Paddy
At the beginning of August 2008 I received a phone call for a local greyhound trainer who wanted me to go and see his new dog. He wanted my advice as this dog was very nervous. A day or so later I went to see the dog, he was a very handsome, 18 month old, large black and white male called Paddy. Paddy froze as I walked into his kennel and turned his head away from me, not wanting to give me eye contact. There was no aggression and he allowed me to stroke him but he was very unhappy and withdrawn. If I stopped stroking him and looked away I could see out of the corner of my eye that he would turn to look at me as if to say 'why have you stopped'. He finally relaxed enough to slide into a down, but this in itself took a few minutes. He wouldn't take treats from me but if I left his kennel and went out of view he would eat them when nobody was looking. _________________ I suggested that the trainer put a bandana around Paddy’s neck with some lavender oil to calm and reassure him and to buy a herbal remedy that would help to calm Paddy’s nerves. Paddy was given a week to get over his fear and then sent to the track to be trialled. This of course was a big mistake and on his first trial he escaped from his trap and the stadium and headed towards the motorway. Fortunately he became entangled in the brambles at the side of the road and was able to be caught. The following day I received a call from another greyhound owner who had been told that Paddy was going to be destroyed the following day because he was a liability. I was distraught; Paddy did not deserve to die just because he was too nervous to race. The following day I went to pick Paddy up and brought him home with me, he was my first ever foster dog. As I walked into his kennel he looked at me and the end of his tail flicked in recognition. Through Greyhounds 4 U, Anne had offered Paddy a foster home but was unable to take him for another 6 weeks as she was going to be out of the country so Paddy was to stay with us until then. |
Paddy was introduced to my 2 Kelpie crosses, Abeni and Zan. Abi didn’t think much of young Paddy (she doesn’t ‘do’ puppies) and Zan was jealous. Zan’s jealousy didn’t last long and before the week was out he had gotten into Paddy’s crate with him and curled up and gone to sleep. During the weeks that followed Paddy and Zan became firm friends and would frequently play chase around the lounge and in the garden. Even Abeni became more of Paddy and on walks they go off hunting together.
11 days after Paddy came to stay with us he was thrown in at the deep end and taken on a 4 day camping trip. The first 24 hours were very traumatic for him and he wouldn’t eat or leave his crate. By the end of day 3 he was out and about with the 7 other dogs that were with us and enjoying his walks on the beach and running up and down the sand dunes. ____________________ At the end of August 2008 we took Paddy and Abeni on holiday with us to Norfolk. We were now coming to the end of our fostering time with Paddy. By this time it was touch and go whether or not we could give him up. He had become part of our family and we loved him dearly. We spent our last few days together going for long walks in the forest and on the beach but Paddy seemed to know something was a miss. On the last day of our holiday we met Anne and took Paddy to meet his new foster family. All of Anne’s dogs were wonderful with him and although Paddy was a little unsure of what was happening he was handling things a lot better than me. I cried all the way home and had to stop myself from turning round and coming back to get him but I knew in my heart that Paddy had found his forever home (even though it took Anne months to admit this) and I couldn’t deprive him of that. Paddy will always be very special to us; he was our first foster dog and opened up the way for more Chester Greyhounds to temporarily share our home. He taught me a great deal about the plight of ex racing greyhounds as well as canine behaviour and will always have a special place in our hearts. Written by Caroline Reade Feb.2009 |
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53485526@N04/sets/72157624715549597/