Archives for 2020

Join us here each Monday as Regional Vice President Kathy Kreyling shares stories from the Adoption Center. Check out our Available Dogs to see who’s still waiting for their forever home.

Maura

Even if you have had many dogs, losing two dogs in less than a year is tough and everyone reacts differently — some people feel the need to get another dog right away and some need to have a little time to regroup. Each member of this couple was on the opposite side of the fence. However, shortly after this couple lost their dog, a beautiful female Greyhound came back to us through no fault of her own – she was very loved but a member of the family was suffering severe allergies because of the dog. They were devastated to give her up. I think the Universe, with some help from its earthling helpers (including a wife who couldn’t wait any longer for a new addition), conspired to get this dog together with this couple. All it took was a nice walk, some leaning and schmoozing from the dog and the couple was pretty much putty in her hands. Thank heavens — Maura/Luna, nka Carly, found a place with a couple who had plenty of love for her and vice versa!!!!

Paco

The first couple lost their 5 year old Greyhound to Osteo a couple of days ago and they needed a new family member for their 12 year old boy, Norman, and for themselves. Norman is such a sweetheart and so easy to get along with that the screening process, which he was in charge of, didn’t seem to eliminate many dogs. So, the parents had to jump in and do the hard work! From the very beginning, they were smitten with a very handsome brindle boy who was very affectionate, but had so much energy, they wanted to make sure they could handle him. After seeing a wide variety of dogs, they kept coming back to this boy and they decided they could absolutely handle him and Paco had to be a member of the family!!

Snookie

The next couple were school teachers who have the next 6 weeks off and decided that there couldn’t be a better time to bring a dog into their lives (BTW, we’re hoping there are a lot of other people out there who feel the same way!!!!). They were thinking that a calm girl would fit their situation the best and we set off to find just that (keep in mind that “calm” and “girl” do not always go together!). They saw quite a few dogs and weren’t sure who was going to be the best one for them. But, as it usually happens, once they spent some time outside with the dogs, one of them quickly made it obvious that she was the one for them — Snookie!!

Bishop and Oxie

This couple has been thinking about getting a Greyhound for around two years, but they wanted to get everything in order first … like graduating from college, getting married and renting a house with a yard. Now that all is in order and they are both going to be working from home for a while, the time is finally right. They came in thinking they would adopt one dog and come back quickly to get a second one, but that changed when they met two dogs that they thought would be a very good fit for them. The million dollar question was “how would the two dogs get along with each other”? Thankfully and luckily, they did get along very well, so Oxie and Bishop headed off to their new home near Northgate in Seattle.

Danica

The next lady has fostered a few dogs for us when we needed her and her foster failure rate has been wonderful — 100%!!! When she offered to help us the last time we asked for foster homes, I’ll be honest, I had my fingers crossed she would fail again! And, she didn’t let me, or the cute little fawn girl she was fostering, down!! Hooray, today Danica is officially part of the family!!!!

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Available Dogs

GPI’s Adoption Guide

Join us here each Monday as Regional Vice President Kathy Kreyling shares stories from the Adoption Center. Check out our Available Dogs to see who’s still waiting for their forever home.

Reagan

We definitely had some interesting combinations of dogs this weekend, and this adoption was no different. This couple came in with an Australian Shepherd named Bane who needs a buddy, but wasn’t really sure he wanted a buddy. He loves to play so he needed a dog that could keep up with him and, I admit, we were a little concerned that he would be too active and rough for our dogs — we couldn’t have been more wrong! One of our darling little girls started out sweet and calm and when we got outside, she turned into a whirling dervish and actually smacked Bane a couple of times with her paw (it almost looked like some of the slaps you’ve seen where the person uses their whole arm in the slap!) We finally found a dog that was so mellow and really couldn’t have cared less about Bane and vice versa!!! That’s when we knew we had found our match — Reagan, nka Penelope!!!!

Greta

This lady has been trying to come get a new brother or sister for her dog, Winnie (who just happens to be from Macau), but something kept getting in the way. Finally, all the stars aligned and she headed our way. Winnie had decided she wanted to meet lots of boys and she gave us a pretty lengthy list — she met those and we added a couple of others and also a few girls. Winnie actually wasn’t much help narrowing the list of candidates down because she got along with everybody so that left the final decision to her mom. Her mom gave the situation careful thought and, of course, you know that since Winnie was pretty sure she wanted a brother, she went home with a new sister, Greta!

Betzy

We say over & over that these dogs are addictive and here’s more proof. This family got their first Lurcher, Davey, almost exactly a month ago and they already decided that they needed another one. The funny thing is that the daughter and mother were both looking at our website and they both decided on the same dog that would need to join their family. They brought Davey to meet the dog and luckily he approved. He hadn’t quite figured out how to play with his new sister before he left, but we’re sure Betzy (who also happens to be a Lurcher) will be happy to give him instructions!!

Buck

We have an amazing number of wonderful dogs right now and this gentleman saw a good portion of them. He met some of every type … strong, rowdy, calm, you name it — and, surprisingly, he seemed to have a relatively easy time narrowing the list down to a manageable number. At first, he was leaning toward some of our big, strong boys, but when he thought about his young grandchildren, he thought that one of our calmer boys would be a much better fit. So he headed off to eastern Washington with his new best friend, our beautiful, black boy — Buck!

