Hersham Hounds

In three weeks time it will be Christmas and I have already received my Christmas present from myself or should I say from Hersham Hounds. Two weeks ago I took Lynda home to give her a break from the kennels. It was going to be for a couple of days but she is still here. Lynda is the most perfect little Greyhound. She had a lot to live up to as I have had three Greyhounds before that were superb dogs and never expected to be so lucky the fourth time but I have been.

Lynda came last in her thirteenth and final race just before her second birthday in October 2002 but she finished lame and I think maybe she had an injury that meant she could not race again. I do not know what happened to her after that until a short while ago when she was found tied to a bench with a Yorkshire Terrier in, I think, Battersea Park.

She was taken to Battersea Dogs Home but was gifted in to us at WGW, with Battersea's agreement, after her homing didn't work out. Battersea did try and sort out her lameness, but missed the fact that it was her toe causing the problem. Lynda is a very happy little dog. She is at peace with herself and the world around her, she loves her walks and trots along with a youthful bounce in her step for an hour or so with no trouble at all. She had her broken toe removed and this does not hinder her. She is perfect with every dog she meets of any size, age or breed, ignores horses and she is even happy to let cats walk all over her, literally. Lynda does still cough a few times a day and always will but only for a few seconds and it does not seem to worry her. When she is out walking and running about this does not happen at all, which is good news.

She is perfectly clean in the house or mobile home in fact. When she first walked into my home she looked around for about ten seconds and then jumped on my bed, which is in my lounge, and made herself comfortable. That Is where she sleeps all night, just next to my left shoulder and sometimes in the morning she is by my feet.

I am sure Lynda is loving her life and hopefully has forgotten the bad things that have happened to her, some of which we may not know about. She is quite clingy but not in a neurotic way and when we are out for walks she is happy to wander off, up to about a hundred yards away, but always keeps an eye on where I am and If I stand still she comes straight back to me. When we get back to the car park, off lead because its in the middle of the woods a long way from the road, she walks to the correct car and stands waiting for me to lift her in. She is very playful and if I encourage her to go bonkers she goes quite crazy jumping about like a demented jet ball.

Lynda will be having her best Christmas ever. We are going to stay with my sister and her family in Bideford for a week, a seriously Greyhound friendly house, with miles of sandy beach five minutes away in Westward ho! I cant wait.

If you are reading this and thinking of adopting a Greyhound please consider the older dogs. I know most people want to get a young handsome or pretty Greyhound but its not just about what you want its about what the dog needs and you may not like the fact that it may not be with you for very long but that is no reason not to have an older dog it is just being selfish. It is very rewarding watching Lynda enjoying herself so much and knowing that she can live out the rest of her days with nothing but comfort and happiness and peace of mind.

So please do consider the older dogs, they need you!! Thanks for the Christmas present Denise and everyone at Hersham.

Rob.

A heart warming Christmas tale regarding a few months in the life of a Hersham Hound Volunteer, or a short story of how Mrs. B came to stay.

Looking back in my diary September 3rd was the day planned for our summer holiday. Weeks of nothingness in glorious sunny and empty Southern France. It was two years since we had spent such a lovely time there. The two Hounds; Bella & Pearl had their pet passports, and the vast fields of sunflowers were nodding their heads, beckoning for us to come again.

However the builders turned up with only a few days notice, after months of waiting. The noise of power tools are still ringing in our ears. No holiday now – But had fate taken its deceptive course?

Feeling very un-useful in my newly retired state, and no holiday on the horizon I implied to Janie at the kennels - ‘Why not use me to help with the Vet runs and stuff?’ I have since been gainfully employed on a weekly basis, travelling to Veterinary Practices in and around Southern England on behalf of the poorly Hounds of Hersham. I am now on first name terms with all of Daniel Doherty’s Veterinary Staff, and I have been invited to their Christmas Staff party - only joking!

Anyway – in among the excited, anxious or just plain frightened hound cargo that was my weekly trip to the vets, there was one very quiet and unassuming little lady, black with grey goggles and muzzle.

