The Adoption Process

Use our “Search for your perfect greyhound” facility to filter the available greyhounds across the country to meet your circumstances. Once you have decided upon the right hound for you, you can register interest using the “Enquire to adopt….” and the relevant homing centre will contact you to discuss your application.

Every potential greyhound adopter will have their home checked. This is not an intrusive process, just a means for the homing centre to confirm you live where you say you do, that your home is suitable to accommodate a greyhound and, as importantly, to allow the centre to talk through any potential hazards in your home that you will need to address before he/she could safely move in.

Generally prospective adopters will go to the kennel to meet/choose their new best friend. We say ‘choose’ as often an enquiry will be made regarding one greyhound but, after discussion, another dog will turn out to be more suited to that family’s situation. Some homing centres will encourage prospective adopters to go along the kennel range and view all dogs while others prefer to bring out those dogs they feel are suitable for that family. In the case of families adding a greyhound to a home that already has dogs then the other dogs would be brought along on this visit so they can help to choose the right greyhound to be their new friend. If a greyhound is joining a household that has a cat then invariably the homing centre will take the chosen cat-trainable greyhound to the house to meet the cat, only leaving the dog with the family if the meeting goes smoothly. It should also be noted here that homing centres have different processes so Stages 3 and 4 could well be done the other way around.

There is likely to be a short gap between a greyhound being chosen and it going home during which time it will be reserved for the prospective adopter. If a centre prefers to let a family choose a dog before a home check is carried out then the dog would be held on reserve until the check is done or there could be a slight wait for preparations to be made at home etc. A centre will usually not reserve a dog for any longer than two weeks but, again, that will differ between centres and according to special circumstances. Once a greyhound is reserved then usually an adoption fee will be payable.

The magical day has arrived!! Once everything has been confirmed and arrangements made the new owners can collect their new best friend and take him/her home. Majority of centres will send dogs home with some accessories including a collar and lead, a coat, some of the food they have been used to and 1-month free pet insurance. You will need to check details with the centre you use so that you don’t find yourself without any necessary equipment.

The wonderful workers or volunteers at the homing centres provide support and reassurance every step of the way, should you need it. They are always just a phone call away to provide good advice if you are worried. Your greyhound will probably need a while to fully settle at home after leaving their familiar kennel life and you should expect to be called by the homing centre to see if all is well.

On very rare occasions things just don’t work out, despite every effort to make the match work both before and after adoption. If that is the case then the most important thing to remember is to return your dog to the centre where you got him/her rather than trying to find alternative arrangements which, ultimately, are unlikely to be in the best interest of the dog.