Ian

This couple has been thinking about getting a Greyhound for quite a few years and the time is finally right for them. They actually started watching our website while they still lived in Canada. Now they are in the U.S., the wife isn’t working at the present and the husband will be working from home for the rest of this month so they thought they couldn’t pick a better time to adopt a dog. After they narrowed their list of dogs down to two (one boy and one girl), it kind of looked like they were having a bit of a hard time deciding and then one final fact tipped the scale towards one dog. The handsome, brindle boy had the same birthday as the wife and that just seemed like a sign that Ian belonged with them!!

Peri

A really cute 12 year old poodle named Hazel brought her family in to find a new playmate for her. At first, we were a little worried that our hounds might be a little too active for her, but we quickly realized it may be the other way around. Even though she doesn’t see well, Hazel checked out every dog and she was ready to play with all of them. As so often happens, if the dog doesn’t make a decision, the owners have to do it and, thankfully, this family was in total agreement that Peri would be a wonderful playmate for Hazel!!

Odie

When we put out the call for foster homes to help us handle the huge influx of dogs we had coming in early February, a couple who already had a female Greyhound, Laila (fka Opal) offered to take a dog and they chose a boy who had been at the kennel for quite a while. This boy would probably have gotten adopted more quickly if he hadn’t made it almost impossible for his foster parents to get any sleep. I have to give the foster parents a lot of credit — they loved this boy and wanted to try everything they could to help him sleep through the night. When they thought they had done just about everything and nothing worked, someone suggested giving him a small amount of food just before bed and, just like magic, he slept through the night (and so did the rest of the family)!!! With that final hurdle cleared (and the fact that Laila had so much fun playing with him) the family couldn’t wait to make Odie part of the family!!

More info

Available Dogs

GPI’s Adoption Guide

Join us here each Monday as Regional Vice President Kathy Kreyling shares stories from the Adoption Center. Check out our Available Dogs to see who’s still waiting for their forever home.

I hope I can remember the stories and don’t get anything mixed up!

Jaycee

First up, a man had seen this particular dog on the Rain City website and he knew as soon as he saw the dog that this was the one for him and his wife. On the other hand, this is just the situation that this dog has been waiting for … retired couple who are home a lot, fenced yard, looking for a dog that is a cuddler — who could ask for more? When they met, the dog walked up and kissed the man and there was no doubt that they belonged together! Watching Jaycee (a Lurcher from American Lurcher Project), nka Kai, walk out the door with his new dad was so touching, it truly brought tears to my eyes!!!

Dani

Sometimes someone has to give a dog up because they are moving and it just isn’t feasible to take the dog with them like when they move to a country with a long quarantine. This dog got caught in a situation just like this. But, she was lucky enough to find a situation where a dog had lost his best friend and needed a new friend so badly (and truth be told, the mom was having such a hard time watching him mourn — she wanted him to have a new friend too!!) The last piece of the puzzle was for them to meet and the dogs immediately bonded and fit together perfectly!!! Now Drexler’s family is complete with his mom and new sister, Dani!!

Devon and Goldie

The next couple has had eight Greyhounds and fostered many more so they were well acquainted with the breed and knew just what would work for them. They wanted to take home two dogs, a boy and a girl. It was fun to watch them fall for every dog they met, but they had a good grip on their ultimate goal so they didn’t seem to get bogged down with all of that. They picked such a cute pair of dogs … Devon & Goldie who got along greyt with each other and totally connected with their new parents!!

Safa

I keep saying that volunteering is the inside track to get to know the dogs!! This gentleman has been doing the Brightwater walks for quite a while and I’m sure he has had the chance to walk quite a few dogs and one of them finally got a good hold on his heart and wouldn’t let go (very smart girl!!). One big bonus for all of us, from them finding each other, is that this little girl has the ability to easily clear a 6’ fence (from a stand still!!!!) and this man lives in an apartment where she won’t have the opportunity to try this stunt again! The dogs from Dubai don’t always have a lovely life in their future, but, Safa has been lucky to find a new life with her new dad in a new country — I don’t think she could or would ask for much more than that!!!

Spot

Here’s a question for you — do you trust your partner to choose a dog to adopt without your input? That has happened twice this week, and it does make you think twice! In this particular case, I’m not sure it would have made any difference if this lady had her partner with her or not. The first dog she met won the battle before any of the other dogs had a chance to get out of their crates. It may sound odd, but part of the reason this woman fell for this dog is because she had “happy tail” and the dog stood absolutely still as one of our volunteers (thank heavens for our “resident nurse”, Mary) tried to get the bleeding to stop and created a kind of sling so her tail couldn’t hit anything else. The other part of the reason she fell for this dog is that they had an instant connection which was obvious to all of us. I will be absolutely amazed if her partner does not fall head over heels in love with Spot, nka GiGi, immediately!!! If he doesn’t, my advice is — ditch the partner, keep the dog!!!! 😉

P.S. For those of you who don’t know, “happy tail” happens when a dog is in close quarters and keeps wagging its tail which hits the walls and consequently bleeds (a lot!). It’s hard to believe there is much blood in a tail, but there is and every time the dog wags its tail the blood flies all over everywhere!!

