Meet the Team

We didn’t fully realise when we started home boarding how completely accommodating our own dogs would be. Greyhounds are known for their even temperament and calming influence and our girl is no different. Hounds have the ability to change the energy around them and even lively Spaniels fall under their spell. All four of our hounds have been adopted from Makants Greyhound Rescue North West and we continue to support the rescue with fund raising events and sponsorship.

Cielo

Director of Fun and Play

When we lost our beautiful Bluebell in May of 2022 we were heartbroken. But we soon realised that we missed having “girl energy” around the house. Having a female dog presence around can be helpful to some dogs who come to stay with us, be they other females who gravitate towards another female, or smaller dogs who can find a female’s energy calming in a protective way. We knew that Bluebell would let us know when it was time to bring another girl into the fold and when we made initial enquiries about adopting another female from Makants, Siobhan knew the kind of temperament we would need a dog to have in order to fit into the busy environment of a home boarder.

©Wolf & Steed

They would need to get on with other dogs, be OK having lots of different humans coming and going and be able to relax and get along with Domingo and Toby. So, in August 2022 when Maria saw a 3 year old female going by the name of Sasha who was up for adoption on Makants’ website, she contacted Siobhan to ask what her temperament was like. Siobhan thought she would be ideal for us and the boys as she was calm, but fun when she wanted to be, really loving towards humans and had never shown any sign of fear or aggression to any other dogs. Based on Siobhan’s expert knowledge we decided we would take Domingo and Toby over to Makants to meet Sasha and see what they thought of her. It’s fair to say they approved of her immediately, she was very calm when meeting them but not reserved, she loved the attention we gave her and we quickly decided that we would like to give her opportunity to see how she got on being at home with us. Two weeks after our initial visit we went back to Makants to collect her and bring her home and home is definitely where she is now. We decided to rename her Cielo, Spanish for Sky and also a term of endearment, “mi cielo” or “my sky”, alluding to them being like heaven. She has been amazing since she arrived. She got on so well with the boys, is so loving and adores cuddles and fussing, she took a little while to get used to having to be part of our meet and greet sessions but is now doing really well when new dogs and humans come and go.

She has been really good with every boarding dog who has come through the door and particularly likes playing and being with younger and smaller dogs. She has made fast friends with a couple of the Whippets that come to stay almost to the point of “mothering” them. All-in-all she has been amazing. We could not have asked any more from her. She is already a great addition to The Sighthound Savoy team.

Domingo

2011-2023 Run like the wind you amazing boy.

Unbelievably, only 4 weeks after we lost Toby to a catastrophic epileptic seizure, Domingo suffered a broken leg in what we thought at the time was a freak accident. We rushed him to the vets who made him comfortable and carried out x-rays. When the x-rays were sent to an Orthopaedic Surgeon, they discovered that he actually had bone cancer. The tumour had weakened the bone which had in turn caused the leg to break. We had to make the decision to let him peacefully go over the rainbow bridge.

The alternative was to amputate the leg and put him through months of chemo and radio therapy, at 11 and a half years old we felt he didn’t deserve to be put through the pain, discomfort and illness. Domingo was our first Greyhound, he was our ambassador, the reason why we now run The Sighthound Savoy. He was a real gentle giant, he had a part time job working with our friend Marie who is a dog behaviourist, she would often “borrow” Domingo to show nervous dogs that other dogs can be friendly and calm and aren’t always a threat. He was always happy to trot off with Marie as he knew it meant he got spoilt with treats and tickles. He would often spend time with new boarding dogs, helping them to settle in and relax. El Domingo, his racing name, came to us when he was 3 years old having been retired from racing due to injury. We had just lost our lovely boy Leo the Whippet Saluki cross and we still had Sweetpea, Leo’s litter mate. After a recommendation we contacted Makants and explained that we were looking to adopt but that we needed a very specific type of dog. Sweetpea was old and suffered from terrible arthritis and joint pain which made her a little bit grumpy at times. We needed a dog that would be calm, none reactive (to the odd telling off) and who wouldn’t be an annoying new comer. Everyone we spoke to at Makants said “you need Domingo”.

