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.

Joan

What on earth could a family who has had 13 Greyhounds need? The answer is so obvious — a 14th hound!! This couple is currently living in a mobile home with two Greyhounds while they are waiting for their new home in Colorado to be finished. One would think that 2 dogs in a mobile home would be plenty, but they felt that they were definitely in need of another dog. Since they already had 2 males, the wife felt it would be easier to sell the idea of another dog to her husband if she asked for a female because their previous females had easily bonded to her husband. It was obvious to us that she was telling the truth because every one of the females immediately went to her husband. Given that, it was a hard decision to make but the red fawn, Joan was the one who joined the pack on their way to their new home.

Bizzy

The first couple likes having a Greyhound and another breed at the same time and they have done this through their life together. They got their first Greyhound together before they married and recently lost it so it was time for another. Since they got their first Greyhound, their lives have changed a lot — they got married and have a young daughter and a Doberman named Red Baron. We were pleasantly surprised how many of our dogs got along with both the little girl and the dog!! Some were a little too active for their daughter, but there was one girl that played nicely with both the child and the dog and she also was smart enough to give the parents their share of attention too! Miss Bizzy seemed to know exactly how to handle things so what else could the family do but take her home?

Ben

Next came a family who had a small, white, fluffy dog named Toby. Since Greyhounds are trained using fluffy white things, you can imagine what is was like to try to find some dogs that weren’t interested in chasing or eating Toby. Out of all the dogs we showed them, there were two that we thought we might be able to trust in this situation. One of our shy guys, who has had trouble showing people what an amazing dog he is, finally found a family who was patient enough to let him get comfortable and see glimpses of what a wonderful dog he will be as he comes out of his shell. We are so excited for the family and especially for Ben (nka Pascal like the scientist & Rapunzel’s faithful friend)!!!

Clyde

Lastly, a man, who recently lost his first Greyhound that he adopted when he lived in Southern California, was ready to adopt again. I think somebody gave the dogs a pep talk today because they were pretty wound up when they came out to meet this man, but, luckily, they did what Greyhounds usually do — get pooped and settle down pretty quickly. The man quickly narrowed the field of dogs to two and it seemed that he also narrowed it down to one almost as fast. The dog he chose was so affectionate and loving that it was almost impossible not to choose him — way to go Clyde!!

Red

First, a couple, who had recently lost their Greyhound named Ellie, decided that they were tired of talking to a dog that wasn’t there — you know how it is!! So, they needed to get a new furry friend. They started out looking at our sister act, Peri & Sapphire, but those two together were a little more than they were ready for so they moved on to our other girls. It’s unbelievable, but there were only a couple of other girls for them to see and those girls were definitely spunky to say the least! They said that it was really hard to make a decision, but, they chose the beautiful red fawn named Red — I think they better hang on because she is really going to keep them on their toes!!!

Rosa

The next couple was looking for a fun companion and they found a real sweetheart. It’s always a work in progress when we show dogs because we learn more about the people with each dog they see and can make adjustments as we go. As we talked over the first couple of dogs they saw, we thought we had a greyt option for them. While this girl had not been shown before, she knew exactly what to do — she went directly to the man and I don’t think it was much more than a minute before she won his heart. Then she started on the lady. The lady wisely wanted to see a few more dogs, but I think we all knew that probably wasn’t going to change the outcome. Our very special girl from South Korea had found her new home and we are all so excited that Miss Rosa is going to get all the spoiling and special attention that she so deserves!!!

Salsa

It’s always fun to see how things evolve in an adoption appointment. This man was looking for a dog that was around 65 pounds or less to meet the requirements of his lease. Believe it or not, even though he was looking for boys or girls, we really didn’t have a lot of dogs to show him. However, the dogs we did show were really on their best behavior. We started with boys and he thought they were cool, but everything changed when we started showing him girls. Of course, the ones we showed him were so cute they were hard to resist, but he was completely smitten the minute he met Salsa and that was that!!!

