Jesse makes three...

Hello everyone,

I hinted in our last blog that we had some big news coming and now we get to let you in on our secret...

It all started years ago, I met a young man named Chris.  Chris loves dogs and cats but I had always vowed never to have one in the house.  Fast forward to two year ago when the Adopt a Greyhound pamphlet appeared on the fridge.  Every time I opened the door I got to look into those beautiful eyes.  I decreased my frequency of fridge opening (good for the health) but the pamphlet stayed.  Hints were dropped.  Our rental did not allow pets of any kind, that was a relief.  But then Chris started looking for a new place and one of his not so subtle criteria was that pets were allowed.

Fast forward again and we approach someone's 30th birthday (that person will remain anonymous but our loyal followers - our family - will know who it is).  Now I didn't know how to honour such an epic birthday but I thought about it.  I decided that if I was ever willing to waiver my strict no pet stance that this may be a good time.

My first instinct was to look into breeds we both liked (i.e. Vizsla, Rhodesian Ridgeback, etc.) but I quickly discovered that we neither have the massive backyard required for those breeds but we also don't have the lifestyle.  We needed a dog breed that was more suited to two adults with no active children tiring them out.  This brought me back to that ever present pamphlet on the fridge.  It made some compelling arguments towards Greyhounds.

Around this time Chris started showing me pictures and profiles of Greyhounds on TradeMe (NZ version of Ebay and Kijiji combined).  We noticed that Greyhounds as Pets adopted Greyhounds out directly from three kennels around NZ.  There was however another location and they were different.  They wrote and excellent blurb on each dog they had posted and they seemed to really get to know each and every Greyhound that passed through their doors.  This was Nightrave Greyhounds (http://www.nightrave.co.nz/) and we quickly realised that if I ever caved that we would want to adopt through them.

I spent the next few months learning everything I could about Greyhounds.  I researched everything, from recall training, to homemade pet food to how to transport a Greyhound from NZ to Canada.  I made a wonderful binder documenting all this.  I knew that I couldn't give Chris permission to get a dog for his birthday unless I knew I was willing to follow through with this.  I let the cat out of the bag...Chris is turning 30!

I went back and forth multiple times from yes I wanted one to wondering if I was losing my mind.  But eventually I decided that Chris and I were ready for a Greyt addition to the family.  I told Chris that for his birthday I was giving him permission to get a Greyhound.  It was over, I had said that magic words.  I knew my life was changed forever.

At this point we had started stalking Nightrave's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NightraveGreyhounds/?fref=ts) and started to get to know them and their wonderful dogs.  I would check daily to see what pictures they had posted and which new dogs had come into their homes (sorry Fatima and Rachel, I never told you that).  We say beautiful Emma and handsome Harry.

We even went to the Auckland races to see the dogs in their 'natural habitat.' Those were some dogs that were happy to run I tell you.

We still had one last hurdle, we needed permission from our landlords to bring a dog into their home.  But after presenting some information on the breed they were willing and we were good to go.  At this point we started searching online for sales and what we could buy on TradeMe.  I quickly learned that getting a dog was expensive so having the luxury of time to help find deals was fantastic.  I think Chris waited all of ten minutes after receiving permission to email Nightrave and start the process in earnest.

We 'met' Fatima over the phone and described to her what we were like and what we would be looking for in a dog.  We would like a dog that we could go hiking with on weekends, take to a cafe or a farmers market, go on walks.  Basically we wanted the best dog in the world.  Fatima was fantastic and told us that she would mull things over and let us know when might work out for us to come down.  They are located in Fielding (6.5 hours drive from Auckland) which slightly complicated matters.  But we chose them because they foster all their dogs in their home as part of their family.  They also take the time to get to know each dog and ensure that they are matching their dogs to a good home that suits them(After meeting them in person, we know this to be 100% true because with approximately 15 dogs in the house, they named every one of them and told us their quirks).  And, as if those two reasons weren't worth a drive from Auckland, they are also dog trainers.  We were confident that any dog that they would foster would be amazing for us.

At this point, Chris became oddly silent around the house.  He was way calmer than me.  I think he was thinking that it was too good to be true.  That I would freak out and change my mind.  I will admit I had my moments.  Chris would find me lying on the carpet because I felt it was the last time I would ever have a clean one.  I know, I went off the deep end.  But I knew that once the dog and I had both settled in that I would love him/her forever.  I let myself get excited, why not? It was happening anyway.  I started looking up Greyhound fashion (tons on that subject, what a docile willing dog breed!) and ways to make the dog fit into our home in a way that I wouldn't mind.  This meant getting things ready REALLY early and then waiting for word from Fatima.  Chris kept telling to to slow down but once my heart was in it there was no going back for me.  I would be ready.

Chris decided with Fatima that November 19th would be a good day to head down.  We left on Friday after work and after taking one wrong turn (thank you Chris for thinking a GPS replaces a navigator, it does not) and ending up in Wanganui we arrived in Feilding.  I didn't sleep much that night because I knew that in the morning we would be meeting our newest family member.  I had prepared myself by watching video blogs on how other people had adopted Greyhounds.  That didn't help.  There is such a thing as being too prepared.  It means that you spend a lot of time looking things up and it doesn't help a bit.  Sometimes it hinders but in this case it just didn't add value.

On Saturday morning we met Fatima and Rachel (and Harry, Martin, Bert, Emma and Jesse).  Wow, I knew this was going to be difficult.  We met the dogs, took four of them for a walk.  Rachel and Fatima were fabulous and spent so much time with us telling us about each dog and about training and the breed in general.  We narrowed it down to Emma or Jesse (but for the next 3 hours all I could think about was Bert and if we had eliminated him unfairly, after all I have always loved black dogs most).  We went to the pub to mull things over.  I made it 1/4 way through my cider, spilled it all over myself, it was embarrassing.

