Hersham Hounds

Born 2000

Max came back into our care just over a year ago when his elderly owner fell ill. He’s a sweet natured lad, very gentle and affectionate with his girlfriends, and lovely with people.

However, he is not a good boy with non-greyhounds and this keen chase instinct, coupled with his age, means that he could be a very difficult boy to home.

Max initially got brought in to The Sanctuary as a companion for Poppy, who had recently lost her partner in crime Sammy.  We waited with baited breath when we first introduced them as Poppy is not the most sociable of creatures, but we have all been pleasantly surprised by the calming influence Max has had over Poppy. 

It was only the other day that Poppy was hanging off of Max’s neck, like a young pup playing, and yet he didn’t complain at all.

Believe me that’s quite a weight hanging off your neck!

Davy came into our kennels for homing more than a year ago. He was ‘dumped’ in a racing kennel, unwanted by his owners. This strange lad won us over very quickly, and we learnt to love him. All the more so because we had to earn his trust. We were looking for a very special home for Davy. The kind of home where he could continue to blossom, the kind of home he richly deserved. Davy was never going to be easy to home, but we were prepared to wait.

A few months ago Davy became ill. Always difficult to feed, it was an ongoing battle to get weight on him. So when he lost his appetite completely he went straight to our vets. The result came as no surprise, and Davy was diagnosed as hypothyroid. So now, in addition to his special needs, he is on long term medication.

We will never give up hope of finding him his own special home, but in the meantime we have moved him into The Sanctuary. Davy has already come such a long way; but for the love of a few good people his story could have been so different. The new Davy enjoys life. He associates people with good things, he actively seeks cuddles and attention, and it is rarely that we see any trace of his former self. We cannot betray this lad who tries so very hard to be brave. He trusts us.

Over Easter 2011, Davy had a "sleepover" - read the home report here.

Your sponsorship will help us to fulfill our promise to keep him safe.

Female, born 2001

Poppy has been with us for more years than we care to remember and though she may be getting a bit long in the tooth, she has never lost her urge to see off anything that doesn't resemble a greyhound, and given the opportunity a few things that do.

She's such a naughty girl but we love her dearly and she's such an affectionate girl that she's got us wrapped round her little finger. Aside from her strong chase instinct, Poppy has a thyroid imbalance and this means that she has to be on medication for the rest of her life, and has to have regular visits to our vet to check her organs are all working o.k.

So Poppy has a home here with us for as long as she needs it, and we truly hope that we can enjoy watching her little black face turn to grey for many years to come.

Male, born 2001

Rooster, his brother Booster and sister Hettie, were first introduced to us when Norah bought them at a dog sale because nobody else wanted these three nervous wrecks.  

Rooster is a strange lad who seems to live in his own little world, playing strange games in the paddock on his own, living with the biggest bed hogger in the world (Nala) and making sure he gets fed twice a day.  

Rooster is happy and confident in this world, but take him out of it and he becomes a nervous wreck.  Most days Rooster barks and barks to go out for a walk. Then when he gets out he either drags the poor walker straight back to his kennel or he drags them on the longest walk of their life. 

If he hears a loud noise he will shake uncontrollably whilst trying to hide under the bed (which never works since he is too big) and so ends up with just his head under and his bottom sticking out.

Something has happened to Rooster that has truly scarred him for life, and he doesn’t deserve not to have a home because of it.

Male, born 2001

Sam arrived here in September 2007. On arrival, his health wasn’t good and since that time he has been diagnosed with an unpleasant, incurable condition which has weakened his immune system, and for which he will have to remain on medication for the rest of his life. From time to time his skin erupts, becomes painful, very sore, and needs regular bathing to keep clean. In spite of all this dear sweet Sam has never complained or got cross at some of the more unsavoury treatment he has had to receive. He seems to instinctively know that his treatment is for his own good and accepts whatever comes his way with an inner strength, courage and dignity that has won over all our hearts.

Sam is always waggy tailed and happy and an absolute joy to take out on walks; whether it be around the field here or away from the kennels. He is a huge ambassador for his breed, with an amazing ability to take everything in his stride, to take life as it comes, and to enjoy the moment. In the short time since coming into the Sanctuary, he has become great friends with his new kennel mate, Princess, joining forces in the paddock to see who can dig the biggest hole and generally showing the cheeky side to his nature.

Sam really is one very special cuddly bear of a hound who deserves much better than the misfortunes which have fallen on him. Now that he has a permanent home in the Sanctuary the uncertainties of his past can now be put behind him, and he can feel safe and secure in the knowledge that everyone loves him and will do their very best by him.

Female, born 2000

Nala, is nine years old, and came into our care after we received a plea for help from her family – who had cared for her for 5 years. Always a timid little girl, they became deeply concerned as her stress levels spiralled out of control and she became increasingly desperate to hide away. Fortunately, we were able to offer Nala a new home in The Sanctuary and she has settled in very well. She’s quiet, but happy. Nala loves her bed and burrows so deeply into her bedding that she cannot be seen unless she moves. She has found a fellow snuggle bug in her boyfriend Rooster and both of them will look at you as if you are stupid when you open their kennel door for them to go out into the paddock. She seems very comfortable with the kennel routine, and is already barking at breakfast and dinner time as she impatiently waits her turn.

