Bun Mountain Cottage: greyhounds

Showing posts with label greyhounds. Show all posts

Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Monday, 4 January 2010

Our new greyhound.
Here he is with his tongue hanging out.
It's not unusual to see greyhounds with their tongue sticking out of their mouth's when relaxing.
I think it's probably because they are so long.
But Arthur's tongue hangs out the side of his mouth more than usual because he has no teeth, except for 4 canines.
Poor thing, his teeth were in such a state that he had to have most of them removed.
It was when he was under the anaesthetic having his teeth out that the vet phoned the kennels and suggested that Arthur should be put to sleep.
Arthur at this time was in the rehoming kennels.
And as well as having most of his teeth removed it was known that he was partially sighted.
He has a condition known as Pannus.
You can see the effect of this in the above photo, his eyes do have a milky film to them.
We were told this story when I went to collect Arthur from his foster home.
We decided to take Arthur as he is Rufus's brother.
And when we heard about him
we just knew that he would be just as lovely as Rufus.
And he is!

Here are the two brothers lying down quite close to one another only a day or two after meeting.
Rufus is on the left of the picture and Arthur on the right.
Apart from their colouring they look quite similiar in shape and size.
And also similiar in nature.
They are both happy dogs,
they both vie for attention.
After Mike has fed them all,
Rufus and Arthur come rushing in and come up to me to be stroked.
They stand next to each other while I stroke them both
and they will both stand there as long as I will stroke them.
Paddy and Jewel don't do this.

It was good of our friends Richard and Susan to foster him once we said we would take him.
Arthur stayed with them whilst getting his passport issued.
They have recently adopted their own greyhound.
That is Poppy in the photo above.
She's a pretty little thing, very sweet.
Totally different to Arthur, but they became good friends.

So I met Arthur for the first time just before Christmas during my visit to the UK.
and he returned with me.
Richard very kindly drove us to the ferry port
but after that,
Arthur and I were on our own!
I am grateful to the ferry company P&O (edited to amend company name) for looking after us so well on the overnight crossing and then escorting us and our bags to the bus once we arrived in Belgium.
The bus took us to the railway station, here a fellow passenger (a woman) carried one of my bags off the bus while I managed my overnight case and Arthur.
(I know I should have travelled with less luggage).
After buying tickets for us both we waited on the platform for the train.
When it arrived Arthur refused to budge!
This all must have been strange for him.
Travelling with someone who he had met only 3 days earlier,
travelling on a boat, a bus and now a train!
This was a part of the journey that I had been concerned about,
getting on and off the train.
Susan was also worried about Arthur managing the steps and the gap between the platform.
I tried to lift Arthur but I didn't have the strength.
Fortunately a railway man lifted Arthur onto the train for me.
But then we sat in first class before being told by the conductor that we had to move.
That was a shame as Arthur had just made himself comfortable by lying down on the carpet!
Of course once on the train I worried about how to get Arthur off!
I didn't have much faith in the conductor returning to assist us as I had requested.
But fortunately Mike was there to meet us and greet us.
Luckily he was waiting near to where our carriage stopped,
it was a very long train!
People helped me off with my bags and waited patiently while we got Arthur off.
So it all went well.
We just had a 2 hour drive to get back home then.
And meet the rest of the gang!

The others have accepted Arthur very well.
There have been a few growls from Arthur when he has been lying on a bed near to one of the others.
He has probably thought they were getting a bit too close.
But none of them have retaliated.
They probably realise that he is just settling in.

In the photo above left to right are: Rufus, Arthur, Jewel at the front and Paddy behind.
It's easy to mistake Jewel and Arthur if you don't look at them properly or out walking in the dark, they are similiar in size and colour.
You can see Arthur with his brother Rufus below.

He seems to be managing his new life in a new country very well.
His loss of sight doesn't seem to disadvantage him either.

And we enjoy having him.

Visit Jen for more A~Z fun.

Saturday, 2 January 2010

Normal Service

........will be resumed as soon as possible.

Now that the holiday season has more or less passed,

now that the weather is more settled?

It has been quite grey and drizzly here over the last week.

Boxing Day was lovely and sunny

it was also when we had our last decent walk.

So it was about time we took ourselves off again.

We headed along the river first

which as you can see from the first photo

has flooded over it's banks.

It has been like this since I returned from the UK

nearly 2 weeks ago.

Curtailing our walks along the river.

Even when the water goes down,

the route we usually follow is too muddy.

Here we are crossing the bridge to try a new walk.

Once we get across the other side

it's worth stopping to take a look back.

We take a walk up through the trees but decide

to turn back and go a different way.

Further on the hounds smell deer.

We later saw some running away.

Jewel would have chased them if Mike hadn't had hold of her firmly.

