He's a Greek harehound. Someone put him,his brother and his sister in a box with 50 Euros and left them at a shelter. Expected to grow up to be mediumish sized.
Things are going fairly well at the moment. How much do I want to gamble...
He's a Greek harehound. Someone put him,his brother and his sister in a box with 50 Euros and left them at a shelter. Expected to grow up to be mediumish sized.
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Edited at 2019-08-22 06:23 (UTC)
I think Gothmog would love him, because Gothmog loves everyone: they would probably enjoy playing together. Nenya and Fankil are both fine around Rosie, and Fankil would probably follow Gothmog's lead. Rosie... I think would enjoy the company, but might also find a pup a tad energetic.
I haven't got any advice on the gamble. You have so much more experience, in that regard, than I have!
Um. Do Greek Harehounds make good pets? How strong is their hunting instinct? Do you know anyone who has raised a Greek Harehound from a puppy, so you can have a chat before you make up your mind?
(I swear my last dog Pip was part foxhound, hence all the mayhem and destruction and the trail of murdered wild life...)
Their Wikipedia entry does make them sound like foxhounds and says they aren't suitable as pets (though I know a few people with foxhounds who say they are perfectly OK pets). But then lurchers are pretty prey-driven as a group. So far as I can tell, these guys are bred for a similar hunting niche, but as scenthounds rather than sighthounds...
Also, go back 20-30 years, and that's what people used to say about ex-racing greyhounds: ie, unadoptable, impossible prey drive, used only to kennel life, safest to have them put to sleep when they finish racing, etc. And that was obviously bollocks.
Lazy and laid-back sounds good! (I adored Pip, but I think he took several years off my life. He came with no off switch. Maybe it was the unfortunate combination of Springer and hound genes...)
I'm hopeful. Deep breath: I've sent off my application form: I'll see if the rescue think I've got the right home!
Where would you be getting him from, though? (I'm wondering because of the Euros).
There are lurcher pups in rescues I could adopt in the UK, of course, but Rosie is less keen on other lurchers than smaller dogs (a harehound type would be very unlikely to get taller than she is!), and I quite fancy a scenthound for once, and they don't come up so often in rescue in the UK.
Brexit is end Oct, and who knows what will happen then, but he'd be arriving Oct 20th.
I hope that all goes well if you do decide to adopt him.
And there are puppy farms in Eastern Europe that used to sell lorry-loads of cheap pups to Britain: I think that's one reason the recent law making it illegal to import pups under 15 weeks or sell them in pet shops got through. There was a serious risk of rabies from,believe it or not, illicit puppy-smuggling.
And then there are a bunch of rescues that specialise in importing dogs from pounds in Ireland, Spain, Greece and Romania, mostly, to the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France and Scandinavia. Haven't heard of anyone bringing in dogs from Turkey, but it probably happens. One reason is that there are a lot of people in the UK who are prepared to adopt hound types, which are often considered unsuitable pets in their countries of origin.
Romania is a bit different: a lot of dogs coming from there are more or less feral, and they can be pretty challenging, but some people like a challenge!
(yes, I am shallow, but nobody can say I haven't taken in an assorted bunch of dogs over the years: I feel I've earned a pup with ginger eyebrows if I want one.)
Edited at 2019-08-23 11:59 (UTC)
Greyhound races were forbidden here a few years ago so there are a lot of rescue dogs. They're not wanted in the country but strangely, they do very well - people say - in apartments. I live in a neighbourhood with a high density of apartment buildings and greyhounds! They're very beautiful!