Racer

A couple that has been married for about a year and a half had decided to adopt their first fur child together and I don’t think they could have been more excited. They were open to anything so we showed them a wide variety of dogs and they narrowed it down to two very different possibilities. After they spent time in the yard with the first dog, we brought the other dog out — as soon as we brought out the dog, he started his show (prancing around the yard, playing with the ball and even fetching it) and the woman immediately said he was the one!! We all agree that this couple got a pretty special boy when they adopted Racer, nka Mack!!

Sansa

Next came a couple who had recently lost their Greyhound. They helped start and have been very involved with a rescue group in eastern Washington and, in addition, they have been very involved with Border Collies. A few years ago, they got their first Greyhound and shortly thereafter got their second. Coincidentally, both Greys were named Ruby and, sadly, both of them were only meant to spend a short time in this home. They still have their Border Collies, but they have gotten the Greyhound bug and they came to find their newest family addition today. They wanted a young girl so that they would be able to have a longer time with her and they found a complete sweetheart named Sansa!!

Abigail

Another previous Greyhound owner was next on the docket. She has been doing turnout for a while so she had already screened the possible fits for her and narrowed the list down to two. One of the dogs is about to be adopted by her foster family so she was out of the picture, however, I don’t think it mattered that only one of her two choices was still available — when she got together with Abigail, nka Cassidy, there was no question it was a good match and they would be happy together!!

Condi

Lastly, a lady who had recently relocated to our area, came to find her first Greyhound/Greyhound mix. She was looking at such different dogs from Greys to Salukis that it was kinda difficult to figure out which way she was going to go, but we knew she would figure it out. She really wanted a dog that would snuggle with her and I think she got one of the absolute best snugglers in the kennel — Condi!!!

Patterson

You are really taking a chance when you bring your granddaughter with you to pick out a dog (I’m only half kidding here 😉). They look at their grandparents with these huge eyes and grandparents just seem to crumble. This little girl fell in love with one of our big, bouncy boys and, he obviously fell in love with her (He couldn’t have been more gentle and sweet) and thankfully, her grandparents fell in love with the same dog. I kinda think that Patterson knew the grandparents, his parents that is, were a soft touch and he helped seal the deal to make sure he was in the car for the trip to Alberta, Canada!!

Goody

The next situation was a challenge, this lady needed a dog that would get along with her Borzoi, her 3.5 pound Chihuahua and her cat! That’s a pretty tall order (especially since we only had a very few dogs to choose from), but we found a match!!! In fact, the first dog we showed turned out to be the best match for everything she needed. This cute little brindle girl’s registered name is Js Goodytwoshoes (we call her Goody), but what every you call her, she earned herself a trip to Canada with her new family!!!!

Laverne

The next couple have had a lot of Greyhounds in their home — at least one of their own and quite a few fosters — so they knew about the hounds and knew what type of personality would best fit their situation. Of course, they have cats which limited the number of dogs that were available to them, but they didn’t have any trouble making a decision. They love the dogs that are on the shyer side and they picked an absolute sweetheart who came to us from the American Lurcher Project — Laverne!!

More info

Available Dogs

GPI’s Adoption Guide

Join us here each Monday as Regional Vice President Kathy Kreyling shares stories from the Adoption Center. Check out our Available Dogs to see who’s still waiting for their forever home.

Sassy

While this couple was participating in the Bright Water walk a few days ago, they just happened to walk by the run where the new love of their life was resting. These dogs are pretty amazing — even half asleep in their runs, they know exactly what to do to tell their “people to be” she has picked them!!! I think all she had to do was look at them and roll over for a belly rub and they were completely smitten. They had to jump through some hoops and get their home visit done in a hurry, but they did it , and they got to take home their new baby — Sassy who is now known as Mia!! –

Delilah

This lady has done a lot of “hands on” research to find her new dog — she has done turnout for a few months, helped with the new load delivery, helped with bathing, watched the cat testing — she basically gathered as much information as possible on our dogs that were cat friendly. She worked hard to narrow it to a couple of dogs and then came the real test, the dogs needed to meet her family! Of course, the family decided they wanted to see all of the cat friendly dogs so the process started all over again. This dog must have been meant be their new addition because after all the the discussion and screenings, they all decided on the same dog — Delilah!!!

Sabna

Next, a lady who’s business is taking care of other people’s dogs, came to find a playmate for the dog she rescued 10 years ago from overseas (sorry, I can’t remember which country!!). She actually came to meet one specific dog, but the two of them did not seem to make a connection. Not so, with the next one we introduced to her — even the dog’s shyness did not stop them from making a connection — hooray! This sweet little girl came out with her tail wagging and I don’t think it ever stopped (although, it may have slowed down a lot as she went through the process of getting ready to leave). This was a bittersweet adoption since this girl had won a lot of hearts at the kennel, but we are so happy that Sabna has a new mom and fur sister!!!

More info

Available Dogs

GPI’s Adoption Guide