Why A Greyhound?

Jackie D · Old Hand

Why A Greyhound?

Amanda · Master

What a lovely story.

Most people on this forum will know Blue isn't a Gal dog.

A few years ago Phil and I saw a programme with Annette Crosby promoting Greys. I still have a vivid memory of her greys curled up next to an open fire. We then moved to Longniddry and with a beach 2 mins walk away it should be against the law not to have a dog!

A few weeks into living here I saw a beautiful brindle girl and a white(if I remember correctly) male aka Janie and the late Lacey and that confirmed to us that when the time was right a grey would be ours.

Blue chose us as much as we chose him from the Edinburgh dog and cat home. I wont go in to any more details as we have written a chapter for Dave's book on getting him and the early days with him.

Now we are thinking about a second... we have to think really hard though as Blue seemed rather depressed when we tried fostering.

Gail · Big Cheese

It's great to hear other people's stories. Mine is much the same...

A neighbour had a beautiful brindle male when i was just a teenager and i loved that dog to bits and always knew i would have a grey someday..I've been in an upstairs flat for the last ten years, reading every book i could find about them and had promised myself that when i moved i was going to adopt a dog, any colour except black.

Neo is not a GAL dog either and he is big, beautiful and BLACK!!

I have just had my home check done and Dave has arranged for me to meet Sassy next weekend so hopefully Neo will have a girlfriend soon. And guess what?? She is BLACK too!!

max · Enlightened One

Why not ! When Derek and wanted a dog for the home as a pet , we went through many choices, then I REMEMBERED about a greyhound that used to be int the taxi office that my sister used to work in, he was such a canny beast and I was only twelve at the time but he had left a memory with me. so we contacted GAL . As they say the rest is history we met Cas, fell in love with her at the first meeting. At first she was hard work as she had been found as a stray originally then adopted by a family, she ruled the roost and had her own rules but in time she learned ours. We would not swap her for all the tea in China and love her to bits. She is the best thing and I cannot remember when she was not with us, and long may it remain so.

Nora

Jennifer · Big Cheese

I became interested in greyhounds coz my stepsister used to race them and when i visited her i used to help feed and walk the dogs. Thats when i realised what soft, gentle dogs they were. When i got my own flat 5 years ago, i rescued my 1st grey from The Edinburgh Dog and Cat home and she was 11years old when i got her. She had a great last few years with me and i loved her to bits. She left for the bridge just last year shortly before her 13th birthday.

I knew then i had to have another. (they say they are addictive lol). I heard about GAL through a customer at my work and then i decided to foster a greyhound for GAL. Millie came along and she was just so perfect in everyway, i couldnt let her go enough said lol

emma · Guru

I loved reading other peoples stories, mine is similar, again my dogs havn't come from GAL...

I was sent to the local pound by my hubby to get a (small lol) dog to keep me company while he was at work. He nearly had a fit when I came home with Rusty, a big male grey. We had him for ten years until he died from a stroke aged between 14 and 17, he was as good as gold and very placid.

When he died we were devestated and got Charlie, a big black male from a small racing kennels. He had real killer instincts and made Rusty look like a pussy cat by comparison. He even wrecked our house one day (my fault because he was very much a replacement dog for Rusty and was spoilt rotten!) We could not face an empty house after the loss of a dog again and adopted Tiger to keep Charlie company. Charlie was always the lead dog and was quite bossy with poor Tig.

We lost Charlie in September and adopted Chad a big fawn lad with a similar personality to Charlie but also a very affectionate side like Rusty and Tiger. Tiger is poorly now with bone cancer and I don't know if we will have another grey or stick with Chaddie for the time being. All I know is we will never be totally greyhoundless again as we both love them to bits.

Some good has come from all the pain of losing Charlie because it was when I was devestated by his loss that I found GAL. They all supported me a total stranger (my first post was about losing Charlie). Now everyone on GAL - is stuck with me!

Em,Tig and Chad xx

denise · Master

I know the Sam you're talking about! Large white and black boy, do you still see him?

If you're ever at one of the GAL events you'll see some photo's of Sam and his owner in the Rescue Album.

She was a lovely wee lady and not at all put out by his size, if I remember rightly it was her daughter who persuaded her to adopt a greyhound.

Denise

Jackie D · Old Hand

denise wrote:

I know the Sam you're talking about! Large white and black boy, do you still see him?

I still see him sometimes when Isobel takes him down to the green with her to feed the ducks, he always gives me a lovely welcome and nudges my pockets in case I have some sweeties there!

Lesley · Guru

Like many others - I knew about greyhounds long before we adopted one. I had seen Anette Crosbie talking about them, and other items on Pet Rescue etc.

Jerry (husband) always wanted a dog, but we weren't a position to have one: both working full time, four resident cats etc.

Time passed - fewer cats, bigger house, me working part time (lucky me) etc. etc., and it just began to seem like more of a possibility. I realised that I could do the same as a colleague who takes her black labs to work with her, they sleep in her car and go for a lovely long walk in Balloch Country Park at lunchtime.

I started reading the ads. in the Herald - the ones which are about specific dogs - and also brousing the web site. The dog who actually tugged my heart strings enough to enquire about him was in the Herald as Sooty who had been addicted to drugs.

Sooty's story is another one - which Esther may take up - he is now called Legion and lives with her. He could never have been ours because he was not cat safe, but Dave replied to me telling me which dogs were cat safe (there were three at the time) and Sim was one of them. We submitted our application to adopt and went to the Christmas Fayre 2004 to meet him, with Charles who was fostering him. Sim has been with us since 1st December 2004 and we adore him.

