So greyhounds then. I know I’m biased, because obviously Bertie is the best, most beautiful, most well behaved, softest, gentlest, cleverest…okay not cleverest, but loveliest dog in the world. Or at least in the whole of Cavan. First thing I would say here is don’t believe everything you hear about how cruelly treated greyhounds are. Yes, there are a minority of total arsewipes that breed shitty greyhounds, don’t treat them properly and then when they don’t win races (duh) abandon them, or worse. Luckily, most greyhound trainers and owners want their dogs to win races, and in order to win races they need to be properly treated, fed and cared for. In fact, some of these gangling buggers are treated like bloody royalty. I recently took the smalls to visit Doofus the Wonderdog (more of him later) at our trainer’s place, and they were like little toddlers in a sweet shop: ‘ooh, can we cuddle this one? And can we cuddle this one?’ and ‘ooooh… puppies!’. Each dog, I’m happy to report, was clean, waggy, friendly and delighted to see us. Unlike, I have to say, some of our foster charges who have arrived with those dead eyes and tail curled up under the tummy that indicate they’ve just never learnt that people are potential playmates. All very sad. Our trainer, M, has two small boys - the oldest of whom loves to lead the dogs out to the van on race days, that is, when they don’t tread on his wellies and make him fall over, with a cheery shout of ‘I’m okay, Dad!’ as he’s dragged along by an over-enthusiastic greyhound.
Which leads me neatly on to the main problem. There are far too many greyhounds in Ireland. Lots of them aren’t really successful, and those that are have only a limited racing career. Doofus the Wonderdog ran about 15 times and had one win. Now he was our first foray into greyhound ownership and whilst M’s terribly nice about it, basically Doofus is crap. He’s also lucky, because we’re his owners and will take responsibility for him once his racing days are over. Think about it, though, if you own several dogs, you can’t realistically expect them to all live out their days hogging your sofa like Bert. And that’s where the general public come in, or don’t come in where Ireland’s concerned. People just dont GET greyhounds as pets. Our plumber mentioned that when he tells people about those weird English people who have a greyhound as a pet in the house, they just don’t believe him. Now I’ll stick my neck out here and say that, in principle, I’ve got nothing against dogs being put to sleep. I’d much rather they were rehomed, but as M the trainer points out, not all greyhounds will make good house pets and sometimes the kindest thing is that they fall asleep and don’t wake up. Harsh, but I’d rather that than the horror stories of cutting off ears and shooting and all sorts of grotesque stuff.
In Italy, thought, people love greyhounds. They adore them. So J takes photos and does little descriptions of her charges, and then they’re bagged by people over in Italy, via a website run by J’s friend F. Then every few months, J waves her little retirees off on a transporter to Italy, where they live happily ever after. This happened, as you may recall, to Louis, who is now living a very jammy life, thank you very much, and learning to speak the lingo too, no doubt. Occasionally, greys are retired to homes in Ireland, to suckers like us. But not enough of them, sadly.
So have a think about it. A little room on your sofa? Or a corner of the lounge where a gangly fella could see out his retirement? Aw go on. It’d be rude not to.
March 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
March 10th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
March 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
March 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Moon: I said retired and rehomed, not dismembered and made into satay.
Sandra: Well, I’ve seen her ambling across fields a couple of times, and various farmers have reported little ‘nests’ made in their hay barns, but no, not close enough to grab. And the trap, although it yielded several cross cats, a labrador, a jack russell and a very angry fox, was not successful, alas. x
March 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
(shakes head)
You DO know I’m gonns get you for that, don’t you?
:I
March 10th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
March 11th, 2008 at 1:35 am
March 11th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Susan: feel free. I’m knocking up a ‘why greyhounds make the best pets in the world, ever’ as well x
March 11th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
The amount of unconditional love attention and enjoyment Taffy gave made me adopt another. Mad William came to live with me 3 weeks ago having retired from my local track with a wrist injury. He is definately mad, off his trolley, nutty as a fruitcake but so funny to watch! His wagging tail circles madly like a childs windmill and he chases his toys cross the laminate flooring like he is dancing on ice!
I have promised to send EM pics but have to confess I have not yet got round to it. (Good job I don’t have a blog to update as well else it would never get done!)
March 11th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
March 12th, 2008 at 8:53 am
We throw William’s toys down the other end of the room then whilst he is clearing them back to his bed we sneak them away and throw them again - it is comical to watch him (until he gets wise and hides them in Taffy’s bed which is further away from us!)
Before coming home both dogs had met at the kennels a couple of weekends running and been walked together so they had contact before William came to his forever home. When the day finally came, I took both dogs for an introductory walk in the park before taking William indoors.
Apart from a few growls from Taffy when William got too close to him sleeping, Taffy is tolerating the intrusion into his comforts and being constantly pushed out of the way for everything, food, walks, a good smell in the park!
They are both muzzled at the moment when left home together. This is for safety as I don’t fancy clearing up bloodshed should they decide to fight for top dog status although Taffy always gets his food, cuddles and treats first as he is my top dog! (Just don’t tell William!)
PS adopting a second dog, I would say go for it cos there is no more mess or work with 2 dogs than with one (just a few more trips to the supermarket to buy dog food!) xx
March 12th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
March 12th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Jealous: Welcome m’dear! That’s a brilliant word for a greyhound - polite is exactly what they are: very sweet and gentle, and cuddly too. I’ve a spare if you’re interested!
March 13th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Taffy’s greyhound friends’ owners will be adopting their 3rd hound later this year when she retires from racing, they have her bed, collar and coat all ready for her coming to her forever home!
Along with the 2 greyhounds they have two scottish terriers and rabbits in the garden - talk about a full house!
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Jay: Hello! Welcome, pull up a hairy chair!. Funnily enough we saw a guy walking a really old black one today - it was skinny as hell and its face was completely grey, but this fella was even walking slow so the dog could keep up. Bless! x
June 26th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
[...] a completely different, somewhat euphemistic way. I’m a realist, and let’s face it, people aren’t exactly queuing up to adopt a retired greyhound, and there’s a serious glut, which is a shame as they’re rather good company. And for [...]
June 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm