Message from Bella the grey

Three years ago today I met a lurcher called Tom , he came to the kennels where I was living with lots of other hounds and they took me outside to meet him. I thought he was rather handsome when I saw him and then he gave me kisses !

We went for a walk with his human and then I was taken back inside , that night I dreamt about the lovely brindle boy and wondered if I would ever see him again.

The next day he was back , gave me more kisses, I was glad I had a bath that morning !

Then I had to get in a big metal box with him , we had our muzzles on so he couldnt give me kisses but I snuggled up to him and he didnt mind <3

The metal box was a bit noisy but I felt safe with Tom and waited to see what happened next.

The noise stopped and the human let us out of the metal box, we went into a garden and the muzzles came off and I got more kisses, I knew I was going to love this brindle boy.

We then went into a huge kennel after a short walk where there were lots new smells and strange things.

I was very scared , I had never been in such a big kennel with so much space.

The human gave us some food and I gobbled it down very quickly , I do like Tom the lurcher but I not sharing my food just yet , it might be a while until there is some more and if you dont eat fast you dont get enough ! I soon learned that in kennels.

Tom ran off and he was way up high , I thought if he can go there so can I , I ran up what I now know are stairs BUT when Tom ran down again I was stuck . Oh I did cry I thought I was stuck and Tom my new friend was in the part of the kennel where the human and the food was !

The human and Tom came back up and gave me a hug and helped me down the stairs , it wasnt so scary and I soon got the hang of it. I got a treat for being clever on the stairs !

There were some nice beds in this new kennel and I tried them all , I did wee on all of them in the first few weeks but the human was kind and I soon realised that you dont wee in the big kennel if you ask,the human will let you out to the big toilet outside ! And you get a nice treat when that happens too , I love treats !

I am now a good house hound and I love it here , me and Tom are best buddies and have lots of adventures.

I know all the funny and scary things in the big kennel wont hurt me and my humans and Tom take care of me.

I have lots of good food and I dont need to gobble it down anymore and I always clean Toms bowl for him when he is finished , sometimes he even leaves me some

I have lots of toys and I even have a coat to keep me warm in the winter and a special coat to keep me cool when its hot, us black hounds do warm up very quickly !

I love my life in the big kennel with Tom , I like the big metal box now as well because it means we are going on another adventure and we have lots of room to have a snooze on the way.

I go and visit the hounds in my kennels and always tell them , dont worry when a human takes you away , you will have a lovely new life and be very happy.

I am staying here forever, its my 3 year gotcha day and I hope I have many more

Bella is now really settled and still learning every day

Coming from this (an extract from an article Understanding your Greyhound by Kathleen Gilley)

You eat when you are fed, usually on a strict schedule. No one asks if you are hungry or what you want to eat. You are never told not to eat any food within your reach. No one ever touches your bowl while you are eating. You are not to be disturbed because it is important you clear your plate.

You are not asked if you have to “go outside”. You are placed in a paddock and it isn’t long before you get the idea of what you are supposed to do while you are out there. Unless you really get out of hand you may chase, rough house and put your feet on everyone and everything else. The only humans you know are the “waiters” who feed you, and the “restroom attendants” who turn you out to go to the bathroom. Respect people? Surely you jest. No one comes into or goes out of your kennel without your knowledge. You are all seeing, all knowing. There are no surprises, day in and day out. The only thing it is ever hoped you will do is win, place or show, and that you don’t have much control over. It is in your blood, it is in your heart, it is in your fate—or it is not.

To this



Happy Gotcha Day Bella

Have suddenly gone all misty eyed
Great love story

What a sweet post! I loved it
Happy Gotcha Day, Bella - you pretty princess, you!

Thank you , she has settled so well and they are such a bonded pair , hard work initially but so worth it to have the joy they both bring to our lives

Thank you , we will celebrate well today !

Welling up a little here.. What a lucky girl! Really lovely story!

We are so lucky to have her , Bella was in good condition when we adopted her and I think was well cared for in her racing kennels but as a racing dog not a pet , I didnt know as much about the lives of hounds when we adopted her, I was attracted to greys and lurchers through a friend who has 3 so knew what to expect with the dogs but after reading that article it really made me realise why Bella behaved as she did in the early days and also now how far she has come

Oh that is lovely, made me all a bit soft, congratulations to you all on your 3 year anniversary

Arh! lovely, lovely photo of the two long-noses (as my terrier calls them) too!

Lovely xx Happy Gotcha Day Bella, and looking at Tom in that pic I guess you make him very happy too x

How very touching, it brought tears to my eyes.