I have had to post my thoughts as my annoyance with Dog Rescue Homes is reaching boiling point! I have now owned a dog continually for the last 24 years, unfortunately I lost my last dog at the end of April, she was a beautiful 11 stone Great Dane x Neopolitan Mastiff, who died just short of 9 years old, which is a very good age. We are now left with a very lonely medium sized crossbreed who has lost her best friend. However we cannot rehome a rescue dog and our beliefs about breeding dogs, means we will not buy a puppy, so why can't we rehome a rescue dog? Why, because of the narrow minded ignorance of the people running these homes, because we have a cat and a child under 5 years old, we are considered to be a bad choice of home, when in reality we would be the best home any dog could hope for. I understand that some people are not suitable for rehoming dogs but surely this has to be on a case by case basis, it breaks my heart to think of all the dogs stuck in dogs homes due to the red tape and burocracy thats put in the way of people offering perfectly good homes!! Stop playing God and think about the Dogs!!

Hi Gary,
I cannot answer you personally as your email address is not accepting.
Regarding your post - did you enquire to GRF for a greyhound as I do not recognise your name? Your post is universally lumping rescue centres together which is unfair.
We have rehomed to people with a cat. We have rehomed to people with a young child. You have both together. This makes your case difficult. The rescue centres put these recommendations together for very sensible reasons. We are desperate to find good homes for our dogs. We are not suggesting in the slightest that your home would not be good for a dog. The centres are simply trying to protect your cat and indeed the dog. In some cases the child has to be protected as well since some kiddies do not understand dogs. Greyhounds are a very special breed - trained to chase and catch running furries, such as cats.
If a greyhound killed your cat, or injured your child, would you make the same post?
We are extremely sorry that you lost your dog. We all feel for you there, but, honestly, it is not bureaucracy that gives us reservations.
Jimmy.

Hi Gary,
I would advise you not to get overexcited and look at this issue from a few perspectives considering all the pros and cons before making any decision. It is not true you can't get a puppy...You don't have to buy it from breeders. There are lots of puppies in rescues needing new homes. A puppy is much more adjustable to new conditions which are related to adoption. Puppies, especially very young ones, would not harm your kid or cat provided your kiddy is taught respect and delicacy towards animals. That is your responsibility to shape your kiddy's personality and attitude towards pets.
Older dogs can pose a danger to kiddies who can't handle them properly, especially the ones that are not used to small children and cats. Are you perfectly sure you can keep the three or four (your kid, the dog resident, the cat and the new adult dog) under control all the time? To change the traits of an adult dog requires lots of work, devotion and free time.
To adopt a puppy you don't have to break your own policy but mind that the puppy would have to face a few new challenges like the kid, dog resident and maybe the cat and...the totally new home environment. Are you able to provide the new puppy with the support he may need?

I can see this argument on both sides..My son and his partner a few years ago applied for the adoption of a CAT..they had 3 visits to them and then they had to have a 6ft back door fitted to their property before they were allowed to finally adopt..I am of an age where I can remember cats and dogs living in tenement buildings with small rooms and large families...and those animals had the most important thing..they were much loved pets....even in this day there a lot of children that dont have access to a garden never mind a cat or dog..Most folks that do apply for homeless animals usually have the one thing in mind..and that is to share their home and love that animal..and I would believe that they would not knowingly put either their child or that animal in danger..I accept the fact that YES there has to be rules..for the safety of all involved...I do get annoyed though when folks are turned down because they dont have a garden or 6ft high fence...What happened to dogs being taking walkies? On a lighter note..I took in a cat that had been from piller to post..she is now 12 years old..as a kitten a german shephard dog had tried to eat her..she has the scars to show..she was used to being outdoors...NOW she is a house cat..acts like lady of the manor...and at this moment is apparenly helping me to strip my walls I know that Lucy doesnt like children around SO when Grandchildren come around she escapes to a quiet area..and I dont allow them to annoy her either..I couldnt bring in a dog either..have thought about it...BUT it wouldnt be fair to her...OR the dog Most folks are like me..they want to share their home and are aware of the pitfalls of taking in a strange animal..Oh and by the way my house is at a forests edge SO no good for a greyhound because of all the furries...I learned this from Celia and Jimmy cos in my mind I had just thought it will be great for them..didnt think about greyhounds getting excited by them all. I did accept what they said cos they know SO I got myself a cat.Most of us also do listen to what is said to us..that way we learn....I do miss having a greyhound around BUT still wouldnt have taken a chance and lied about my circumstances in order to have one.....

Hello - have to agree with Jimmy here. If you have a cat and a young child there may be a suitable greyhound so if you're really keen, hang in there and trust Celia and Jimmy's judgement.

I do see the point about there being a lot of greyhounds wanting homes, but if a greyhound was in the wrong environment and a cat or child were harmed as a result, the bad publicity this could cause is likely to do more long term damage to the plight of greyhounds wanting homes as it would put off a lot of potentially suitable new owners. Thus, it's likely to make the situation even worse. I can fully understand Celia and Jimmy not being prepared to take the risk.

A while ago I read that the sound of a baby crying can sound like a stressed/injured baby rabbit to a greyhound. Perhaps not relevant to a family with a slightly older child but something I feel maybe important for others to know.

Michele

Everything GRF does is in the best interests of the dogs. The guidelines are just guidelines, and as Jimmy said they are not a set of arbitrary fixed rules. Dogs have been rehomed to apparantly good homes before and then returned for the most trivial of reasons. Knowing that there are potential difficulties and genuine reasons why a rehoming might not work out will make any responsible dog rescue more cautious.

Greyhounds are an especially sensitive breed of dog and a failed rehoming is worse for the dog than staying in the rescue kennels. And this brings me to my last point - there seems to be a perception that being kenneled is something akin to being imprisoned. This is absolutely not the case. Most ex-racing dogs are used to being kenneled, and the dogs at GRF are well cared for, fit, healthy and loved.

I personally think that most of the failed homings are due to the people who home dogs being unprepared properly for that role. They often want to home a pet as a present for their kids etc. If it turns out to be a burden for the family or their expectations are higher than the reality is the dogs go back to the kennels. Before making the decision of the adoption of any animals, potential new owners should gather as much information as possible about their future new duties and responsibilities.
Here is the role of Dog Trusts to make them aware of the new challenges, though the responsible pet owner should look for the information on his/her own before the act of adopting.

It does not have to be like that that however... The good example is my brother's family in Poland where 1 of their dogs was adopted by them from a Dog Trust and the 2 other were just dumped to their home as unwanted pets... Everything has been working anyway because my brother and his wife truly believe in the great role pets can play in a bringing up process. All of the kids (4) are taught huge respect for the dogs( or animals in general) and the dogs give it back to them in their daily life. It does not mean that everything has been perfect from the very start...There have been difficult moments as well...Life is life... We all experience these as well...