If you are interested in adopting a dog from Clare Greyhound Sanctuary, please contact us and tell us about your living situation, your experience with dogs, other pets in the house, children, what the dogs daily life should be like etc. The more information we get, the easier it is for us to match you to the right hound. Click here for more info on the adoption process.
Usually dogs have to go on a waiting list to come here, but today we got a call from a vet clinic. A 14 month old Greyhound had been turned in to be put down. He had sustained an injury. The vets thought he deserved a second chance and a few hours later he was here. We didn’t actually have the space for him, but the alternative was not an option. Meet Coinneacht. Right now he is resting after an eventful day. He is huge, very friendly and a big softie. Once his leg has been x-rayed and he is old enough to be neutered, he will be available for adoption, but for now he is snoozing happily and safely.
This little darling was on the waiting list and she arrived yesterday. Say hello to Minerva. She is two years old and is now focusing on a career as a pet Greyhound. She is on the smallish side, still a little confused, but friendly and kind. More information on Minerva when she has settled in properly.
Last Saturday Arthur arrived here. He was such a nice and well balanced boy that I brought him on the GGGW walk in Oranmore the following day. He did brilliantly and was delighted to meet and greet so many new dogs. Arthur is four years old and retired from racing. He is the nephew of Zachary, who was adopted last year. Like his uncle, his favourite thing in life is people and cuddles. And food. He is also very handsome, which I hope you can see in spite of Alvin’s photo bombing If you are interested in knowing more about Arthur, please get in touch.
Since nature abhors a vacuum, every time a dog leaves a new one arrives. This happy boy is Tobias. He will be six years old in November, but he still enjoy having fun. Tobias is very easy going, happy, friendly, loves cuddles and takes most things in his stride. He got on well with the house terrier while he was still in kennels and should be fine around smaller dogs. Tobias is a large dog and sometimes a little jumpy when extra excited, but he has excellent manners snd listens well.If you would like to know more about Tobias, please get in touch.
Sean is used to living in a home and have the full attention of his own humans. He is four years old, tall and good looking. He is a bit of a clown and very clever. He can open doors… He gets along fine with other greyhounds, but could get quite excited when spotting other dogs during his stay in Dublin. But since he is a friendly boy we think that with sensible introductions he could learn that dogs can look very different to him. He can be a little jumpy and also display some resource guarding around food and toys, and for this reason we feel he would do best in a home with children over 12 years old. Sean loves people, he loves cuddles on the sofa and spending time with people.
Are you looking for a mature gentleman to share your life? If so, say hello to Romeo. Romeo will turn seven this year, grown up enough to know how to relax, but still sprightly enough to have a proper run every day, and he loves rolling in the grass. He is a large, friendly bear of a dog who loves meeting people. Romeo have a recurring corn and we are looking into if he would be a good candidate for a tendectomy. While he gets on well with his kennel mates, we suspect he would enjoy life as a single dog, because people is far more interesting than dogs. If you would like to know more of Romeo please get in touch.
Juno is a six year old former coursing dog. She is quite a humble dog, but she loves attention, cuddles and treats. It’s only that she never takes it for granted or tries to call attention to herself. Juno prefers dogs her own size, but as long as smaller dogs don’t get into her face she is content with letting them be. She does have a keen side, though even if she have mellowed a lot. Juno would prefer a quieter home where she can settle in at her own pace and be appreciated even if she is a bit introverted. Once she feels secure she is a very loving girl.
Let me introduce you to Misneach. This lady had been on our waiting list for a while. She was a brood and described as extremely nervous by her owner. Misneach was meant to arrive on September 1st, but that was the day Oonagh passed away, so she turned up a few days later. A very sad and scared, brindle girl, with a wonky back leg from an old injury. Her puppies was nine weeks old, but she was very attached to them and didn’t want to leave them. I have always found that the best way to work through grief is to help another hound heal, and strangely enough Misneach was exactly what I needed after loosing Oonagh. We have been on quite a journey for the past couple of weeks, Misneach and I. Many steps forward and some backwards, but now I can see that there is a happy, cheeky girl behind all the fear and sadness. She is no longer running away from me in terror, she enjoys ear rubs, she have dared to pick up treats and she is comfortable enough to relax in the sunshine. Both Misneach and I have some way to go still, but we are in a much better place than two weeks ago (september 2022).
Little Eila is another one of our “imperfect” dogs. Eila is very shy and wary of people she doesn’t know. She came her at 18 months old, too fearful for racing, and for months she refused to engage. But we discovered that she loved being groomed and that was the first step on our bonding journey. These days Eila is affectionate, communicative, playful and loving her cuddles. She will make a lovely pet for someone who is willing to put in the time and effort to earn her trust. Eila would prefer a quiet life with a garden to play in and maybe only one or two people to bond with.
Meet Alvin, our snowflake rascal with an unstoppable joy for life. Alvin is a happy, friendly boy who is full speed ahead when he is outside and very relaxed when inside. He loves cuddles and human attention, but is a bit too exuberant and prone to full on body tackling to be a good fit with smaller children. He also gets very excited at the sight of smaller dogs and cats, but he is very good around dogs his own size. Alvin is currently living with four other greyhounds, both males and females and gets on well with them. Alvin is four years old, a bit of a loner round other hounds but not against them in any way. He either does his own thing or sticks very close, demanding attention and cuddles. A good chest rub always calms him down. In spite of not being very large, Alvin is very strong. Since Alvin is very strong his habit of snaking around your legs like a very large cat or running up to you at full speed, can sometimes be enough to knock a full grown person to the ground. We are working on him learning to be a teeny bit less exuberant and not so very physical. All he really wants is his very own human to stare adoringly at and get cuddles from. He does get very excited around smaller dogs and cats. Due to his physicality around humans he is not suitable to live with young children. This energetic, handsome boy deserves a loving home.