I think her story is well known now, but due to human problems at home she had been returned to the kennels after many years. She is Betty an eleven-year-old little poppet pocket rocket; her racing name is ‘Calculate’. Her teeth were like concrete, her breath could take your breath away (!) she was as thin as a rake, and you could tell that she was very, very, very un-happy. Even if she could with those teeth - she wouldn’t smile. Denise and the kennel staff were concerned and had booked an appointment with the Vets for a dental and general check over. As normal I trundled off with her and another sick-note hound called ‘Chappie”. What a poor little girl she was – a urinary infection was diagnosed and this had to be cleared up with antibiotics before the teeth could be tackled. Daniel felt that she might have underlying renal problems that could be better checked once the infection had gone. Blood tests after three weeks of return appointments confirmed our worst fears - Betty had renal failure that would not improve.

Every time I collected her for the vets, or on a visit to the kennels she looked so down, depressed and sad. She would cuddle up against me in the vets waiting room – and even with two of my own hounds at home, she is the first Hound to have given me a lick in affection. The kennel staff had done a fantastic job on her teeth in the intervening time between vet visits – although she would still benefit from a dental procedure – a good kennel cleaning allowed her mouth to feel better. Daniel commented on the good work, but ruled out any attempt at a general anesthetic due to her other serious health issues. On my last visit to the vets I had collected her a day early to make transport arrangements easier with her co-sickie who was being collected from foster care. On previous trips we had made a stop over at my house for a little walk and to meet my two Hounds in an effort to cheer her up, and give her some change of surroundings from the kennels. As normal my Bella & Pearl were very accommodating and made her feel at home. So I knew that they all got along.

After Daniels bleak diagnosis I was in a dilemma, I felt so sorry for little Betty, what was I going to tell Nikki my wife? Once I had let the ‘cat of the bag’ so to speak – I knew that Nikki would not let me take her back to the kennels. But I had two hounds of my own to think of, I wasn’t happy to take on a third. I decided to go back home with Betty having dropped Chappie back to his foster family, and I rang Denise… Then I rang Nikki… Then I rang Eve at the kennels. I arranged to return Betty to the kennels the following morning…

It is now the end of November; Betty is under my desk in a heap with my other two as I write. She is back to being he most beautiful, obedient, playful and happy hound a family could wish for.

I know it is still early days, but after an initial week of feeding her small amounts of food (mainly scrambled egg) from my hand, and making sure that she was able to access the garden for a wee, she is now established herself in the pack order of the house, (one above me!) and is eating normally with the others. I am proud to report that Betty’s general well being has improved immensely. She appears to have increased energy levels; she is eating a part normal, and part renal diet. She destroys dental chews as if they are going out of fashion, and this morning completed a circuit of the park with Bella & Pearl at full racing speed, while wearing her fleecy coat.

All the staff at the kennels, and my family know that the prognosis of Betty’s illness is very poor. However we have all entered into this homing arrangement with eyes wide open, ensuring that Betty will have a safe, warm, enjoyable and loving home for the duration. The kennel staff is on hand to offer us practical and knowledgeable advice whenever needed, and with this support we feel that we can cope with the care of this great little girl.

The moral of this tale is, spare a thought for the ‘oldies’ at the kennels. If there is room in your life (and on a duvet in your home), please consider adopting ‘an oldie’. There have been quite a few lately, as Denise will testify in vets’ bills.

Although of advanced years, generally they will make such fantastic companions, as all the hard part of initial settling in at home has already been done. They already know the ropes.

These poor hounds, now returned to kennels through no fault of their own, had thought that they had found the ‘forever sofa’, - now only to find themselves without a friend or home comforts after many, many years of both.

I know that we as a family have done the right thing by taking Betty into our lives, even knowing that she may not be with us long. It will be upsetting, but we already know that it’s worth it, to see the mischievous twinkle return to her once dull eyes and feel the warmth in her thank you cuddles.

As the weather gets colder – please remember the oldies – They double-up as great feet warmers.

Bah Humbug – I’m such a softie!

Mark, Nikki & family.

