Snooty Interview with Annie, Patrick and Gemma!

Hello everyone! Today, I wanted to post a snooty interview that I carried out with Gemma – the lovely owner of Annie and Patrick. Annie the greyhound was an incredibly nervous greyhound when Gemma first adopted her, having many obstacles to overcome; she was, by far, one of the most terrified greyhounds I had ever met at our adoption kennels and was in great need of a lot of nurturing! Shortly after adopting Annie, Gemma and her husband, Chris, went on to adopt Patrick – their gorgeous, “tripawd” (three-legged) greyhound. As well as this, Gemma and Chris also own cats. Read on to find out more about these two wonderful dogs and their dedicated owners, who have truly worked wonders for this lovely pair, and learn how adopting Patrick helped nervous Annie…

Name of your greyhounds: Annie and Patrick 

Age of your greyhounds: Annie is nearly 3 years old and Patrick is only 18 months.

What was it that inspired you to take the plunge and adopt a retired greyhound?  
My husband grew up with a beloved lurcher and has always loved the noodlehorses! I met Ellie the lurcher when she was in her final years and she was such a gentle and loving dog that I could also see what he saw in them. A number of years ago, we began to go to the rehoming centre to walk the greyhounds at weekends, and had always spoken about how nice it would be to take one home one day. However, I had two cats and we needed one that would be cat-friendly and be able to handle their sassy ways, as well as fit in with our home. Once I knew that ‘cat testing’ existed, and that some of the hounds were able to live quite happily in homes with other animals I felt more confident that this could happen. It was just a matter of waiting to find the right one for us.  

What made you choose your particular greyhounds?  
Annie was highlighted to us through a campaign to find her a home, and we thought her suitable for us because she was known to be cat-friendly and quite a nervous little thing. She went to another home first, but did not stay with them, so we were asked if we would still like her in March 2021. I remember the morning before we heard – I had walked around our local country park, as I often did, and for the first time I considered how nice it would be to have dog at my side. When I got home, my husband was on the phone to the rehoming charity, who had called to see if we were still interested. It felt like it was meant to be.  

For Patrick, it was a very different story. We held a little birthday party for Annie’s second birthday with some of her friends in December 2021 and, while there, another greyhound owner mentioned a three-legged greyhound in Essex, who needed a home. Both of my cats are missing a front leg and so is Patrick. Also, we have a loose policy of only taking on black animals, mainly because we know that they struggle to find homes more than others. So, once again, it did just feel meant to be. We had to wait for him to be cat tested, but once we saw the video of him showing no interest at all we knew we would take him on. I was apprehensive about another dog, but Patrick fitted in perfectly as soon as he arrived. 

What would you say was your biggest misconception that you had about the greyhound breed before you adopted one yourself?
I think the biggest one of many was that greyhounds would need constant exercise, and I also think this is the biggest one I hear from other people outside of greyhound owners. Greyhounds do need exercise, but nowhere near the amount you might think, and they spend the rest of their time upside-down asleep!

What would you say was your biggest challenge with your greyhounds when you first adopted them?

Annie was one of the biggest challenges I have ever taken on and I would be lying if I said that I never doubted that decision. She did not move at all the first day we got her, and would only really do anything when she knew that no one was watching her. She was afraid to eat, play or really exist around us for a very long time. Gaining her trust is still an ongoing process; her fear is slowly waning but it still is present in her. The two aspects of this that I have come to appreciate is, firstly, that I never knew I had so much patience in me to just wait for her to find her confidence in me. The other is that her progress was not linear and it taught me not to see her taking steps back as a failure. We would make huge improvements – for example, one day she came and sat on the sofa with my husband, which she had never done (although doing it with me fairly often) – but then she did not do that again for a long time.

Adopting Patrick was a big help to Annie; I am struggling to think of a challenge we have faced adding him to our home. He really does not seem to struggle with having three legs and is amazing! Patrick has more the temperament of a Labrador and really just has helped Annie see that some things aren’t as scary as she believed. You can see her watching him and wanting to do the things he does.   

How do you think you have changed as a person since adopting your greyhounds?  
Since adopting Annie, we have had to understand and dissect her fears and nervousness to really learn how we can help her. I’ve developed a patience that I never knew I had in giving her the time and space she needs to become happy. In that too, having had my own mental health problems in the past, I have come to understand my own struggles a little better while learning about hers. I think too in the past I was quick to give up on things when they became too tough, but we discussed this early on when we were struggling to see we were helping Annie and made the joint decision that we would never give up on her no matter how tough it was. Annie helped me see that sometimes things can be worth sticking with to see wonderful results.  

What is your favourite thing about your greyhounds?  
The dynamic between Annie and Patrick is lovely and often hilarious. Annie is fiercely clever, whereas Patrick is quite the idiot! Sometimes, Annie will decide she would like to play with the toy that Patrick has, so she will grab another toy and play with it in a dramatic way to distract him and make him think that one is better. While he is distracted, she will run and grab the original toy.  

They do play together, often running laps of the field and chasing each other. We have been very lucky in being able to have both Annie and Patrick off lead (which is very rare for greyhounds) but neither of them has any kind of prey drive and both have developed good recall. I did get my dream of being able to walk through the country park with a dog at my side, only there is also a three-legged one in front of me too that I never foresaw!

What would you like to say to anyone who might be considering adopting a greyhound?  
I would advise people to do their research and really understand the commitment they are taking on. I don’t think I really understood at the time how much it would change certain aspects of my life. Be prepared to potentially have them require a lot of work (depending on the dog you adopt) or simply to follow you around all the time and to have a constant companion! However, I would add that it is one of the most rewarding decisions I ever made and it would be for you too.  

Thanks again to the brilliant Gemma, Annie and Patrick!

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x