My daughter has been asking for a dog for a long time now. A very long time. Neither my husband or I are big pet lovers, but after years of begging and writing persuasive letters at school, we decided maybe we should give it some thought.
I recently met a lady who has two retired racing greyhounds. I instantly fell in love with them. I started doing mounds of research on these dogs and everything I read sounded perfect for us. They sleep about 75% - 80% of the time, they are very gentle and non aggressive, they don't jump on furniture, and are quite respectful of socks, shoes, and other items left in the floor. The family attended greyhound meet & greets, we went to a greyhound party, we researched and researched and finally decided we may want to adopt.
The adoption process is quite intense. First you fill out a very lengthy written application. The next step is a 30 minute phone interview. After that, an in person interview where they inspect your home, actually bring a hound to your house, and go over a ton of information and facts about these dogs. The home interview lasts about 90 minutes. Finally, a week and a half ago, we got a call that a dog was coming in to the program the next day. They asked if we would consider fostering her for one week, just to see if she fit into our family. We agreed.
We found the dog to be very well behaved and very laid back, just as we expected. This dog did not, however "take" to my kids. She tolerated them, but the whole purpose of having the dog was to make them (especially my daughter) happy. Turns out we were working ourselves to death taking care of the dog, but no return on our investment. She just wouldn't have anything at all to do with our kids, which was the whole purpose of getting her.
Fast forward to today. The greyhound people came to get her. I have lots of emotions, but have to admit I feel a little relieved she's gone. I don't think we'll take another grey, at least right now, and I don't know if we'll take any other dog for that matter. Part of me would love to have one, part of me....not so much.
The greyhound rescue organizations are great. I learned a tremendous amount about these odd and wonderful animals. These are terrific dogs, but not for everyone. I plan to support the organization in the future because they do good things for great dogs.
I hope our foster dog will get placed into a wonderful, loving home...she deserves it, she's a good dog. As for me, I think I'm going to go finish bleaching my kitchen floor.
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