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.
Our waiting list is ridiculous, and it takes a long time to work down it. But we got an opening and this young man was next in line. Say hello to Sylvester, he is only two years old and he is the son of the incomparable Misty. He is from the last litter Misty had before she came here and he is very like his Mum, both in looks and temperament. Sylvester will be available for adoption once we have got to know him properly.
Meet Winnie. She is only little and is three years old. Winnie never took to racing and decided on a sofa career instead. She is friendly, funny and can be quite boisterous and jumpy. She loves her cuddles, playing with toys and running around in the garden. She has very little experience of life outside of a rural environment and would need to learn about such things like traffic and people walking around. Winnie Mouse is the smallest greyhound here at the moment. Something she compensates for with being a very energetic jumper. At any given moment Winnie can be counted on to jump up to give kisses or demand a cuddle. She has only lived in a rural setting and is friendly, happy, easy going, but she still needs to learn about a larger life. Winnie gets on well with her kennel mates and she used to live and play with a terrier.
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.
It is always sad when a dog has to be returned. Juno was much loved by her owners, but sadly urban life did not suit her. The stress made Juno reactive, especially towards smaller dogs and her behaviour kept escalating in spite of training. This became immensely stressful for both Juno and her owners, and today she returned to CGS. We will do everything we can to find Juno, who is a lovely, easy going girl a new home.
Say hello to Brigid. She is still a baby and will turn two in June. Everything is a bit new and confusing right now, but she is friendly and open. More info as we get to know her.
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 3 special hounds that are long-term residents at the sanctuary. They are only available for adoption in Ireland: Leo, Tikki and Oonagh. 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.
Tikki arrived June 2017. She is three years old now, a pretty girl with four white paws and long legs. Tikki is the worst case spook. She will react emotionally violently to strangers. She will either run and hide in her kennel, and try to make herself invisible, or she will develop a sort of obsessive compulsive behaviour where she paces back and forth and shouts at the scary intruder. In her daily live she is very much like any other greyhound here but she doesn’t do well with strange people, new situations or too many changes.