Rescue Dog Miracles- ticks, pets and walks

Sunday 14th September

Tomorrow will mark the last day of Galas’ fourth week at home with me. I can honestly say it has been beautiful, heartwarming, stressful, tiring and just wonderful!

They always talk about the rule of threes in rescue: 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, that you will see a different dog. It’s been my pleasure to see Galas’ progress over her first days and weeks. At the end of three weeks, she had come so far, but still had so far to go! She didn’t want to come into the main house or let my parents touch her, and wouldn’t go anywhere near the gate, so walks were out of the question. As we started our fourth week, I was so hoping for her to gain some more confidence and for us to see more of the true Gala coming out.

We have had some really stressful times - even though she hadn’t been out of the garden, I found that she had loads of ticks, and not standard ticks you can see but the tiniest ticks imaginable. You couldn’t even really see them. I was giving her strokes all over and grooming, and as her fur is thin on her feet, I noticed this tiny white thing as my face was close, and realised it was a miniscule tick. I removed it, then kept finding more and more as I searched her feet. I think they must have been larvae to be so small and maybe some nymphs. Now, as we haven’t left the garden, that meant we must have a nest here. I had noticed a few ticks on me the week before she came when I was down the garden, and I was absolutely horrified to realise there must be a nest. When a female tick lays eggs, she lays from hundreds to thousands of larvae. I think it’s safe to say that I used to have a genuine tick phobia. I have been forced to deal with a few ticks from looking after animals, so all I can say now is it’s as strong as a fear can be whilst still trying to deal with it. So for me, this is literally a challenge sent from hell. I had been trying to use a natural tick spray on Gala (more about flea and tick preventatives in a different blog), so of course, finding all these ticks, I was even more keen to put it on. She really hates it, so I decanted some from a spray bottle into a pipette so I could just drip it onto her coat and brush it through. Seeing her cower away from me while I did it is the most awful thing in the world, but I was as gentle as I could be because I knew I had to do it. I then went inside for something, and when I came back, she was just sitting on the bed trembling. I can’t tell you how bad I felt. I had to go away again and burst into tears. I felt like such an awful person for upsetting her, and so despairing and anxious about the ticks in our own garden that should be somewhere safe for us. It was one of the worst mornings I have had recently, and I didn’t know how to pull it back together.

Then suddenly, a little Gala miracle. I was in the house making lunch, my parents were there too, and suddenly she started coming into the house! In and out, a little bit at a time, then back out, again and again, until in the end she came right into the sitting room and sat down next to my mum! I couldn’t have been more proud. It was such a lovely thing to happen on such a horrible day, and I can’t tell you how much it lifted my spirits! She carried on going in and out all afternoon, even lying in a bed I put out for her there, then racing outside to see me while I was working in the garden. I was using a scarifier to try and prepare the lawn for nematode application in a bid to kill the ticks, and instead of being scared, she ran right over and was trying to play with me! It amazed me how a day can be so awful and stressful, yet so full of joy at the same time. I felt so grateful to Gala for cheering me up. The tick nightmare isn’t over, but young Gala was taking strides forward and I am so lucky to be able to share it with her!

Another day, another tick horror, picking another six tiny ticks off her in the evening, then finding two on our bed in the morning. I have been trying so hard to stay calm about the whole tick situation, to handle it, research what we can do, and try to make a proper plan. I had ordered some nematodes, microscopic worms you can get to eat specific bugs from the garden. The nematodes that eat lawn fleas (did you know fleas don’t just live on dogs; they actually live in grass, and your dog can get them from there?!) are supposed to eat ticks too, so I ordered some to try and apply to the garden in the hope we could kill the ticks. It’s tricky not knowing exactly where they are, and the garden is fairly large, but it seemed like the best thing to try. So, having spent so much time researching all this, trying to keep my cool, it just pushed me over the edge finding so many more ticks, and I totally lost it again. I felt so close to the edge, and the fact that I couldn’t get Gala to go out the front means she needs the garden to go to the toilet, so it’s not like we can just never go in the garden either. Thankfully, my Dad was here to help; we started by fencing off the back half of the garden in the hope that is where the tick nest is, until we can treat it. I started looking into the possibility of a hardcore pest remover as well. But I was all over the place; the whole situation is so stressful, my skin has been crawling for days, I’ve barely got any work done, I’ve spent so long reading about ticks. Honestly, one of the worst periods of recent life.