Fatima and Rachel brought Emma and Jesse to meet us in town for another walk.  We walked the dogs around while trying to finalise our decision.  Other than moving to NZ I can not think of a harder one.  When you have a kid you get the one you get and don't have to decide.  This is not the case when adopting an adult Greyhound.  They come with wonderful personalities and quirks.

Chris with Jesse and myself with Emma, aren't they both stunning

We decided to bring Jesse home.  Although we loved both we felt that he would be an easier first dog for me as he was not so much of a diva :)

And then...Jesse made three!!!!

The next morning we said good bye for now to Fatima and Rachel and started our drive back to Auckland with Jesse in the back.  Poor fella, this has all been so much for him that his stomach was quite unsettled.  This lead to the first 3-4 hours with the windows down and my head hanging out.  That boy has bad smelling farts! He stayed awake most of the way which we knew would be tiring him out as Greyhounds sleep 20-22 hours a day.  We made it back to Auckland around 4pm and introduced Jesse to our neighbour and showed him around.

Look how happy Chris is to have his dog

Within minutes Jesse had discovered the cats outside and since then watching them has become his new favourite pass time.  If he is really keen he stands, if slightly too lazy he squats. and it that is too much it is a side flop with head still pointed towards them.  At one point he even tried to climb through the blinds to get to them.  He was firmly told no! and he hasn't done that again.

CATS!!!

It took him some time to settle in that night and Chris made lots of trips outside with him to prevent any accidents in the house.  Bless him.  We also took him for the 20min walk around the block to help orient him.  We would be doing the same walk twice a day from now on for the next two weeks.

Lesson learned from day 1:

1) Chris drops food when eating standing up at a gas station.  Jesse is lightening fast at retrieving it.  Bad Chris.

Jesse had showed no interest in our couch that night (read happy Chelsea) and even though he had only laid in his bed once we went to bed.  The next morning we found Jesse on the floor again.  but evidence revealed he had slept the night on Chris's side of the couch.  He had left it uncovered.  Lesson learned. (Fatima told us to place our dining chairs on the couch at night, it has worked since.) Monday morning he tried twice to get on the couch.  Stern words kept him off and he hasn't tried while we have been home since.

I stayed home on Monday and Chris stayed home on Tuesday.  It is hard to follow our welcoming training regime because it feels bad for us but we know we are doing our best to settle Jesse in in a language that he understands (dog).  He was such a good boy.  He walks the best out of any dog I have ever met.  He walks with a loose lead and is happy to plod along beside you, until he sees a cat and then he is one focused dog.  But even then he doesn't really pull he just looks and looks and looks.

Wednesday was his first day home alone and I think he handled it well.  When I got home he was almost beside himself with joy.  That night this is how he slept:

You will notice his Queen duvet.  Chris thought he looked cold and now his bed is fancier than ours

I think he is settling in well.  He dreams in his sleep and it is so adorable.  He starts breathing really heavily, then his legs start shaking like he is running in his dreams, racing.

Fancy gold collar, he is so fashionable

We also exchanged a few emails with Jesse's trainer Sarah.  She is a lovely lady, my age. She kept Jesse in her home with her partner for one year after his last race ended in a crash and a broken bone.  She made sure he was well and fell in love with him before Nightrave found a new home for him, ours. It was a pleasure to learn about Jesse from her.

Lessons from Thursday:

Jesse barks!!!! I knew he had a whine on him that was so loud but when the Shih tzu  next door came running up the fence barking Jesse got excited, ducked his head down as though to play and barked twice.  That other dog went quiet and ran back to the house so fast.  I pretended I saw nothing to not encourage barking.  I could hardly believe it though.  Sarah said he was noisey but the context made us think she meant nosey.  Now I just don't know...but I love him!

Also, Jesse has met a new friend! Silva (it could be Silver as Kiwi's have funny accents and it has messed us up before) is a 12 year old silver brindle female to lives just up the road while her house is being renovated.  So far we have seen her on two of our walks and today he was wagging his tail when he saw her (he didn't the first time).

So there you have our little red faun secret, someone's 30th birthday present.

Jesse is a 4 year old red faun male.  His racing weight is 33kg of handsome!!!! His running name is He's a Jessie, named after his mum. If you want to see him racing you can follow this link:

https://www.thedogs.co.nz/catch-the-action/11814/97596/result-detail.aspx

He is dog #2 in race 6.  You can search his pedigree on the following link:

http://greyhound-data.com/d?i=2061499

You don't need to register I discovered you just need to search his name.  His dad was quite famous and out of his 6 siblings, five were black, one was brindle and he was red faun.  There are pictures of his parents there.  They were blue brindle and white!

It takes Greyhounds a week or so to settle in to their new homes.  Until then they will have stomach issues and will be nervous.  I hope Jesse settles in soon and his personality might come through.  We still haven't told anyone at work that we have brought Jesse home.  I know they will want to meet him but I don't want to inflict guests on him until he is fully settled in and happy with us and our home. Until we have posted it on Facebook you are all sworn to secrecy!!!!!!!

I know I am forgetting something but that is okay, I can post it later :) As for how we are doing.  Good.  Not really training this November as we have been busy.  Triathlon training start 4x a week in December.  I have a week left to relax.

Modelling his new coat! Doubt he will wear it for a while though, summer is here!!!

Love you all, and don't worry, I WILL be the dog mum who posts too much about him!

Chelsea
xoxoxoxo