3.04.2015

Memorial Redux

I don’t think it’s any secret that my heart was completely shattered when I lost my heart dog Girly Girl.  I’m always moaning in this blog about how much I miss her and how I still think of her all the time almost 5 years after she passed.  A once in a lifetime dog is just that.  And some people are lucky to realize they had a heart dog years down the line after they’ve compared that relationship to all the subsequent ones.  But some of us are unlucky/lucky enough to know it the second you meet that hound.  When you know what you had, and what you’ve lost one can’t help being a little bitter at times.

Girly Girl Greyhound Angel Ornament

We have reminders of Girly Girl all over the house.  A portrait of her that Grammy commissioned the Christmas after she left us, a quilt square with a photo of her made by a greyhound friend and sent out of the blue like a little package of sunshine.  We have photos of GG all over.  And a cast of her paw print.  I have a mug made with her paw print that always sits on the window ledge in my kitchen.  There will be no drinking from that cup.  And we have the memorial that the folks who cremated her gave us when we went to pick up her ashes.

So you’d think we wouldn’t need anything else.  But one day, while reading Hazel’s blog (Class A Greyhounds-RVing with the Big Dogs) we came across an entry called Memorial.  Hazel had recently lost her hound Fleur and she had discovered and ordered a beautiful ornament with an angel greyhound with Fleur’s name underneath it. 

I knew that I had to have one for Girly Girl but Hazel hadn’t posted where she found it at the time I read the entry.  Being a pretty good Google detective, I was able to track down where the ornament had come from.  A lovely lady named Therese makes them.  She has a Café Press store called Heisman’sGreyhound Art. 

Therese has been creating these little works of art for some time.  She shared that she had lost her heart dog back in 2007 and has lost 7 out of 9 greyhounds that have shared her life since 2000.  It’s very safe to say she gets people like me. 

Fox Greyhound Angel Ornament
I sent Therese the names I wanted on my ornaments (one for Girly Girl and one for Fox whom we had just lost).  She soon sent me links to the Café Press pages where I could view and order the ornaments.  For such a lovely keepsake, they are ridiculously inexpensive at $6.99.   I placed my order and shortly they arrived in my mailbox.

I couldn’t have been happier with them.  I can’t decide whether I will hang Girly Girls somewhere in the house so I can see it every day or if I will put it on my dog themed Christmas tree.  If you have lost a hound (or more than one) this is a lovely way to memorialize them.  Therese is a kind lady who would be glad to make you one of your own. 


(I received no remuneration for this blog post.  I ordered my ornaments after seeing one on Hazel’s website.  I get nothing if any of you decide to order from Therese.  I just found these ornaments beautiful and wanted to share in case any of you feel the same way I did when I saw it.  I did get Therese’s permission to write this post.)


6 comments:

  1. Hi! I am so glad that you found the website for these ornaments. I couldn't remember where I found them. Just to let you know, I recently found a really good place to display mine in my motorhome, so I will be showing it in my blog soon.

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  2. These are gorgeous. What a wonderful way to keep them close.

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  3. Beautiful ornaments. I would hang them up year round.

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  4. I tried to open a tab for the link but you have right click disabled so I'll have to do it when I've finished here. I might need to order some myself...

    My 'heart' dog was my first greyhound. He was a remarkable, clever, smart, velcro dog who was safe off-lead anywhere you'd let a 'normal' dog off-lead. He had great recall, and was safe with small dogs and cats and sheep, only chasing after wildlife like rabbits and hares and the occasional fox and always returning to where he left me. We have safe fields here that he ran in. I had another almost-heart dog (can you actually have an 'almost' heart dog?) who broke my heart when I had to have her put to sleep when she developed an inoperable and excruciatingly painful tumour in her spine.

    I had a rose named for Jim (the first) and a porcelain disc ornament for Renie (the second) with a matching trinket box which has a porcelain tile lid. I would love to get ornaments made for all of them...

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    1. Hi Jay,

      If you just click on the link (don't right click), the store for Heisman's Greyhound Art should pop up in a separate window.

      We think you can have an almost heart dog. There's always one who is your heart. The others come very close :-) And the pain of losing any of them is terrible.

      We love the ornaments we ordered. Getting these for any of our departed hounds is going to be a tradition. But having a rose named for one of your hounds is very cool.

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  5. This post brings back some old memories. All of my dogs have a piece of my heart, but our Daniel was the one that made that special Heart Dog connection with me.

    I remember Therese and Heisman, from my former days on the old online Greyhound List and at various greyhound gatherings. Blast from the past hearing their names again.

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