They were right, we took Pea over to meet Domingo and they hit it off from the get-go. He was so careful with her, so respectful and calm around her and didn’t bat an eyelid the first time Sweetpea stole a treat off him. He opened our world to the joys of ex-racing greyhounds and if it wasn’t for him we might not be doing what we do today. We feel extremely honoured to have had such a wonderful animal in our lives.

Bluebell

2012-2022 Rest in Peace our beautiful soul.

We devestatingly lost our gorgeous girl Bluebell on the 14th of May 2022. After battling IBD for 6 months she suffered an inoperable internal haemorrhage and we were left with no option than to help her gently and peacefully over the rainbow bridge.

Shortly after we adopted Domingo we sadly lost Sweetpea our Saluki-Whippet cross. Domingo reacted badly to losing his new friend and we knew we had to adopt another dog to keep him company as soon as possible. Again, we looked to Makants for help and we were invited over to join them on one of their daily walks and see if there was a dog there who might become Domingo’s new sibling. Blue, who became Bluebell, was on the walk with us and we ended up finishing the walk with her alongside Domingo. Just before she was about to be put back in her kennel she came running back to Maria and gave her a big kiss. Well, that was it, we were sold, she had chosen us and there was nothing we could do to stop it.

Bluebell had been mistreated as a younger dog and again Domingo came into his own. She never left his side, he showed her how to relax, how to love and how to be a spoilt pet. She trusted him with all her heart and he didn’t let her down. She changed so much once she was adopted, from a reactive food thief to one of the most loving and calm dogs you could wish to meet. She loved to make a fuss of new clients who came on meet and greets and always welcomed them back everytime they came with the same enthusiasm. She always acted as the nanny to any new puppies who came to stay and for some reason was happy to share her bed, but only with Dachshunds. She leaves a huge whole in our family, but she is forever immortalised as she is the inspiration behind the hound on our logo.

Toby

2015-2023 Rest in Peace little man

Heartbreakingly, Toby suffered a catastrophic epileptic seizure on the 21st of Jan 2023. Although we were able to get him to the Vet and they did all they could to save him, they couldn’t bring him back. It was an utter shock. We had tried so hard to make him better over the years, but unfortunately he suffered from a illness that sometimes cannot be fixed. We are just thankful that we were able to give him the care and love he deserved whilst he was with us and we are grateful for the lessons his short life taught us.

When Bluebell turned 3 years old we made her a rash promise. We promised her we would get her a puppy. It wasn’t long after that when we became aware that Makants had got some greyhound puppies in foster care and were looking for forever homes for them. Well, we’d made the promise, so we had to keep it. We asked Makants if we could meet Toby and arranged a meeting with him on a Phoenix Greyhound Group walk. He was a beautiful little boy and that rarest of things, a greyhound pup.

Looking back we maybe should have done a little research into greyhound puppies. We didn’t know that they are know as ‘land sharks’, so 7 month old Toby gave us a real insight into why. He was so full of energy, so full of life and ‘a right sod’. Be warned, greyhound puppies are not the same as the lazy relaxed dog they grow up to be. At the age of 2 he unfortunately developed idiopathic epilepsy. This was totally out of the blue, we had never had to deal with anything like this before and once again Toby taught us a lesson. Whilst it was never easy to watch him go through a seizure, and we were fortunate that his seizures were always relatively short, he reminded us of something every time he had one, dogs don’t worry, or dwell on the past and within 10 mins of coming out of his fit he was demanding scrambled eggs and honey after which a good long sleep would see him back to normal and firing on all cylinders. He was also the noisiest Greyhound we have ever met. For 5 wonderful years everything we did revolved around him, his tablet times and his almost fortnightly seizures. But now he doesn’t have to suffer anymore and he will no doubt have been thoroughly told off by Bluebell when he arrived at the Rainbow Bridge. We miss you so much little man but you will never have to go through a seizure again.

It is fair to say our four hounds have each taught us different lessons. Domingo has shown us how amazing, calm and loving Greyhounds are. Bluebell taught us that time, patience and love will always overcome previous mistreatment. Toby has taught us that no matter his ailments and troubles, worrying and living in the past serve no purpose in life. Cielo has taught us that no matter how heartbreaking losing a dog can be sometimes they make room for another dog in need to be rescued and shown the love we have to offer them.

That’s why we know that when looking for somewhere for your sighthound to spend their holidays you are looking for the best care money can buy. At The Sighthound Savoy we are dedicated to providing it.