Olga ~ Very Special Girl from a Terrible Start - 3yo Fawn/White Lurcher

OLGA

**UPDATED: FEBRUARY 2013**

Location: Foster home in Norfolk, UK.
Key Points: Adores people, super friendly, big fan of cuddles, needs work with other dogs, house savvy, housetrained, walks to heel, travels well.

Olga is a very special little girl who is approx. 3 years old. She was taken off the streets in Romania only to find herself landed in a kill shelter with absolutely deplorable conditions. Lucky for her, a rescue stepped in and, long story short, she now has all 4 paws firmly planted in the UK!

Olga is a very pretty fawn and white lurcher type girl, medium sized at 25” to the shoulder. She is in great condition now after lots of good food and TLC. Olga definitely doesn’t look like she’s from around here, and she gets lots of positive attention when out and bout. The only thing this girl needs now is a loving forever home to call her own.



~ Personality ~
Generally: Extremely affectionate & sweet, learning to play, growing in confidence daily.
It’s really amazing that Olga’s horrible start to life hasn’t caused her to doubt humans – she simply ADORES people. She can never get enough fuss and attention, and is always happy to meet someone new. Having said that, she isn’t overly demanding or pushy either, and will generally ignore people who don’t approach her. She is incredibly loving and affectionate, and will come and check in with you a few times a day for nothing more than a ‘hi I’ve missed you’ hug. When she’s really happy she chatters her teeth together and has a very waggy tail. She is fabulous with children and could do excellently in a home with kids over the age of 8.



Olga is still adjusting to what is obviously a huge change for her. She is doing extremely well and making steady progress. She is already relaxed in the house, and has started to play. In short, this girl is just a delight to have for company!



~ In the Home ~
Generally: Housetrained, comfortable & settled, ok to be left for short periods, learning house rules.
Olga has been in her foster home for just 2 weeks, and the difference in her since her arrival is astounding! She is already completely comfortable in the house and knows the daily routine. She is housetrained, quiet through the night and is so far ok to be left for 1.5hrs with no fuss at all. This timeframe will be gradually lengthened as she settles more. She is learning all the house rules and accepting instruction without an ounce of fuss – we’re sure she’s just so grateful for a soft bed and a warm home that she doesn’t want to put a foot wrong.



Olga knows her foster family well already, and has formed a healthy bond. She is always happy to see her foster parents when they come home, loves having guests over (of course she does, it means even more cuddles!!) and she is fantastic with the 2 children, aged 8 and 10. She is starting to learn some basic commands now such as ‘sit’ and ‘stay’, and quickly learned to wait patiently for her supper.



~ Other Animals ~
Generally: Tense around other dogs, needs positive socialisation, currently best as only dog.
Olga’s distressing past means that she needs to relearn how to relate to other dogs. The kill shelter that she was in was badly overcrowded with not enough food to go around, and this has obviously created some dog-associated issues that Olga needs to overcome. We have no doubt that she can learn to be comfortable around other dogs again, but right now Olga can be tense and on edge when meeting unfamiliar dogs. When she sees another dog, Olga pulls on the lead and barks, though when up close she will ignore the other dog if they politely ignore her. She is at her worst if she has to eat alongside another dog, and becomes very tense and will food guard, though she is as sweet as can be with people.

With the right selection of ‘canine teaching helpers’, Olga can definitely become social and happy in their company again. She just needs lots of repetition, patience, and gentle guidance. Kerry Greyhounds UK has a behaviourist on board who can help new owners help Olga overcome this. Because of this current issue, Olga would be best going to a home without other pets at the moment.



~ Out and About ~
Generally: Well behaved & walks to heel unless sees other dog, then pulls/barks, fantastic with all people incl children.
Olga walks like a dream on the lead. She trots happy alongside you and likes to occasionally nuzzle the back of your knees, as if checking in with you. She will pull and bark if she sees another dog, but this is improving already after just 2 weeks in her foster placement. She is also getting very quickly accustomed to passing traffic, and travels great in the car. She doesn’t need a huge amount of exercise, and is content with just two 30min walks a day and a daily bout of ‘mad garden zoomies’. Due to her reaction to other dogs, Olga is currently not suitable to be let offlead unless it is a completely secure area, but with time this can very easily change.



Olga is a very chilled out girl at heart, and is only tense at times because of her still relatively recent past. She just needs patience and a kind guiding hand and she will improve drastically over the next year. After so much turmoil, this girl so deserves her chance at a forever home.



~ Where Am I? ~
Olga is currently being fostered in Norfolk, UK. She can be homed anywhere in the UK provided we have a homechecker available, but please note that you may be required to travel to meet her.

~ Want To Adopt Me? ~
Olga is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, de-flea'd and wormed and a homecheck will be required as part of the adoption procedure.

If you are interested in adopting Olga, you can contact me (Tam) via email: tam@kerrygreyhounds.co.uk, or speak directly to Bronwen by phoning: 075 000 62648. Emails are usually replied to within 24 hrs.

There is an application form for adopting a Kerry Greyhound, and we will ask you to fill it in as the first step in the adoption process. To speed up this process, we recommend you do this before emailing/calling. You can find the form, as well as further information on our homing procedures, on the Adoption Page: http://s300889640.websitehome.co.uk/uk/adoption.html.

Thank you.
Tam
KGUK Homing Volunteer


~~ KERRY GREYHOUNDS UK ~~


Kerry Greyhounds UK is a voluntary organisation based in Norfolk, England. It focuses on rehoming unwanted Irish greyhounds and lurchers, as huge numbers are bred in Ireland each year and homes are few and far between. KGUK operates through a network of volunteers spread over Ireland and the UK. We can look after approximately 30 dogs at any one time in both kennels and foster homes.

Each dog is neutered, vaccinated, & microchipped before being adopted (unless stated otherwise).

We assess the suitability of all home offers, and we have homed greyhounds in all corners of the UK. If interested in one of our hounds, please feel free to contact us via the following:
Email: tam@kerrygreyhounds.co.uk. Emails are usually replied to within 24hrs.
Phone: Bronwen 075 000 626 48.
Our Website: http://www.kerrygreyhounds.co.uk
Our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KerryGreyhoundsUK

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Olga has found her forever family and is now rehomed. Thank you for your help.

Tam
KGUK Homing Volunteer

Be happy pretty girl