Greyhound Fostering Success Stories: Real Experiences from Foster Heroes

This August, Greyhound Homing UK is celebrating our amazing foster heroes as part of our ‘Foster a Greyhound’ campaign. 

Earlier, we shared a blog all about fostering, what it involves, the many benefits and how you can get involved. If you missed it, you could catch up HERE.

Now, we’re shining a light on the real experiences of foster parents from our partner homing charities. They’ve kindly shared what fostering greyhounds means to them and the incredible impact it has. 

Read on to hear their inspiring stories. 

Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders 

First, we hear from Dana a foster parent for Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders.  

"When I first met Lazar, he had just been returned to the kennels after already experiencing home life, and it was clear the change had been incredibly hard on him. The kennel environment, though full of care, just wasn’t the right place for such a sensitive soul. That’s when I stepped in to foster him, and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. 

Fostering gave Lazar the chance to settle back into a home environment, to decompress, and to rediscover his confidence and personality. He became part of my daily life, and although I wasn’t able to adopt him myself, I was able to give him the love, stability, and routine he needed until his forever home came along. 

The most beautiful part of this journey is that Lazar ended up being adopted by a close friend of mine, so I still get to see him thrive in his new life. Watching him so happy and settled reminds me why fostering matters so much, it genuinely transforms lives. 

If you’re thinking about fostering, I can’t recommend it enough. You don’t have to commit forever to make a huge difference. By simply opening your home and heart for a while, you’re giving a greyhound the bridge they need between kennel life and their forever home. Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders offer incredible support throughout the process, and you’re never alone on the journey. 

Fostering isn’t just good for the dogs; it’s an incredibly fulfilling experience for us humans too." 

Thank you for sharing your story, Dana, we’re delighted to hear Lazar was adopted into his forever home, and that you still get to see him! 

To learn more about fostering with Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders, click here:Yarmouth Greyhound Homefinders  

Home Run Hounds 

We now get to listen to the magnificent tale from Steph and Ade who foster greyhounds most weekends from Home Run Hounds. They recently notched up 50 foster hound weekends…although they’re now well on their way to a 100!   This is their story: 

“We both work full time and can often be out of the house for long hours, but Ade has weekends off and my shifts often allow us to take dogs into the week to give them a little longer away from kennels.  We got into fostering via my sister who has been involved with Home Run Hounds for a long time and has three greyhounds of her own! 

Missing our Cavalier, Brann who we had till he was 10 had left a gap in our lives and with work it wasn’t feasible to have a dog of our own.  My sister suggested fostering and off we went to kennels and learnt how to help.  Once we were all sorted (induction and home check) next came the excitement of picking up our first visitor - Maud.  We have fostered nearly every weekend since and are now past our 50 mark.  We love meeting all the new personalities, learning about their wants and needs and giving feedback to the kennels.  One claim to fame came when we met a family whilst out with James - it was instant love; they viewed him and adopted him! 

We’ve encountered all sorts from the quiet and nervous dogs to the complete opposite, 100 mph ones, and seeing the tail wag and a tentative approach from the timid ones is a joy. 

As part of the foster visit, we introduce dogs to the home environment, toilet training, household noises etc as well as taking them out where people can stop and ask questions.  They also experience busy areas, children, traffic and other dogs and we see how they cope and react. 

The hardest part of fostering has been giving back the ones I have fallen in love with, but it’s countered by the fun of getting a new dog every week. 

Personally, for me, I have felt the benefit of becoming involved has helped my own mental health and wellbeing, especially as the last couple of years have been a bit stressful.  I’ve really enjoyed going to kennels, taking foster dogs' home, visiting awareness raising events and all the volunteers I’ve met have been so friendly and helpful.  I would recommend getting involved in any way you can.  Steph” 

That is amazing to read and so lovely that so many dogs have got the chance to go for a weekend break at Steph and Ade’s. Thank You for sharing your story.  

To find out more about fostering at Home Run Hounds, click here: Home Run Hounds

Clarks Farm 

We caught up with Aimee, a professional Greyhound Behaviourist who works at Clarks Farm. 

“I’ve been a foster mum for around three years now, and in that time, I’ve had the honor of fostering 10 incredible greyhounds. Forest was one of my early fosters. He struggled with reactivity and had a severe case of happy tail, which eventually had to be amputated. He was such a character and earned the legendary nickname Forest Stump. Despite his challenges, he found his happy ending. Vienna didn’t pass her dog test at the kennels, but once she came home, she decided the other dogs were just fine after all! Within four weeks, she found her forever home. It was an incredible turnaround. Moving onto Bryn who was a very special girl. She had been homed with her bonded kennel mate, but sadly, the family returned her, deciding to only keep him. Bryn had more complex needs she struggled with toilet training, reactivity, and separation anxiety. 

She was with me the longest, and every step of progress felt monumental. Watching her blossom into the most incredible dog and finally finding her forever home after months of work was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Valerie was a shy soul with her own struggles around other breeds. Watching her grow in confidence day by day was beautiful. As her confidence grew at home, it followed her outside too, and before long, other breeds were no issue. Enya came to us as an emergency foster. She’d previously been in a home and was struggling with some minor health issues which were quickly resolved. She needed some love and TLC, and she settled in beautifully. She bounced back in no time and yes, she was another one I could’ve easily kept!   

That’s just a look at some of the greyhounds I have fostered, Jinx is my current foster. She had a tough time passing her dog test and became a little down in the kennels. Since coming home, she’s made amazing progress. She’s settled like a dream, gained confidence, and is now provisionally reserved. I know she’s going to make her new family so, so happy. Fostering is one of the most rewarding experiences you can ever have. Each of these hounds came with their own challenges, but each one found love, companionship, and happiness in a forever home. They’re now cherished, spoiled, and adored every single day and they deserve nothing less. These stories are proof that when harder-to-home hounds are given the right environment, patience, and love, what they can achieve is truly limitless.” 

These are beautiful stories on some of the greyhounds you have fostered Aimee, thank you for sharing. We are also beyond happy to announce that since writing this article, Jinx has found her forever home with a new adopted family! 

To find out more about fostering with Clarks Farm, please click here: Clarks Farm  

A heartfelt thank you to all the homing centres who shared their testimonials, it’s been truly inspiring to hear your stories and see the positive impact fostering has on both people and greyhounds alike. The support provided by the homing centres clearly plays a vital role in making fostering such a rewarding experience. 

If you’re thinking about fostering a greyhound, we hope these stories have given you the confidence and encouragement to take that first step. Please contact us on [email protected] if you would like to be paired with your local greyhound homing centre.