Then what do you know, young Gala steps in again to save the day. After talking to the rescue for a advice, I decided that I would carry her round the front of the house and put her in the front garden so she could see what it was like, in the hope we would be able to go for a walk one day soon. I did so, and when I put her down, she took a look around and then trotted off down the street! Incredible. We didn’t go far and she is still nervous, but it felt like the most brilliant progress! I was getting excited and nervous energy from her. To see her actually trotting, and her tail out most of the time, I couldn’t believe it. And the feeling of freedom for myself to finally be out with her not stuck at home was also a tonic. I saw a couple of our neighbours, the very first people who have seen Gala (we had to turn round because she is scared of strangers), but I was just so proud to be out with her. It has been so long since my darling Miss Nancy and I were out. I hadn’t even seen these people since Miss Nancy died; the truth is I have been avoiding anyone I knew because I can’t bear telling people what happened. The pain hasn’t gone away, and I still can’t bear the thought of telling them, but I had Gala with me, and I have to concentrate on her and encouraging her, and it just somehow makes it easier.  We just trotted up and down back and forth near my house, getting to know the locale. Yet again it felt like such a gift after a horrific morning.

What a strange time this is for me, so stressed about something that is a personal nightmare to me and extremely hard to deal with in a practical sense as well as not to just break down into a blubbering wreck, and then sharing these joyful moments of progress with Lady Galadriel. She has gone from strength to strength in the house too, spending time in here, in the dog-sitting room with me, in my parents’ sitting room with them. She is turning into quite a grandmas girl and goes to her often for pets! Although she likes my dad, gives him huge tail wags and follows him around outside, she still won’t let him touch her. I am sure it’s not far away though after such a strong week for her.

Next week is going to see me try and apply these nematodes to the garden whilst desperately hoping I don’t get covered in ticks at the same time, which feels problematic. Honestly, I could throw up; that’s how it makes me feel, and it is driving me to drink, no mistake. But I have Gala to look forward to, carrying on trying walks, and I hope she will go to the gate on her own four paws this week, paws crossed!

My nervous Galgo’s first week of walks - Rescue Dog Diaries

Sunday 21st September 2025

Looking back on our first week of walks, I can honestly say I am so proud of Gala and we have made some incredible progress! There are definitely highs and lows, and it has been hard work for both of us, but there is a lot of light.

The first time a week ago (after being with me three weeks), I carried her round to the front of the house, not knowing what would happen, and almost straight away she just started trotting around our culdesac, then even out and down the main road a bit! I was amazed. Her tail was out a lot of the time, but she didn’t want to go far. I am not sure if we just picked a good moment when it was quiet out, but after that, things seemed to slow down a bit. I carried her out three times that day, and she didn’t then want to leave our close. If she saw a person, she wanted to run home or go in the other direction. It was very slow work, tempting her around the close. I get down on her level and stroke her shoulder to reassure her, then get in front of her with my arms open to get her to come towards me. Sometimes literally metre by metre, sometimes she will then start moving again and we walk a bit. It can be very painstaking, and requires a lot of high-value treats! But after spending three weeks just at home, I was so proud of her for being out there, and even if we were just on the close, she was observing, listening, getting used to things.

I’ve started to feel like we actually live in Piccadilly Circus, not a culdesac in a semi-rural village, my god the amount of cars and people! There’s nothing like being with a nervous dog to make you notice these things. We keep going out every day and it’s like we can’t go in any direction without encountering a person and having to turn around, neighbours talking outside their houses, washing their cars, gardening, deliveries, it would be hilarious if poor Gala didn’t get so scared.When she gets scared by someone and can’t run away (and I’m not letting her run home, I’m not making her go up to people but just that sometimes we need to wait until they have gone so we can carry on) and she will be there cowering and trembling in my arms. It’s really so heartbreaking to see. But the amazing thing with this girl is how quickly she seems to be able to shake that feeling off.

I was still trying to tempt her to the garden gate each day, then having to give up and carry her out, so on the fourth day when she willingly came out the gate herself, I was so happy! We then had a friend who has greyhounds come round to walk with us. Gala has actually met them before because they came to visit us in the garden. That went really well, so it seemed like a good idea to try and walk together. Gala started going towards my friend in the street, then it’s almost as if she remembered she needs to be scared and tried to run away again. Evie, the greyhound, is a pretty confident, bold girl who just wants to barrel up to Gala and sniff her all over, which she isn’t very keen on either, so it was a very slow start trying to get out of the close, with loads of coaxing and waiting again. Then, like a miracle, I managed to get Gala to come down the path in the corner for the first time, which will lead us to the next section of our walk! I think it was the fact that Evie and Catherine were at the other end of the path that made her bold enough to go down there, even though she was still pretending to be scared of them. So through we went and on to the next section of the walk.

I’d been trying to get Gala down here to some fields where it would be quieter anyway, so I was thrilled to finally make it, and almost immediately her tail came out again. We actually hit a farmer coming out of his field with a trailer and someone outside a house, so it was pretty busy, but in company, Gala handled it and we managed to get past. She then just looks like a totally different dog, tail out, trotting on keenly, it was amazing. To go from trembling and cowering to happily trotting seemed like a miracle. And so it has gone. We have seen a lot of both, Gala trying to bolt when she sees someone, having to have a short carry to get nearer to a quiet spot, not wanting to go through a kissing gate, to trotting along like the most confident girl ever, and this is all on the same walk! By the end of the week, she was trotting confidently to the garden gate for her walk. She has learned to go through kissing gates, she is scared of sheep, she is terrified of some people and dogs, yet seems much less bothered by others. She’s learnt that her mother won’t let her give up, but will support her and her bravery so she can get to the places she enjoys. Well, I hope she is learning that.

