Go, Penny, go!

I would like to begin this blog by firstly apologising for not writing sooner – we have simply been so busy with our snoots, having fun and making memories! And, I have BIG news… That’s right, you guessed it: Penny has found her FOREVER HOME! What was unimaginable for some just a few weeks ago has now become a reality. Here is her story…

As many of you are probably already aware from my last post, Penny was… a handful. Strong on the lead, dominant with other greyhounds, food possession tendencies and potentially reactive with other breeds… But, our wonderful kennel manager had faith in us as fosters and my gut told me that Penny was a beautiful soul, who just needed a chance.

Honestly, I would be lying if I said that, as I drove home from the kennels with her, I didn’t feel slightly apprehensive/a little bit sick/terrified that I had finally bitten off more than I could chew with this snoot. Firstly, we introduced our lovely Niko to his newest housemate… Now, of course we had walked them together numerous times at the kennels (Niko is always our first priority) and, with his beautifully calm demeanour, it is rare that he meets a noodlehorse whom he cannot tolerate. On seeing her in our front garden that day and realising she was here to stay for a while, Niko seemed pretty much indifferent as usual, but it wasn’t him that I was worried about…

Initially, Penny tried it. She tried to be the top dog. She remained muzzled for the first few days, occasionally growling at him if he passed her “territory” or becoming extremely dominant over food that was up for grabs, but I was determined to teach her how to behave. How would she know that she was doing wrong if she had never been explicitly taught? With continual reinforcement that she was the second dog – Niko was fed first, Niko entered doorways first, Niko received treats first, Niko received cuddles first, Niko had his lead attached first – suddenly, something clicked. She soon realised that she could push it as MUCH as she liked, but we were NOT going to give in. And so, as if by magic, this dominant boss dog suddenly decided to wait patiently as Niko ate his dinner and would walk behind him through doorways, knowing that was her place and that she would be positively praised for her well-mannered behaviour. Within a week, her muzzle was off permanently in our home, and I felt like I could stop holding my breath… 

Now, walking. Walking was… stressful. Hard work. An upper-arm workout at its finest! So, we tried to use a harness. The transformation in her was incredible. I am not sure whether the feel of a harness simply made her feel safer or just slightly more restricted, but suddenly this constant tug-of-war between us (which I was worried she might one day win) was over! Niko, as always, was a gem in this regard – plodding along peacefully next to her and having the calm effect which he has had on so many other rumbunctious snoots. He is a blessing. I am sure on his first day of meeting her that he rolled his eyes and thought: “here we go again, you’ll soon learn!”.

Okay, other breeds of dogs. Understandably, we brought her home with the impression that she would most definitely try to gobble any small, fluffy dogs and would potentially react to anything other than a sighthound, particularly with her persona in the kennels. So, my parents’ brave beagle rose to the challenge – to be introduced to our dear Penny. Muzzled (of course), she introduced herself to him one day on a local walk. With bated breath, I held her lead ridiculously tightly, expecting her to suddenly lunge or snarl or pounce… But, she sniffed him, wagged her tail and walked on. The expected greeting of “WHO ARE YOU I WANT TO EAT YOU NOWWW” was actually a more gentle “good day, kind sir”. We were all in disbelief. And, in that, I learnt a massive lesson. The ultimate cliché was true: don’t judge a book by its cover. Or more so… Don’t judge a dog by its kennel behaviour. I had clearly primed myself for an utter nightmarish ruckus, but rather we all enjoyed a gorgeous walk in the sunshine together! Penny’s introductions continued in this way – even to my in-law’s white, fluffy shih-tzu, where she was more interested at first, and then carried out an hour-long adventure strolling along next to the dog. On one particular day, I took her to meet another greyhound, who was particularly nervous and needed some reassurance. By this point, I was confident that she had come a long way in her doggy manners and she did not disappoint me – she was calm and gentle, encouraging this nervy snoot to explore the enclosed field with her. What a complete underestimation of Penny we had all made.

The next few weeks with Penny were glorious. I was in awe of her. With time, I couldn’t believe how this dog, that I had agonised so much about and stressed about helping her rehabilitate into home life, would snuggle up close on the sofa with us, would lick Niko’s face affectionately, would wait patiently for her harness to be put on and would sleep all night on her own bed, with her legs in the air, snoring contently with her tongue hanging out. I fell in love. And I knew, at that point, that our work here was done. The most beautiful, exciting and painful part of her fostering experience was now undoubtedly required – to find this spectacular princess her forever home.

Of course, the search didn’t take long at all and her new adoptive humans are just lovely! I think people always want that dreamy moment when they first meet their new prospective dog, where they both fall in love and they just “know”. Well, that happened. And Penny was in heaven.

I am so completely and utterly proud of Penny and her journey over such a relatively short time. The love she has to give is just mesmerising, and she did it. She proved her old reputation wrong.

As always, thank you to our magnificent kennel team, who always support us and trust in us with these majestic creatures.

Until next time…

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x