud dogs or ‘sires’ can go into the thousands, perhaps it’s no surprise … but it’s a nice discovery nevertheless. Let’s hope the world of book-reading greyhound owners is as closely connected and extensive as that of their hounds!

Three months to go till publication!

Phew! We’re finally here in the new house in the Oxfordshire village of Eynsham. During the couple of days it took to move and unload, Dash stayed with a fellow greyhound owner. When she arrived on Tuesday, everything was unboxed, installed and ready in an attempt to minimize any anxiety. Her mat was in its usual place at the foot of the sofa; the DAP (dog-appeasing pheromone) was on full blast. Pity it’s also the fireworks season! Last night – after a barrage of bangers went off in a neighbours’ garden – she shot upstairs and hid under one of the beds. Not even a Toulouse sausage could tempt her out … and her trembling was enough to shake the bedframe. Poor thing. Quite a noisy and stressful salute to signal three months to go till publication!

Nervy Dash turns orange

Dogs just know when something is up. For days now – ever since we started serious preparations for the house move, in fact – Dash has been a bit out of sorts. She paces from room to room; she jumps up off her mat and stares at nothing. Maybe it’s the fact that the odd firework has already gone off in advance of Bonfire Night. Maybe it’s about being a nervy, ex-racing greyhound. Anyway, in an attempt to distract her, last week I added to her collection of toys. ‘Orange’ is a squashy, squeaky ball that looks like, you’ve guessed it, an orange. To say she’s become obsessed is an understatement. Clamped in her jaws, it squeaks and squeaks and SQUEAKS. Suddenly it’s like she’s got a voice, like she’s talking: ‘At last – something to get my teeth into.’ Let’s hope she doesn’t do the same with the book when it comes out!

Moving house and the US hears about Dash

The one bouncing in the background is my son, Freddy. The one sprawled in the foreground needs no introduction, of course. What a set of toothy-pegs! Both Freddy and Dash have proved quite a handful this week in the run-up to moving house. As if a full-time job and a part-time writing career isn’t enough, this year has seen us sell up and buy our first family home in a village near Oxford. Eynsham is six miles out of town and bounded by a river, lush fields and woods. Enticing dog-walking territory. On the book front, I had a lovely email this week from an American author and ‘historian of everything greyhound’. It seems news of the publication of ‘Dash: Bitch of the Year’ has already spread across the pond, and she’s keen to be the first to review it!

Another endorsement

The past week has brought another celebrity endorsement! This time from TV vet and author, Emma Milne. She describes the book as “a brave and, at times, brutally honest account of what it’s like to be a pet owner”. She was also kind enough to bring her professional expertise to bear and correct a couple of facts in the bookproof. Did you know greyhounds and dogs don’t have ‘collarbones’? Scapulae, yes; collarbones, no. A basic mistake and one which I’m very grateful she spotted pre-publication. The other is that she thinks Dash’s hayfever may be a phenomenon called ‘reverse sneezing’. Apparently it happens in plenty of dogs - her own included - and there’s all sorts of sneezing and snorting vids to be seen on YouTube. It just goes to show that despite my obsession with all things greyhound, I remain nothing but a passionate amateur!

Four months to go till publication!

OK - so I've adopted the dog, got married, written the story and lived the dream. Next stop publication! How will Dash cope with her continued transformation from champion racer to ring-bearer to literary heroine? How will I cope? Well ... over the next four months I'll be blogging on a weekly basis about the experience. There'll be stories, updates and insights; there'll be trials and tribulations, no doubt. But, as ever with Dash, there'll also be fun and hijinks galore. For now, I'll leave you with the news that no less than Twiggy herself has fallen in love with 'Dash: Bitch of the Year'. Her comment on the book is: "funny, moving and I highly recommend it". So there you go. If the face of M&S is backing it, we're halfway there already.