Taz and Baby Earl ~ Special Appeal: 2 Greyhounds with a Very Sad Story

TAZ AND BABY EARL

Taz and her son Earl are two lovely greyhounds with a very sad story. They were intended to be racing dogs, but their owner brought them to the vet to be put down because he had 'tried everything' and they were 'useless'. Taz is a 6 year old lady with a fawn brindle coat and huge, gorgeous eyes. Her son Earl, or Baby Earl as he's become known as, is about a year old with a soft white and brindle coat.

It soon became apparent why they were no good at the race track - they are absolutely petrified of everything. Little Earl in particular seems to have had no positive human experience at all in his short life, and is terrified of people to the point that he'll just curl up in a ball and shut down completely if anyone goes near him. When he came to us he was not lead trained, was nervous of pressure around his neck and ears, and was scared to death of all noise and movement. Despite all their fear, however, neither have shown an ounce of aggression.

Taz and Baby Earl have been with us for about 4 weeks now, and are making slow but steady progress. They are getting daily handling by the same person to establish some trust and familiarity, and are learning that humans can give love and affection too. Their little characters are starting to peek out.

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Taz is making the best progress, and she can now be walked by complete strangers without panicking completely. She is still shy and nervous of new situations and sudden noises, but she is making a steady improvement. She has been walked with other greyhounds and got on brilliantly with them, and has also been well behaved with the local offlead terrier. She is not cat friendly, however.

Taz's fosterer describes her as a 'shy dog with a cheeky puppy trapped inside'. Her favourite trick is to gently squeeze in to the same bed as her son Earl, then stretch out all her legs and push him off! She is starting to really enjoy her walks and has a fast pace when she feels confident. She adores attention now, and loves chin rubs that encourage her to keep her head up and looking at you. We feel sure that once she wags her tail for the first time in her forever home, she just wont stop!



Earl's progress is slower than his mothers, but it is still there. He no longer trembles with terror when his fosterer comes near him, and has even started taking Taz's example and walking up to her in greeting. He is getting more comfortable with receiving rubs and scratches and is ok with his head and shoulders being touched now. His lead training is also moving along, and he went for his first walk in the big, scary outdoors last week. He will still crouch down and freeze if something scares him, but with gentle patience and time, he will improve.



These two beautiful souls desperately deserve their forever home. They will need special people with big hearts willing to take on the challenge of continuing our work and letting Taz and Earl blossom at their own pace, and loving them while they try. They will need a lot of reassurance and structure, and would perhaps do even better if they lived with a confident dog who's lead they could follow and learn from. They will require a quiet home with no young children and no loud noises so that they can start to relax and release all of the pent up tension and fear they carry.

Taz and Earl are currently in Ireland, and can be transported via Kerry Greyhounds to the UK or Europe if a suitable home offer comes up. This will be organised and paid for by Kerry Greyhounds, and we ask only for a donation to help cover costs. They will be neutered, vaccinated and microchipped prior to adoption and a homecheck will be required as part of the adoption procedure.

We all want to see the beautiful characters that are hiddin inside these two very special dogs.


**UPDATE: MAY 2010**

Taz and Earl continue to make progress with their fosterer in Ireland. Taz is coming on in leaps and bounds, and is now quite accepting of strangers walking up and giving her attention. She even went on a sponsored dog walk a few weeks ago, with lots of other people and dogs of all shapes and sizes, and got on very well. She was a bit nervous at the start but soon loosened up, and behaved beautifully with the other dogs around her.

Poor little Earl is making slower progress than his mother, and desperately needs more attention and work than his current fosterer can give. He is still terrified of any pressure on his neck, though is accepting of rubs from underneath now. He is also very nervous of walking on the lead, and will only walk forward if his fosterer gets down on her knees with a slack long lead and calls him forward.

Both dogs recognise their fosterer now and are happy to greet her at their kennel door for their usual treats and head rubs. Unfortunately due to Taz in particular not being cat friendly, they can not be safely kept indoors unsupervised and so spend a lot of their time in kennels outside. They both really need the one-on-one attention that can only come from living in a home, and we feel Earl will improve much quicker if this could be possible.


**UPDATE: JULY 2010**

Taz and Earl have now been moved to foster care where they can finally start to get the consistent, one-on-one attention they so desperately need. They get to live in a house for the very first time in their lives and will get to learn all about home comforts.



Taz and Earl have made steady progress over the last few months. Taz in particular is now a happy, sociable hound. She is in beautiful condition now, with a striking tiger-stripe brindle coat and dark muzzle. Although still nervous of new situations and loud noises, she is unrecognisable from the traumatised little dog that first came to us and is starting to enjoy life. She recently went to the beach with 10 other greyhounds where she met unknown people and dogs and behaved very well. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind the noisy ocean waves at all and really enjoyed herself.



