ABOUT ADOPTING CURTIS

I'd grown up with a dog and always wanted another one, my husband wasn't quite as keen as he'd been bitten a couple of times as a child. We'd looked at different breeds and liked what we'd heard about greyhounds so I headed off to Crown Point to meet them one morning and have a chat with the Trust volunteers to find out what living with a greyhound is really like.
From there, we arranged a home visit which I admit I was a bit nervous about. We knew we had to get the garden fences sorted out before we could take adoption any further but the Trust volunteer who came to see us was very supportive, she answered all our questions (even the silly ones J ) and also told us about the Northern Greyhound Gathering.
The NGG was great fun and it sealed the deal about whether we were looking at the right breed of dog for us. Everyone talks about how sweet natured these dogs are and that day proved it. To see so many of them in one place, some newly homed, some who'd been homed for many years and pretty much all of them completely chilled out was the confirmation we needed.

After a frustrating few months of sorting fences and fixing walls we were finally ready, so off we went to the kennels where we met Kath and a couple of the dogs, one of whom was Curtis. In the end, he was the one who did the choosing, he won us over very quickly, just by being himself.
He's a naturally cautious boy, a little shy, so coming home with us was a big change for him. It hasn't all been plain sailing as we learned to live together (there were a few 'discussions' over who was allowed on the bed and who wasn't!), but nothing we couldn't sort out with time and patience. House training was harder for us than for him! It took him a little time to teach us his signals for when he wanted to go out, the very few accidents have been our fault because we've not understood him.
Watching him come out of his shell and learn about living with a family has been brilliant. It took him less than 12 hours to manage going upstairs (The first night, his reaction was 'What?! You want to leave me down here in the dark on my own?!!' when we told him good night and switched off the light. He scrambled straight up those scary stairs on the first try (there were legs everywhere!). Coming down next morning, was a different matter - he needed some help, but once he mastered it, he spent the rest of the day using the stairs as his racetrack, and it only took about a fortnight for him to take over the sofa.

Watching him gain confidence has been very rewarding, from the first time he climbed on the sofa to the first time he came and asked for a cuddle and the first time he walked confidently through a busy car park.
He's been with us for 6 months now and he makes us smile every day, I honestly can't imagine life without him. None of this could have happened without the help and support of the Trust volunteers tho'. Everyone we've met has been friendly, helpful and enthusiastic about the dogs, whether that's on a meet and greet at a store, at the Emley socials or at the kennels. Knowing that there was expert help at hand should we need it was another factor to us adopting a greyhound.
And the slightly less keen husband - had a grin a mile wide when walking Curtis the day after adopting him and after a couple of months said 'I know I'm not going to live this down, but why didn't we do this years ago?'   A very good question!

WE BROUGHT DEXTER HOME A YEAR AGO TODAY. IT'S BEEN A JOY TO SEE HIM COME OUT OF HIS SHELL AND TURN INTO THE BOUNCY, HAPPY, CLEVER PUP HE IS TODAY.

Here we are practising some of his newer tricks.

LORNA AND ANDREW RECENTLY ADDED KING (NOW PICO) TO THEIR FAMILY

This is their homing story

We had thought about different breeds for ages, but as soon as we started reading about greyhounds, we thought we'd found the right breed for us. 

We came to a meet and greet at Emley and spent two hours being amused, entertained and relaxed by a small room full of a lot of hounds - it confirmed that we'd made the right choice. 

Somebody we met there described them as "dog hardware running cat software" - perfect for us as we are a family of dog and cat lovers.

 Kath from WYGT came to see us for a home visit - really just a chat to make sure we'd thought about certain aspects of dog (and specifically greyhound) ownership, and get to know us and our lifestyle so that she could help us find the right dog for us.  WYGT really pride themselves on being able to match dog with owners.  Kath (and the other Kath, based at the kennels) really took the time to get to know us and we think we've ended up with a perfect match.

As I type this, our greyhound Pico (previously King) is fast asleep on the rug in the lounge, happy as larry.  We've had him for 5 weeks now, and we already

can't imagine life without him.

The first three weeks were certainly a challenge, but a fascinating one. 

We felt like we had a different dog each week -

the first week he was very placid as he anxiously processed his new surroundings

the second week was all about testing the boundaries as he settled in - he pulled on the lead a fair bit, and we learnt very quickly to keep some things in the house out of his reach!

The third week we felt like we'd finally met our dog, and he's been the same total legend ever since.​

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Somebody said it's like a book gradually opening up - and it's been amazing to see that happen before our very eyes.

Now, everywhere we go, people tell us how handsome he is, and how happy and healthy he looks, and we couldn't be happier.

We went along to the kennels to meet her and a lovely big greyhound boy, but as soon as they came to meet us, Jessie had clearly decided that we were the ones for her!

 She settled into life with us very quickly - she took less than a day to get the idea that the garden was the place to do her business, and whilst initially a bit wary about household items, particularly the hoover, she adapted quickly and without fuss. To this day she still will not go upstairs without persuasion, and, as she hasn't figured out how to jump, sofas remain our domain. It does mean that despite being the second fastest animal on land, she has to be unceremoniously lifted into the boot of the car when it's time to go somewhere, but we're working on it!

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The thing which surprised us the most was quite how lazy she would be - two 20 minute walks a day and she'll happily curl up and snooze for the rest of the time, apart from when she reckons it's time for her meals, or that a walk may be on the cards, when her tail wags with a ferocity that has to be seen to be believed.  But she's also happy to walk with us on longer forays, and has recently returned to running (although at a pace that she would probably barely consider more than a brisk jog) at our regular Saturday morning 5km parkrun.