Sue's Greyhound Blog

Woody: This dog was meant to be for Christmas and not for life.

Follow up:

Why on earth would I say that you are probably all wondering whilst you are getting all cross about irresponsible dog owners etc. Well, Woody was simply going to be our first foster dog. That is what we told ourselves anyway, we weren’t interested in homing a boy, let alone a black one. Woody came to us from a foster home where shortly after arriving the resident bitch decided that she didn’t like him, so he was brought to us as a kind of emergency, short-term foster in our first attempt at greyhound fostering.

Woody was a successful open racer until a broken leg ended his career. This had been treated successfully and he was living happily in a family home with other greyhounds until circumstances meant he had to be re-homed. As first timers we were happy to foster a dog from a home as we thought he would know the rules and be house trained. The first meeting went well, the dogs got on, so we decided to give it a go and take him in, this being just before Christmas.

Marie was still setting up the Greyhound Lifeline kennels, so we were to keep him until January when they would be ready and a space would be free for him – that was the plan anyway.

Christmas came and went and as the time approached for Woody to go into kennels we started to think of excuses – it was winter and he was 7 and used to living in a nice warm home, with a comfy bed. It was cold outside, it was January, he wouldn’t like it in a kennel. In the end he was given a reprieve and we said that he could stay until a home was found, little did we know then that he had found his home – with us!

Initially we didn’t think he would be right for us as his bad leg would give him trouble on a long walk, but as the weeks passed these walks got easier for him. The longer he stayed the more attached we became and his character started to show, he really is very funny at times with some quirky little habits, though Marie calls them weird! By February we had all fallen for him so it was decided we would adopt, after all Tikka was frail and Pepper needed a friend as she’d be useless on her own. Yes three dogs were a lot but it was manageable, we had bought a bigger car for extra space, so that wasn’t a problem. For the more alert of those amongst you, some might be saying but hang on a minute what about his name and the “herbs and spices theme”, well no problem, he kept his name because of “Woodruff” (or Sharwoods) – sorted.

He has been part of our family now for 18 months and we wouldn’t be without him, he is such a character and is sooo loving – unless you happen to be a small fluffy or the Postman and then you are fair game! He is a fast learner and is now an accomplished “bin raider” something he learnt from a foster dog in our care.

Once, whilst chasing something on the patio he jumped a 5 foot fence into our neighbours garden, we could only hear his collar jingling somewhere, but as it was 11pm, dark and being black we couldn’t see him. Unknown to us, he was actually two gardens away. Geoff got a torch to go and look for him but was worried about being arrested for burglary and acting in a suspicious manner. We know that he jumped the fence as our patio is enclosed by 6 foot fencing on two sides, but 5 foot on the third (now 6 foot) and the gate to the rest of the garden is always shut at night because we can’t see him in the dark. Upon his return we discovered heavy bruising along his breastbone.

I think that in a past life he must have been a cat as he is a champion mouse, frog and bird catcher, I have never known a dog like it. He is so proud when he brings you his “little gifts” of headless mice, half dead frogs and baby birds with their entrails dangling about – urghh!!

He HATES shiny floors of any kind and it is very embarrassing at times. Once when we went to the National Trust garden at Trengwainton, Penzance, the way to the gardens were through the shop, he got halfway and realised it was a polished floor so refused to budge, in the end we were allowed to go through the gate on the driveway. Then there was the Lake district last year and we wanted to look at walking boots in a shop at Hawkshead, we were pleasantly surprised upon reading a sign saying “dogs welcome” so in we all went – until halfway inside Woody realises the floor is shiny and freezes, complete panic sets in, he wouldn’t go forward or back and you can’t drag him either. Pepper tried to show him that it’s ok but he wouldn’t follow, so whilst we are disowning him Geoff has to pick up 35kg of stupid greyhound and try to look inconspicuous carrying him out much to the amusement of onlookers. Though I have to admit that the worst case was last year at The Great Greyhound Gathering, when we decided that as it was a long way to go we would treat ourselves and make a weekend of it and stay over in a hotel.

