RGT South Lakes, Cumbria Greyhound Rescue - Retired Greyhounds make great pets

GREYHOUND RESCUE
Fostering Greyhounds in the South Lake District, Cumbria

Misty

Misty arrived on Wednesday 9th December 2009
Went to her new home on Saturday 19th December 2009

Misty's arrival and a brief history
Click images for a larger view

Misty is black and white ex-racing greyhound who is 4 years old, spayed and inoculated. Misty is very laid back, walks nicely on the lead and travels well in the car.

Misty's Diary

9th December 2009
This afternoon we collected Misty and Dakota and brought them both back home in the car. Both were introduced to Indi and Sandy before getting in the car and when they jumped in the back both lay down for the journey home and not a murmour was heard from either. Once home we took them both for a walk then into our house and out in the garden for an explore and do any more toilet they wanted to do before bringing them in the house. Stuart had Misty on the lead by his side to begin with but when he realised how laid back she was he took her off the lead so she could wander round the living room to eventually lay on the floor by his feet.
She doesn't rush eating her food and afterwards she lay on a dog bed in front of the kitchen fire, obviously enjoying the warmth. About an hour after she'd eaten she was sick. It was part of her dinner but it didn't smell sour and she would have eaten it again had we not removed it. She did it again twice more during the evening and we wondered if it was nerves or if the food was a bit too rich for her.
10th December 2009
Misty slept well last night and this morning when we fed her we included some biscuits and bread with her food and gave her less. She was sick again about 2 hours later but not as much and she only did it the once. She's still on the lead when she's in the garden but that won't be for long because she shows no signs of wanting to leave us, is begining to realise cuddles are nice and the best bed in the house is the one in front of the kitchen fire.
This evening we noticed she has a small lump on her back between her shoulder blades, which may be a wart and is quite crusty. It doesn't appear to bother her but we put some ointment on it anyway to improve the skin on and around it. If it doesn't improve in a few days we may take her to the vet for confirmation of what it is.
11th December 2009
Misty is so easy to look after and she is no longer being sick, not sure what caused that but she's beginning to look really relaxed now and today she's been wandering around the garden on her own. She's beginning to recognise her name and when we stand in the conservatory door way and clap our hands while calling her name she comes running into the house, but then who would want to stay outside for long because last night we had our first hard frost of the winter.
Misty has shown no interest in wanting to go upstairs, but then we haven't tried her because Stuart is building a floor to ceiling bookcase on the landing to fill with books for our bed and breakfast guests to use so it's a bit cluttered there at the moment and its not the best time to teach her how to handle stairs. However, she is quite happy laying in the kitchen or near the bottom step of the stairs and have a nap.
This evening as we walked around the corner of the pub we came face to face with a terrier off the lead and Sandy, who dislikes small dogs running around his back legs got a bit uptight so we backed away and used the pub wall to keep him out of site of it until they put the dog on a lead and went into the pub. Misty just ignored the dog. We were going to take them all in the pub after our walk but with the terrier going in there and Sandy becoming stressed we decided to take him home and because of Misty's laid back approach to life we left her with him. When we got back all was well and we received a lovely welcome from the pair of them.

Misty on our outcrop
10th December 2009

. . and again . .

18th December 2009
Misty's new owners arrived this afternoon to stay at our bed and breakfast overnight so they could get to know her a little better before they took her home. Shortly after they arrived we all went for a walk together and when we got back I put a dog bed, bowls, towel, throw for the bed and enough food for Misty for this evening and in the morning because Misty had become one of our bed and breakfast guests! She wasn't too sure about going upstairs to begin with because the others were in the kitchen but we gave her a helping hand, then in the bedroom, she stood behind the door for about 5 minutes after I left before going to her bed and, from that point on she was fine and became one of our guest's dogs. It seemed most strange for us to have one of our foster dogs upstairs being a 'guest'.
After Misty had been fed and walked she went to our pub up the road so her new owners could get something to eat and Misty stood, then lay by their side while they ate their meal. It was the first time Misty had been in the pub and she took it all in her stride.
19th December 2009
This morning Misty came downstairs with her new owners and stayed in the conservatory with them while they ate breakfast. They said she slept well last night and once they finished breakfast Misty ate a little sausage they had kept back for her. After breakfast and the car packed we said our goodbye's and she got in their car and away they drove. Stuart and I stood by the gate quite taken aback and mulling over the events of the past four weeks because it was only last month that we were fostering for Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue and here we are today, re-homing our first foster dog for RGT just a few days after we started fostering for them.
Misty is a lovely dog and she will make a beautiful companion so we wish her well in her new home and hope she has a long and happy life with her new owners. One who will miss her is Dakota because he loved playing with her and the two of them often went to sleep next to each other.
20th December 2009
We received an email this afternoon letting us know that Misty had a good journey home, and has settled in very quickly. She loves her new bed and has enjoyed racing around the garden. She bumped into the next door neighbour's cat but she just looked at him and walked on. She has also been introduced to two of the grandchildren this morning and her new owner's couldn't believe how good she was with them.The biggest suprise was their mum, who is not really a dog lover and who was found sitting on the floor with Misty saying how beautiful she was as of course they all do.
Later this evening I phoned to see how she was and her new owners are very pleased with her. She slept well in her bed last night, enjoyed her walks in the snow today and Misty is already wagging her tail a lot and has started standing by the table talking to them when she wants something to eat!
30th December 2009
We received an email from Misty's owners this evening letting us know that Misty is well and truly settled and everone loves her.
10th January 2010
We received an email from Misty's owners this evening letting us know they think Misty is just so adorable and has settled in as part of their family, she loves the snow and walking in the local woods although she is more than interested in the squirrels she meets. She has had a short run out in their motorhome and she settled to it as if she was always use to one.