Ashlee Williams brings us part two as he takes the dog he has had since a pup home with him.
The Who Needs Wings story continues!
Towards the end of September, I had a week booked off to take Buster home with me from the kennels. A kind of trial run.
The nervousness of having him at home with me permanently started to kick in on the Monday evening when I was doing late night paddock at Seamus’s.
Once I finished my evening shift I got home, had a shower and went straight to sleep knowing tomorrow was the day I’d be taking my dog home.
Arriving in the kennel at 6am for that day’s work, I said good morning to Seamus as I always did, and then went straight into the kennel block where Buster was staying.
Fast forward to lunchtime, Teresa suggested we gave him a light dinner to make sure he wouldn’t be ill on the drive to Canterbury.
In Buster’s mind he probably thought he was about to run a lap around the track. Unfortunately, in reality the only laps he’d be doing were in my living room when he gets the ‘zoomies.’
Bringing Buster home
Taking Buster from the kennel for a final time on his embarkment to Canterbury we took him straight to the car. He didn’t fancy jumping in so I had to scoop him up and get him settled in the back.
During the early part of the drive he was looking out of the window but did settle down after about 20 minutes.
Arriving in Canterbury with Buster, my Dad (Darrell Williams) suggested we recorded him getting out of the car to show how excited he was. Excited he was, his tail wagging all over the place.
Buster didn’t struggle at all when walking up the flight of stairs to my flat. Once we got inside he immediately found his teddies and straight away wanted to show them who was boss.
He also found my Paddy Power work shirt, which he set about trying to put his mark on!
It took him no time at all to settle into his new environment and the change from a kennel block to a flat. He felt at home right away as he knew I was there by his side.
Buster’s new home life
We go on walks with him negotiating the stairs down to ground level with no issues at all. When he sees other dogs, he wants to interact with them, he shows no sign of aggression. He’s also seen a few cats on his travels but is always passive towards them. That shocked me as I thought he might have been looking for a chase.
Once, when we went into the park and he saw a squirrel, his ears went up and his tail started to wag. I knew then that we were in for a ride. Once he saw it climb a tree though, he lost interest and we carried on with our walk.
The way he has adapted to life at home so quickly has helped erase any worries and concerns I had about leaving him on his own while I was at work.
Retired greyhounds soon settle in
One Saturday, I was commentating at Crayford Stadium and had to leave Buster for a while. Luckily enough someone I knew was able to walk him for me, saying “He’s a lovely dog mate. He jumped straight up when I got there. Very friendly.” Once I knew Buster was okay with someone else, I knew he was fully settled and happy to be living with me at the flat.
He’s great as a conversation starter with members of the opposite sex when out walking as he’ll jump up around someone. Just like that, you’re in a conversation about him and the start of his life as a retired racing greyhound.
He is an absolutely lovely dog who truly enjoys living with me and it shows some dogs can adapt to life without a garden.
I will take him to a fenced off area soon for a run around but it seems to me he’s loving retirement and that’s all I care about. As long as Buster is happy that’s all that matters as his welfare will always come first.
