Adopting a retired racer greyhound- advice needed please

[pinkkiwi]

Hi all
We have decided now, as my children are becoming older (7 and 11) to get a dog and we love the idea of adopting, rather than getting a puppy.
We have fallen in love with a ex racer greyhound from our local rescue, who has the loveliest temperament and we could see him fitting it with our family so well.
However, the rescue have been very honest with us. The dog has recovered from an injury on his ankle/foot- apparently this isn't uncommon for ex racer greyhounds to arrive at the centre with injuries. The rescue have treated him and he has now been off painkillers for more than a month and doing well.
This is the reservation I have. As it is a pre existing condition, it would not be covered by insurance. If we decide to go ahead with the adoption, the fear of being landed with a huge vets bill at some point feels very real but also I'm considering the fact it could be a one off, animals get hurt, recover and go on to be fine.
I'm just after advice, anyone been in this situation? What would you do? Go ahead with the adoption? Hold back? My heart is very much with this lovely dog, but I have to be realistic.
I know many people will say that is the responsibility of having a dog and you're absolutely right, however it's the concern of taking on an adoptive dog, whilst being aware of this uninsurable pre existing condition. Should I steer clear?
TIA

Bump

I see your point as most likely insurance would not pay for any injury to that leg, rather than just the joint affected. I had a previous dog who had previously, before the start of the policy, been to the vets with a pulled shoulder muscle. When I claimed for elbow x-rays for suspected arthritis years later, they tried to say it was pre existing because of the previous lameness on one of the front legs.
I appealed and won, but it's worth looking into how specific the injury is described on the vet records .
I won my appeal because the previous injury was muscular, straightforward and only required one vet visit. It was not an injury that would cause arthritis down the line and a letter from my vet cleared up the situation quickly.
So it's worth considering if the injury could potentially mean that leg would not be covered for arthritis in future.
It also depends on financially are you willing and able to cover future expenses if the whole leg was not covered, including long term arthritis meds.
Personally I would get as much information from the rescue as possible and speak to a few insurance companies.

There are insurance companies who will cover pre-existing conditions as long as the dog has been "clear" for a certain amount of time, so it may be worth having look round first before you make any decisions.

I have adopted a lurcher and a greyhound with previous leg injuries and neither of them had any problems relating to the old injury, in spite of bolting around fields and doing handbrake turns! I currently have a different breed of dog, who had a broken leg before I adopted her and again, she has been fine.

I can understand your concern but I wouldn't let it deter you from adopting an otherwise perfect dog, who you have fallen in love with and works for your family. Most greyhounds don't do too much strenuous running once they have been adopted and move into a home so there is far less chance of future injuries. They love a stroll and a loaf around on the sofa once they have retired. I can highly recommend them, they are a calm and easy to manage breed and very grateful for love and a warm indoor home.

That's brilliant advice, thank you so much!

Ah ok, I didn't know that, that's really good to know, thank you.

I didn't even think about the fact that how strenuous they would be would change so therefore an injury may not play up as much. That's really good to know, thank you.

They are retired athletes and subject to the aches and pains that entails. DD and SIL have a lovely girl who retired with a broken leg. She is 5 or 6 now (can't remember) and has had no issues at all. The fact that she is so strong and well-muscled compensates for any possible strain on the leg. I've also had one, ex courser, and although he had a touch of arthritis as he got older, it was easily controlled and tbh any dog could have had the same condition.
I hope you manage to get insurance sorted because these are lovely gentle and loving dogs and I promise you your life will be enhanced.

That's really good to know and it's exactly stories like this I'm after. The rescue are being very supportive and patient with our concern which is reassuring. Thank you so much for sharing this.

My girl has a racing injury but I never knew about it when I got her. I looked into her past and spoke to her training who told me about the injury and explained it's the reason they stopped training her and found her a home as the risk of her being badly injured would have been too high. But she said as a pet the injury would likely never rear it's head and so far (my girl is nearly 6). She has never had a problem.

This is such a good point again. This lovely dog won't have to be trained to push the injury again. I really hope that if we decide to go for it, that this is the case. 🤞🏻

Can you find out more about the injury? What exactly was it? I think it's a reasonable concern but it wouldn't put me off. Can you chat to the vet at the rescue who treated him to see if this is just a one off injury or something longer term that may come back? I'd say the rescue are right in that lots of ex racers come in with injuries, they aren't treated well and are raced hard and then disposed of when they're no longer profitable. If it's just a normal injury I really wouldn't worry, any dog can pick up an injury. Our boy was on medication for a few weeks when he crashed his way down the stairs during firework season last year, we think he must have sprained his foot in the panic of running down to us. Never had any issues since and all fine.

Check with your local vets too, ours do a 'VIP' plan which is around £22 a month and covers his monthly flea and worm treatment, all his booster vaccines, free access to nurse clinics (anal gland expression, weight management, claw clipping etc.), 10% off any prescribed meds and 4 free vet consults a year. It pays for itself and if yours did something similar would mean that if you do think he needs a trip for an injury it would be free. Our insurance also gives us free access to Joli, a video vet service available 24/7. It covers a certain amount of extra services too, like hydrotherapy, which we've recently claimed for as our 3 year old rescue was diagnosed with luxating patella.

I'm sure more knowledgeable folk will answer better than me but couldn't read and run (especially when it's about a lovely dog!). If the rescue says it's just a one off injury and unlikely to be an issue again I'd go for adopting him. Greyhounds are a wonderful breed. It's great that you're fully thinking all this through though, so many people don't and don't ask enough questions!

Just read some of the other replies, and fully agree that the injury (if from racing, which is extremely likely!) is unlikely to flare up again now the dog is retired. Racing is very unlike pet life for these dogs and they are pushed beyond their limits sometimes.