Snooty Interview with Bailey and Jess!

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today, I bring you another snooty interview – this time, with Bailey the Greyhound and his lovely owner, Jess! What better way to learn more about these noodlehorses than by asking some fellow greyhound owners about their own precious pooches? This one is a bit of a tear-jerker and I want to express the most immense gratitude to Jess for her words…

Name of your greyhound: Bailey

Age of your greyhound: 5 years old

What was it that inspired you to take the plunge and adopt a retired greyhound?
I’ve been raised with greyhounds, my mum always taught me the importance of “adopt don’t shop” and I have never been interested in puppies. As for greyhounds, they just click with us! Their breed traits fit perfectly with our lifestyle; while every greyhound I have had has been unique in their own way, they all share the same hobby… napping. This is perfect for us as we all work full time and, though we do go for long walks, we all love nothing more than a cuddle on the sofa after a long day.

What made you choose your particular greyhound?
We had moved into our current house in August of 2018, after previously renting houses for a few years that wouldn’t allow dogs. By the December, we had decided that it was finally time to get a dog – we could have one now and the house seemed empty without one! Greyhounds were the obvious choice. We made our minds up on a Friday and went down to the RGOA the very next day. Bailey was the first dog we saw. Mum was adamant she wanted a girl this time, as the last dog we had cocked his leg at everything in the house, but Bailey looked at us with his soft, concerned face and I said, “Can we at least take him around the field with us?” Reluctantly, she agreed. We walked every girl in the kennels at the time, but there was something about Bailey (who was called Eugene then). He walked wonderfully on the lead, he loved a fuss and came in for a big lean even though he hardly knew us. We brought him home 2 weeks later!

What would you say was your biggest misconception that you had about the greyhound breed before you adopted one yourself?
I’m not sure about us personally, but I know one thing that everyone says in passing when asking about our hound is, “Oh, I bet they need a good run.” Then, I proceed to show them my camera roll, which consists of 99% photos of Bailey and 80% of those are pictures of Bailey asleep… They seem to be shocked when I explain that they are one of the laziest breeds of dog I have ever come across!

What would you say was your biggest challenge with your greyhound when you first adopted him?
Separation anxiety. We couldn’t even sleep or go to the toilet with the door closed for at least the first 8 months of having him. We would go out for barely an hour and come home to carnage – he would chew on the doorframe and table legs, he would clear the kitchen sides of all their contents, he would jump up the doors and windows looking for us and hurt himself in the process dragging blood around the house. We decided to invest in some CCTV with a speaker indoors, so we could keep an eye on him and tell him off when he jumped up anything. Greyhounds are so used to kennel life, where they are surrounded by other dogs, so it took him time to feel confident alone.

How do you think you have changed as a person since adopting your greyhound?
(This is going to get deep…)
I often say Bailey is the reason I’m alive. I have a chemical imbalance in my brain and have been diagnosed with clinical depression. This got really bad around the time that I had adopted Bailey, as I was going through a phase of unemployment and didn’t know what the future would hold. Bailey somehow can always sense when I’m having a low day or when I’m about to have an episode and he makes it his duty to never leave my side. He will lay on me, snuggle me and make sure I never feel alone, so even in the darkest moments I just look to the side of me and into Bailey’s big brown eyes and know that I have something to live for.

What is your favourite thing about your greyhound?
His sass. Around dinner time, he likes to “have a rant” – he will stomp around and huff in such a way that sounds like he’s having a rant to someone! His tail wags and he throws his toys around while doing this and it absolutely cracks me up! He also has a wicked stink eye.

What would you like to say to anyone who might be considering adopting a greyhound?
Go for it and don’t give up. Greyhounds are very adaptable if you just give them time. It may be tough at first, but you need to remember that they are being plucked out of one kind of life and into an entirely new one. It may take months before they open up and show you their true personalities – but, trust me, it’s so rewarding and you will have a best friend in them.

Thank you so much to Jess and Bailey for this beautiful interview. Your honest words and the kindess that you have shown Bailey is wonderful. Sometimes people think we save these dogs, but sometimes the truth is that they save us.

Until next time…

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x