A First-Time Greyhound Home: Cassandra’s Calm Start in a Loving Home

What started as a simple “just to look” visit quickly became something much more meaningful. With open hearts, a little curiosity, and guidance from Crossing Cottage Greyhound Sanctuary, Jack and Grace found themselves falling for a gentle soul who fit perfectly into their lives. This is Cassandra’s happily homed story, told by the people lucky enough to call her family:

Why did consider adopting a greyhound? 

We had always liked greyhounds although had never had one before, we wanted a dog who was calm and liked a walk but didn’t need too much exercise and who was affectionate.  Although we did only visit the rescue initially to have a look but saw Cassandra on our first visit.

Finding Cassandra

We looked around to find a well-regarded rehoming centre and thought that even though Crossing Cottage was over a hours drive from us it was very well reviewed and a lot of the reviews spoke about lots of support and matching with a suitable dog which sounded good to us. We did initially want to go just to walk a greyhound and see what we thought but as soon as Karen brought out Cassandra we knew we really liked her.

Cassandra was very good on the lead and very caring and affectionate, we were shocked by how calm she was when we walked her and how well behaved she was. We didn’t feel it would be right to walk any other dogs as we didn’t see anything wrong with Cassandra and therefore it was just a choice between getting her or waiting a few months and seeing how we felt. Although we started the process straight away with Cassandra as we both really liked her.

We found the homing process to be really smooth, we had a home visit where we gained lots of helpful tips which really helped us and once we had a couple of alterations made to the house we were ready to go and pick Cass up.

Settling In

We expected to have lots of teething problems with Cass such as going to the toilet in the house, destroying things and struggling with being left but we didn’t really have any of these issues. She got used to the stairs on her first day and within a month she was going to the back door when she needed the toilet and was happy being left for a couple of hours when we went out. She adapted to the house very quickly and all of the noises without any issues.

Cass has settled in really well she loves sleeping on the bed and walking in the woods. We take her in a enclosed field once a week and she loves to run with another dog. She is very loving and likes everyone who visits and is very friendly. She has got much more playful since she has come out of her shell and enjoys playing with all her toys and chasing us round the house when she gets giddy.  We still have to be careful to take her out in the garden regularly as she can sometimes go to the toilet in the house if she wakes up and hasn’t been out for a while, but most of the time she does go the back door. She can get possessive if she steals anything and takes it to her bed but she is getting better with this over time

Advice to Anyone Considering Adopting a Retired Greyhound

I would definitely advise anyone who wants a dog to look at a retired racing greyhound, but would say it’s best to find the right rehoming centre and make sure you can adapt your life to the dog - especially for the first few weeks, as too many dogs get returned by people who rehome them but who aren’t able to adapt to the dog. They are really loving dogs and don’t need lots!"

Adopt A Greyhound Today!

Cassandra’s story is a beautiful reminder of how effortlessly the right greyhound can slot into your life. Sometimes it’s not about searching far and wide; it’s about being open to the dog standing right in front of you.

If Jack and Grace’s experience has inspired you to consider adoption, why not take that first step? 👉 Visit our adoption platform today and meet the greyhound who could be waiting just for you. And if you’ve already welcomed a greyhound into your home, we’d love to hear your story - send your Happily Homed journey to [email protected].