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The Backstory of Our Dogs

fluffypoptarts

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I thought I would start my own thread to share the story of our dogs! As I’ve said before, my wife has been a big time dog lover her whole life, but I’m allergic to everything with fur. That meant that whatever dog we had wouldn’t be able to sleep in the bed with us or be on the furniture, so that made her sad.

I was looking into allergy shots, but also whether or not there was some breed that I might not be allergic to. I came across Italian greyhounds. We wanted to be able to meet one and have me get really close and see if I’d react. Unfortunately every time we called about a rescue iggy, they were already gone and required previous experience anyway. We found a couple of puppies in South Carolina (the closest we could find), so we took a road trip to meet the puppy that would be our Ouji. We stayed there a couple of hours, I think, and after hugs and kisses I did not react! So we took the one that was most shy and went on our way. It was perfect, because I wanted a small dog anyway (didn’t like big dogs - ha ha ha, so funny now)!

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We ended up going to a doggy fun event a few months later. And it was there I saw my first greyhound. Tall and beautiful with huge, deep eyes and such presence, but not imposing in the least. I was captivated. After much research, I decided to apply to foster one of these unearthly, soulful creatures and figured I’d be waiting a few months at least after putting in my application.

Wrong! Turns out my first foster doggy had to leave his medical foster’s home (he had been recuperating from a broken leg, which was why he wasn’t racing anymore), and they needed someone to take him right away. So I literally had him at my house that same weekend I had applied! Even though he was quite withdrawn at first, I fell in love with him in less than 24 hours. My JJ.

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I was ready for another foster shortly thereafter, and that’s when we met Elsa, my little snow bunny. She’s a super shy girl and had great trouble at first. She was very scared and also feared all of her things being taken from her (toys, bed, food). She has come a long way, but she’s still very shy and runs away to hide when people come over. She’s definitely my girl and will come and press against my legs for comfort and reassurance. She may never be brave enough to seek cuddling, but who knows! Craybie has definitely shown me that amazing things are possible even from the most frightened babies.

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After all this greyhound reading and research, I came across stories about the Canidrome in Macau (China). They killed the dogs if they didn’t do well enough, and kept them in concrete prison cells with no toys, beds, or anything. China is a terrible place for greyhounds. At any rate, the Canidrome had finally been shut down and the rescue groups were trying to find homes for 500+ dogs. I knew that I wanted to give a home to one of those dogs. A rescue down south had several, so we went to meet them. Went for one and came back with two! Our old man, Senny:

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And Sai, our most vocal, emotional boy that tried to chew his way through the bars of his prison to be near people:

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Then for some reason the wife realllly wanted to rescue a pup from the China meat trade. We figured a whippet x greyhound mix would be a little smaller and a good playmate for little Ouji. When we were looking at pictures of the puppies (their mother had been rescued and had her babies at the rescue) she pointed at one and said, “That one has crazy eyes. Let’s not get him!” We decided we’d take whichever puppy chose us. When we went to meet them, GUESS WHICH PUPPY PICKED US. That’s right, the crazy one! Made a beeline straight to us and gave us kisses and attention right off the bat. We didn’t even realize until we looked at his paperwork. I laughed and laughed. We named him Mercury. He’s absolutely nutters and loves to leap-tackle us every chance he gets. He’s not yet a year old, so we still have plenty of crazy time,lol.

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macawpower58

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Greyhounds are awesome dogs, gotta watch that prey drive though!
Bred to chase anything moving.
I've met some really nice laid back ones.
Your dogs are beautiful.
 

fluffypoptarts

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Greyhounds are awesome dogs, gotta watch that prey drive though!
Bred to chase anything moving.
I've met some really nice laid back ones.
Your dogs are beautiful.
Oh yes, we know. They don’t have any access to the birds at all, and they’re never off leash if they’re out of our fenced yard. We also crate our smaller dogs when we’re out, just to be safe.

Greyhounds are usually pretty laid back once they’re past the puppy stage. Of course there are exceptions, but mostly they’re very calm. Even our little nut puppy is still calmer for a puppy, but we’re used to the adults, lol. They’re perfect for us, for sure.

Aww, thank you! I think they’re just gorgeous.
:smileflower:
 
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Mockinbirdiva

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I loved every word and every photo. They are such gorgeous animals!
 

tka

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Oh, I love greyhounds! I'd get a rescue grey but their prey drive combined with my small flat makes that a very bad idea. Thank you for sharing yours!

This is one of my favourite articles about greyhounds: What I wish I’d known before I got a greyhound
 

fluffypoptarts

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Oh, I love greyhounds! I'd get a rescue grey but their prey drive combined with my small flat makes that a very bad idea. Thank you for sharing yours!

