#adoptagreyhound

~ Roberts Adoption Story ~

In January of 2019, I decided I was finally in a stable enough position to open my home to a dog. I had tried petsitting cats previously, but my micro-apartment in Cork City Centre wasn’t an ideal home for a cat, it just wasn’t fair on them. So, decided to look into welcoming a dog into my life! I had a look around a number of shelters and rescues in the area, but living in a tiny 54sqm home did limit my options, I knew breeds like a Border Collie or a Husky would struggle with the confined space, lack of a garden and up in the air work/college schedule. So I turned to Google. “Best breeds for apartment life”. And in the top ten every time was a Greyhound. At first I thought they meant the little Italian Greyhounds, but no, further research revealed that Greyhounds make GREYT apartment pets!

Despite the reams of research and posts online, the idea of a long legged Noodlehorse wandering around the apartment still didn’t sit right with me. I’d not had much of an experience with greyhounds, outside the idea of them as Racing Dogs. My Father grew up with Greyhounds, his uncle bred and trained them, and each litter would be split between the kids, each child given a pup to help raise. He had many fond stories of wandering the fields with his dog, but lots of sad ones too. One particularly heart breaking one was about his dog, who he called Pansy due to the white floral marking on her forehead. Pansy was a brindle bitch, and apparently a nifty little pocket rocket. My father put a lot of time and care into Pansy, raising her, walking her, keeping her fit and healthy, doting on her as only a boy and his dog might. His uncle however, didn’t let my father come with him to the track on account of the fact that the dog might recognise him on the sidelines whilst racing and stop, as had happened on other occasions with local dogs. So when pansy was loaded up into the back of the van to go racing, my father thought nothing of it, it was normal. She’d come back that evening, and if she’d been fast, there might be a few pence thrown his way. Until the one evening she didn’t come back. She’s been racing at the local Wexford track for long enough she’d proven herself worth racing at Shelbourne. She’d done well and was sold there and then. No goodbyes, no traceability in those days, just a quick sale and a profit. Outside of those stories, I had no real world knowledge about hounds so when a Greyhound specific rescue announced a meet and greet at a local pet shop, I jumped at the chance.

I remember rocking up to the pet shop and the first thing I spotted was this HUGE White and Brindle hound named Cooper. He was the biggest dog I’d seen in a long time, and I was immediately taken aback. He was very friendly, outgoing, a real goofball. He was gorgeous, but I couldn’t imagine how a hound and big and bubbly as him could possibly settle into my little apartment. The other hound that was there was a dainty little black bitch called Serena. I’d never seen such a nervous dog in my life. She was only three days out of trainer kennels and was not happy with being out and about in a busy pet shop. She kept shying towards the back of the store, and was clearly uncomfortable. She was a much more manageable size, but her nervous disposition would never have allowed her to settle in to city centre living. Just as I was about to leave, a little dejected, in walked another greyhound! A tiny little thing, with a stunning tiger striped brindle coat and an attitude to match! She was fierce! Brazen but not pushy. Bold, but not overwhelming. She was perfect! If I could have a copy of her in my apartment I’d be flying! I started the adoption process that day!

After a week, I was asked if I could have a homecheck done. I’d never had a home check before. All our dogs growing up were pups dumped on our countryside road, which was far enough from the major towns in the area to leave a dog without being recognised, but not too far that it was an inconvenience. Every February/March, the puppies would appear. I have a strong memory of my mother hoisting me up the steep hedgerow embankment after two flea ridden, underweight bernese mountain dog (or mixes of) puppies. All four houses on our countryside lane had the numbers for regional rescues on speed dial to help home these poor dogs, often leftovers from the Christmas market or thrown aside when the cute eight week old puppy chewed the wrong thing or pottied in the house. Because I’d only ever experienced the on the ground side of Rescue and not the paperwork side, I had no clue what to expect. I remember scrubbing the house from top to bottom, putting out the good table wear, getting a selection of pastries from a local bakery, going all out to be a good host! And then in rocked Cooper! The big bubbly boy from the meet and greet! He may have been big, but he slotted so nicely into the apartment, flipping down in the newly bought dog bed to chew on the newly acquired dog toys. His parents were lovely, and we flew through the home check procedure. A week later, funny enough whilst I was visiting my father, I got a call from the rescue kennels inviting me to come visit and meet some of the dogs! We had a chat about my lifestyle, my work hours, my college hours, all to try and get a feel for which dog might be a good fit. I asked after one of the dogs they had on their Facebook page, a handsome hound named Fergus, but was told he was too nervy for city traffic. They then asked if I had seen Robert. I had glanced at his profile, but the image was blurry and I couldn’t get a feel for him, but they said he might be a good match and it would be great to get him a home as he was being kennelled alone for some food issues. We picked a time and date and so the countdown began!

