Paul’s Life with Greyhounds: Fostering, Adopting, and Loving Every Step

Throughout our foster campaign, we received many heartwarming stories about fostering greyhounds, with some even turning into what's lovingly known as "failed fosters". When Paul shared his story with us, we knew it deserved its own spotlight. So, grab a cuppa, get comfy and enjoy the delightful tale of how Paul found himself fostering and falling for more than a few greyhounds along the way! 

Early Love for Dogs – From Boxers to Dobermans

“Where do I start? Well, the first dog I suppose, not a greyhound but a boxer that my mum and dad had when I was born. He was my best friend and as I grew up, he would follow me everywhere, even to primary school and then take himself home! Once I was a bit older, my grandad and I got interested in watching whippet racing on a Sunday. It was either that or go to church with my grandma. It was a no brainer. We had a collie at the time so we couldn’t adopt a whippet too. Later we had a mixed breed and ‘borrowed’ an Afghan hound from where I worked. We then ended up adopting a Great Dane from someone who had received it as an unwanted gift. Later I got my own place, and owned Dobermans for the next couple of decades. I loved the breed; I had a massive male who would act as a surrogate dad to my children along with a female who thought she was their second mum! We lost those to old age and for a time tried to get a Doberman in need of a new home, but the rescues would not home to use due to having children. We’ve had many breeds over the years! 

Discovering Greyhounds in Need of Homes

I then read about ex-racing Greyhounds needing homes, so I made the call. I explained about the situation with the Doberman rescue and asked If I'd be able to take on a Greyhound, 'how many?’ was the reply. That's how our first greyhound came to us, whose racing name was Mainline Mick. 

He arrived a handsome and muscly fawn boy. It only took us a second to come up with a new pet name. A dog with an XKE ear-tattoo in a car family? It could only be one name, and that was Jag! He settled in as if he'd been born here, the only complaint about him came from my daughter (who was 5 or 6 at the time), that he didn't walk fast enough for her! Jag soon showed he had great recall and was off walking around the park with the odd zoom around. So, we all fell in love with him, even those with other dogs could see how gentle this breed actually is. He went everywhere with us, just one of the family. We lost him aged 10 due to a massive organ failure. 

It took a long time to get over him and we decided to foster retired greyhounds instead. Then came our first foster, a 44-kilo black greyhound called 'Must Deliver'. He settled in as if born here and soon stole our hearts. His pet name did give us a bit of a game as so many seemed to fit, Dyson as he loved to be vacuumed, Pluto as he could be a bit thick, (in a nice way). The one that stuck was 'Shadow' due to his ability to be your shadow the instant the fridge door opened, silent and right behind you.  Shadow eventually went off lead by accident with me chasing after him around the woods in the park. He was so fast that he caught up with me coming from behind! We used to walk with a bichon, and they fell in love is the best way to describe it. Shadow would run off and she'd chase after him barking at which point he'd slow down and wait for her. He became our first 'failed foster', far too good to go back to kennels or another home.  

Later on, we took on another foster and this time we had the 'right' mind set. It was during the early part of Covid, Pearl arrived after being bitten by her kennel mate and needed somewhere to stay and recover. It took a few days, but she was soon sharing a bed with our big boy Shadow. We then had a call that a home had been found for her, in Glasgow of all places (we’re in West London!), so 12 days after arriving she was off. We heard that she settled in well and now lives with her new family in the countryside with 2 other greyhounds. 

Loving Greyhounds and Continuing to Foster

We then had a call about a 14-month-old pup who had collided with her litter sister while playing in the paddocks. They had caused themselves some damage and had a few cuts and grazes. Of course, we said yes, we would foster her until she was well enough... we ended up adopting her! She stole our hearts the second we saw her; we walked her around the park and home and let her off in the garden. Shadow was not impressed and went to his bed. 10 seconds later she was next to him, from that moment they were never apart. We called her 'Girlie’, a bit of a pretty princess. We knew then she was staying... 2nd failed foster! 

We managed to get away for a long weekend, but when we came back Shadow came down with something. It turned out he'd been ill for a while. We were still in Covid restrictions, and we had trouble getting him into the vets and after a week's intensive care, we sadly had to say goodbye to him, which really upset us and especially myself even now. I felt extremely bad about this as he'd been there for me while I was having treatment for a year for cancer; I'd fall asleep only to wake up with a concerned Shadow looking over me. Girlie took the loss just as hard and certainly wasn’t herself. 