She seems very resilient; she physically shakes off upsets and then is able to go back to being tail out, providing we are in the right place. If she is upset by people or dogs barking at her, she doesn’t want to carry on, and a lot of patience and coaxing is required, but with repetition, she is gaining a wee bit of confidence each time. She seems happy in the countryside, so I think taking her to places I know we will be able to do quiet walks is going to really increase both her general life happiness but also her confidence. Then, hopefully, she will start being able to deal with the things she finds scary a bit easier. Pretty amazing progress in a week anyway. Is it easy? No. Does it require the patience of a saint? Yes, I think so! But to see her in a field trotting along happily, it is so worth it. I am so excited to see what the next week will bring. I am planning to take her out in the car for the first time. Hopefully, she will be excited to see somewhere new in nature, with not many people around, just lots of lovely fresh smells and sights.

Ten reasons to adopt a greyhound (why ex-racing greyhounds make such good pets)

Today I am going to take you through ten reasons why Greyhound make amazing pets, so if you are considering adopting a greyhound or getting a dog, or you just want to learn a bit more about these amazing animals then you’re in the right place. In no particular order, here are 10 reasons (plus bonuses ) why ex-racing greyhounds are so special and make such wonderful pets and household companions.

1. Greyhounds are very adaptable to different living conditions

Whilst it would be perfect for every dog to go to a big quiet home with a massive garden, of course we don’t all live in houses like that! They can really thrive in flats, houses, towns or the countryside as long as you make sure they have the opportunity for interesting walks and somewhere safe to run around off lead once a week. When I got Miss Nancy I was living in a first floor flat! Whilst it may not have seemed perfect to me, it was definitely the nicest home she’d ever had. We went for long, quiet countryside walks, and after she’d settled in I started taking her to a private secure field that we rented for an hour for her to run around. Now I take her everywhere with me, I’ve had her three and a half years, and it’s really been a beautiful experience watching her grow and gain more confidence with different places and people. I have no qualms taking her to pubs, cafes, peoples houses, anywhere outdoors, shops even, because she is such a good calm well behaved girl. I’m generally so proud of her behaviour!

2. Greyhounds learn new things fast.

Of all the adult dogs you can get, they probably have the most limited scope of experience as they lead a very sheltered life in the kennels. They don’t get to meet lots of different people or breeds of dogs, or go out and see the world! Everything will be new to them when you bring them home. But they pick things up super quickly. One thing they won’t know how to do is climb stairs. As my flat was first floor, me and Nancy obviously had to go up and down multiple times a day which was tricky as first, but by the fourth day she was going up and down them like she’d been doing it her whole life. I had to encourage her to jump up onto her sofa as she didn’t know what to do, but as soon as she was up she definitely liked the idea! She also didn’t really know how to play with was really sad, so I introduced her to toys and how fun they could be and she was soon throwing her new octopus around the room making him squeak. She also plays a pretty good game of ball in the garden, throwing it in the air, catching it and chasing it around - this is such progress from the first months when she had no idea what a ball was or how it could entertain her. It’s a wonderful experience watching a greyhound grow and learn.

3. Greyhounds are loving and enjoy being with people.

Despite their past lives they are very sweet dogs who really do enjoy being near their humans, and in the case of Miss Nancy meeting new people too! They get very attached, you will be the only stable thing in her life after leaving the animal shelter and racing kennels, and they will stick to you like glue at for the first few months and maybe longer. But I have found Nancy has a very big heart with room to love lots of other people too, she adores my sister, parents, and pretty much all the friends she has met! They generally seem to be happy just to be near you, Miss Nancy is a great companion while I am working. She will happily sleep in her bed and let me get on with things, occasionally groaning and stretching, or saying hello can I have a stroke.

4. They don’t jump up

Greyhounds are not given to jumping up, it’s not a behaviour they will have performed in their previous lives as kennel dogs (and dogs repeat behaviour that they have peviously found rewarding), so if you don’t want muddy paw prints and pulled threads all over your clothes you’ll be happy! Obviously they are a fairly large dog, but they really are gentle giants who will just stand being quite reserved, so you don’t need to worry they’ll knock over your granny when she comes to visit.

5. They are easy to clean.

Greyhounds have short coats which are super easy to clean. If they do get muddy, you can just brush it off when they dry so they do not need constant baths. I only bath Miss Nancy maybe once every sixth months if that. They also tend to be quite ladylike and walk around muddy puddles, and walk down the middle of paths instead of thrashing around in the bushes like a spaniel so they really don’t usually get too mucky in the first place.

