There's a possible suitable hound in the rescue!

[emptyshell]

(Well she was at the vets yesterday being speyed)
From what I gather (hubby was the one who made the phonecall) - she's come from a yard with cats, passed cat testing and is a really sweet little black girlie... and they'll ring us probably into next week to go meet her when she's settled down and they've got their own measure of her!

Sooooo excited - would love them to ring earlier so we could go meet Mrs Houndette!

Sooo... if people look like their dogs - does getting a grey mean I automatically become a sleek, slender, supermodel athlete?! (Rather than a shaggy farting mess?!)

I've talked to scuttle before - the trouble is if we ditch this lot (the very very very very very well known greyhound lot) then we're back at square one waiting for homechecks and hounds again and it'll be another three months.

This dog, as they so casually dropped in after getting us really hooked on the idea of her, is seven... just googled life expectancy and it's 9-12 years on the first link I came to. So potentially we'd be bereaved in 2 years and I'm not sure I'm up to that - but then we've waited so long and we'd be letting everyone down if we just turned around and said no to this one now and I'd feel like a callous cow... which is what they're relying on really isn't it? So basically I've been manipulated and presented with a fait accompli and I'm incredibly angry and I've been in tears lots of this afternoon.

I know some people do, but I said all along that I didn't want an oldie - I've got a cat that's nearing the end of her life, I lost two pregnancies and a very very dear relative last year - I think I've done enough death and grieving just now.

I just don't know what to do - feel like I'm going to have to go on this route with this dog - but just so angry... ffs I'm crying again about it all.

It's perfectly understandable that you do not want an older dog and the rescue should not be trying to goad you into a dog you feel is unsuitable. You wouldn't be letting anyone down if you said no and you are not a callous cow. The rescuers job is to find you a dog that is suitable to your home and that you are happy with.

How long did this rescue take to organise a home visit? It sounds like it might have been a while? I guess they are very short of volunteers, which is hard, but it doesn't mean other rescues will take so long, nor would you have to cut all ties with this rescue if you contacted another. Just let them know that you don't feel you are in the right place to offer a home to an older dog right now and could they keep you in mind should the right dog turn up and then contact another rescue.

The most important thing is that you get the right dog for you and your home. If you are unhappy or unsure this dog is not the right dog and you might struggle to let yourself bond. Dog ownership should be a joy, not something you feel worried about.

totally agree with everything dooin said

Picked the rescue based on the fact they're meant to be very good on their aftercare - and the homechecker was fantastically helpful when he came around as well. I mean the fact it's a cat "bomb proof" (if such a thing exists - I'm not taking that at face value) greyhound who's been around cats all her life (one of the trainers they home from has cats that live on the yard - not a place I'd choose to live if I was a moggie mind you) greyhound is a big draw... it's just the seven year old thing and the possible insurance implications of that really.

emptyshell - she does sound a good match in some respects. i know very little about greyhounds but we did meet an amazing 13yr old greyhound on holiday recently. she was a lot slower than our 14yr old jrt but was still surprised how agile she was for a large dog. is 7 middle or old age in a greyhound?

I've known large breed dogs live until 14 years old, but it is a choice only you can make Emptyshell and you should be 100% certain it is the right choice.

Empty, I have PM'd you. I know of a possible alternative for you, that I hadn't mentioned as you seemed to be getting sorted.

As with all dogs there are no guarantees but in general greys are very, very healthy compared to many dogs, especially other large breeds. I'd say 12 would be like us dying in our 70s - these days, we'd say OK, but it's on the young side. 14 - 15 is much more common with a very few making it to 15+ though these are generally pretty frail, and definitely OAPs. We currently have a 7 year old, an 11 year old and a 12 year old. The 12 year old has arthritis in her shoulder but is still running round like a loon. The 11 year old is another galloper and frequently races the 7 year old. One of our closest doggy friends was a lurcher who died in January who was 15 - he was a wonderful old boy who was still challenging the 11 year old to games, leaping in the lake and chasing squirrels until about three days before he was PTS, although he was getting frailer in his last year. I know one of the stars of Sighthounds Online, she currently has 16 (yes, you read that right) dogs, nearly all sighthounds and nearly all in their senior years. She has quite a few in the middle and upper teens, and I think her record is 19 (years old).

Well as a comparison we covered the cat's ears so she didn't hear the discussion (she's between 10 and 12 we think) and looked up cat life expectancy and they had anything between 10 and 15... and she's still showing utterly no signs of slowing down whatsoever... like I say, we covered the cat's ears while calculating her death chances (god I'm such a horrid owner).

Working out pet insurance it looks like it's going to get a bit brutal in a couple of years is the only thing - cos other than this she sounds a good little doggie.

Dooin... just put your foster in the post to us!

The thing is - with dogs and humans - there is no way of predicting life expectancy exactly. I've known incredibly healthy dogs suddenly keel over and die from heart attacks. Greyhounds can get bone cancer, which can take them at an early age. There are accidents, and all sorts of other causes of death.

I'm a cancer survivor. I was a healthy 39 year old when I was diagnosed, and am very lucky to be here. Of course you can check out life expectancy for a breed, but you should never, ever look at this issue without a massive dollop of proportion. All we can do is love our dogs, keep them as healthy as possible, let them go painlessly and peacefully when the time comes, and know while this is happening that they will break our hearts.

This is the terrible price we pay for loving our pets, and indeed for loving any of our fellow creatures.

So we rang them back - this husband and wife duo do not seem to ever communicate with each other! One knew the dog's age - the other didn't and apologised for not telling us it (must be marital bliss trying to make a shopping list in their house)!

