The worst thing about pets...

Saying goodbye...

This morning one of my greyhounds died. He was at least 12, but was relatively healthy and playful until this week. We rescued him from the brink of being euthanized nearly ten years ago. Since then, he drank my coffee, got fur all over my couch (illegally), slept about 22 hours a day, watched 'his' kids grow up, hung out with the neighborhood deer family from time to time, served as foster dad for a herd of rescued and foster kittens, and brought happiness and smiles to everyone he met. During this time, he firmly believed that he was a cat, despite being tall enough to rest his head on the kitchen table.
He pretty much defined the term 'gentle soul'.
I knew this would be coming, but it happened so quickly I feel like I've been sucker punched.

Repeatedly.

By Mike Tyson.

<img src="" />

<img src="" />

Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that. He sounded like a great companion.

Yeah, that's tough. Sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear that

sounds and looks to have been a loveable playful goofball

E36 M3. Sorry man.

I'm sorry for your loss. Rest in peace pup.

Sorry to hear it. I'm glad he got an extra decade's worth of playtime, though!

Sorry for your loss. We do get very attached to our pets. We had to put one of our cats down last week. And even though we still have two, it just isn't the same around here.

Sorry to hear it.

Condolences on the loss of a friend and family member.

You gave him 10 extra years. You were lucky to find each other. I'm sorry for your loss.

That sucks.

Thanks for rescuing a great dog, it sounds like he had a great life.

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you both brought each other a lot of happiness.

Thank you everybody, didn't mean to bring the mood down, but he was pretty exceptional. To make a GRM tie-in, there's nothing like having an 85lb dog blast by you and roost you with sod chunks at 45 mph (radar verified). He had slowed down the past few years, but I'll always miss his goofy flybys.

The life span difference can make things hard, more often than they should. I'll give my mutt an extra scratch behind the ear for you.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Beautiful boy.

XLR99 wrote: Thank you everybody, didn't mean to bring the mood down, but he was pretty exceptional. To make a GRM tie-in, there's nothing like having an 85lb dog blast by you and roost you with sod chunks at 45 mph (radar verified). He had slowed down the past few years, but I'll always miss his goofy flybys.

I know this experience too. My "Dingo" passed 2.5 years ago due to osteo. Big strong dumb gentle soul. We have two Salukis and a whippet currently. Heading to Grapehounds this summer where I'm sure my wife will have us bringing home another 42 mph couch potato. Sorry to hear about your loss. You gave him so much life he wouldn't have had otherwise.

I'm not much of a dog person, but having met a few, a greyhound would be my dog of choice if I'm ever in that position. Sorry for your loss.

aw

Sorry for your loss and thank you for giving a grey a wonderful home to enjoy.

It's funny you mention the deer: in high school I walked a pair of retired greyhounds and they absolutely thought they were kin to the local deer. You mention the flyby, but my "speed" memory is of having two greys go from at my side to the end of their over-long leashes like they were shot out of a cannon. This happened every time they saw a deer (I think they were trying to go play with their "family"). I'm amazed I never dislocated a shoulder.

This sums up his running style: <img src="" />

Jinking around, tongue flapping & streaming slobber everywhere like a laughing kid doing donuts in a muscle car.
Our other grey, Lucy, is like an F1 car: pure efficient scary-fast motion. Opening a door is like a starting gate for her.

What kind of special care, if any, does a greyhound need?

My empathy & sympathy to you XLR & "Godspeed" to your friend.

Thank you etifosi! Two big issues with greyhounds:

-They can't EVER go off-leash. Once they're on the move, you need a helicopter with FLIR and several ground teams to catch them. Invisible fence doesn't work well, and rescue orgs don't like them for that reason.

-They don't have any insulation. While roosting in snow is fun, they can't tolerate it for long. We have coats for them. Also, they need good padded beds (they prefer your bed or couch )

Other than that, many have dental problems due to poor diets at the track, but they're very healthy as a breed due to the massive gene pool. I've heard that they do well as apartment dwellers.