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.

 

Cortez

This lady’s love affair with the Greyhounds started when she volunteered for turnout from the time she was 16 until she went to college. Then when she graduated from college, she started volunteering with us again. She has met a lot of dogs along the way, but when she met this dog during turnout the night he got here, she knew he was her dog (and, it was totally obvious that he felt she was his person). She quickly got her application and home visit done and about 16 hours after she was approved last night, she took home her new boy, Cortez!!

Buck

The ladies that came first had lost their dog a few months ago and they were in the market for another one. One of the lady’s mother lives just across the park from them and has a Greyhound named Chloe who was supposed to be the ultimate decision maker, but, Chloe was not a lot of help in that department — she liked everybody! They wanted a boy and our boys were really on their best behavior!! We weren’t sure how they were going to decide on which dog would be best for them, but, as everybody seems to do, they persevered and chose our handsome, brindle boy named Buck!

Fay

The next lady was soooo excited she could hardly contain herself. She had checked out our website and she had pre-selected a few dogs she would like to see. We started down her list and she really liked the first one she saw. She had only spent a couple of minutes with the next candidate when she said that she really liked the first one. We told her that she could look at as few or as many dogs as she liked and she said she really wanted to spend more time with the first one. I think that it was less than 10 minutes later when she told us that Fay was the one for her!!

Abe

Then came a couple who already have already adopted one of our dogs, George (fka Kenickie) and a cute little fluffy girl named Isabel. They both volunteer at the kennel so they have an opportunity to get to know the dogs way before others do. This can be a benefit and a curse since sometimes people don’t move fast enough and the dog they want gets snapped up by someone else. Unfortunately, that has happened to this couple before and this time, they were ready to move and they got the dog before someone else did. I know that Abe, nka Archie, is sure glad they did!!

Baby

The first dog that was adopted is going to have a lot of fun walking around Green Lake, taking hikes and going on camping trips with its new family. The couple came looking for a dog who was “on the calmer side” which is not a particularly easy dog to find. They were even open to an older dog, but the oldest dogs we have in the kennel are very strong and active!! Thankfully, we found a few dogs that fit their needs and one dog really did her best to win them over and it worked! Baby is on her way to fun at Green Lake and many other fun places, I’m sure!!

Danica

The next couple was two retired physicians who had a Malinois, named Jake. Jake has been very depressed since he lost his playmate a few months ago and really needed a new friend. They really wanted a shy dog and they had one particular dog in mind when they came to the kennel. After they spent some time with her, they decided that she was much shyer than they anticipated and they didn’t think she would be a good fit for them. So, we suggested they meet one of our other shy girls who has really blossomed in the few weeks since she has been in the kennel. She immediately hit it off with Jake and her potential parents were quickly drawn in by her. A few weeks ago we could hardly get her out of her kennel and now she is seeking out attention and interactive enough to sell herself to potential parents. Danica, you’ve definitely come a long, long way — hoooray!!

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.

Ian

The first couple got to know Greyhounds through the wife’s sister in Tennessee and they decided they were ready for their first one. They didn’t have a hard time narrowing the list down to three dogs, but after that, they came to standstill. Even though the husband’s birthday is 4th of July and the dog was going to be his birthday present, they still had to come to mutual agreement. The wife kept saying she liked “x” and “x-1” and the husband kept saying he liked “x” so they decided they needed to think about it a little more. Actually, none of us were surprised that they picked “x”, aka Ian, since he was the husband’s favorite!

Joan

The next couple had already compromised on the type of dog they were going to get because she was partial to Basset Hounds and he wanted a bigger dog. They agreed that a Greyhound was the one for them and they both liked the two dogs they narrowed it down to. But then, they just couldn’t decide — of course, she was leaning one way and he was leaning the other. We naturally offered the option of getting both dogs, but they thought that might be a little too much so we left them alone together to figure things out. Either one of the dogs would have been a wonderful addition to their family, but since it had to be one, they picked our beautiful red girl, Joan!