As I don’t drive, I begged a lift off a friend, who drove me from Cork to Kerry to meet some dogs! My friends stayed in the car, whilst I went inside to meet some of the hounds. The very first dog they brought out was this MASSIVE blonde boy, even bigger than Cooper! He really was huge, but he just plodded along so nicely on leash, licked my hand and leaned against my leg. It was love at first Sight(hound)! I took Roberts leash and we went for a short stroll in the driveway of the rescue, where I introduced him to my two eagerly waiting friends in the car. They too were blown back by his size. So we went back inside, and I was introduced to two other hounds, a large brindle female named Rooska and a tiny little black male named Small Talk. They were both so lovely but there was only one hound for me, the gentle giant in the corner; Robert!

I signed the adoption papers right there and we bundled Robert into the back seat of the car and were off! Off the back of some advice from the rescue we stopped on the way home at a Greyhound supply store to pick up a proper rain coat, a blue kennel kosy muzzle and a bag of Gain 20, the food he had been eating in rescue. I had been warned that he had issues with food, was a very slow picky eater, and that he had a sensitive system, so sticking with the same food was important to try and prevent any digestive complaints.

After getting back to Cork, we had a circus of a time getting Robert into the apartment. There are four steps leading up to the entrance of our apartment and Robert was VERY shaky about them. It dawned on me then that he may have never encountered stairs before. We took it slow and steady and made our way up those entrance steps at his pace. Thankfully our apartment complex has an elevator, so we didn't need to work up the three flights of stairs to our floor! Rob walked into the elevator no problem, but when it moved, he tensed. Turned into a literal statue that did not want to leave the lift when it finally reached our floor. Slow and steady, we got him out of the lift and into the atrium, where he promptly walked directly into the large glass window door. From the atrium, we made it to the balcony and then finally, into our apartment!

IMPORTANT message from GPA National President Rory Goreé - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Greyhounds Need You NOW…..

It’s a new day. A day like no other for the greyhound community. We now face the uncertainty of when and how many greyhound tracks and farms will close. On November 3, I put out a plea for funding for our emergency track, farm and kennel closure fund. While checks may still be in the mail, our plea for funding brought in via our PayPal account $0.00.

The closing of Florida greyhound tracks is not a possibility anymore. It is reality. We now face the fact that if the money is not raised quickly, dogs, cats and greyhounds will face death in a domino effect thanks to passage of Amendment 13 in Florida. In order to ensure our National network of greyhound adoption programs can correctly absorb upwards of 15,000 greyhounds and ensure the accountability and safety of each we need 2 million dollars by the end of the year.

The greyhounds are counting on you. Please consider making a donation to help our National network and team account and ensure the safety and adoption of every greyhound that now will need us more than ever.

As the largest greyhound adoption program in the nation, the Greyhound Pets of America leadership team will be working today and will do everything we can to ensure the accountability and safety of each greyhound. We will be sharing more over the next few days. We promise to work with our responsible partners and ensure we ALL do our best for the greyhounds.

No one knows when a track, farm or kennel might close, it could be in an hour, or it could be later but the one thing we do know is that funds are what is most desperately needed at this time.

Donations can be made to our national emergency track closure fund at Greyhounds Make Great Pets via PayPal: [email protected]

Or by check or money order mailed to: Greyhounds Make Great Pets P.O. Box 40 Highlandville MO 65669

Sincerely, Rory S. Goreé President Greyhound Pets of America - National HERE IS A LINK THE ORIGINAL POST ON FACEBOOK I don’t care if you’re pro racing or anti racing: Greyhounds need help. Palm Beach Kennel Club (one of 13 tracks so far) has publicly pledged to find homes for all dogs, but it’s going to take a lot of money and volunteers to make sure these dogs are all adequately vetted (spay/neuter and microchip), tested for prey drive, and fostered.