Chinny (formerly Chenoa) has been with us for 6 months now and you’d never guess she was the shy, unsure girl that first arrived home with us.  She was one of the girls brought down from Tia back in January of this year and had only spent a few weeks settling into her new home with the Hersham Hounds before we discovered her and fell in love.  Because she was so new to the kennels, Denise reminded me (before I took her home) that really no-one knew that much about Chinny so it would be up to me to discover her character, traits and demeanour.  We have a house full of small pets (including chickens, rabbit, rats, budgie, mice) so it was quite an important task to ensure Chinny would settle in well.  Initially she was so shy she didn’t dare look at any of our little furry friends and Denise warned me that once she got more confident she might be a bit of a scamp around them!

Because of her nerves, we had to take things slow – all sorts of things could stress her e.g. A cyclist passing us on a walk, big trucks, hoovers, stairs and the tv.  Because of her stress levels, she had violent episodes of diarrohea and she needed lots of reassurance to accept domestic life.  All this sounds awful now in hindsight but we were all so smitten by her gentle, soft nature that nothing could break the bond we felt and there was never any question of returning her to the kennels.  When Chinny was relaxed and happy inbetween, we could see what a wonderful girl she truly was and that with time she would realise she had landed on her feet.  Another stressful matter for her were the stairs, which she refused to climb up.  This meant she couldn’t discover the luxury of our beds for a while.  However, once she got the confidence to give it a go (with all of us sitting on the top step calling her name over and over) she clambered clumsily up and then proceeded to  dive bomb onto our bed and has never really left it!  This was the turning point for Chinny, because I think she understood from then on that this life in a home with people was a good thing.

And as far as the other pets go, she really couldn’t be bothered by them.  In fact, she will gently sniff the rats, or mice when we are handling them or snort at the chickens when they pass by.  She has even accepted the budgie landing on her head a couple of times.  The finale to this story so far is that last week I was able to let her off the lead for the first time in an enclosed park where she proved to me what an amazing girl she is.  There were several small dogs running around and she was so friendly and playful with them.  She had an absolute blast of a run and then came straight back to me.  A week later, we have been going to the park every day, and each time she meets new dogs and is as friendly and playful with each and every one (no matter what the breed).  I would like to thank Denise for putting her faith in me again and allowing me to take Chinny home.  We had to put our greyhound, Wish, to sleep at the beginning of the year and I missed her terribly but realised very quickly that we could not be without one of these gentle souls.  Finding Chinny was a very healing experience and has made me appreciate more than ever what a wonderful breed of dog Greyhounds are.

Not good news I’m afraid.  Her latest results from Daniel show that her kidneys are still in a very bad way and are unlikely to improve. It’s so sad, but now we must give her all the care and love that we can so that she can enjoy whatever time she has left. She is such a darling girl and I wish with all my heart that we could make her better.

But there is good news for Betty. Mark and Nikki Cussen have offered her a home, and I know they will cherish her and see that she has everything she needs.

Thank you Mark and Nikki, your kindness will make all the difference to this little girl.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that anyone with the good fortune to possess one greyhound must be in want of another. We'd had Smurf with us for nearly four months when we made the journey to Hersham to pick up his sister, Bessie, for what we genuinely intended to be for a weekend stay just to try things out. Problem was that no sooner do you look into her beautiful eyes, the same ones that stare out at you on the front page of the HH site, you realise that there is no way that you are going to allow her to fall back into the clutches of Denise and her cohorts, admirable though they all are.

Though both of us had already fallen deeply in love with Smurf we knew that he would want one of his own kind to spend his life with. Since she is Smurf's sister (the only two of the litter born on 1 May 2008), Bessie was the natural choice.  We were really pleased to have the encouragement of Julie, was racing owner to both of them during their short lived careers on the track, who was very keen for them to be rehoused together. Julie is one of those truly dog loving racing greyhound owners.Thanks to her we know all sorts of stuff about their histories and been able to view their entire racing careers on beautifully presented DVDs. Both of them had their moments of glory on the track and it was great fun cheering them home on TV.