Going to go see her whenever they can either get it arranged for her trainers or her to be brought to the rescue and see what she's like and how she gets on with the lunatic who's currently stalking a hot dog in a bun.

at covering cats ears whilst discussing life expectancy

scuttle - you know of another dog? i want to know more but dont want to know iyswim

emptyshell - agree you need to be 100% sure. please keep us updated. can i be a godparent?

Someone just accused me on another place of having the "shop" mentality going on by wanting to rethink things and make sure before I take on an oldie when we originally specified we didn't want an older dog. THAT'S the sort of stuff I was terrified I'd be accused of being a callous cow if I didn't go ahead with this and gawd it's set me right off again.

I'm going to have to take this girl or people will think I'm a terrible person anyway.

It's not shop mentality fgs, it's a very responsible attitude. If everyone made sure they were 100% certain they were doing the right thing before adopting/purchasing a puppy, there would be a lot less dogs in rescues.

The poster on the other place is a numpty.

I don't get what's so bad about thinking it through before changing plans and mainly making sure that we could afford increasing insurance as she got older and things (hubby's sat down and put some different ages in for quotes on a hypothetical Roverette to see how badly and how soon it'll scale up) - but apparently it puts me on the par with someone who would reject a dog that didn't coordinate with the furniture or something (black dog hair coordinates with the black dog and cat hair already on the furniture anyway). Just speechless that I'm apparently a nasty cow for thinking things through carefully.

We're going to meet her anyway and quite probably go ahead - even if it was nastily done... but still can't quite believe how much of a horrid person I seem to be for worrying and looking into it.

Can you not insure the dog as 2 years younger than what she is, so put her down as a 5yo? I know thats very deceptive and naughty but the amount of money I pay out in pet insurance and have never been able to claim anything back I'd be tempted.

My Grey is 6yo by teh way and shows no sign of slowing down. Think I pay £12 a month with Tesco insurance for her.

empty - you were homechecked as being suitable to rehome a dog from them. you are under no obligation to say yes to the first possible dog. you are caring enough to adopt a dog without a home, that doesnt mean that you cant have any criteria such as age or sex for example

personally, after reading the above posts i would view 7 as being middle age. but thats just me. you dont have to think like that and in view of your bereavements i completely understand if you are not sure.

really, its not like the dog is 2 and you only wanted a 1yr old dog. you were looking for a young dog and this one isnt

otoh you wouldnt be the first person on here who has completely changed their mind when it comes to rehoming if you decided to rehome this dog. says the person with two jrts who wanted a third but came home with a collie x

i like viva's idea. after all difficult to know age of rescues

Unfortunately for those suggesting lying to insurance companies, greyhounds are the one dog you cannot do this with. Greys have ear tattoos - the tattoo is unique to each dog, and gives the specific identifier of the dog, including its date of birth. If the dog has run on a registered English or Irish track, then the insurance company, or indeed anybody else, can look up its date of birth, ancestry, and racing record on the internet within seconds.

Empty, I have no idea what someone else has said to you. You have been homechecked as suitable to adopt but have been royalled fucked around by your local RGT branch. Because of your specific requirements (cat friendly, existing dog, clear time window over summer for adopting) please do not waste any time listening to dickheads on forums. Get on with looking at an assortment of rescues to see if you can find a dog you like, then you can proceed. I spoke with someone today about you, who's the main RGT person for Wales, and her thought was that you should carry on looking - if you wait for the individual branch you will be retired before you get your dog. The word is out for you among a number of greyhound contacts and the right dog will come along, but do NOT feel under any obligation to take the one you've been offered first. No rescue, greyhound or otherwise should do this, and I would not expect any prospective adopter to do so.

Stand back from the situation, have a large gin (or drink of choice), take a deep breath, and breathe.

Empty, you're being 100% responsible about all this.

And I do hope things work out for you soon with either this dog or another one, you so much deserve some joy.

Empty the right dog's out there, and will find you - when it does you'll give it a wonderful home. Ignore the stupid poster. You're the furthest thing imaginable from a nasty cow!

They've assured us they'll either arrange for us to go meet the dog at her trainer (she's not even IN kennels yet it turns out) or get her brought to the kennels for us to meet her this week. Being brutal - they've got till next weekend to at least progress that (especially since we've said we're happy to do the 2+ hour round trip to meet her at her trainer) or I'm done with it and we'll either go elsewhere, or quite possibly give up on the whole thing altogether to be honest because of the time issue (we've got a holiday stuck in limbo waiting for this to be resolved as well - want to go away with the dogs but need to plan it so that it's not immediately after new dog's just got her paws under the table).

My gut instinct now we've costed insurance out a bit is that we'll probably go for the middle-aged gal, but only if they get their act together soon.

Funnily someone else PMed me last night who's had similar issues with this branch as well - so glad it's not just me!

Empty, given the way you are being messed around with by this branch, may I respectfully suggest you walk away, sending a polite but firm email to the Branch chairman setting out why you will not be proceeding with adoption through this branch.

There are many, many good greyhound rescues out there, and heaven knows there's (sadly) not a shortage of hounds. My Welsh RGT contact estimates that around 20% of greys are potentially cat trainable, with a much smaller percentage actually being cat friendly when they come straight off the track. It's obviously going to take a bit longer to find your right dog but I have no doubt at all that you will. Most greyhound rescues will be happy to accept a home check done by another one, so I'd suggest sending some emails out to some of the charities we've previously discussed e.g. GRWE, etc. Given your particular set of requirements, it isn't unreasonable to approach multiple rescues - in fact, it's very sensible and no reputable charity will mind in the least.

Good luck!

Good luck emptyshell, keep us posted!

Out of interest, we would love a companion for our 6 year old (male) grey. Caught DH looking at some dogs on the net last night!! What's the general wisdom, another boy or a girl or does it matter? We need a bit more room but are hoping to move within the year.