Hello From Romeo And His Humans

I have been on GT for about a month now and it was suggested that I post an introduction. So...here goes.

My name is Vicki and my husband is John. We live in northeastern Connecticut and love being active and outdoors. We have been fortunate enough to become the "parents" of Romeo, a darling, fawn boy who is ...well HUGE! He stands about 28" at the shoulder and weighs in at 85lbs! He has the most amazing big brown eyes that melt your heart (quite possibly the reason that he came home with us last July)! And a personality that is truly unique. Here is the story of how we came to be a family:

Last June, my husband (not yet my husband then) and I were discussing getting a dog. We both really wanted a lab, but being that labs are quite expensive around here, we decided that was not going to happen. My husband's sister is a dog trainer and recommended a greyhound. I was definitely not convinced; they were big, super energetic (so I thought), and were kind of goofy looking. She kept insisting that they were great condo dogs and that all they needed were a few good walks a day and that then they sleep all the time. John (my husband) gave in and began to do some internet research. He found a lot of great information and little by little, he began to convince me that a greyhound would be good for us.
After we decided that we wanted a greyhound, we began to search for adoption kennels. We found the Connecticut Greyhound Adoption agency and began looking at available hounds. We called the agency and were pre-screened for adoption. The worker there matched us to a dog she though would be a good fit for our lifestyle and home. We began to make plans to go down to Wallingford, CT and meet our potential adoptee...only one problem the kennel was about 3 hours away. We couldn't seem to ever find a time where they were open and we could get down there. So...back to the drawing board.
We decided to begin looking in Massachusetts (we are only about 10 minutes from MA). We found a kennel called Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, MA. Amazingly enough, I worked at a residential home for kids with Autism right down the street. That drive was only about 40 minutes, and we decided to give it a shot. We called up and explained that we were interested in getting more information on adopting a greyhound and set up an appointment.
July 2nd, we made the trip up to the kennel. We had no intentions of bringing a hound home with us, this was strictly to get more information and look at some dogs. We went through an adoption interview and were deemed worthy enough to have a hound! ...good news. Then we were escorted into the kennel area where we could look at the greys that were available. We walked the kennel, looking at all the greys and their ages. One boy, Chrome, seemed exceptionally happy to see us and had his nose poking out of his crate. We asked if we could take him out and take a short walk in the field with him. The kennel owner said that we could, but that he had extremely bad manners and was very difficult on a leash. We took him out anyway and found that he really only tugged a little bit. The only problem was that he was really, really big. So, we brought him back in and looked at the other hounds. We next asked to see a much smaller boy, whom the owner thought might be good for us. We agreed to leash test him and found that he was very calm. Upon re-entering the kennel, we found the kennel manager there instead of the owner. She was very nice and was quite knowledgeable about all of the hounds. She mentioned that this boy was showing signs of anxiety and actually had to be picked up and put back into his crate. John and I decided that a hound with anxiety was not yet for us, as we had not been dog owners previously. We continued roaming the kennel and I could not help but notice Chrome still at the front of his crate watching our every move. He was the only hound in the kennel that was doing this. Right then, I knew that he was meant to be ours. It was as though he was choosing us, rather than us choosing him.
John and I stepped outside to discuss what we were going to do. We both agreed that there was something about Chrome that just seemed right for us. We were not deterred by the comments that he would be difficult and would need intense training. I work with extremely difficult children diagnosed with Autism and use positive practice and reinforcement (Applied behavior Analysis) to teach them. If I could use reinforcement to work with my students, then I was confident that I could train this dog.
So there we were, signing the papers and walking out of the kennel with a greyhound. Being that he was fawn and not blue, we couldn't seem to convincingly call him Chrome. We used his name several times but got no response, not even a glance. After that little test, we assumed that he did not really know his name and decided to change it. We settled on Romeo, and boy is it fitting! Just one look with those big brown eyes, and your heart melts!

So now it is only a few months away from Romeo's first Gotcha Day and boy have we learned what life is like with a grey! We've seen him hoard our clothing, go crazy over squeeker toys, roach to get a belly rub, throw up on EVERY car ride, eat a whole roast chicken carcass from the trash (fortunately that did not result in a trip to the e-vet, only a good few days of endless pooping!), discover the joy of snow, take his first hike in the woods, lay in a lake on his side, see a family of deer, discover that we have a resident bunny, and so many other things. I feel truly grateful to have Romeo as part of our family and I look forward to all of the adventures that are yet to come!

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