When Bessie first arrived at our house she was a bag of nerves and panting heavily for hour upon hour. Smurf was much the same upon his arrival. I made films of them both on their first day in our house mainly so that in later life we will be able to look back on what are for us are momentous occasions.Here are links to them; It is nice to see in the second of these films how relaxed Smurf had become in contrast to Bessie's obvious anxiety.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=maharishi3#p/u/16/Q5sCIY1KSd4

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=maharishi3#p/u/7/C2HYcT4C4dg

At time of writing Smurf has been with us for six months and Bessie for two. I can't say that Smurf was overjoyed by Bessie's arrival. For the most part he took it in his stride but he did have the odd moment of irritataion. He does not like being bumped into and Bessie can be a bit clumsy.  We've come to realise that it is wrong to get too misty eyed about them being brother and sister. Just as with their human counterparts it is no guarentee that they are going to get on. Generally they rub along quite happily together but there is the odd skirmish between them. There's no doubt about, it though he has his own moments of madness, Smurf is a more straighttforward dog than his sister. Bessie had gained a reputation at the kennels for being a bit bonkers and I can now see why. She is prone to the odd nervous fit. I have seen her do a series of about fifty pirouttes on the bedspread, spinning around a full 360 degrees each time. Her turns have the natural effect of starting Smurf off so we have had the odd moments of pandemonium here but nothing very serious or long lasting and certainly nothing that outweighs the joy that having both of them brings to our household.

We've seen greyhounds described as 40mph couch potatoes. Well yes they do like to lounge around a lot but there is never a time when they are anything less than chomping at the bit to get out there are discover what is going on in the world. They may be lying about in the loft room but the merest tinkle of their leads from two storeys below is enough to cause an avalanche of greyhounds. They are both now well acquainted with the streets and parks of earlsfield and are helping me fend off the onset of  middle age spread; my feet are hurting a bit though!

They sleep in our bedroom at nights and often when we wake up it is to both of them wagging their tails and doing their yogic limbering up exercises in readiness for their morning walk like the true atheletes that they are. It puts a smile on your face even if you are faced with the dismal prospect of a day working for HMRC. When you get back from your daily ordeal in the tax office there they both are at the door wagging their tails and bouncing up and down like madmen. What could be better than that.

We've found one or two places in the vicinity where we can let them off the lead safely. What a thrill it is to see them going at full pelt. Here is some video evidence of it you if you want to see. It also features Smurf doing his Michael Jackson moonwalking routine which is one of his favourites.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=maharishi3#p/u/6/60F182XtOso

There is hardly ever an occasion when we are out walking when some passer by does not stop to compliment the hounds. As one fellow south londoner shouted out to me yesterday "Oi, mate, that's a lovely pair of dogs you've got there!" I replied, as I always do in such circumstances, "thank you very much, that's what I think too".

Rosie is doing great. She has really bonded with Blue and they follow each other everywhere. He has learnt to hide his head behind our legs when they come up to greet us as her tail is like a steel blade and she used to whip him on the head as it goes round in circles. Now she hits our legs instead (ouch).

We gave given her some toys which she loves and she usually takes a toy with her everywhere.

She is a very happy affectionate girl and is loving home life and we are loving having her here.

Rep is a former A1 racing greyhound, mostly from Wimbledon and Hove. He sadly broke his hind right leg in his last race just before his third birthday. He was eventually re-homed with Hersham who fixed his leg, which involved having it broken again, plated,  pinned and a year of convalescence and physio.

We adopted Rep back in January 2011 and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. He adapted to living in a home very quickly.

Rep is handsome, funny, quirky, loves carrying our shoes into the living room, laid back, loves people, is happy coming to the pub with us and loves going in the car. He also likes going on public transportation; although prefers the train to the tube. He seems to suffer flatulence on the tube – much to the delight of other travellers. He never stops wagging his tail!

Rep is a prolific eater; a bit of a meat and carbs guy and can eat quite a large dinner in less than two minutes. He generally gets along with other greyhounds, lurchers and most larger dogs, but isn’t the biggest fan of small dogs.  Foxes, cats, squirrels and rabbits would have a problem if he wasn’t on a lead.

If you are on Facebook then you can follow Rep by adding him as a friend - Rep's facebook page.

Penny and I love our Rep.