Earl now walks well on a harness and doesn’t spook nearly as easily as he used to. He is still very sensitive around the neck area, but is happy to be stroked there as long as no strong pressure is used. He has developed in to a tall, leggy boy with a soft white coat and is a real eye catcher. Earl joined Taz at the beach and seemed to get confidence from having Taz there, as well as the 10 other greyhounds that went on the walk. He coped very well with the scary waves and random strangers.



Taz and Earl’s progress will be updated once they’ve settled in to their foster home more. It is going to be a joy to see them come out of their shells and start to relax for probably the first time in their lives.






**UPDATE: AUGUST 2010**

Taz and Earl have settled brilliantly in their foster home and are really starting to improve now. Its fantastic to see little Earl following his mother out on walks now, and starting to gain confidence when out and about. They are getting daily love and attention from their fosterer, and its really making a difference.



Taz has gained massively in confidence, and will greet strangers willingly, especially if they have yummy treats. Earl will now walk comfortably on a harness and will follow his mother when out on walks. They are now used to all the regular sights and sounds in the home and are comfortable with sleeping while their foster watches television. It wont be too much longer before they are very happy hounds.



If you are interested in adopting Taz and Earl, please email me on [email removed] for our adoption application form and information pack. Thank you.


~~ KERRY GREYHOUND CONNECTION ~~

Kerry Greyhound Connection is a small voluntary organisation based in County Kerry, Ireland and Norfolk, England and operates through a network of volunteers. We can look after approximately 70 greyhounds at any one time, in Ireland and the UK.

Each dog is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and given a full veterinary check before being adopted.
We assess the suitability of all home offers, and we have homed greyhounds in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA.

Our Website:

If interested in one of our hounds, please EMAIL or PM me for our adoption application form and information pack. Once you have filled in and returned the application form, we will then telephone you to discuss adopting one of our hounds in more detail.

I can be contacted via PM or through the following email:
[email removed]

Thank you.

What have those poor poor babies been through. reading thier story had tears running down my face.
I really hope they get thier forever home soon and can put thier past completely behind them and really enjoy life and a bright future.

Oh those poor babies What on earth have they been through to be so very fearful? I can only imagine. I have tears streaming down my face reading about their plight. The trainer who took them to be euthanised should be euthanised! How can someone be so very horrible? They are such magnificent dogs. I only wish I could take both of them. My heart's aching it really is. Thank goodness they are safe now.
It's people like that trainer who give racing a bad name. Shame on him/her

I so wish i could take them both too but I have a dog aggressive male in the house, and these two so deserve to live in an indoor eviroment, fingers crossed that someone will take them both together xx

Oh reading that broke my heart. They are beautiful creatures too. I hope they find the loving home they deserve soon.

Bless them, what a terrible start in life these poor dogs have had. So glad that they're making progress and turning into the happy pets that they should always have been. Also had tears in my eyes reading their sad story. What must they have gone through to be the way they were.

I'm sure the perfect forever home is out there waiting for them.

Thanks for your lovely comments, everyone. Taz and Earl are in a foster home now and are improving just as we thought they would.

Taz is ready for her new home, though Earl still has a little bit to go and would need an experienced owner to show him the way.

**UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2010**

The very special Taz and Earl are still looking for their forever homes, but both have progressed enough where we feel homing them separately is definitely an option if no home comes forward to take both.

The lovely Taz is doing very well in her foster home which she shares with a greyhound and 2 other lurchers. She is loving all the home comforts and is generally well behaved in the home, though she is still learning how to share and can occasionally be a bit grumpy when other dogs crowd her. This defensive type behaviour should lesson once she gets used to sharing and co-existing. She greatly enjoys her walks, is now a pro at meeting strangers and is generally a very happy girlie.

Dear Earl has been moved in to a special behaviourist foster home and he is now getting daily sessions to help improve his nervousness and unease at being touched near his neck. He is also being introduced to new people on a regular basis, and is so far doing well. He is sharing his new foster home with 3 other greyhounds, a collie and a small terrier and is greatly improving from watching how these well-adjusted dogs behave in new or unfamiliar situations.

Earl is such a sweetie and we hope that with a bit more time and work with his fosterer, he will soon be ready for his forever home.

Taz and Earl are currently in a foster home in Norfolk, UK. They are neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and a homecheck will be required as part of the adoption procedure.

If you are interested in adopting Taz or Earl, please email me on for our adoption application form and information pack. Thank you.

These two are still looking for their forever home together.

If you are interested in adopting Taz and Earl, please email me for our adoption application form and information pack. Emails are usually replied to within 24 hrs. Thanks!