Yesterday the postman brought what is becoming an increasingly familiar site, a USPS envelope. In our small way, we are an example of the global marketplace created by the internet. I now regularly buy a number of items over the net from the USA, including OPI nail varnish, greyhound gifts, greyhound coats and of course greyhound collars. We've found two particularly good collar companies, and when Boola became a permanent member of our family, we knew that we would want to kit him out with his own coats, plus a martingale collar and lead. Being such a stunning blonde boy, we took some time to choose, and eventually selected a collar and lead from Two Hounds design - their website is at http://www.2houndsdesign.com/.

The collar we selected after a lot of thinking was this one - http://www.2houndsdesign.com/Asian-Teal-Vines-pr-456.html and as suggested we went for a red velvet lead to go with it. We've selected a martingale collar - these are perfect for greyhounds, being comfortable and also working well with the long, slender neck and small head. Normal dog collars can be easily reversed out of by greyhounds, and any collar that is too narrow can be dangerous when they take off at high speed, as the forces are concentrated into a small area which can be lethal.

So, today, Boola officially took off his foster collar ( a perfectly serviceable leather hound collar) and put on his beautiful new one, covered in the finest Asian silk, and lined in red satin. I've attached some pictures of him wearing it, and he looks even more gorgeous than he did before. I'll post some pics soon of him with his new lead when we are out for a walk. The next job will be to buy some coats for him that will do his collar justice. We will be looking for an waterproof outdoor coat with warm lining for winter, a waterproof coat with mesh lining for wet days in spring/summer, and an indoor night coat/pyjamas for cold winter nights. In the fullness of time, I'd also consider getting all three dogs a non waterproof but extra warm coat for outdoor days when it is bitterly cold but not raining.