My turn to pose with the hounds.

Stopping for a picture on the bridge again on the way back.

Have you spotted our new hound

Arthur?
He's second from the left of the photo.

He looks a lot like Jewel

in size and colour.

But more about him on Monday.

Thursday, 3 December 2009

Globetrotting Greyhounds

I am scheduling this post for tomorrow, Thursday when I will be flying over to the UK for a visit with family and friends. But I thought you might like to read something that Mike has written about our greyhounds.
I know many of you are animal lovers and appreciate stories of them. So this is one that Mike has written for the rescue centre where we got Jewel, Paddy and Rufus. You will also see another reason for my impending visit!
Just click here to take you to it.

In case the link doesn't work it is www.northumberlandgreyhoundrescue.org.uk/66.html

Monday, 30 November 2009

A-Z Monday~ Letter F

F is for Family and Friends.

I Fly oFF to England in just under Four days.

The day beFore Friday to be precise.

Yes on Thursday I fly to England for 3 weeks.

Leaving Mike and the 3 Hounds together here in Germany.

It's rather a long time.

But I did so want to see my Grandson in his first school Christmas production.

I couldn't miss that could I?

And coming back was determined by other circumstances

which I will tell you about on my return.

I hope to post some photographs whilst I'm away

and I'm planning some scheduled posts,

so I hope you continue to call in.

As I love to read your comments.

I have been a bit slow in replying to some of your comments of late and posting on my blog.

Mike has been commandeering the computer for business purposes,

and he's also caught the blogging bug.

I can't get him off now!

For more A-Z fun call in on Jen.

Monday, 23 November 2009

A-Z Monday~Greyhounds

G is for Greyhounds

How can I not write about Greyhounds when three share our home?

Known for being fast, they can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, they are generally bred for racing. They are working dogs. They earn money for their owners, if they're good. If not then ... it is too dreadful to say what happens to some of them. Even for those that are succesful in their career, their life doesn't always fare much better.

We have 3 Greyhounds all of whom raced. Rufus won thousands of pounds for his owner yet he was kept in a dark shed on an allotment. He suffered an injury which brought his racing career to an end. He was taken to the rehoming kennels where they had to clean up his teeth. They were so matted with grass and gunge. One of the first things that we did when we adopted him was to take him to the vets to have his teeth cleaned and he had one out. This procedure was repeated when we were in Sweden. He most probably will loose more of his teeth, despite regular brushing. His brother arrived at the kennels a while ago. It seems he was also good at winning races. All his teeth have been extracted. He also has poor vision. He has what is called Panus. A condition that can be brought on by living in the dark. Yet what beautiful, friendly, trusting dogs they both are.

Mike and I feel very passionate about Greyhounds. The fact that they work hard for their owners yet often their welfare is disregarded.

Greyhounds were in the UK news a few years back. It was discovered that a large number of Greyhounds at the end of their career, or if they had an injury through racing, or because they were not up to scratch, were being taken to a farmer and being shot. This was happening in the North East of England. An area where Greyhound racing has a strong tradition. The owners of the kennels where we got our 3 were devasted to find that 4 greyhounds they said they would take in a few days, were taken to this farmer and shot because the owner couldn't wait that long. Lots of people in the UK were appalled at this treatment of otherwise healthy dogs. 10,000 greyhounds retire each year from racing either at the end of their career or through injury so the kennels are always full.

And yet it wasn't always so.

Once upon a time only people of nobility could keep greyhounds. And to kill a greyhound was punishable by death. Both Queen Victoria and King Henry VIII kept greyhounds.

Although bred for racing, greyhounds do not need a lot of exercise. They are sprinters, so run fast over a short distance. But they love their home comforts, and spend most of the day dozing. They are popularly known as 45 mile an hour couch potatoes.

Most greyhounds don't sit.

This is an unusual picture. Rufus occaisionally sits, but only for a short time, and never on a chair or a sofa! I don't think I have ever seen Jewel sit.

They make beautiful pets as they are friendly and faithful. But also their coat is short and odourless so they can be suitable for people who have an allergy to dogs.

They are also good travellers. They have probably spent a lot of time in a vehicle over the years being ferried to the racetrack. They generally retire from racing at about 4 years of age, unless they are injured.

I haven't shown any of our 3 running, something that they love to do, because those photos are on the other computer and are inaccessible at present. But you can see some from when we were in Sweden here. We don't let them off here as we don't have a safe enclosure to do so.

They make lovely pets. They are generally adaptable, loyal and intelligent. Even though all they have known are racetracks and kennels, they fit into home life very well. They may not have seen a hoover or stairs before, but they quickly learn, and are responsive to what you ask of them only too willing to please.