New Member From Uk Saying Hi!

[Guest Gill]

Hi Everyone! I'm Gillian and I live in rural Northumberland in England. Married to Neil who, like me, is animal mad.....not that he ever had any choice once he hooked up with me 20 years ago

 

My nagging gentle dropped hints have finally worked and he's taken the bait and agreed that we've been without a dog hogging the couch in our lives for far too long and has agreed that It's Time to adopt

Our last dog was Tina who was a gorgeous Whippet who we adopted at 16 months old and within days she had us both completely smitten with the breed and the elegance and wonderful nature of sighthounds in general. Sadly we lost her far too early in a tragic accident in August 2008 which left me, nine months later, diagnosed with PTSD and off work for three months and seeing a therapist weekly but I'm ok now....still feel guilty as hell and probably always will but ready to move on and give my heart to a dog once more

 

Since 2009 we've been doing long-term fostering of old and abused cats for a local small charity and it has been absolutely wonderful.....heartbreaking too when you see the state of neglect some of these poor cats ended up in at the hands of uncaring humans But with us they had a safe home until it was time to go over Rainbow Bridge and even though Neil and I would both cry buckets afterwards we never once had it put us off ringing up the ladyt who ran the charity and letting her know we needed another to fuss over Our feline family usually consisted of two, occasionally three, oldies well into their teens who were on various medications (insulin injections, kidneys, thyroid issues, irregular heartbeats, steroids, arthritis, feline leukaemia virus, epilepsy - we've dealt with a fair few LOL) but we both just LOVED IT....it was a privilege to us to be able to care for these old sweeties and ensure their remaining days/weeks/months were pampered ones with warm comfortable beds, full tummies and endless kisses and love Sadly the charity owner passed on a couple of years ago and the charity is no more and our last oldie was darling Hattie who passed in June last year (almost a year - crikey where HAS the time gone to?) and I told Neil the next furball to pass through our front door HAD to be of the canine variety. I just turned 50 in March and my longing for another dog has been SO bad this past couple of years that I've put my foot down! I love to be outdoors pottering in the garden or exploring all the fabulous Northumberland countryside and beaches we have up here but there has always been something missing....a dog to enjoy them with! I need a canine companion beside me on my walks and on the sofa and on the bed next to me!!!!! At first Neil tried to resist but months of gentle drip-drip-drip hints have worked and two weeks ago he turned to me (when we were watching Rescue Dog To Super Dog on Sky) and said ''Would it be so bad to have another dog?'' Talk about music to my ears!!! At first he was talking about a Border Collie but TBH, lovely though they are, I feel that I simply wouldn't have the time nor energy required to keep one fully exercised and mentally stimulated....so I eased him towards hounds. At first we thought perhaps another whippet (or two) but I've ALWAYS hankered after a Greyhound and never failed to stop anyone with one in the street to ask about them and what they're like to live with and, quite simply, they sound absolutely perfect! And so a Greyhound it will be and I couldn't be more excited!!!! And neither could Neil too....he's already working out where to put a bed and mentally moving a few things around in the living room to fit in a second couch and cannot wait to get home from work and be covered in doggy kisses once more. His only stipulation which I haven't managed to change is that we get a girl - but as all my dogs have been female I'm not bothered if this is his only rule (I suppose a wife has to let the husband have his way on ONE thing ).

 

At the moment we're looking around for a new car as our last one went to the Great Scrapheap in the Sky last year when Neil was unemployed but once this is sorted we fully intend to give Diane at Northumberland Greyhound Rescue a call and see about adopting one of her gorgeous hounds

 

The only thing Neil was undecided about was if our dog had to be left in the house on her own and screamed the place down and disturbed the neighbour next door but I explained that with the shifts he does and the ones I do the ONLY time there won't be anyone at home is on Tuesday when I start work at 3pm and Neil gets home at 5.30pm! I get two days off during the week...he is off weekends (when I work longer shifts of 8am until 3pm on Saturday & Sunday) and on the other two days I work 7pm until 10pm! So Tuesday is the only day Doglet will be on her own for two & half hours!!! I'll be getting her used to me popping in and out the room and the house from the day we get her anyway so she doesn't get all panicked about being abandoned but if she's anything like my Tina was she'll just crash out asleep on the sofa or our bed. I always took Tina out to the beach (5 minutes drive away) or the fields surrounding our house and gave her a good walk before I went to work and left her with a stuffed Kong and a few dry kibble treats hidden around the living room for her to find and we never had any problems. Worst case scenario on Tuesday afternoons I take her to stay with one of a few dogsitters I've found in our town who will look after her until Neil finishes work and picks her up. I don't think it'll come to that though....I just like to be prepared and have a Plan B.

 

So, enough of my waffling on....thank you SO much for letting me join this site (I've been reading posts and drooling over everyone's dogs for the past few days) - off to explore even more....

 

Gill xxx

 

 

[spottydog]

Greetings from Calgary, Canada!

[Remolacha]

Sounds like your new girl will be in doggy heaven Be sure to post pictures when she arrives!

[JohnF]

Welcome from Devon in the SW corner of the UK. If greyhounds could go on line I reckon you'd have hundreds queuing up to come and stay with you! Word of warning though... they are addictive and one is not too likely to be the end of the story.

 

Car? They like Estate cars with a flat and low floor without a hatchback style lip. The more upright the tailgate window is the better or the sun is bad. Mine occupies a Renault Scenic at present (beware pre-2009 models which had electrics designed by demons). She will go on the back seat of a VW Golf but not if the passenger refuses to let their seat go forward so that the dog can turn... much longer dogs than you're probably used to

[Scoutsmom]

Although he says he wants a lady houndie, I would not be at all surprised if your husband falls for a gentleman dog. Many, many adopters start out wanting a small female but end up falling in love with a big mushy male. So be forewarned and keep your options open. I would hold off buying frilly feminine collars, etc.