This is one of my favourite articles about greyhounds: What I wish I’d known before I got a greyhound
They are absolutely terrific dogs (aliens in dog shape, lol). Adopting was of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I hope you’re able to have one someday! You’re welcome - it’s hard not to share the love.:heart:

Oh yes, I love that article! :D It’s 100% true, too. One of Sai’s nicknames is Space Lemur. We joke that his little banded tail is the antenna for contacting his mothership. They are always making us laugh.
 

fluffypoptarts

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Until we are ready to get a king size bed, we have a twin bed we push up against our queen so our big babies that want to (JJ and Sai) can sleep closer to us. :rolleyes: The smaller ones already sleep in bed with us every night.
 

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They’re all so beautiful and I’m exceptionally happy they all ended up with you :heart:
Those beautiful expressions on their pointy triangle heads remind me of my old boy. He used to pull some of the funniest faces at times :roflmao:
 

fluffypoptarts

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They’re all so beautiful and I’m exceptionally happy they all ended up with you :heart:
Those beautiful expressions on their pointy triangle heads remind me of my old boy. He used to pull some of the funniest faces at times :roflmao:
Awww, thank you! We’re definitely in love with them, and it is great to see them blossom when they realize they are loved and they are finally home. That’s right, you have your whippet, yes? He sounds like he has such a cute personality, and is so attached to you. They have wonderful and sometimes downright hilarious expressions! :D

We will definitely adopt more down the line. Maybe a galgo at some point, though I’d have to meet them to see if the lack of allergy response extends to them or not. We have a galgo rescue just 3 hours away, so not really a problem!

Will you get another whippet someday, do you think?
 

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Awww, thank you! We’re definitely in love with them, and it is great to see them blossom when they realize they are loved and they are finally home. That’s right, you have your whippet, yes? He sounds like he has such a cute personality, and is so attached to you. They have wonderful and sometimes downright hilarious expressions! :D

We will definitely adopt more down the line. Maybe a galgo at some point, though I’d have to meet them to see if the lack of allergy response extends to them or not. We have a galgo rescue just 3 hours away, so not really a problem!

Will you get another whippet someday, do you think?
I honestly don’t think I will get another whippet or any other dog again (well I really don’t plan to) but I can’t be certain as I’m a softie and a bit of an animal addict lol. I have had dogs all my life and am quite an animal person to the point of being almost kinda rude or ignorant (really uninterested) towards people if animals are around because I’d rather be with animals than people so I’m honestly not sure how long I’d manage without a dog around.
I still have Suzie at the moment and she is nearly 4 years old so I have some more years with her yet. :)
 

fluffypoptarts

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I'm sorry, were you ever under the impression that that was your sofa? :laughing2:
You know, we were! We thought we’d just be “sharing” it. But once one or two jumped up, the others were quick to follow! Funniest thing is when one of us sits down, it’s a race for our laps! Before you know it, you’re buried in dogs. :rofl: If JJ isn’t fast enough to get his prime spot on my lap, he’ll sometimes sulk, and cry under his breath at the other end of the couch! So dramatic.
 

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Awwwww! I love Greys! We had three rescues (ex racers) growing up! They are incredibly sweet dogs.

I'm kind of surprised your allergies don't flare with them, our greyhounds had an endless coat! You could brush them till the sun came up and they'd still have more to shed.
 

fluffypoptarts

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Awwwww! I love Greys! We had three rescues (ex racers) growing up! They are incredibly sweet dogs.

I'm kind of surprised your allergies don't flare with them, our greyhounds had an endless coat! You could brush them till the sun came up and they'd still have more to shed.
I didn't know that you’d grown up with greyhounds! I’m jealous! Yes, they are amazing. So loving and sweet. :) They’re smart and independent, but also fairly cooperative. All of ours were racers as well, and there are always more needing homes.

I think maybe it has to do with both the lack of an undercoat and no oil in the coat like most dogs have? Even the “hypoallergenic” ones I’ve met seem to set me off, but something about these guys makes it so that I can lay my face right against them and be fine. I’m super grateful for it! I would love to see more research into why that is.

Ours have times when they shed, but they’re not bad shedders normally. The fluffier ones (Elsa and Senny) tend to shed a bit more. They let us spray off their feet at the back foot as well so that we can minimize dirt being tracked in (yeah, we have dirt tracks and patches now :p).
 

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It’s interesting they don’t affect you. I guess that’s what makes life so interesting... we’re all different but the same! My son used to get itchy from snuggling with Devo but it happens more so from snuggling with Suzie.
I think sometimes certain individual animals can set people off but not others of the same breed, I often wonder if it’s the animals environment or diet that contributes to the reaction level.
I’m so happy for you that you found a pack that doesn’t irritate you even if they might annoy you and steal your furniture from time to time lol.
 
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