With the arrival of the summer sun Nala will literally spend hours just basking in the sun and absolutely loves it if someone goes out and joins her, rolling on to her back so you can rub her belly.  So if your ever down the kennels on a sunny day ask if Nala is sunbathing and if she would like some company.

Female, born 2002

I think all of the staff at the kennels would agree that Topsy is one of the easiest dogs in the Sanctuary to look after. She is clean, calm, eats whatever you put in front of her, she’ll let you do whatever you want to her with no complaint, and she would never dream of arguing at the fence with a neighbouring hound.

In addition to all this Topsy is a very affectionate and endearing hound, who loves to play with both her toys and her boyfriend Louie.  Topsy is a brilliant girl, and we love her dearly. However, we are not blind to her shortcomings; namely her urge to attack anything non-greyhound, which is still the same as when she arrived here. We will never give up hope of finding a home for Topsy, but we do appreciate how difficult this could be. So for now, and for as long as she needs it, we are more than happy to offer Topsy a home in The Sanctuary.

Female

Rosie came to us by chance, when the trainer she belonged to decided to close down his kennels, we were given a list of dogs and asked if we could take some in for homing. Looking through the list we decided to choose two older black girls and one little brindle whose two sisters we had previously homed, yet somehow we ended up with Rosie.

Someone was watching out for Rosie the day she arrived at our kennels as she was not one of the girls that we had agreed to take, yet if she had gone somewhere else her future would have been less then certain. Sadly like so many of our Sanctuary hounds Rosie has a very strong chase instinct that makes her, for many people an unattractive adoption prospect. To make things worse something in Rosie’s past has made her dislike children of all age range. These two things combined means that she may never find a home.

Despite all this Rosie has such a strong and roguish character that people can’t help but smile when she comes bowling out of the kennels ready for her walk. Rosie is always bursting with energy and absolutely loves a game in the paddock, although her boyfriend Davy better beware as she isn’t afraid of playing dirty.

A regular volunteer at the kennels recently made a comment that I feel describes Rosie to perfection: ‘if Rosie was a human she would be the stereotypical female truck driver, with tattoos covering her body and weightlifting as her favourite hobby.’ Enough said

Male, born 2002

When Maggie came back from her home, and we realised how scared she was of human contact, we knew that she would need a special boyfriend. A boyfriend who would show her that not all humans are bad, and who would never bite or harm her; for we knew that she would never let us near her if she was hurt. Filipo is such a boy, and has become Maggie’s best friend and partner. He is a lovely, kindly boy, who really enjoys his walks in the lane and takes the opportunity to socialise with everyone he meets.

He is an ideal companion for Maggie, as he is confident and very tolerant and his love of people has rubbed off on Maggie. Thank you Filipo, you are a very special Boy.

Female, born 2001

Many years ago Maggie came into Greyhound Welfare looking for a home, and it didn’t take her long to find one. However, it didn’t take her long to come back from her home, as she progressively became very skittish and would scream in fright if anyone approached her. In addition, Maggie’s fear made her very aggressive, and therefore it was decided that it would not be safe to send her out into another home. This behaviour had never manifested itself at the kennels, and therefore we can only surmise that it was triggered by the stress of leaving all that she was familiar with. For many years Maggie spent her days in the kennels with only the kennel hands and Filipo, as her companions. She was too scared to leave the kennels to go for a walk.

Eventually we decided that Maggie deserved to see what the outside world had to offer, and we coaxed two of our most experienced and reliable walkers (Kim and Lee) to risk life and limb by taking her and Filipo for a walk. Kim and Lee are now, after many months of work, Maggie’s favourite people in the kennels. Since walking Maggie on a regular basis her trust in other people seems to be growing, and she has turned into one of the most affectionate Greyhounds we have had the pleasure to walk.’

Born 2004

Sadly Sam has just been diagnosed with lymphoma. It is a low grade T cell lymphoma and not suitable for treatment. On the upside he could have many more months with us, and we will be able to continue caring for him and loving him as we do now.

On the downside we are having major problems with his hind leg where the lymph node was removed for the biopsy. It is not healing well, is swollen and bruised, and is causing us much concern. He has just finished one course of anti-biotics and today is starting another stronger course. We must massage this leg and use cold compresses to try and alleviate the swelling.

We have to get him through this; if we don’t then he has no future, and we can’t bear to think of that. Please keep Sam in your thoughts.

Male, born 2001

Teddy arrived at our kennels in 2006, after his racing career had finished and he needed to find a home. His racing owners brought him in to us, and pointed out a rather nasty looking lump on his tail. “Not to worry,” we said, “we’ll get that checked out.” We weren’t unduly concerned, as we’d seen plenty of damaged tails in our time, and thought that he must have knocked it or maybe dislocated it at some time in the past. It’s always the same, isn’t it? When you think something is really dangerous – it turns out to be nothing, and when you think something is not worth worrying about – it turns out to be something serious.

Such was the case with Teddy. The lump on his tail was a nasty malignant tumour, and the report back from the laboratory gave a guarded prognosis. We can never give Teddy the ‘all clear.’ For the moment he is in remission, but there is no way we can say that it will never return, and if it does – then things will happen fast. Teddy, you are a big, strong, robust lad. You have a gentle and loving nature, and a real love of life. You like nothing better than striding out on a walk and gobbling up that bowl of treats should they be offered on your return.