6. Greyhounds molt very little.

When they first arrive home with you, they will go through a big molt which is them loosing their kennels coats. That’s an extra layer of fur they develop to get by in the cold outdoor kennels. After that though greyhounds really don’t leave much hair around, I only really find Nancys hair in her bed where she lies everyday and it’s only little short hairs. You will find they shed more in Summer like any other animal.

7. Greyhounds are used to being handled.

This means it’s usually quite easy to take them to the vet, or give them treatment at home. I’d say the word is stoic, I actually feel bad sometimes at how sweet Miss Nancy is letting me do things to her! For medical reasons of course, but it’s not all fun. She’ll let me endeavour to clean her teeth, clean her ears, put treatment in her ear, check her all over for cuts, groom her, wash her, clean her paws etc. She may not like it but she just stands there with her head lowered waiting for the unpleasantness to be over. I may just be lucky but she also happily eats any pills I have to give her, either by themselves or with a blob of peanut butter on to sweeten the deal. She even lets me put shorts on her and acts like she doesn’t notice they are there.

8. They are incredibly deserving.

This probably deserves to be number one. I’m not going to go into the greyhound racing industry now but in the UK/Ireland they still breed around 18000 greyhounds annually, out of which only about 8000 actually make it to the race tracks. The rest are either killed, abandoned, or taken to shelters to await adoption. The dogs that race have a tough life spending most of their time in kennels, sometimes being driven to tracks to race. If they are injured or not good enough they will usually be got rid of, either killed or taken to a rescue. This obviously leaves a huge number of greyhounds looking for homes in animal shelters, and sadly they are the last dogs to be adopted. Hard to believe when you look at Miss Nancy but there it is! They don’t ask to be bred, and they spend there lives working without comfort so somebody else can make money. I think they truly all deserve to be taken to a proper home to be loved, spoiled and shown the world.

9. Good at walking on the lead

For a big dog greyhounds really are quite genteel and don’t tend to pull, so it’s really easy to walk them on the lead. I would never give a large heavy dog to a child or someone that wasn’t generally ok physically because of course they get excited sometimes like any other dog and you need to be able to hold them to keep them safe! Miss Nancy weighs 29kg as an example, fine for most adults. It makes them extra great really because you can be so flexible where you walk them. Miss Nancy does go off her lead quite a bit now when we are in safe places in the countryside or beach, but she is always on her lead anywhere near a road and in towns etc and she doesn’t mind at all. A lot of greyhounds will be nervous at first of the things they see in the big new world so you do need to be prepared to build up their confidence gradually, using positive reinforcement only.

10. Greyhounds smell great

Greyhounds have lovely short coats, and really don’t smell doggy. I personally have walked into other peoples houses and gagged at the pungent dog smell but you won’t have that problem with a greyhound! Because they don’t have the long thick fur or undercoat of other breeds they just don’t seem to harbour smell. Nancy Drew actually smells totally amazing which I have had confirmed by independent witnesses.

BONUS 1 - They are super quiet

Most greyhounds that I have met rarely bark, so if you’re someone like me who does not find the barking of a dog a melodic sound, you should definitely consider a greyhound! I actually wasn’t sure Miss Nancy had a bark for a few months. She generally saves it for when she is super excited about having seen a cat somewhere, so if you want a nice peaceful household, and to be able to take your dog out to pubs and cafes without them being a total nuisance, think about getting a greyhound.

BONUS 2 - They sleep a lot!

Nearly forgot to mention this but it’s true, you may have heard greyhounds sleep up to 20 hrs a day and I can confirm that. Nancy happily has a lie in, gets up for breakfast and a wee, then retires back to bed until lunchtime. It makes it so much easier to get on with your own things at home when your dog is happy to sleep a lot and doesn’t constantly require entertaining. They really do need a lot of sleep as well, and as long as you provide them with a super comfy bed or a sofa they will happily while away the hours chillaxing until it’s time to go on the next adventure.

BONUS 3 - They are disgustingly cute!

Watch any of our videos to see Miss Nancy up close and personal and I don’t think you can disagree, honestly I just think it’s too much sometimes! The long nose, the soulful eyes, the elegant athletes physique makes greyhounds so graceful, yet they can also be the biggest clowns and it’s such a funny and sweet contrast.

BONUS 4 - They run like poetry in motion.

Watching a greyhound run of its own free will is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. They are pure joy and freedom, and you will feel it in your heart too when you watch them go.

So there you have it, ten reasons plus bonuses why the greyhound is not only an amazing animal but makes a really brilliant pet. I’d love to hear your experiences with your own greyhound or any other things you can think of so leave a comment below and we can get a conversation going!