From my time walking around the neighborhood and the city I've noticed there's been quite a bit of interest in me. Everyone wants to know all about me -- to hear my life's story. Mostly, I just want them to pet me. But... because everyone seems so nosy and interested, I've put together answers to the most frequently asked questions that are asked (usually in the third person like I'm not there) while I'm out on walks and meeting new people in a little segment I like to call "A-FAQs". (Get it? My name is Ajax, and A-FAQs rhymes with my name which is appropriate because these are all frequently asked questions about me, Ajax the dog.)

1. How old is he?

My birthdate is November 29, 2004. You do the math. I'm a dog.

2. Was he adopted?

Yes.

3. How much does he weigh?

My racing weight was 80 lbs. I'm currently trying to gain about 5 pounds or so because I'm a little on the thin side.

4. Did he race?

Of course I raced. We all race. That's what we do.

5. Where did he race?

Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park (www.raynhamparkfun.com). I really wish it was Wonderland, because that's much easier to say. My last race was on July 26, 2008 and I got last place.

6. What was his racing name?

My racing name was Steel.

7. What is his name?

My name is Ajax.

8. Oh! Ajax like the cleaner?

No. Just Ajax.

9. Ajax like the web technology?

Nope. Just Ajax.

10. That's after the greek mythological character?

No. It's just my freaking name.

11. There's a soccer team in Europe called Ajax...

(showing teeth and growling)

12. What kind of dog is he?

Are you serious? I look exactly like the dog on the side of the giant busses. I can't believe I have to actually tell people this, but I'm a greyhound.

12a. He isn't grey, though...

First of all, that isn't a question, but even if it was it would be a stupid one.

12b. Is it true that there are no stupid questions?

No. That's not true at all. People say that so that they don't look dumb.

13. You're a good boy, aren't you? You're sooo pretty! Aren't you just a sweety?

Yes. Yes I am.

14. Is it a boy or a girl dog?

There are two ways to tell. Look underneath me or smell my breath.

15. How did Ajax learn how to write a blog?

How did you NOT know that I was a greyhound?

16. Can you sit?

No. And I'm not especially interested in learning.

17. Ajax, do you want to go for a ride in the car?

Yes! Yes! Yes I do! I really really do! I want to go now. Please let's go quickly! Come on, let's go! What are we waiting for? Let's go ride in the car!

Shane and Cassandra were so busy watching football yesterday that they didn't even realize that the camera got mis-aligned when Shane decided it would be fun to play Madden 09 instead of petting me. (Which I made very tough for him, by the way, by sticking my nose on the controller repeatedly.)

So -- today Ajax TV is pointed up at the ceiling and you can't see me at all.

On a side note: This is freaky! There's another version of me!!! http://community.adn.com/adn/node/108999

For anyone who isn't very familiar with what happens with greyhounds once we are done with our racing careers, basically there are three main options for us. The first, and probably most common is that we get sent to another kennel, where we are taken care of by people who are nicer to us, and we wait to be adopted. That's what happened with me. Another thing that might happen is that we might get taken to a real people-house right away, without spending time in a kennel. They take care of that dog in their houses and teach them things while they are there. Those are called foster homes. Then, several weeks or months later, they are taken away from that house and put in another house. The worst option, of course, is when nobody has room for a dog, and the dog is taken away by someone with a needle and we never see them again. Maybe they take them to a land of plentiful rabbits.... who knows.

I want to focus on the second of those options, the fostering. Some organizations use fostering exclusively to have their greyhounds adopted out. They claim that the dogs are much more ready for life in the real world once they have been fostered, but me and Shane and Cassandra really disagree with that, after seeing both sides of it.

There are certainly some advantages to fostering, like getting to know people sooner and learning from someone who has experience teaching a bunch of other greyhounds before they get there. Pork Chop had an easier time learning how to sit, for example, because his foster family had already taught other greyhounds to sit and they had a few tricks. Fostering also keeps dogs out of another kennel which provide less comfortable living conditions. As far as I can tell, though, these just make it easier for the people adopting the greyhound, and really do nothing at all for us. I am destined to learn stairs whether it's with a foster family or with my forever family. I'm going to get housebroken either way. Anything I learn, I'm going to learn regardless of who is taking care of me. An argument can be made that it is easier to determine the personality of a dog to find the right fit as well. That may be true, and it certainly gives people a better idea of how dogs will react and behave, but for us, we are learning and bonding the entire time. The truth is, that even though the foster agency might think they can match dogs better, they still have them returned by people that can't take care of them just like any other adoption method.

