How we met Niko…

Hello, everyone! Firstly, I would like to apologise for not posting in a while – life has been so busy! Since I began this blog a couple of years ago, lots of you have asked how we chose our greyhound, Niko, and how we knew he was the right noodlehorse for us. So, today, I thought I would write about our own story…

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To begin with, let me make it clear that, on the day we reserved Niko for adoption, we actually were not looking to adopt a greyhound – not at that exact moment anyway! We were 100% planning on adopting a dog in need of a loving home, but we imagined this would be months down the line, and we had been volunteering on the weekends at our local greyhound adoption kennels, just to help out. However, one day, we were handed two snoots to walk: a cheeky, energetic, black female and a nervous, shy, brindle boy… The boy was introduced to us as “Niko”, a new arrival at the kennels, who was not even three years old. As we plodded around the field, with Niko keeping close to us, we found his timid, gentle personality so beautiful.

This was when my husband turned to me and said the fateful words: “if we were to adopt a greyhound, I would love a sweet boy just like him”. My heart started to fill with excitement. Yes, we had walked so many retired greyhounds for the kennels over the prior months but, as we gave this nervous boy some tender strokes, we suddenly felt such a connection with him. However, our hopes were immediately dashed, as we returned to the kennels after our walk and discovered that a family had arrived to meet Niko for potential adoption. It wasn’t until that moment that both my husband and I realised how fond we were of him – our hearts sank and we seemed to be much quieter as we continued volunteering that day. We had to just let the idea go.

So, as we were finishing up for the morning, I casually asked when the lucky family would be collecting Niko for his new home and the response was… they weren’t! It turned out that they had actually chosen a different dog – one whose energetic temperament they felt would fit their busy home better. My husband and I looked at each other… The kennel manager then elaborated that they had said they essentially “wanted a dog with more personality”… That was the moment we knew. I couldn’t accept that this dog had been overlooked for adoption due to lacking personality – he just needed the right home to flourish in! Yes, he was timid, nervous and incredibly shy, but we could see the potential and we felt we had the patience and calm home to give him time to shine. Before we knew it, we were in our car, on the way home, having reserved Niko for adoption

Honestly, the timing was terrible. We were due to get married in a month and we had just bought our first home together, which we wouldn’t be living in for another three months! However, the adoption kennels were amazing. As we were regular volunteers, they knew we would commit to Niko. The kennel manager agreed that she was completely happy to reserve Niko for us over the next three months, as long as we were honest and kept them updated. This is something that not all rescue centres would do and we will always be so very grateful. I think the kennel manager could see what a great fit we could be for sweet, nervous Niko.

Over the next three months, we went to visit him every weekend and, in the summer holidays when I wasn’t teaching, I went during the week. This was wonderful, because we were able to slowly build a bond with Niko over this time, which was so incredibly ideal for an anxious boy like him. We went from having to coax him out of his kennels for walks, as he would sometimes shake with fear in the corner, to springing around when he heard our voices! Don’t get me wrong, when we eventually brought him home, we had so much work to do to overcome his fears, but undoubtedly that slow build-up helped him massively.

The bottom line is, when we met Niko, we just had a feeling: a feeling that we could help him and that he could be a wonderful pet for us. The kennels’ support and opinion was key, as they are the experts at matching the right dog to the right home when they meet potential adopters. So, if you are considering adopting your own noodlehorse, my advice would be: contact your nearest greyhound rescue centre and see if you can volunteer, take the advice of the experts and be patient – the right snoot will be out there for you, but even the perfect match will still need time to adjust to their new life. The rewards to this are endless and we always say that Niko was the best decision we ever made together.

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There is our story! That’s all from me. Until next time…

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x