Holy Hounds?

Where in the world did I come up with the title, "Holy Hounds!"?

Once upon a time, I was working with three different youth dog training groups: The Tailwaggers, the Wiggles 'N' Wags, and the Holy Hounds. Yep, that's right: three different youth groups, all learning about and training dogs simultaneously. I was away from home and with my training groups three nights out of the week and transporting kids to fun matches just about every weekend. 

The third group gave their group the name, "Holy Hounds", because they met in the basement of the local Catholic parish. Every Thursday night we would get together, move the tables and chairs to give us clear training area, put down rubber mats to decrease the damage to the linoleum floor, train for an hour or two, sweep the mats, roll up the mats, sweep the floor again, then put the tables and chairs back in place. The church members were more than gracious; the custodians even started coming to meetings to help us with the set-up and tear-down. The club members purchased matching polo shirts; each one with an embroidered 'Holy Hound': a brown hound replete with angel wings. The logo was designed by one of the more artistic members of the club. (Not me; I can barely draw a stick figure!)

In addition to the kids, the church secretary was also a member of our training group. Here she was, this delicate elderly lady, training one very young, very large, very male German Shepherd Dog. We quickly learned that the church secretary, although lacking in youthful stamina, was a lot tougher than she looked. The kids made her their honorary grandma, and you can bet she was right there in the stands on show day, cheering on every one of her kids.

My husband is a newly-retired minister. Ministry led us on quite a journey, both spiritually and physically. I joined a therapy dog training group and began training therapy dogs; visiting schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.

During our first move, we happened to stop at a small gift shop. My daughter made a beeline for the plush animals, one of her favorite sections of any store. Suddenly, I heard, "Mom! Come here! Look - it's a Holy Hound!" Sure enough, she had found a small plush brown hound with angel wings that looked exactly like the H.H. club logo. That little dog rode on the dash of my van for years and I still have him today.

When I decided to start this blog, we brainstormed lots of names. 'Holy Hounds!' kept coming up, time and time again. It fit, given my husband's former vocation. It also fits, because I believe dog training can be a very spiritual journey, linking dogs, people, and God together. (More on this later.)

And the rest, as they say, is history.....