[Houndtime]

Welcome from Delaware.

[smurfette]

Welcome from Germany. 3 grey household here with an old ratty Volvo V70 (21 years and still going strong) that I am lucky to be allowed to drive because none of the hound crew have a licence 😉😁

I got my first girl last year after adopting only big boys before and she is a handful. The boys are the muscle and she is the brain..... wants to learn, too (ate 'Castles of the Loire' yesterday.... one of hubby's books written in French).😂

Edited May 16, 2018 by smurfette

[DocsDoctor]

from London and good luck with both your greyhound and your car search. The right dog will find you I am sure with the rescue's help, our local one is brilliant at 'match-making'. Can't make any car-suggestions as here in town I don't need one - Ken very much enjoys tavelling around on the train, bus and tube instead!

Edited May 16, 2018 by DocsDoctor

[Guest Gill]

Awww thanks for the AWESOME welcome everyone (((HUGS)))

 

I personally am keeping my options open as regards dog or bitch - my dad had a male Jack Russell ~ Buster ~ in the 80's and he was soooo adorable. The reason Neil is a bit icky about male dogs is because when he was a child and often visiting his friend's house their dog, a male, seemed to always make a beeline for Neil, sit in front of him and start sucking his winkie....with all the lovely sound effects that entails When Neil first told me this I couldn't stop laughing but he's serious....no boys and no sucking winkies!!! I've tried telling him MANY TIMES that Buster never did that (at least not in front of us LOL) and that so many times I've read that males are much more laid back than females ( I've certainly found that to be true of the cats we fostered - three boys and 12 females and the boys were ALL absolute sweethearts ) but to no avail. But you never know....like you say, he may fall head over heels with a boy at the kennels and be blind to the feminine charms of all the girls and want to take him home. As to Greys being addictive.....well, the plan IS to have two eventually Neil is all for getting two at once but as I'm the one who will be doing the majority of the walking & training etc (Neil has volunteered to be chief sofa & bed cuddler!) I'm thinking one for starters until I get to 'know' the breed and then a few months or a year later get another Unless of course there are two who have always been together and it would be a shame to split them up. I'm going into this with open eyes and am keen to learn and perfectly happy to put myself in the hands of the rescue kennels as to choice of dog. Whoever we get, boy or girl, will be spoilt rotten and certainly never want for anything

 

Thanks for the handy tips re cars John. Having the seats forward won't be a problem as Neil always laughs at me because when I drive I have such short legs I automatically pull the seat forward and drive, in his words, with my nose almost touching the windscreen (cheeky devil!!!). Neil IS even considering a small van if he finds one that's ok. He WAS looking at a RAV 4 the other week but there was something wrong with the exhaust (the guy selling it admitted to slightly dunching into a wall when we had all that snow in early March!) and Neil didn't want to risk future *expensive* problems. TBH the car will be mostly used for humping compost up to the allotment and taking the hounds to the beach, woods or hills as we both work within half a mile of our home. Buses are so few and far between up here in rural Northumberland (usuallly one an hour if you're lucky and non existent or once every two hours on Sunday) compared to the every-ten-minutes we were used to when we were both growing up on Tyneside) and often don't go to the more outlying places like the Simonside Hills, Ingram Valley, Harthope or even a touristy hotspot like Holy Island! All places which are absolute heaven for dog walking!

 

And holidays....neither of us have passports. Before we fostered old cats we would take Tina on holiday with us when we stayed in a caravan in the Lake District and our greyhounds will be doing the same too - I just love exploring new places and get more enjoyment from seeing my dog enjoying it too Once we started fostering we couldn't get away as a cattery was not an option as most hadn't had vaccinations for lord knows how long and also they were often on so many different medications that I couldn't risk getting even a house sitter in. So we haven't had a holiday since July 2009!!!

 

As to photos.....I LURRRRRVE taking photos and you'll certainly never be short of those

[kronckew]

Welcome aboard!

 

Poppy, my 26.5 kilo fuzzy saluki cross girly fits nicely in my Dacia Stepway SUV, if you prefer an estate, the duster is not too bad either. Fairly cheap too. The extra for the (stepway laureate/duster nav+) version with satnav/entertainment centre, a/c & rear parking sensors is worth it.

[Banjoman]

Hello from Dorset, Carol here with retired racing greyhound Chancey and rescue whippet lurcher Nutmeg . I too started out with whippets, four over the years but now am allowed to sit on the end of a settee occupied by greyhound or lurcher.

 

I fit both of them in a VW Polo, Nutmeg is strapped onto the back seat and Chancey is in a purpose built cage in the hatch area. She doesn’t have a lot of room but I only drive locally for walks so it isn’t a problem.

 

Chancey was straight off the track and came to me after being spayed. I must admit she was a handful when meeting other dogs when out walking but after a couple of years she calmed down and last year she gained her Silver KC Canine Good Citizen award.

You may like to look up The Great Global Greyhound Walk website to see if there is a walk organised near you on June 10th and you can go along and see a variety of dogs and get a better idea of size etc. and talk to other owners - oh, no you cannot because you work, maybe your husband can! Although she would be silly with other dog breeds Chancey would just look at all the greyhounds on our local walk and walk without a problem with her own kind.

[fastpointydoge]

Welcome to the forum from Rogue and I in Pennsylvania! Can't wait to see what hound you end up with. It's sure to be a lucky dog.