Wilma

Last week two ladies, who had previously had Elk Hounds and still have a kitty, came to the kennel to find their first Greyhound. At that time, we were still in the process of vetting all the dogs as well as doing our cat testing so we only had a couple of dogs to show them. They thought they had decided on a dog who had some health issues and was not ready to go home with them at that time but would be shortly. When they checked in with me this week, it turned out the dog was still having some problems so they thought they should meet some other dogs. I don’t know what got into a couple of the dogs we showed them, but they could not have been more affectionate and attentive — we always say that the dog picks their new owner, but in this case, I would say two dogs picked these ladies as their new owners and that honestly doesn’t happen very often. The ladies had a hard decision to make, but they were up to the task and decided that Wilma would be going home with them!

Sammy

The couple that came today has had Greyhounds for years (I think they said they have had at least 5). Unfortunately, they recently lost their girl and the remaining boy, Cooper (fka Shuh), has been lonely and in need of some Greyhound company. They came thinking that they wanted a girl but, as cute as our girls are, they were a little too active for Cooper. He actually was quite a trooper as we introduced him to all the possibilities, but when we brought out one of our males, he seemed to be more comfortable and more interested in interacting with him. This dog had been returned a couple of weeks ago because his owner believed that he needed a playmate and he was not able to adopt another dog. His hopes for Sammy were fulfilled today when Cooper and his parents chose him!!

David

The next man came looking for a calm little girl and I’m sure you all know by now that we don’t have a lot of calm little girls. For comparison, we did introduce him to a couple of girls, but he realized pretty quickly that one of our boys would probably be a better fit for him. All the boys did their best to “strut their stuff”, but the boy that did the best was one of the sweetest dogs we have — a gorgeous, affectionate, brindle boy named David!

Centex

There’s a saying that “a girl’s best friend is her dad” and, if that saying is true, one of our girls just met her best friend. This man has been doing turnout for about a year in preparation for adopting his first Greyhound so he has had a lot of opportunity to get to know the dogs and what they are all about. Since he has had the chance to meet the dogs at turnout, our jobs were pretty easy — we just had to guide and advise. He chose a darling little black girl named Centex and he happily changed her name to Iida which is pronounced Eda and means “mysterious” in Finnish!!

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.

Homie

Next, a family brought their two dogs, a golden retriever (named Winston) and a terrier mix (named Basil), to meet some Greyhounds. Basil is pretty small so we weren’t sure about how our dogs were going to react to her, but we had recently shown a few dogs that seemed to roll with the punches pretty well so we decided that would be a good place to start. We were so proud of our dogs … they did exactly what we wanted them to do … ignore Basil!! Really, any one of those dogs could have been a good match, but, when the little red fawn came out, she totally stole the show. She immediately went up to the son with her tail continuously wagging and tried to kiss him through her muzzle and his mask. Nobody could resist that so Homie just had to be the one they took home. –

Bandit

The last couple recently lost their beloved hound and, although it has taken them some time to heal from that loss, they were finally ready to have that wonderful Greyhound energy in their home again. Because of work commitments, one of the men was in charge of screening the dogs and narrowing the list down to a reasonable number (BTW, he did an excellent job) but then the really hard part came where he had to narrow it down to one. After some deliberation and, I’m sure a lot of discussion, he let me know that Bandit, nka Marceau, was going to be their new family member!! –

Richard

The first family fell in love with a dog that they saw on the last arrival video and they could not stop thinking about him. Even though they already had 3 dogs, they really believed this dog belonged with them and they were willing to do whatever they could to have this boy be part of their family. The first introduction to one of their dogs did not go particularly well so we all thought it was best to not proceed. But, they went home and slept on it and the whole family, including the two daughters, decided they wanted to commit to making this happen and THEY DID!!! So, our exuberant puppy, Richard (nka Moose) has officially joined their family! (No family photo at this time)

