Cara was a birthday prezzy, my son picked her cause she was the wee one no one else wanted (he had no idea that such a skinny wee thing could produce so much sick when transported by car) I saw a picture of Bella and Bess on the internet and could imagine them at my house. I never would have thought I could adopt a dog from a picture (never mind two dogs) but they just looked like MY dogs
I liked Lucy a lot, but it wasn't to be, sometimes things just work out right, even when you think they're not

I was desperately lonely and a long way from home when I decided to get a dog.  I had a very definate idea of what I was looking for but Wills caught my eye the minute I walked into the kennels.  As he wasn't what I had been looking for, I had a walk round and decided I'd go away and think some more.  He was still there when I went the next time and he looked me in the eye and barked at me.  He was really cute - I was hooked. 

Millie was picked for us by GAL and had been in a foster home.  She's changed a lot from the wee dog we first got.  It's taken her a long time to really let her wee personality shine out but it's so worth it. 

Tigger I fell for at a Christmas Fayre.  I met her and loved her to bits from the start.  She was a bit shell-shocked I think but was very sweet.  I have always had a soft spot for the black dogs and that will be the next (I think). 

Like you, I'd happily take them all home - if only I could! 

My cat Toots died last June, aged 17, and despite insisting I wouldn't make any decision about another pet for three months I realised within a fortnight how much I hated an empty house.
I knew a bit about groos and their need for homes so got in touch with GAL.
They suggested Mason, who had already been in a home for a year until he had a run-in with the neighbour's cat - he won, and was sent back to kennels.
As a lifelong Celtic fan I thought the name was ironic, not to mention the fact I would be going from cat to catkiller. I know Toots would have approved, she wanted to kill everyone and everything that wasn't me!
As soon as I saw Mason I knew he was for me and GAL had made a good match. He's so laidback, most of the time, and settled in at home straight away.
Despite my slight misgivings about sharing my home with a boy - something I've managed to avoid so far - we've become a good team. I can't imagine life without him
Marie

i had just moved to south lanarkshire and was staying in a rented home where we were not allowed pets, i have always had a dog or 2 and hated every min of not having a pet so i promised the kids we'd get a pet as soon as we got our own home. In march this yr we moved in, and i gave it as long as i could bare then took the kids to bothwell sspca, we decided to get a cat. We had a look around the kennels and cattery and decided to ask about 2 cats that were to be homed together, i only got to the door of reception and met Charles and Denise from GAL, they had 2 dogs out that day, Lilly, a very shy fawn bitch and Rowen, a very large black, the girls all went straight for lily but my son went for Rowen. I remember thinking, oh no, please don't, he's so big and i didn't come here for a dog lol, before i knew what was going on i was walking Rowen around the building with my son and Charles and the girls were saying, "please mummy, please", i came to in the middle of filling out an adoption form and saying I'd think it over for a few days, the next week was a nightmare with the kids pleading with me to go get THEIR dog back. So i called the sspca and agreed to take Rowen home the following Thur, the day before his 4th birthday. I knew nothing about greyhounds so i spent the week reading everything i could get my hands on and i went into the GAL web site. I have to say, it was the best decision i have ever made, i love Rowen to bits and the kids call him Baby Rowen and lie with him on the floor to watch TV. I think he's a happy boy living with us, he's made us all happy anyway.
Denise & Rowen x

We had been wanting a dog for awhile but weren't in a position to get one until we moved to Scotland. Our local rehoming centre was most unhelpful and claimed not to have any medium sized dogs in at the time  so we rather naively compiled a list of all the rehoming centres in and around Edinburgh. We decided to spend one Saturday visiting all the centres on our list to see if any had anything suitable. We went to the furthest centre first (Dogs Trust) and narrowed it down to four likely candidates. After speaking to the staff it became apparent that only one was suitable (2 were too young and one had very serious issues) We took Ozzy for a short walk and watched him playing with the toys in the barn and fell in love there and then. We were then told he wasn't good with kids and could be wary of men - O.K with us! Later it was pointed out that he had a profile on the wall as he had been in for sometime and was difficult to place, we were also given a two week trial period with him (usually it's a week) now, warning bells should have sounded then! He's a wee rogue but we love him dearly.
After about six months with the monster we started thinking that a more laid back, placid dog would have a calming influence on him so started thinking about getting an older, more sensible companion for him and that's when we stumbled upon GAL and greyhounds. We were drawn to the idea of fostering to see if it would actually benefit him, without the long term commitment!
The fostering was going well, Ozzy seemed to like the companionship although at times was the underdog. After the 3rd foster dog we decided we'd take a break, then came the fateful call! We took Morse as a short term foster dog so didn't think to put in place any boundaries or rules for him, due to unforseen circumstances he ended up stayed with us for a year. I can't say we didn't fall for him but he did end up ruling the roost and Ozzy became quite submissive around him (entirely our fault in hindsight!). Morse eventually found his forever home but within four months things had fallen through and he found himself back in kennels. We found out about it by the way and immediately went to collect him (I think the writting was on the wall then) but we needed to be sure Ozzy was happy with the situation. With a few simple boundaries in place Morse fitted in perfectly and we made the call to say we definately wouldn't be fostering again!

