The Sweetest Soul – Speedy

This year, my husband and I decided to make one of the best decisions (and biggest emotional investments) of our lives – we decided to give greyhound fostering a try! We already had our wonderful noodlehorse, Niko, at home and honestly we are so blessed that he is a very laid-back, easy-going dog, who enjoys the extra company. On top of this, my husband began to work from home full-time and I was also working from home more often due to the national lock-down, so we thought that our situation was perfect to help a pooch in need. After fostering 3 lovely lady dogs (who I each individually adored), I came across Speedy.

Now, Speedy was not very speedy. In fact, he was the biggest irony going. He had a gorgeous, brindle shading, like an elegant tiger, with longing, soulful eyes that seemed to pierce my conscience. With his colossal haunches and defined muscles, you would have thought that this dog was going to be a handful. But, after a painfully slow first walk with Speedy when I was volunteering at the kennels on a summer day, I realised that all this retired racer wanted was a quiet home, a warm bed and the occasional scritches and scratches from a kind human. I remember so vividly taking him back (slowly) to his kennel paddock and feeling a heavy weight in my heart. This was not a usual oh-my-lord-I-want-to-take-them-all-home feeling. This was a genuine, raw belief that came from somewhere inside of me – a belief that this dog, despite any flaws, would make someone incredibly happy and undoubtedly deserved the most beautiful happy ending.

Immediately that evening, I went home to my awesome husband who, in his awesomeness, agreed that we could take Speedy on as our newest foster dog. Now, there was a slight catch with super slow Speedy… His one hamartia being that he did not appreciate other breeds of dogs. As I explained in my previous post, greyhounds have only ever been exposed and socialised with other greyhounds while in racing kennels, and therefore sometimes a greyhound may have issues with other breeds of dogs. Usually, this reaction comes from fear and misunderstanding, and it takes patience and kindness for a person to socialise a particularly reactive greyhound with other dogs. Speedy, unfortunately, was in this boat: the boat filled with the poor doggies from the racing kennels that essentially were freaked out by all these other breeds of dogs that they had never, in their 5/6/7 years, met before. (I mean, imagine if you were to land on a different planet and were surrounded by numerous human-like creatures that acted like you, but did not necessarily look like you – this was the feeling that Speedy experienced when he was around other breeds of dogs for the first time.) Our wonderful kennel manager briefed us on this and, in all honesty, it made us even more determined to help Speedy. If someone did not take a chance on him, he would live in the adoption kennels… potentially forever.

So, we took a chance on Speedy the Slow and brought him home with us. On the first day, we took Speedy straight round to my parents’ house, in order to give him a good scrub and shower in the garden. It was a hot, sunny day and he appeared to adore the shampoo being lathered into his brindle coat. Motionless and obedient, he stood as still as a statue while I hosed him down. And then, once he had a good shake, as if by magic, he came alive! This slow, lumbering dog transformed into a happy puppy as he seemed to suddenly realise, with wide eyes, that this large garden was his to freely roam. Before we knew it, he was racing around the garden, playing with my sister, approaching my dad lovingly for head pats and seemed to absolutely delight in this newly granted freedom. I think Speedy knew in that moment that his luck had changed. Things were going to look better for this boy. We were determined.

He was quite a bit bigger than our boy, Niko, and so I did have some small worries that Speedy would out-alpha him, which we could not have for Niko’s sake. However, he blew us away. From the moment he arrived in our home, he was the most gentle, sweet creature – his every moment was delicate and elegant, and he had an almost quietly confident and self-assured nature. This dog was full of surprises. Overnight, he already approached us for soppy kisses and cuddles, lapping up our attention tenderly; but always while seemingly respecting Niko’s status as being the long-stay dog in our household. He would follow Niko around, snuggle up with him in the evenings and comically mimic his every move.

Over the following eight weeks, Speedy’s transformation from the dog I first met at the kennels, on that sunny summer day, was nothing short of enchanting in my eyes. Indeed, as we had been warned, when he encountered other breeds of dogs on walks, he did react. This, I always felt, was due to a mixture of fear, confusion and misunderstanding – the poor boy. Our first walks with Speedy were slow-paced, until they would become more arduous and rather tense as he would either attempt to lunge across the road to reach another dog or would cower behind me, shaking with fear at the sight. However, as my husband and I reminded ourselves daily, everyone has to start somewhere and progress is progress. Over the time we had the pleasure and privilege of Speedy lighting up our lives, our walks became easier, as we visibly saw the improvements in him. As we exposed him more and more frequently to other breeds of dogs (always from a distance which he felt comfortable with), his reactions seemed to calm. I think part of this was that he gained an understanding that these other breeds were nothing to fear, but also that the trust he had in us grew with every outing.

As well as his reactions to other dogs and his slow walking, the other issue that poor Speedy had involved his teeth. Quite frankly, his mouth stank… The smell when he breathed too closely on you was somewhere on the scale of overflowing bins to (at its worst) a smell that reminded me of the loo… Anyway, we loved him regardless and our brilliant kennel manager pushed for him to be taken for a vet appointment. As soon as the vet heard his name, he knew that he had met him before – this poor pooch had been scheduled to have his rotten teeth removed the year before, but for some reason it had not happened. This would also explain why Speedy was a little underweight for his size. He must have been in some pain. So, thanks to the wonderful kennels, the rotten teeth were removed and, after that, it was like Speedy had nothing short of a spring in his step! He seemed happier in himself and (selfishly, for us humans) the bad breath ceased!

Soon after was when (quite frankly) the angel called Sue came along. After 7-8 weeks, we began advertising Speedy on our kennels’ facebook page, confident that Speedy had come far enough during his stay with us that he was ready for his forever home. Sue saw the post and contacted the kennels immediately – when I told her all about Speedy (including his missing teeth, his slow gait and the improving issue with other breeds), she simply told me not to worry, because she knew this was the dog for her. Sadly, not long before, she had lost her previous greyhound, Liv, and she felt it was time to give all the wonderful love she had to another hound. She lived with and cared for her elderly mother and a slow dog with a heart full of love was exactly what they wanted. This wonderful woman drove a total of nine hours on a round trip from her home in Wales to collect Speedy. When I said she was an angel, I do not believe I was being dramatic. People like her renew my belief in the kindness of the world.

On the day Speedy left, I cried. I mean, I always shed a tear when a foster of ours leaves – partly out of sadness, but also in happiness that they have found their forever home. But with Speedy, I felt that he had changed me a little bit. All of his first experiences with us – his first walk at the park, his first stretch on a sofa, his first walk on a beach – will be cherished always. I cannot put into words quite how but, in return for our time and the progress he had made, I believe he made me more patient, more accepting, kinder and he taught me a valuable lesson – things are not always as they seem, so sometimes you have got to just take a chance!

Until next time!
Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x