Neil & Penny

The photographs were taken on West Wittering beach on Thursday 29th October by Darren and Judy.
 
We got Chloe back in December 2009, when she was 2 years old (dob 25.09.2007).  She has become an amazing part of our family and has definitely made our house her home!  She loves the company from our two girls Toni (16) and Becky (11), as well as me and especially my wife; who she will follow around the house like a little lamb.
 
She is fantastically well behaved and other than a few minor toilet and chewing incidents in the house at first, she has had no problem adapting to what must be a considerable change from kennel to home. 
 
Chloe loves going for walks two or three times a day.  We are very lucky where we live to have a huge recreational field and nice woods very close.  We also took the chance when she was young of letting her off the lead when enclosed in the park.  We did have an unfortunate incident on one of these first occasions, when she ran off into the woods and broke a claw, which sadly had to be amputated.  Since then she likes to stay closer to us and one thing we love to do is my wife will walk to the far end of the field, about 200 metres away, whilst I keep Chloe on the lead.  When Judy gets to the top of the field I let Chloe go and she absolutley takes off; reaching Judy in little over 10 seconds!
 

Chloe loves to chase balls and squirrels!  When we first went to West Wittering Chloe did not know what to make of the vast sand banks and the sea, she ran around like a lunatic for about five minutes; getting up to full speed and sprinting through the waves doing about an 800 metre circuit – she always still runs in circles; no doubt due to her limited experience on the track!

A quick note to let everyone know that Rosie is doing fine.

She made herself at home from the minute she walked through the front door and has settled in superbly. She has been completely clean, takes herself off to the garden to do her business and there is not a peep out of her at night.

She now plays chase with Blue and they explore the garden together and yesterday she discovered the joy of collecting things!

She had trainers, flipflops, grandsons dressing gown and a few windfall pears from the garden on her bed for company.

Rosie is a joy to have as a pet. She loves the attention from some of the grandchildren and at the weekend they all had to search for their shoes as Rosie had picked them all up and dropped them all over the place. 

There is a patch of garden with no plants as Blue loves to dig. Rosie just watched him until saturday when she joined in. They now have great fun digging holes together.

Hi everyone at Hersham Hounds - thought you might like to hear how I'm getting on with my new family this week. I'm having to dictate this to Jenny as I hasn't quite got hang of the keyboard yet.

We had quite a long journey to my new home because but Jenny said I was very good and I just stared at the cars behind us so they didn't get too close.

I had a good look round my new house and found a nice corner to sleep in. Jenny had put a fleecy blanket down and an old duvet (there was a new basket but much prefered the old duvet).

Wasn't quite sure about the food to begin with but Jenny said she had different meats to try with the Hersham Hounds meal so that was ok. We went a long walk round our meadows here so I was reallly tired when it came to bed time. Slept really well (Jenny said I was really good and never made a peep). They get up really early here so I got up to say good morning and then went back to bed!

I am being kept very busy - I go with Jenny to the stable yard every morning now and I have lots of chores to do. First I check the horses feed bowls to check they've eaten everything and then I have to tidy up the yard because people are always leaving brushes and things around. I did put everything in a safe place but I forgot where they were and Jenny had to search for them (I think they were under some hay). I then have to say good morning to the dog walkers using the footpath by our yard. Most are very polite and I just put my nose through the gate to say hello but it would be quite nice to play. Jenny says maybe soon they can come into the yard to play. When we've finished our chores I'm ready to go back to my bed. I really need a nap by the end of the morning.

I have had two adventures this week. One morning, very early (they do get up early here) a big hot air balloon came down in the field at the back of our house so we had to go and check the people were ok, Alan and Jenny took me and I behaved perfectly and said hello to lots of people who said I was beautiful and Jenny told everyone about Hersham Hounds. My second adventure was a play date with Jenny's daughter's two labradors one called Mini who is 7 and the other is Flo and only 6 months. It was really nice to met them and I was very polite but did a few chases round the garden with both of them and they said I could visit again (Jenny said I could invite them to play here as well)

Love to everyone at Hersham Hounds and will E mail my next adventures soon.

Susan and Jenny