Then we received a call asking if we could look after a male who had broken his hock, it had been plated, and he needed a place to stay. His name was Rocco. Now this time we had our heads on 'right', he was not staying. He was here for a month before going to his new home in the west country. He again had settled in almost immediately, but Girlie was the 'Boss'. We then welcomed another male greyhound, 'Do It Legal', also known as Lenny. He'd been adopted a year or so prior, but had been ignored. He's gone into his shell, and the kennel couldn't get through to him. Plus, he was very reactive to anything other than another greyhound. Lenny was muzzled at all times outside the house.  

His first walk showed him to be hyper-reactive, if a leaf moved across the other side of the park, he’d freeze until he'd worked out what it was. Our short walk is around the local cricket ground, where we are members and we normally stop for a beer. Girlie thought it was her pub, and any strange dog was soon told. Lenny came in and stood in the corner, like the rowdy kids at school who would be made to stand there for an hour. This seemed to be an improvement of sorts, so we went back in the pub most nights for an hour. He improved hand over fist and actually began to walk up to people for fuss. Eventually, he could be there without his muzzle until another dog came in. We had been working with him, letting him watch small dogs from a safe distance and while muzzled. He slowly came round but not enough to remove the muzzle.  

An enquiry was made about him, the family had another elderly female and were looking for an older greyhound. Lenny was 6, we explained about him and that he was work in progress, and they agreed to come and meet us and walk the dogs in the park together. A couple of minutes into the walk, their daughter (about 2 years old) grabbed the lead saying 'my dog' and ran off with him (her dad on the other end of the lead). 10 days later he moved to his new home. I later got a text saying 'Lenny has settled in and is playing fetch and bringing the ball back’.  

Saying Goodbye and Holding Onto Memories

Girlie’s condition took a turn for the worst, and she became a constant patient at my vet’s clinic. Daniel, the vet, did everything he could for her. I spent hours searching for other explanations, but everything pointed back to tetanus toxins lingering after her illness. Girlie celebrated her 4th birthday, but shortly after she became paralysed and unable to walk. The night before we lost her, we took her to the pub so friends could say their goodbyes- there weren’t many dry eyes that night. 

That was it, we hurt so much and said ‘never again'! Didn't last long. Before we knew it we were back at Henlow walking another greyhound, who had just finished racing. A week later Vinegarhill, aka Theo, arrived. He’s a rowdy 3-year-old male who enjoys cuddles and play. We walked him in the park and back to the house and let him off in the garden. 5 minutes later he was in bed, and it seems settled in. We noticed he gained weight just by looking at his food. Our vet, Daniel Doherty, called him "a proper racer" and even sat on the floor to play with him- that's high praise! However, at our next visit, the vet wasn’t as pleased: even though Theo and Girlie were the same weight and fed the same, Theo had gained almost 3 kilos. Time to cut back his food. 

We took him with us on a trip, and he bit through his lead- suddenly we were left holding just one end! He’d run off in a big circle around the field, and all we saw was a red flash of his coat. When we called, he came straight back. Shadow did something similar once at the Stratford-upon-Avon racecourse, running up and down the start/finish straight, showing off. We've now had him for two years. 

Is Fostering The Right Thing?

Would we do it again? Absolutely. Greyhounds are lovable cuddle monsters who just adore life. They’re misunderstood- despite what many think, they don’t need long walks. Ours are happy with a couple of 20-minute strolls or even just a few minutes’ run twice a day; walk them too far and they’ll likely stop for a rest! With training, they can go farther, but mostly, after a walk and a meal, they snooze for hours. 

Adopting them has been so rewarding that greyhounds are now on many locals’ lists for their next dog. I’d definitely do it again. Fostering takes a certain mindset- the challenge is not getting too attached. I’ve adopted two, had two foster “fails,” and placed three others into new homes. 

Greyhounds are almost house-trained when they arrive and need just a bit of fine-tuning. They’re easy at home, recall is trainable, and they travel well- we only had one mishap after a very long motorway journey when he was sick right near home, which was my fault for not stopping sooner. We’ve had two Greyhounds at once and, honestly, they’re much easier than two Dobermans! Would I take on another? Maybe, watch this space- perhaps just as a foster, but who knows. 

Thank you, GBGB, for our first greyhound and sharing his racing history, and to Kelli Windebank and Grey’s “Finding Homes for Hounds” for six wonderful dogs, we couldn’t have done it without you. And thanks to the greyhound community for all the walks and advice over the years."

Woah what a lovely story Paul, we thoroughly enjoyed reading your whole experience. We look forward to hearing who your next hound will be!