We have a new dog!

[LibertyLover]

Yes, there is a new red-headed male in my life! Yesterday we added a 3 year old former racing greyhound to the family. His name is Fergus and he is a big red brindle. So far, so good. He and Hex, our greyhound bitch, and Djet, our whippet, are getting along well. We've had the occasional growl, but nothing awful. He adores our 10 year daughter and is a love sponge. I am very happy!

[blueamy66]

1. Sweet!

I'm jealous!

Hope you share years of happiness together!

[HarveyDarkey]

2. This post is worthless without pictures

[MrsBrady]

3. +1

[HopeHoops]

4. Excellent. Those dogs are abused from early on by the process (as are the horses).

I don't approve of any form of animal racing or fighting. It's brutal and the "leftovers" are discarded without regard to their performance. It's just cruel. I've wanted to take in a greyhound but I don't have the running room. We barely have enough for the border collie. The sheltie does fine. She just runs in figure eight patterns (at high speed and banking at 45 degrees). We call it her "poopie dance" because she always does it after taking a dump.

Is Fergus fixed? If not, Hex may be, um, welcoming a new family of hungry mouths. I doubt Djet has much to worry about. One size does NOT fit all.

[LibertyLover]

7. Both Hex and Fergus are fixed so no worries on that score -

and you would be surprised at how little room a grey needs once they are retired. Our back yard isn't very big at all, about 20 feet by 30 feet, and they are happy and healthy. They truly are 40 mile an hour couch potatos.

[HopeHoops]

9. Well, I've got you beat on the yard issue. We've got .42 acres with a lot of other yards around.

It's plenty of room for the border collie and sheltie to run and chase balls and stuff. I'm not sure I could handle something the size of a greyhound (physical limitations). Our two are totally voice trained and leashes are just for out-of-yard use (and not necessary). The sheltie is my service dog now and she does a wonderful job at it (five years old). The border collie is ten and would have made a great service dog but I doubt I could train her for that now. If she bolted for any reason like a car backfiring (she's gun and thunder shy), I'd be on the ground with a broken hip.

The next dog I get will probably be a full-size collie (Lassie type) and I'll train her from a pup to take over the service job. By then I'll probably need a seeing eye dog guide dog handle instead of a harness and leash (for stability - my eyesight is fine).

Hex and Fergus are so lucky to have you. Although I've only been vegetarian since '89, animal abuse has been a major concern to me for as long as I can remember (and played a big role in the diet conversion). I quit 4-H in middle school because they wanted me to break a mouse's neck and dissect him. Instead, I took him home and named him "Lucky". He lived a happy and long life - and he had HUGE fucking balls!!!!

[LibertyLover]

10. Your yard sounds perfect -

and your sheltie and border collie are lucky to have you as well. Regular collies (I think Lassie was classified as a rough coated collie?) are wonderful dogs. A friend of mine in high school had one. Laddy was a fabulous dog.

[HopeHoops]

11. Yeah, regular collies aren't as high strung as border collies or shelties.

The biggest problem with border collies is early imprinting. Once they learn a behavior, you can't change it. We made the mistake of training her to bark at the doorbell. I mostly used it as a way of warding off telemarketers. Now, everyone including the mailman and UPS guy know to knock rather than ring. If someone hits the doorbell, I know they're unfamiliar with our house.

[grntuscarora]

5. congrats

to you and your pup! Greyhounds are so beautiful inside and out. Glad yours has a loving home with no more racing

[marzipanni]

6. That's wonderful! My mom wanted to adopt a former racing greyhound

She was ~80 when she heard about their plight, and thought she might not be able to take a dog for walks in the winter as she got older, so she gave money to help the Greyhound rescues instead.

[LibertyLover]

8. I say this without any snark intended at all -

bless her loving and caring heart! I know the greys she helped thank and bless her as well.

[Brigid]

12. Awww! Great addition.

My sister adopted one (a female) years ago. She is now gone, but she was sooo sweet!

But we need pics of the handsome redhead.