Thirteen greyhounds under the same roof. That’s  a LOT of dogs! In fact, Ken and I believed that it was “enough” dogs. We had an amazing pack. A variety of personalities and ages that just blended and complemented each other so well. A Mama dog, A Papa dog, sisters, brother and sister, bounces, good racers, racing school dropouts, high energy, low energy, old, young, middle aged, shy, outgoing, spooky, reserved, goofy…yep, we pretty much had every aspect of greyhounds covered. And after spending time with our friends’ Irish Wolfhounds and Scottish Deerhound, we decided that we really wanted to branch out to another sighthound breed when we were ready to adopt again…but that wouldn’t be for a looooong time, right?

In a conversation one day, I asked Ken: “IF we got another dog, what characteristics would we need in order to meet what we were looking for in a new dog (non-greyhound) and would still mesh with our large pack of greyhounds?” It was an interesting conversation. First, since we had so many females, it would have to be a male. Second, being heavy on the youngsters, he would have to be middle-aged or even a senior. Third, he would have to have a very greyhound-like temperament. Not too energetic or boisterous. Fourth, size was critical. Irish Wolfhounds were definitely too big for the pack and Scottish Deerhounds most likely were too. After learning about other sighthound breeds we really didn’t think there would be one with a temperament that would mix well with our current greyhound pack. Fifth, he needed to be a dog that needed a new home  and adopted from a rescue. Sixth, we really wanted a scruffy coated pup. Seventh, he’d have to be for adoption relatively close to South Carolina. Yep, most certainly this dog didn’t exist. It would be impossible for a dog to exist that would meet all these criteria AND be located close to us. Yep, we weren’t going to be adopting any time soon.

Enter Petfinder. Like many greyhound people I cruise the listings on a regular basis looking for greyhound that have ended up in shelters, rather than with adoption groups. And while I’m there I search for sighthounds that also have the misfortune of being dumped in shelters. Aaaaaaaand then I find this:

1. Male
2. Five or Six years old
3. Deerhound/Greyhound mix (Staghound isn’t a breed option on Petfinder)

And after talking to the adoption group I found out he was:

4. 50 pounds
5. He was returned to his original adoption group when his owner was remarried and “Cigan” wanted to eat the new wife’s kitties
6. Well, look at his picture! He’s scruffy!!!
7. He was located in Florida, about 7 hours away. Not only that, but the adoption rep just happened to be on her way to a dog show two days after we applied and said she’d be more than happy to drive him all the way to Columbia, SC which is a couple hours or so from us.

Our dog that couldn’t possibly exist suddenly appeared before our eyes. And two days after we applied for and were approved to adopt him, we were in Columbia signing the paperwork to make him a part of our family. And I don’t think he could have fit in any better with the pack if he were a retired racer. That, I believe, is what you call Fate.

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