The good news: I got to ride in the car today.

The bad news: I got stuck with needles, wrestled to the ground, flipped on my back, and had metal clips pinch the parts of me that would have nipples if I weren't too good for them.

I had my annual vet visit today. Generally I like the vet's office pretty well, because there are a ton of things to smell, there are usually other animals to meet, and I get to ride in the car to get there. Today wasn't great though. I had to get a couple vaccinations which I didn't mind too much, but the doctor noticed an irregularity in my heartbeat, so he wanted to take an EKG to analyze. They made me lay down, which I'm not a big fan of without a bed, and a I really don't like to lay down when I'm in an unfamiliar place. I tried to be as difficult as I could. I squirmed and squirmed, but it just didn't work too well. I ended up pinned, but at least I did get the vet to scold his animal-nurse-man or whatever they're called (the guy that was helping him). He kept telling him he was doing things wrong, which was fun, I guess. In fact, I'm the only one he was nice to. He's generally kind of a jerk to people, but likes pets. Kind of like an Anti-Mike-Vick.

At least it's done for now. I don't know what the fuss is about. I'm feeling fine and came home and played with my squeaky steak and slept. And oh yeah? That four minutes of being hooked to the EKG? That's $40 my people don't have to spend on treats and toys for me now! Is anyone else's vet as exhorbant as mine about charging a lot for every little thing? Seems like every time I go in it's at least $175!

Look what I got yesterday - a matching leash and collar set made especially for me. The stripes make me look so distinguished, although Shane called me a sissy. How could a fast dog like me be a sissy? i am  trendsetter!

An open letter to Facebook on behalf of me, Ajax the Greyhound:

 Dear Facebook,

You recently disabled and removed my facebook account citing a violation of the Facebook terms of use. I read over these terms of use in between walks, dinner, and learning to turn on the fireplace. I found that basically, a facebook account must:

• Represent an individual
• Not be a misrepresentation
• Not be an advertisement
• Cannot be fabricated material

After review, you have disabled my account in error. I am not making an account for someone else, I am an individual, and I'm certainly not advertising anything. Everything I've written in my profile is truthful. This leads me to believe that you have made this mistake because of any / all of the following:

• Facebook has the intelligence of a cat
• Facebook is run by dog-haters and abusers
• Facebook is, in fact, breaking their own terms of use and misrepresenting their terms of use whereby I actually AM violating the terms of use.
• Facebook doesn't believe I am an individual (this leads back to the intelligence of a cat)
• Facebook was built on a foundation of pure concentrated evil.

In conclusion, I hate you Facebook.

-Jaxie

Welcome to election day everyone. Again, I got passed over for official US citizenship, so I am still ineligible to vote. Since I can't cast an offical ballot for the state of Massachusetts this year, I give you my unofficial greyhound ballot.

ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

Baldwin and Castle
Barr and Root
McCain and Palin
McKinney and Clementa
Nader and Gonzalez
Obama and Biden

I get really excited every night when I hear "Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader! Nader!" so I have to vote for him!

SENATOR IN CONGRESS

John F. Kerry
Jefferey K. Beatty
Robert J. Underwood

I just can't vote for someone named "Beatty." I got "Beatty'd" enough on the track!

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS

John F. Tierney
Richard A. Baker

I can't turn down a good baker.

OTHER SELECTIONS

Chicken Treats
Beef Treats
Cheese Treats
Vegetables

Prancing
Running
Walking

Sit
Lay Down
Hide
Touch

Dog Park Day
Football Day

Anything Else
Sleeping

QUESTION ONE: ELIMINATE STATE INCOME TAX

I vote "NO" on question 1 because, well, I don't really care. My income doesn't qualify for taxes anyway, so I don't mind having a state income tax!

QUESTION TWO: DECRIMINALIZE MARAJUANA

I vote "NO" because as we stated before, I have no income, therefore I cannot buy Marajuana. If I can't have any, nobody else should have any either!

QUESTION THREE: PHASE OUT GREYHOUND RACING

I vote "YES"! I didn't realize it at the time, but living in a home is soooo much better than living on the track. I really like being a pet instead of a racing dog. I know the racing people are probably just going to move to other states and keep racing greyhounds, but it's a start. And as for people losing their "jobs"... Most of them have skills that can be used elsewhere, like selling concessions. The few others have well over a year to find another job. Not a big problem at all.