That's where the downside to fostering becomes apparent. I can tell you from personal experience that I've learned about so many things I had never seen before, just in a little less than two weeks. I've learned how to use stairs, how to get in and out of the car, and when I get fed. I've learned what "go to jail" means (it means I run to my crate and get a treat!), I've learned that the other dog in the fireplace and windows isn't really a threat to me, and that really it's just copying everything I do. I've learned parts of the house I'm not allowed in (like the kitchen) and I've learned that there are all kinds of different looking dogs, and they are all fun to meet! These are all things I'm really comfortable with now, but was really scared of the first time I experienced them. When I first took a car ride, I had to be lifted into the car and I barked all the way to my new house. Now, I jump in so fast that I forget the seat needs to be up for me to get in the back seat, then I end up in the front seat and somewhat confused that the car looks different from up there. I've learned that it's okay if my people leave for a while because I know they always come back. I don't get angry or nervous about it.

The constant in everything I have learned is that I learned it from Shane and Cassandra and they have proved that they would never do anything to endanger me. Anytime I get nervous about something new now, I just go stand by Shane and I feel much better because I know I'm protected. They really give me a sense of security... and remember, I've only spent two weeks with them. Imagine if I spent another two weeks after this one bonding with them and trusting them more, and then when I was finally completely comfortable, they gave me to some other new owner and I never got to see my first family again. Would I really be able to trust them that much? I definitely think it would take much longer to get comfortable in a new house, because all of the sudden I'm a little tentative that these new people might get rid of me too. That would take a while to get over!

I know that everybody is second guessing everything about Pork Chop, but it sure seemed like leaving his foster family was just too much for him to take. Once you form a bond with people that you haven't had for the first four years of your life, I can't imagine being taken away from that. Perhaps that is what caused him so much stress and anxiety that he would have been okay with otherwise. Trying to blame anyone seems illogical, especially when from my experience, it seems that the process of fostering might be causing many more problems than it is helping.

If you're reading this and thinking of adopting a dog, and specifically a greyhound, I hope you'll think twice about using a foster service like Greyhound Welfare (www.greyhoundwelfare.org). Take a dog that has just finished racing and will have the opportunity to learn everything with you. You'll form a much greater bond than you would with a foster dog, and you'll have a great friend like me. You'll be glad you did!

I wanted to let everyone know about Ajax-TV. What is it? Well, it's a live video feed on the internet of me, straight from my house. To get there, go to Shane and Cassandra's website (www.shaneandcassandra.com) and look for the Ajax-TV link, or else go to http://shaneandcassandra.homedns.org:30147. For those of you that don't know 30147 is my NGA number that it tattooed on my left ear!

Once you're there, click "View Video" and you'll need a special user name and password. If you would like to watch, just email me (ajax@shaneandcassandra.com) and ask!

Hi everyone,

I'm the new dog, Ajax. For those of you who hadn't heard the terrible news, Pork Chop (the previous owner of this blog) passed away due to some health issues. I never met him, but everything I have heard has been positive. My new friends Shane and Cassandra weren't quite sure whether to keep the DogBlog going, but everyone liked hearing from Pork Chop so much, that I thought I should pick up where he left off. To be honest, I'm really just hoping to get famous.

So for the past two weeks I've been studying hard and learning stairs, windows, mirrors, other dogs, and hardest of all, typing.

A quick summary about me. I'm white with brindle spots. People say I'm very pretty, but I didn't know that until I started seeing myself in the fireplace. It took me about a week to realize that it was me and not another dog. In the last two weeks I've gotten pretty comfortable in my new home. My new favorite things to do are to ride in the car and meet the other dogs in the neighborhood. Every night at 7 pm, we all get together and make our people let us play together. I've gotten to be friends with a few other dogs. Most of them are much smaller than I am, but I'm getting used to it, and I really get excited when I see them down the street now.

My friend Angela comes every day around 1 pm to take me outside and walk me. It's a nice break from laying around and basically doing nothing all day.  I've heard rumors recently about a new collar coming in the mail anytime too. I think I would like that very much.  Also, I read that Pork Chop liked to smile while he was asleep. Well, I do the same thing, and even bigger! The other day I got so excited about playing with Shane that I was using my "big" smile, which even scared him. He said it looked exactly like any other dog when they are really angry and about to bite. I was just really happy. That's what we greyhounds do - we have big smiles.

I'm going to try to be an interactive dog, so please email me your questions and I'll answer them later! For those of you that haven't seen me, here's a nice picture. (And as Shane's friend Arnold noted: Yes, i'm plugged in and charging.)