Time for Lucky’s luck to change!

Over the last two months, we have had the absolute pleasure of fostering a dear female greyhound called Lucky. However, sadly, Lucky’s circumstances have not always lived up to what her namesake suggests! Unfortunately, this poor girl had a challenging start to her search for her forever home. Read on to find out her story…

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As the coordinator of our local adoption kennels’ Instagram page, one day, the kennel manager contacted me and asked if I would advertise a sweet girl called Lucky, who had been waiting in the kennels for over a year and had been consistently overlooked. When I questioned how this could be, the kennel staff explained that they just could not understand it, but that Lucky seemed to have dreadful luck in finding her family. Despite previous advertisements and even meetings with potential adopters being arranged, each one had always sadly fallen through – either through the families deciding on a different greyhound to adopt from the kennels or due to agreed visitors deciding not to bother showing up (an incidence that shockingly happens far too often with rescue dogs). Devastatingly, she had even been in a home before, but was returned to the kennels a mere week later due to a change in circumstances…

For the next few months, I advertised Lucky every day, trying to make the world realise how much she had to offer a family – but still, nothing concrete came through for her. So, having found our previous foster dog, Danielle, her wonderful forever home, my husband and I decided to turn our attention to Lucky and give her a proper, well-deserved chance at happiness. And home she came…

On the day that we collected Lucky as our 14th foster greyhound, I remember her being very unsure of us at first: a timid, sweet creature. The kennel staff told us that a number of people had questioned if the reason she had been waiting for so long was due to her “having no personality”. This utterly broke my heart that a person could say that and, in that moment, I made a promise to sweet Lucky that she would never experience the inside of a kennel again; instead a soft bed, with toys and cuddles and love. As we led her down the lane and popped her carefully into our car, I could sense her hesitation, but also her adorable gratitude as she gently licked my hand, like she was asking for reassurance that everything would be okay. I told her it would be.

Our first week with Lucky was fairly challenging, but this was entirely expected and nothing that we had not experienced before. Time and patience is needed – people who expect the “perfect pet” within a short time of adopting a rescue dog are, quite frankly, ignorant – and we knew that Lucky would blossom, in time. Initially, she had many toileting accidents in our home, most likely due to nerves. She also struggled to settle at night time, becoming highly anxious, whining and pacing till the early hours and requiring lots of soothing. Also, she remained very unsure of us to begin with, particularly around my husband, preferring to hide in the corner than to sit too near him. On walks, she would become very overwhelmed – traffic, loud music and shouting children were her personal enemies in those early days, as she would freeze abruptly and shake frantically all over her body.

But, one morning, I was awoken by a strange sound… I turned over and asked my husband to switch the bedroom light on, to reveal the source of the soft tapping sound. My eyes adjusted to see Lucky standing by our bed, wagging her tail happily against the wardrobe. She looked at us with such warmth in her eyes, as though she suddenly recognised us for the first time. It was as though she had decided that she was all-in and ready to embrace whatever we had to offer her. And from that moment onward, we experienced the true Lucky: the most affectionate, gorgeous soul!

As her confidence increased, it felt as though overnight everything clicked for her: no more accidents, courage on walks and 9-hour night time sleeps. As long as she was by our sides, she could do anything. We started taking her out to cafes and pubs, to large group greyhound walks and to busy parks, feeling safety next to Niko. We began to invite over a range of our family and friends to meet her, to see how she would receive them, and, with a little encouragement, there was no more cowering in the living room corner – instead she would rest her head loyally on laps, waiting patiently for head scritches, which would be exchanged for gentle licks. She became our joyful little shadow, exploring life outside of kennels with us by her side. It felt like she had been waiting for someone to give her the chance, to give her the time, to feel comfortable and it unlocked everything. She was just incredible.

And then, just like that, we knew it was time to look for her forever home. Making the decision to search was hard, because deep within me I knew she needed a nurturing, kind home and she was so precious to me. Should we keep her?

However, one day, as I walked through our front door to be greeted by Lucky’s never-ending loving licks, I received a message. A couple had responded to our more recent advertisement of Lucky and they wanted to meet her. As soon as they did, it was clear they were the ones. They were so gentle and she was smitten. I knew then that the right thing was to let her go. We had played our part, but she was ready. She was so, so ready to bring her love into someone else’s life.

So, as we prepare for Lucky to be adopted next week and to become a vicarage dog, where she can be spoilt by her lovely new owners and their parishioners, I wanted to share her story. The reason is this: because no dog should ever be underestimated and, for the record, there is no such thing as a dog with “no personality”. Sometimes they just need the right conditions to flourish.

Until next time…

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x