In March 2005 Suzie came to join us - also fostered by Charles, and cat safe - aged 9.5 at the time and now coming up for her 11th birthday - so it is lovely to read of all these oldies who have lived into their teens.

Teresa · Enlightened One

what lovely stories they all are.

when i was about 15, my friend's parents had a greyhound - a big brindle boy. all i remember about him was that he laid on the sofa most of the time but one thing really stuck in my memory and that was how soft he felt when you stroked him - like warm satin.

i've always been brought up with dogs and, after losing my cross-breed, Meg, i had been dogless for about a year. somehow the house felt empty so neil and i knew we had to have a dog. we met Rita at the local horse rescue centre's open day and she had her grey with her. we kept in touch and, after we came back from our holiday, she introduced us to a local trainer. we walked dave and daisy and decided, there and then, to have them both!! as we both work for large chunks of the day, they are perfect company for each other.

we love them to bits and i think we'll always have greys now.

Isla · Enlightened One

My family have always had dogs - mostly poodles and a spaniel for a while. When I moved to Hampshire, I got so lonely and fed up that I went to the nearest Blue Cross centre. I had very definite ideas about what I was looking for and, I'm afraid, Wills was not really it - he was described as a lurcher. I did think he was sweet when I first saw him but wanted to have a long, hard think before taking on a dog. I went back the following week and there he was, still going stir-crazy in the kennels. Took him for a walk and that was me - smitten!

I'd had Wills for years and liked loads of different breeds but always maintained that any other dogs I took on would all be rescue dogs. I don't think I could ever go to a breeder and buy a dog (unless it was in need of rescue). I came across adverts in a dog magazine about greys looking for homes and looked into the eyes of the dog in the photo and that was it. There was no going back. I went on the Internet looking for Greyhound Rescue sites and came across GAL. Shortly after that we got Millie (another lurcher) and about two years later, Tigger came to stay. That's our story!

Anyanka · Master

Another not-GAL here. I grew up with dachshounds initially and pedigree Irish Setters later (their breeder lived around the corner from us). I had no interest in greyhounds at all for most of my life.

What changed this was an accidental lurcher

Five and a half years ago, my then brand-new partner (now husband) and I decided to get a dog 'as soon as we're properly settled down'. I happened to mention this to an acquaintance who was involved with the RSPCA. Told her we both liked border collies - the only breed we really agreed on - and yes, we'd be happy to adopt something six months down the line or so...

Five days later my daughter came home from school and said 'Louise has a puppy for us. She says it's a leech cross.' (None of us had ever heard the word 'lurcher')

Bonnie was actually a lurcher/border collie cross, not a dog I would have chosen as she was black - I preferred more 'visible' dogs! - and a little unusual looking. But she was 10 weeks old and the last of her litter; crawled on my lap and stole things out of my pockets. I had a hunch it was meant to be. She turned out to be the perfect dog for our family.

From lurcher to greyhound is an easy leap - especially when one has a daughter who works in a racing kennel where dogs come up for adoption in regular intervals! The two make a great combination, one lively and independent, the other lazy and affectionate. Between the two of them they cover all our family needs!

glendy · Master

When Dave and I went to our very first GAL Greyhound Awareness Day at Bothwell Bridge many moons ago I had to practically drag him. We'd decided on a dog but he was NOT convinced that a greyhound was right - both because of the size and because of our cats.

He took one look at big softy Scooby and declared he wasn't going near. And he didn't!

He eventually decided we'd go to see Archie, the teeny tiny "greyhound cross" and decided he could handle him.

Luckily, Ruby soon won his heart.

JENNY · Big Cheese

I had never met a greyhound until one of the people I support in my job had one. I thought at the time that she was the friendliest dog and quietest I'd ever met. I looked up greyhounds on the net and came across the GAL site. I think it looked different then.
At the time I was renting a flat so couldn't have pets so I pushed the idea from my mind.
Once I was able to buy my own place I started thinking about having a dog again.
As part of my job we sometimes take a group of people out for a social activity. One evening they decided they wanted to go to Shawfield. After I'd been I did loads of research into racing and found out pretty much what I suspected.
After that I looked up GAL again and that's when I found ZIGGY! Then VERNON! ....

-- Edited by JENNY at 11:05, 2006-07-09

Steve · Master

Why a greyhound? My choice was a bit more clinical to be honest. Always had dogs and other pets in the family since I was a kid. The dogs were always gundog types (german pointer or spaniel) which took a load of walking/running but since Fiona and I work there was no way we could take one of these and expect to come back to a house that wasn't pulled apart.

Always liked big deerhound/lurcher types or working terrier types but thought I needed to find a doggy that was more laid back, quiet and good in the house. Ended up thinking about a whippet or two but after visiting someone I know who had old irish racing whippets he introduced me to his other greyhound lurcher. He said the greys were more laid back so I liked the idea of this. Tried a few re-homing websites and all of them were useless at responding until I came across GAL and Dave emailed back very quickly. He put us in touch with Karen (used to kennel GAL dogs in Fife) and we started walking the dogs at the weekends for months. She had this dog which pooed and peed in her bed EVERY day, barked non stop and skipped in circles. The first time we saw this dog she was scraping another dogs sick from the next door kennel and lapping it up! Strangely, Pearly was a very happy and responsive dog and we liked that and took a chance on trying to turn her from the darkside - she still is nuts at times but is very laid back otherwise so there you go. You can't have just one of course and then Harry came along to keep her company.