It is time to properly introduce Nancy. She has been here for a while, but she needed to find her feet and downgrade from tornado to occasional storm before she could be released on the world. Don’t get us wrong, Nancy is loving, sweet, friendly, funny and pretty as they come. There is not a bad bone in her, but she is a very intense young girl. Nancy is not a greyhound who spends her days lying upside down on a sofa. If you don’t find something amusing for her to do, she will find her own amusement. She loves toys, but in her eyes, anything can be a toy and she will not discriminate between actual toys and dog beds, table cloths cushions etc. She is whip smart and her brain is always busy, busy, busy. Because of this she also goes up in stress very easily and she can become overwhelmed. Our Nancy is not the easiest greyhound, but there is a very loveable girl underneath all the energy. We are looking for a special home for her. A home with experience and patience, with one or two grown up humans who are willing to work with and engage with our little rouge, and who have time to be with her most of the time. If you want to find out more, please get in touch.
Pretty, tiny Libby arrived here today, from Burren Animal Rescue. Libby broke her wrist very badly in March, and was brought to the vet to be put down. Luckily the vet knew of a rescue..After several surgeries and rehab from Sheena, Libby has now come here to continue her journey towards a pet life. Born in December 2019, Libby is still only a baby. She will probably have a limp all her life, but she is walking up and down stairs, running in the garden and she is happy, sweet girl. She eats well, loves toys and the other dogs and even if she is a little worried she is friendly and wants to make contact.
Please welcome Sonia. Sonia will turn three years old in August and she is another of our special cases. Because Sonia is struggling with a lot of emotions, the main one is anxiety and that sometimes translates into lashing out and quite fierce resource guarding. Her main resources as she sees it, is her human, then food and treats. She is currently living with several other dogs, but the optimal home for Sonia is a quiet home with one or two adults and no other dogs. There is no aggression in Sonia, but she can lash out and snap if she feels pressured. She has a particular fear of having her collar touched, especially when she is on a sofa or in a dog bed and making her move involves a lot of cajoling and reassuring. She walks well on lead but is unsure of strange people coming up to her and touching her. What Sonia loves most of all is being close to her human. She have grown a lot since she first arrived here and is now happy with showing affection to visitors. We are so hoping there is a home out there who can give this beautiful girl what she so deserves, her own human, a safe and patient environment, lots of love and attention. Any future home for Sonia will have to meet these requirement: Adult only home. No visiting children. A quiet home. Some experience with anxious dogs.
Diana has always attracted a lot of attention because she is without doubt one of the most beautiful greyhounds we have ever seen. She arrived here very skittish and nervous, and while she is still quite shy around people she doesn’t know, she has improved a lot. She is loving and affectionate once she trusts you. But for a long time Diana was terrified of unknown people. She is still not the best, but now she makes an effort to say hello and will allow herself to be petted. Diana goes up in stress very easily and when she does she is loud and also destructive. She can be very intense in both her insecurity and her stress and she is often on high alert. She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body and she desperately wants to trust, but she is definetely a high maintenence dog. Still, we have not given up on finding the right home for our stunning girl. Diana will need a a quiet, stable home without children or small dogs. No cats either as she have a very strong prey drive. She finds the world outside of her comfort zone very scary and stressful, so a large, secure garden would be ideal. She would also do well with a calm and confident dog to balance her intensity.
We know that in many peoples eyes the perfect greyhound is one who is calm, good with children, good with small dogs, happy around people and bustling streets. We know that the perfect greyhound may in fact have several “imperfections”, but with the right family and the right environment, they will be perfect.
Troy is one of those dogs who on paper is less than perfect. He is easily excitable and will bark and run around if a human, dog or a car goes pass on the road. He is quite unsure around other males and can feel the need to defend himself. But at heart he is the biggest softie, full of love and affection and very biddable. It took a while for him to settle in when he first arrived, but he has been a large bundle of kindness and love once he did. We want nothing more than for him to find a real home were we know he would soon become a loyal and loving companion. Troy would prefer a rural environment with a secure garden. He would like a human who will treat him kindly and gently and who is patient with him when he becomes reactive. He lives with four female dogs and gets on well with them. He does not have a great deal of experience with smaller dogs or other breeds. Could you be the one who gives Troy the foundation to become perfect?
Special Hounds
We have special hounds that are long-term residents at the sanctuary. They are only available for adoption in Ireland. These hounds are spooks. Spooks are also known as shy or nervous. They are sometimes thought to have been abused, but in fact they are born, not made. I think of spookiness as a form of autism. Their brains are wired differently and they process stimuli in a different way. You can’t love a spook “better”, but you can provide an environment in which they feel secure and they can blossom. In their daily lives they are very much like any other greyhound here. They love to play in the field, they are cheeky and affectionate, they are comfortable around other dogs. But they don’t to well with strange people, new situations or too many changes. Since this is a sanctuary, they are safe here, but needless to say these four are long term residents.
Say hello to the stunning Leo. He will be three years old in October 2018 so he is still just a baby. Leo wasn’t interested in racing. Leo is another shy one. But Leo has made great progress since he arrived. In the beginning he hardly dared to leave his bed, now he races around with the others, asks for cuddles and in general behaves like any other playful, three year old. New people, and new situations still make him very insecure though. He find most things really scary. New people, new places, noises, going in the car… Leo has been at the sanctuary for a while now, and will probably stay on a bit. Maybe one day he will be brave enough to be adopted.