I have just registered on this forum and thought I would introduce myself.
My name is Jane, (or CJ) and I live in Linlithgow, West Lothian with my partner Michael, our son Aedan (2) and our saluki/greyhound lurcher Casper (18 months).
I first came across greyhounds while at work (at vets in Broxburn) and they really stood out to me. When we decided we were going to get our first dog I started researching greyhounds. My partner Michael was very sceptical at first, he had never seen a Greyhound before and didn't know much about them, (at first he thought I was talking about a whippet and was a bit shocked at their size when he saw one LOL!)
We went to a GAL monthly walk to meet some owners and their dogs (and let Michael get used to their size!) A couple of weeks later Casper came into the vets where I work. He had been knocked down (2 weeks previously!) and was limping badly. He had xrays and it was found that he had ruptured the cruciate ligaments (apparently something footballers do?) in his left hind knee.
He was going to be a working dog, hare coarsing, so his owner would not pay for the very expensive vet treatment if he was not going to be able to run fast enough. He was going to be put to sleep. I obviously couldn't let this happen so I took him home. Casper has now had an operation and is still receiving treatment at a specialist but, I am glad to say, is well on the road to recovery.
I am so proud of Casper, he is just amazing, so laid back and happy. He is my sons best friend (I am sure they gang up on me!) and is just a pleasure to be around. Even Michael, who was in shock for a good few weeks when we got him, is now over the moon with him!
I hope to rescue more of this beautiful breed in the future (but sssh don't tell Michael!!)
Jane
P.S. I thought hare coursing was illegal, does anyone know if it still goes on a lot? The guy that I got Casper from was quite open about the fact that he was used for coarsing and since I rehomed Casper from him he has bought two new dogs - a greyhound and a lurcher, presumably for the same purpose
-- Edited by C_J at 19:59, 2005-11-11
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"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Welcome to the forum! And what a beautiful boy Caspar is! Well done to you and your family for rescuing him. I'm sure he will continue to be a much loved boy in his new home.
I thought that hunting with dogs was banned in Scotland too. I know that hare coursing was recently banned in England. But I daresay it still goes on, especially in rural areas.
Hope to meet you and your family and Caspar at one of the future GAL events.
Hi Jane and family, Welcome to the forum , it just so happens we are having a grey and lurcher walk this weekend on Sunday at 11 AM in Yellowcraig Dirleton near North Berwick , so if you fancy coming along with the beautiful Casper you are more than welcome. My names Nora and i have Cas a rescue grey and Sasha a whippet.Hope to see you all. Nora
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"YOU OWE IT TO YOUR DOG TO BE WORTHY OF IT,S DEVOTION".
Great to have another member on the forum. A big welcome from us. And we look forward to hearing more about Casper and your family. And no doubt we will meet at an GAL event.
Casper does look stunning. please post more pics, we love seeing them here.
Welcome, lovely to hear Casper has found a lovely new start with you and your family.
I thought that hare coursing was banned too but it does seem to still go on. I guess the sort of unscrupulous people who take part in it are arrogant enough to not care what others think. Here in East Anglia it is quite rural and it is often on the local news.
As you have probably guessed it is a bit far for me to come to a GAL event! But the people on here are wonderful, supportive and knowledgeable.
I have two greyhounds Tiger(7) and Chad(5) hope to hear and see more of Casper (pics please!) soon.
Great to meet you and your lovely dog. I am quite new on here too but the people are lovely .... I have asked a couple of stupid questions and they are still nice to me lol. I also live too far away to come to the Gal stuff (I am in Newcastle) but am hoping to get to something one of these days. My gorgeous dog Saffron travels very well ... she is so clever!!
No doubt you will see one of my posts soon, probably asking a totally stupid question!
hi cj and welcome to the forum from anna,robert and our grey taylor who we got bout 6 months ago and we r all besoted with her and like us u will become a grey lover totally obsessed with them i couldnt ask for a better dog than my baby.
I was quite nervous writing my first post, but you have all been very kind and have made me feel very welcome.
I won't be able to make it to the walk this weekend in North Berwick as Michael has the car all weekend but I hope to make it to the next walk at strathclyde park and we will be at the Christmas show on sat 26th, so I hope to meet some of you then and show off my lovely boy!
Thanks again for the nice welcome
Jane
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"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Here are some pictures of Casper (if I have done this right).
He was infested with fleas when I got him and his skin was very red and sore looking with lots of bare patches, but now he looks how he should - just lovely!
The second picture is him a couple of days after his leg op, I was amazed at how well he was doing, he was sore and swollen but still managed to get about ok. (I think he was more bothered about the fact that he'd been castrated!)
jane
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"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Hi Jane, YIKES! I never read the text just went straight to the pictures and my first thought were 'I have to call the SSPCA' - anyways I then realised the first piccy was 'before'. What a great job you've done with him, he's very handsome.
Great pix of Caspar - and what a difference a bit of TLC and a happy home makes to a dog. Well done - he looks in tip-top condition now! What a lucky boy he is!
Lovely to meet you and your beautiful white Casper - what a stunner. All credit to you!!
Well, in our abode there is Andy and me and we have two GHs - Fiddie is a 5 and a half year old male, an ex-racer - we got him towards the end of April. We then a got a wee friend for him, (end June) Coco who is now just over 3 years old and a comical wee girly with lots of character, including acting like a bulldozer, shoving the big boy out of the way.
We wish you all the very best and hope to meet up with you at the Christmas bonanza at Langside College in two weekends time.