Six months on all is well and both dogs have a forever sofa!

The gang ended up with us cos -

Florence - to keep oor lurcher company.
Abbey - to keep Florence company when lurcher was PTS
Dexter - cos he looks like said lurcher, just bigger
Kai - foster pup that naebudy wanted (cept us )

Mishka the husky has been with me forever, as had BJ my old dog (dead for three years now, and always sadly missed) who was an RSPCA rescue. Then along came a husband for me, and we decided to have a family - Tiggs was just a pup in a litter in a shed, she chewed our shoelaces so we brought her home - she's our first lurcher.
We decided she needed a playmate, saw an advert for sheepdog puppies, and went to have a look. Bear was only 4 weeks old, but the 'breeders' wanted to get rid of the litter asap, so we brought him home with us, he is my husband's soul-dog.
A couple of weeks later, my husband was out with a mate, and the mate found a very small abandoned puppy, tied up to a fence, with a bag of biscuits and a bowl. Home he came, under husband's jacket to keep him warm, we estimate he was about 5-6 weeks old. That was Bo (aka Bandit).

All quiet for a few months, then husband heard on the grapevine of a small lurcher that needed a new home, she'd been passed from people to people, as she's got a joint problem, has a fair bit of SBT in her, is wilful and wild, and wasn't good with other dogs. He fetched her five years ago, one winter night, and she's been with us ever since, yes, she's wild and wilful, but she loves the other dogs, and we love her - and so we became parents to our Tara as well.

Bear and Bo grew into fine lusty boys, and so a trip to the vet was in order. Bo, having nuts removed one fine afternoon, came home and promptly impregnated Tiggs, whilst I was putting the kettle on and worrying if his stitches were hurting him!!!!!!!!!! The vets couldn't ascertain whether Tiggy was preggy for a long time, and once they did, they thought she might have a couple of pups, so we let the pregnancy continue. We were privileged and proud to witness the birth of her family, in our front room on September 11th 2002 - seven fine bonny puppies! All grew into cheeky charmers, but were not appealing to friends or family as they are not pedigree anythings, and as we couldn't bear to advertise in papers and let them go to strangers, we kept them all. Of course, we had no idea there were forums and folks that might have given them a good home, but anyway, that's the story of how I came to have twelvebabies!

ps, we have to walk them in shifts, and we don't have much room to sit down, but we wouldn't be without them, they all live with us in the house, have their own double bed to sleep on bolted to ours, and are generally spoiled rotten.

We totally fell in love with Summer at one of the awareness days at Langbank Kennels. We were walking round seeing most of the other dogs bounding about the kennels desperate to attract attention when I spotted Summer cowering towards the back of hers, ears down, back legs shaking and tail clamped firmly to her bum. She kept glancing at me and having the tinyest little tail wag take a step forward then back again, she was despearte to come see us but was obviously too scared at the same time. We took her for a walk where she slowly started to feel more at ease with us and were informed that she walked furthest with us than she had done with anyone else. I could see in her eyes all she needed was some love and confidence to make a fantastic companion. So needless to say at that point I was hooked and had to have her. So just over 2 months on and she's curled up on the futon behind me looking like she's been here for years I couldn't have wished for a sweeter cuddle monster of a pooch.

-- Edited by skydivingturtle at 18:26, 2007-10-06

Doesn't it just.

What great stories from you all, seems like there are a lot of happy hounds out there.

Lassie, my collie i got from the RSPCA at 18 months old, having been found abondoned on the street. From the moment i met her she has only ever wanted to please.

My 'Toots' was thrown from moving car, only a vetinary nurse saw it happen and picked her up. She had a large gash to her leg and was emaciated. I was looking for a greyhound at the time and i was contacted asking if i would foster her as they did not want to kenel her, to which i said yes of course. The next seven days were a nightmare, hoping that no-one would claim her and when they didn't i got to adopt her, or rather she adopted me :0)

Next came Lucky, most of you know about him! He was always being overlooked all the time, probably due to his mis-shapen head and unlevel eyes but if ever there was a hound who needed his faith restored in mankind then he was the one so i was given the chance of doing exactly that. It was not meant to be though and i had to put him to sleep after he attacked my mother, not his fault, as it turned out he was a ticking time bomb as a result of brain injury.

I have fostered 'Charlie' at the moment, he came from a broken home and just did not fit in with the pack of his previous foster home, luckily for me he is placid as 'Toots' has been exerting her authority, one bark from her and he does exactly what he is told.