The charity believes the greyhound is a “perfect laid-back companion all year round”.
With all the nice weather and sunshine, you may be thinking it’s a great time of year to get a dog. You might envisage a bouncy Labrador or an energetic terrier chasing a ball in the park. We know greyhounds aren’t the first breed that many people think about when getting a dog, but it’s our mission at Home Run Hounds Greyhound Charity to let people know that the elegant and often misunderstood greyhound makes a fantastic pet!
Despite being supreme athletes, greyhounds are surprisingly low-energy dogs and take their retirement very seriously. After a short burst of zoomies in the back garden (which is a joy to behold), they then need to lie-down for several hours! This makes them ideal companions for those warmer days when you’d rather relax indoors rather than go for a long walk.
A couple of 20-minute walks in the morning or evening is all they need to keep them happy and healthy, followed by a cuddle on the sofa – the perfect way to spend a pleasant summer evening.
Because they have short coats with no undercoat, they don’t shed nearly as much as other dogs but they do feel the heat – another reason to laze about in the shady parts of your garden while you enjoy a book and tall glass of iced- whatever takes your fancy.
With their gentle and affectionate nature, they are often happy to simply be near their humans, enjoying the slower pace of summer life. Many greyhound love children and some can live with cats and other small animals. They are quirky dogs who we guarantee will make you laugh every day.
Home Run Hounds is a fairly new independent homing charity which started in 2022 with seven greyhounds and now has six kennels across the country, the nearest being in Shenstone with 25 dogs looking for their forever families. We are completely run by volunteers and every penny raised goes to the care of the hounds.
Some dogs take ‘early retirement’ and can be as young as 18 months if they don’t make the grade, or simply decided that racing is not for them. The vast majority retire by the time they are four or five and have many years ahead of them to be loved as a family pet, living until the age of 12 or 13.
Every day, volunteers are out walking dogs, introducing them to the wonderful world outside of kennels, including their first ever visits to a parks, coffee shops and volunteers’ homes. There is a wide range of roles for volunteers if walking isn’t your thing – fundraising, social media, photography and DIY to name a few.
If you’d like to find out more about the breed, Home Run Hounds are out and about at Awareness Roadshows all over the Midlands. Visit our “upcoming events” page on the website, here, or get in touch – 07488 253 537 – to arrange a ‘meet the breed’ visit to one of our kennels.
Our Watford Gap Kennels (WS14 0QG) is having an Open Day on Saturday 26 September from 11am-2pm. Postcode. Please do come along for a fun day out!
Consider opening your heart and home to a Greyhound. They are the perfect laid-back companion all year round.