I found the perfect place, the Holiday Inn Express at Warwick, not too expensive, dogs were accepted, breakfast was included and there was a nice pub next door for our evening meal. We had a great day, Pepper was placed 4th in best bitch 5-7 years and Woody was pulled out in the final 10 dogs aged 8 years and over from a class of over 30 – but sadly not placed with a rosette. We left the show at the end of a very long day and travelled to our hotel. After registering we brought in our luggage and dogs, however we had totally forgotten about Woody’s floor fetish, he got halfway across the polished Marble and froze in the middle of a busy reception foyer, refusing to budge either way. Again, Pepper tried to show him that you simply walk slowly and put one paw in front of the other, but to no avail. So in front of an amused audience Geoff had to carry him in a very undignified manner across the foyer towards the stairs which thankfully were carpeted as was the rest of the hotel. Of course now he was stranded as the only way out to the car park was back across the floor. We asked at reception if they had any mats they could put down but they didn’t, the only option was that every time he needed to go out Pepper and I were to ask the duty manager to let the “boys” out the fire exit at the bottom of the stairwell and when they were ready we would ask for them to be let back in again – how embarrassing. This year he will be staying in the car overnight, we’re not going through that again!

Those are his bad points, he does have some nicer ones. He can hear the fridge door open at any point in the house and is especially clever at being able to distinguish the sound of cheese being unwrapped from cling film! He likes moving things too, he doesn’t harm them, just picks them up especially shoes, gloves, scarves and fleeces. He enjoys a nice swim too if given the chance. He is an excellent guard dog and always barks at the postman and doorbell, making me feel very safe, no one is to know his tail is wagging furiously and he only has 7 teeth – he sounds ferocious!

The rules were no dogs on the sofa, Tikka and Pepper wouldn’t dream of going on it, we spent ages trying to evict him, in the end we bought a throw and gave up. He knew at first he shouldn’t have been there as once I thought that I had lost him, I’d looked everywhere except up, only to find him curled up in such a small ball on the sofa trying to hide behind my handbag, (I didn’t realise how small a greyhound could get if it didn’t want to be found). He now has competition for sofa space though as he has to share it with Pickle. But he draws the line at his cuddly toys being stolen by the girls and will often take them out in the garden with him just to make sure.

He is funny about smells and goes into a frenzy of excitement at the whiff of body spray or perfume. Many a time I have got ready to go out only to be met by Woody at the bottom of the stairs tail wagging ready to rub himself all over me to replace my perfume with hairs and “Eau de Dog” instead – don’t know if it will catch on. Dan, who is 11, thinks it’s great and will deliberately cover himself in body spray just to wind him up!

He is now a capable home checker – flooring permitting. He tries to do his bit on showing prospective owners that a black boy could be their perfect pet. He also won his first rosette at a local dog show this summer, where he was placed 5th in the veteran class, well he is a bit of a “greybeard” these days.

Before we had him we hadn’t considered having a boy, and I admit that like a lot of people we thought that girls were a lot nicer and easier to look after – how wrong could we have been, we simply wouldn’t be without our Woody, who we love to bits. Neutered boys can be every bit as loving as girls but sadly black boys appear to be incredibly hard to home and the statistics are that the predominant colour is black. So I say to all those of you out there who are unsure of black boys please give them a chance, they can’t help what colour they are. Temperament is far more important than colour or how pretty they might look. Given a few months in a loving home when they finally loose that fluffy, dull, kennel coat a black dog with a soft, shiny coat looks absolutely stunning, especially in the sunshine, as we know only too well as Woody and Pepper are often complemented on theirs, even Pickle who has only been with us since June has really glossy black patches.

Well that was our first attempt at fostering which for us was an unmitigated disaster, as we kept him but Marie would probably call it a success as a dog was homed as a result! We have since got better at it and have successfully fostered (and given back) several dogs. Our last foster was Purdy, but the moment I first saw her on an evening kennel shift I knew that if she were to ever set paw near my home that would be it – and so it was, history has repeated itself and she is now Pickle - oops!!