The Ferrari of the Canine World:
GREYHOUND
You
will not believe what I am about to tell you!
Buying a pre-owned car is cheaper than buying a Labrador dog puppy in Australia.
Yes, It’s true!
My daughter in Australia could buy a single owner Ford Mondeo Mark III ,14 years old in good condition @ 3500 AUD, but could not buy a LAB Puppy as it costs about 5000 AUD.
As she wanted to raise a puppy and also adopt a dog at some point, she decided to adopt a dog first. Even adopting a dog is not that easy. The rescuers will first visit the home, look at the conditions of the home and the attitude of the owner and then transfer the Pup/Dog with relevant documents.
She is a dog lover like her father and was looking for a dog that needed a good home, finally ended up with a breed that we were not so well-versed – GREYHOUND.
Though her dad is a Vet, she learned more about the breed, joined a few Australian communities specific to the breed and adores her dog as her own daughter.
The GREYHOUND has been receiving so many gifts. special bed, blanket, jackets and even shoes….
I just requested my daughter to share her experience with her adopted daughter, and this is her story:
THE CHRONICLES OF A VELVET NOODLE
“Layla.”, I thought to myself. Long legs and beautiful big bright brown eyes that stared right back at you
“She looks like a Layla” I said, deciding to name her after Layla and Majnun.
Layla is a glossy black greyhound with a splash of white on her chest and all her 4 paws. She is taller than an average greyhound and weighs 40 kgs. She eats about a kilo of chicken everyday among other things like fish, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and kangaroo kibble. Then she comes back inside to eye my sad plate of food, hoping to get a bite.
She is compact, packed firm with muscle and can take on any large dog easily but she has a heart of a chicken. Anything from a plastic bag to her own farts can scare the wits out of her. Why? Because most greyhounds are not used to being pets or living inside a home. They are dogs trained for racing with a strict regime and are used to being in a pack with other greyhounds. Once their racing career is done and dusted, due to crossing the ideal age for racing or due to an injury they are rehomed and introduced to their retirement life.
Did Layla win a race, you may ask? No. Apparently she was too stubborn to race and ran in the opposite direction. I am not really surprised by that. She only does what she wants and when she runs, you cannot take your eyes of her.
Most trainers and greyhound rehoming organizations take great care in finding them the best homes. However you do come across greyhounds that haven’t been treated so well in the past.
I found Layla at a cat rescue organization and after a 3 hour drive we picked her up at the border of New South Wales and Victoria. She was skinny, tired and had minor wounds all over her body. She was underweight (29kgs) and constantly hungry. When she came home she was so scared of the wooden floors and everything in the house. But after she got used to the house, she did not want to step out! Every morning I would walk her out to the drive way and she’ll do the classic Greyhound freeze and neither move an inch further nor walk back into the house. And on the days she managed to step out and walk down a few blocks, she will freeze again, stand still as long as you let her and nothing you did will make her move. So picture this, a 5 foot 4 woman huffing and puffing, carrying a stubborn 30 kg dog wrapped up in a pink coat on a cold wet morning. And yes, of course she has a collection of coats, because she is my princess. She also has an impressive number of nicknames, Velvet noodle, sesame noodle, Grumpypuff, Laylie, Lallu and some tamil names, Kuttima, Laddu, Azhagi. None of which she responds to, obviously.
And then there is the tale of her tail, whipping like a helicopter going in mad circles knocking things around the house and greeting us with a few whiplashes every time she saw us. In a few days she ended up damaging her tail end due to all the mad whipping and our walls were decorated with blood splatter like a murder mystery house. In the greyhound community they even have a word for it, “Happy Tail”.
Every day I learnt something new and every day she trusted us a little bit more. And now we have this giant of a dog, who is extremely stubborn , spoilt , clumsy (walks into a wall and stares at it disappointingly as if it took the time to move and stand in her way), very manipulative (gets my attention by doing the classic greyhound roaching and beckons me for cuddles. I will stop whatever I’m doing then and get down to give her some belly scratches , she will immediately jump up and rush to the pantry for food or to the door for a walk) but also very shy ,so gentle that she can break your heart and so loving that she can glue your heart whole again.
We are so very glad this gorgeous greyhound picked us.
Yes they are somewhat cat like as they are independent and like
their own space. But they are also so weird and quirky. They are so silly that
you cannot help but make a fool of yourselves together.
I pity a man who has never experienced the love of a dog. And to see a dispirited dog learn to trust and grown in confidence, health and goofiness is such a gift.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Layla through my words.
I highly recommend looking up Richard Skipworth’s comics of greyhound. He captures a greyhound owner’s everyday life perfectly.
- Love to all of you and your fur babies
Nivya
I share herewith some INTERESTING FACTS about this absolutely
goofy and adorable breed GREYHOUND:
· The world's fastest recorded canine & the second fastest animal on earth. Reach speeds up to 45mph (72kmph) & While running, they spend 75% of their time in the air. It’s possible, due to their long legs, flexible spine, small waist, big muscles and slender bones work together, apart from their huge heart.
· They are in the top five gentlest dogs. At one time only noblemen were allowed to own a greyhound - notably, Cleopatra, Christopher Columbus, Teddy Roosevelt, Queen Victoria and King Henry VIII…
· Greyhounds are the only breed of dog specifically mentioned in the Bible , can see in the dark & can sleep with eyes open ( even Dolphins only close one eye when they sleep).
