**UPDATED: 24th NOVEMBER 2013**
Location: Foster home in Hertfordshire, UK.
Key Points: Extremely gentle, mannerly, undemanding. Loyal and very loving. Sweet. Good with kids 8+ and all other dogs. Very laid back and relaxed. Balanced.
The wonderful Romeo is a 4 year old ex-racing greyhound boy who got a very lucky escape from the needle after a few years on the flapping track. He is now seeking a loving home to call his. Romeo has been with us for 3 months now and his dull, dead kennel coat is disappearing to reveal a super soft, shiny black coat. Romeo is around average height for a boy at 27” to the shoulder. He has the silliest and floppiest ears we’ve seen in a while, they love to flop in opposite directions and add a bit of quirk to his charming elegance.
~ Personality ~
Generally: Very gentle, sociable, loving, cuddle-monster, undemanding, inquisitive, content, food orientated, balanced, quiet.
Well, what can we say about Mr Romeo!? He is a wonderful, gentle boy who just wants to be good and be loved. He is incredibly laid back, which shouldn’t be mistaken for disinterest upon initial meetings – Romeo is super loving and cuddly, he’s just very relaxed about when and where he gets his daily love ration. He is nicely food motivated and this can be the core reward for any training needed, such as recall.
Romeo is very much your typical greyhound – easy, calm, quiet and content. He loves his cuddles, loves his food, loves his walks and well, just loves life. His favourite way of saying ‘hello’ is to rub his face all over you! He doesn’t seem to have understood yet that he can take food from people’s hands, but he happily works and trains for praise. He is so balanced and gentle, it’s a true pleasure to meet him. Romeo is a great pick-me-up after a stressful day at work – he is so calm and centered in himself, he is guaranteed to relax you better than a bubble bath!
~ In the Home ~
Generally: House savvy, housetrained, calm, quiet, well behaved, bit of a food hog, starting to play.
Darling Romeo has been in his foster home for exactly 2 months now, and is doing so well. He loves the home life, and we’re certain he hasn’t looked back once. He has bonded very well with his foster mum and follows her everywhere. He is also still inquisitive about the daily house chores and watches with interest as his foster mum potters around. He loves human company and is obviously enjoying being able to be around people for long periods each day now. After a few initial slip-ups, he is now fully housetrained. He is ok to be left with canine company and is not destructive, but may still find the allure of a reachable roast chicken far too tempting! The biggest delight of all is to see Romeo start to play. He is gradually learning what toys are and will now on occasion pounce on an unsuspecting plushie and throw it around, just because he can! Romeo would be so perfect for a retired person who could be around all day for him and in turn have a beautifully calm, loyal companion.
Romeo is sharing his foster home with 3 other greyhounds, and is absolutely smashing with them all. He is non-confrontational and just wants to get on with everybody. If grumped at he’ll just walk away. When Romeo first arrived, he was a huge greedy bear who had obvious concern about where his next meal was coming from, so would try to ‘stockpile’. This is relaxing now that he knows that waiting his turn gets him a tasty treat, and that he gets that tasty treat every day. He lives on routine and having his meals at set times has really helped him to realise that it’s nothing to fret about. As such he has stopped trying to steal food from his foster siblings, and is more relaxed in general.
~ Other Animals ~
Generally: Great with other dogs, friendly, social, calm, balanced, non-confrontational, not yet offlead with small dogs.
Romeo is excellent with other dogs regardless of size and shape. He loves his foster brother and sisters and tries hard to avoid any arguments. He has been told off a few times for trying to steal their food, and he doesn’t retaliate, just backs away. He loves snuggling with people and dogs in the evenings, and really is a fabulous dog in himself. Romeo has not been offlead with other dogs apart from his houndy foster siblings, so it would be best to watch him carefully when doing this initially in case he becomes over-excited. He would make a fab companion for another dog and could slot easily and happily into a small pack provided he got his daily dose of human attention.
~ Out and About ~
Generally: Very social, enjoys making new friends, gentleman on the lead, good traveller, not energetic.
Romeo really is THE perfect travelling companion. He has excellent manners, is social but not overly excitable, quiet, obedient and very happy to follow you anywhere. If his foster mum stops for a chat, he will quietly stand and wait without a single whine or whinge. He is very happy to greet other dogs of all shapes and sizes, and is equally happy to walk on after greetings. No fuss, no complaints, excellent companionship. This boy is just fabulous!
Romeo walks well on the lead, travels well in the car and isn’t scared of fireworks. He is currently getting a 30min daily walk with 2-3 ‘garden zoomies’ during the day and is content with this, so he really doesn’t need much exercise to be happy. What’s more important to him is the regularity of the walks, he loves his routine. Romeo has not had any recall work yet, so new owners will need to take that slowly and use very tasty treats to start the training. He can never be let offlead near public roads or livestock.
~ Where Can I Live? ~
Romeo is one of these wonder-dogs who can adapt and slot in almost anywhere. His only real requirement is that he gets lots of human contact and love. He lives for it. Romeo can live with other dogs very happily, but could live as an only dog easily provided he wasn’t left alone for long daily periods. He is very gentle with children over age 8. We really feel he would be excellent for a retired person or couple, as he has such low exercise requirements, is so calm and mannerly, and can provide so much quiet, loyal love. But Romeo could be an excellent addition to a family either, he is adaptable!
Please consider this boy and look past his black coat to the shining gem within.
~ Where Am I? ~
Romeo is currently in foster care in Hertfordshire. He can be homed anywhere in the UK provided we have a homechecker available, but please note that you may be required to travel to meet and collect him.
~ Want To Adopt Me? ~
Romeo is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, de-flea'd and wormed and a homecheck will be required as part of the adoption procedure.
If you are interested in adopting Romeo, you can contact me (Tam) via email:
tam@kerrygreyhounds.co.uk, or speak directly to Bronwen by phoning: 075 000 62648. Emails are usually replied to within 24 hrs.
There is an application form for adopting a Kerry Greyhound, and we will ask you to fill it in as the first step in the adoption process. To speed up this process, we recommend you do this before emailing/calling. You can find the form, as well as further information on our homing procedures, on the
Adoption Page.
Thank you.
Tam
KGUK Profile Editor & Irish Coordinator