PALMETTO, Fla. - A Manatee County canine is getting ready for a big birthday - one that most dogs don't get to celebrate.  The greyhound is turning 20, and her owners say she's a miracle for more than her age.

"She's kind of the queen of greyhounds right now, aren't you baby girl," says Neena Derf to her greyhound, Geenie.  Neena and her husband Tim admit the greyhound is also the queen of the house.  "She has her own queen-size bed in her very own bedroom," says Neena.

The Derf's adopted Genie when she was 10-years-old.  The greyhound had raced on tracks in Tampa for the first part of her life then she was kept for breeding.  The couple was at an art show when they passed the adoption booth where Tim found he had a soft spot.  "She happened to be the oldest dog there too, and I had a little sympathy so I thought well you know I give her a few more years," says Tim.

A few more years turned into 10.  Genie is turing 20 years old and she can still run and play.  "She's not supposed to be here really, greyhounds don't live to be 20 years old," says Neena.

The Derf's take special care cooking for their greyhounds feeding them things like boiled chicken and lean beef.  One Genie's favorites dishes is lactose free ice cream.

The Derf's say genie is a miracle for more than her age.  "Genie actually saved Tim's life," says Neena.  She says the greyhound woke her up in the middle of the night, something the dog never does.  She thought genie had to go to the bathroom.  "So I hurried got dressed, and instead she took me to the other end of the house where Tim was laying passed out cold. He had an internal bleeding problem and doctors say he was 10 minutes from dead, I would have slept through it," says Neena.

The Derf's say they're getting birthday wishes for the greyhound from all over the world.  "Just pulled this one off the web last night, people in Montana are talking about her," says Neena.

The couple believes Genie may be the oldest living greyhound and they say she's the ambassador for greyhound adoption.  "It's a miracle, that's all it is.  I think that God gave us that dog," says Neena.