Fostering a Greyhound....hopefully!

[Trapper7]

Jeff and I decided we wanted to become foster parents to a senior greyhound. We have talked about this before and then on Thursday I saw an add in the paper saying that the Greyhound rescue near our house was desperate for foster homes...so I gave them a call. A lady called me back on Friday and told me that the owner of the rescue was out of town and that she would call me on Monday. Well she called me a couple of hours ago and it went great. We've had Greyhounds before and now we have a Whippet cross, so we definetly know the breed well. Jeff had Greyhounds for many years before I even knew him. They are coming to do a home check on Tuesday. I'm nervous, lol. The rescue pays for everthing, from food to medical, so all we have to do is provide the love We hope our dog Taylee and the new guy will get along well. They want three references though (not family members) and I don't know what to do about that. Jeff and I don't have any friends here, not one. We're nice people but we stick to ourselves. I've only been here 2 years and Jeff has been here for 5, but he's not exactly social. We can ask one guy from Jeff's work, but that's it! I hope that doesn't "disqualify" us. We will be getting a male, because that's all they have right now. Wish us luck! :grin:

 

[Wolfn]

Greyhounds are adorable!!

 

[xvart]

Is he a former race dog?

xvart.

 

[Trapper7]

Is he a former race dog?

xvart.

Yes, they all are. There are three males in Tampa that are going to be coming to the Orlando area next week and they're in need of foster homes, until they can be adopted.

Another thing I'm worried about is that we have a guinea pig. Taylee is great with him and they're best buddies, but I don't know how a retired racing Greyhound would react to him...seeing as they used to chase a fake rabbit at the tracks!

 

[Mokele]

Awesome! My wife and I are planning to adopt a greyhound once we're all settled in at our new place.

 

[Capslock]

I've adopted four greyhounds and currently have two. They're the best dogs in the world! I have one 11.5 year old and a 6 year old right now, both males. They get along with everything, which most do. If they have a real strong prey drive, small animals can be in danger, but usually there's no problem at all - they are sooooo easy going and mellow! Good luck, and get us pics!!

Capslock

 

[Trapper7]

I'll definetly get pics, as long as we're approved I really hope we pass this home check!

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

I hope your ready to take these dogs for fast walks. I hear they need to get out and stretch and have room to run.

Just out of curiosity how much do they eat?

 

[maneatingmoo]

Greyhounds are so cute! I used to have guinea pigs too.

 

[Trapper7]

I hope your ready to take these dogs for fast walks. I hear they need to get out and stretch and have room to run.

Just out of curiosity how much do they eat?

The Greyhound we had before didn't walk fast, but Taylee does so I'm used to it I take Taylee for a 55 minute fast walk every morning. We have a fenced in backyard, so they can run there, or we can take them to the fenced in dog park that's by our house.

The Greyhound we had before didn't eat much. Twice a day, a little over 2 cups worth each time. (It's been two years since he passed away, so I can't really remember exactly, but I'm sure it was around there.)

 

[joossa]

Good luck. You guys are doing a great thing.

 

[Trapper7]

Thanks Joossa The lady was supposed to come tomorrow for the home check, but now it's been moved to Thursday. I don't know what I'm going to do about references though. I have one person from Jeff's work, and then I have my best friend but she's in California and I don't know if they take references from people who don't live in our state? The last one is my dogs vet, but we've met him maybe 3 times in 2 years and the last time was about 7 months ago! I have a ton of people I can use as references, but they're all in Canada! I'm trying not to worry about it, because this is all I've got. Wish us luck for Thursday!

 

[Capslock]

I"m sure you'll do fine, Trapper7. They usually just want to make sure you're capable of responsibly caring for the dogs. You obviously would take good care of it, and I'm sure they'll realize that quickly. Believe me, they need people like you badly, and will be happy to have found another foster family. So, are you considering adopting one? Or just fostering? By the way, two greyhounds are better (and in some ways easier) than one!

Oh, JB, greyhounds don't need any more walking than a normal dog. They are sprinters, and don't have great endurance, so on leash they are content to just walk alongside you. It takes a BIG yard before they're comfortable getting a run going. And when they do, it's crazy! They go like twice the speed of a normal running dog, and it's almost scary. But they only run for 5 minutes and then are done, after which they just like to poke around and socialize.

Capslock

 

[Trapper7]

And when they do, it's crazy! They go like twice the speed of a normal running dog, and it's almost scary.

You got that right! Taylee (our Whippet cross) is extremely fast! When she's playing with other dogs, none of them can catch her, so now they don't play with her, lol. Poor Taylee.

Thanks for the nice compliments No, we can't have another one, we can't afford another dog. If there was an emergency, we would never be able to afford the vet bill for another one, so we'll just stick with one. We would love to adopt though, but not right now. The rescue pays for the medical care and the food when you foster, so this works out perfectly. We'll have another dog and not have to pay anything for it, just give it love Win win! I'll be sad when he gets a home, but then we'll foster another one, if it works out

 

[Trapper7]

Well, Jeff and I will be official foster parents to a Greyhound this Saturday!!! I'm so happy! They just left a few minutes ago and they were very impressed. Taylee was such a good girl! They brought over an 86 pound male Greyhound named Turbo to see how Taylee was with other dogs, and they totally hit it off

We will be fostering a 61 pound female named Dancer. She is 7 years old Here is what she looks like.

Isn't she pretty Hopefully Taylee and Dancer will be good buddies. I'm so excited!

 

[theyellowdart]

Congratulations and good luck! She's a beautiful dog.
I assume that whole reference thing went ok?

 

[Trapper7]

Congratulations and good luck! She's a beautiful dog.
I assume that whole reference thing went ok?

Thanks!

They approved me before they got a chance to call the references. I don't know if they'll still call, but they've already told me that we'll have Dancer by Saturday.

 

[Capensis]

Awww :3.

 

[fyre]

She is Beatiful

How sweet she looks. I love Greyhounds to pieces. They are great loving dogs. You are very lucky as is she.

 

[Trapper7]

I can't wait till tomorrow! I'm so excited Every 4th Saturday of the month, we have to take her a pet store for "Meet and Greets", and hopefully somebody will fall inlove with her there and adopt her I think I'm going to be heartbroken if that happens, but I'll have to get over it and maybe foster another at that point

Fyre, I like your AV