Willa

About 3 years ago a man came to us and adopted a handsome black Greyhound named Nubie. At the time, he had a Husky, but that dog recently passed away and he has noticed that Nubie has become more withdrawn and seemed sad. So, what else could he do but get another Greyhound?!! Since he needed a dog that would also get along with his cat, we had a limited number of dogs to show him but those dogs were knockouts. Both girls did their best to showcase themselves, but it was one of our latest additions that won the battle for a new home. Willa is a young, blue brindle girl who is a little shy at first but can really turn on the affection when she warms up — who could resist that?

Maddie

Who knows the dogs better than the employees? And, I think this is the first time that two of our employees decided to adopt on the same day!!

The first employee has been with us quite a while and was adopting her second Greyhound. She not only needed a dog that would get along with her Greyhound, but it also needed to get along with her chihuahua and her cat which is not an easy thing to find. But, she has been keeping her eyes open while she was working and she recently scoped out a pretty brood mom named Maddie who just happened to meet all the criteria!! (Sorry, no family photo at this time)

Cinny

The next employee has only been with us for a few months and, while she already had the Greyhound bug when she came to us, it has progressively gotten worse. When she met one of our recent arrivals, she decided that it was time to take action. She needed a dog that gets along with cats and there was one dog that she fell in love with almost immediately. Since there were others interested in the same dog, she hurried up and got her home visit so that she could be the first one in line. It all paid off when she got to take her new addition home after her shift. She and Cinny already had quite a connection and it seemed to improve even more when Cinny got to see her new mother without her mask for the first time!!.

Tobias

The first man got caught in the COVID mess, but now that things have eased a little, he was able to get everything finalized and go forward. This dog is his first so we were looking for one of our mellower, easy going dogs and we had a few that we thought would fit. We showed him boys and girls and quickly realized that the girls that were available at that time were a little too much (ok – WAY too much!!) for a first timer!! But, we had 2 boys (these boys look like they could actually be twins!!) who were calm and sweet and did not seem to be overly reactive to anything (just what we wanted!). Either dog would have been an excellent choice, but he could only have one and he chose Tobias (nka Toby)!

Jodi

The next man moved pretty quickly — it was only a few days from his application submission to his adoption appointment. He most recently had a Husky/Border Collie combination so we thought he would be able to handle almost any of our dogs (including some of our extremely active residents) so he got to see a wide range of possible adoptees. Somehow, it always seems that the ones who could take on the more energetically challenging dogs gravitate toward the easier dogs. And, that’s just what happened — this man fell for our sweet little black girl, Jodi!!

Gobi

Sometimes you get a dog and, sadly, it just isn’t the right dog for you. It’s a really hard decision to bring the dog back to us, but, it is the best thing to do for you and the dog. This couple had that experience and, thankfully, they took a little time to regroup and came back to find a dog that will fit them better. We all learned a lot about the people and the characteristics in a dog that would fit their situation best so we could fine tune our search. One of the characteristics that was most important to this
couple was that the dog be affectionate and want attention from them. Even though Greyhounds have a reputation for being kind of aloof, we were able to come up with a greyt list of dogs who are attentive and affectionate for them to see. They all did a greyt job of schmoozing, but, as usually happens, one just did a little better than the rest — our handsome, brindle and white boy, Gobi!!

Robin

Lately it seems we have had a lot of people who were joining the Greyhound fan club for the first time and this couple was all ready to sign up! While they spent time with a variety of dogs, there really was no competition. One of our little fawn girls wiggled and schmoozed and, I don’t know if she actually gave one of her famous body hugs, but we sure told them about it. She has won the hearts of our volunteers and our staff and now this couple — Robin really made it impossible for them to choose any other dog!

More info

Available Dogs

GPI’s Adoption Guide