Why choose Erin hounds?

Erin Hounds philosophy is simple.  It's all for the dogs.   We are proud of our standards when homing our hounds,   taking time and great care in helping you to find a hound that will fit in with your life.  We do this for the dogs, but if its right for the dog then the odds are stacked pretty high for the home too !  

We think the results speak for themselves but, here's what some of our adoptive families have told us....

Just thought I'd drop you a quick line to let you know both girls are doing well. Daisy has settled in great and loves her bed. Dolly is also doing well, although she needs constant reassurance that we are their. They both sleep well throughout the night, only a little whining on the 1st night but fine now.  They enjoy their walks and their food. They are both fascinated by the squirrels and get very excited when out and about. We are off to the beach this weekend, but I think it will be a long, long, long time before they can be trusted off their leads.

They both handle well on their leads. As you can see from the pictures they are both suffering from 'Beditus' and I can't see this changing.

They have been spoilt rotten and have been treated to spa day - Bath, Nails Cut & Teeth clean. Both were perfectly behaved and enjoyed their pampering.

Paul, Karen, and Mason          .

Jasper - The Poole Family

I just wanted to write a quick email and tell you how well Jasper has settled in.  He has been so relaxed since he arrived and settled into our family perfectly, he even took himself of to bed on the first night and there have been no accidents or issues at all.  Jasper has been the perfect gentleman with everyone he's met  (including a friend's 5 month old baby) and charmed them all. His confidence is growing daily and he's learning to play with his squeaky duck and is nearly there with fetching a ball. He's barely put a foot wrong since he arrived and has already shown a great aptitude to learn. We are both thrilled (and completely smitten) with him, he feels like he's already been part of the family forever. We are looking forward to lots of fun times with him and would like to thank you both (and Jane) for all the work you have done before he came to us.  

Chloe - The Trayler Family

We just wanted to thank you all for finding Chloe for us. We thought with 2 young children (aged 2 and 5) we would have a long wait but Sue was fantastic and Chloe is just what we wanted. 

The home check was informal and friendly but covered all the things we needed to know and all the things that the potential hound would need. Sue has been wonderful in answering all my questions and putting up with continuous emails!

Chloe is a wonderful dog and is so gentle with the children I would highly recommend a greyhound for any family home. She has settled in very well and absolutely loves her walks to the beach. 

Thanks again for all your help and for finding us the perfect dog. 

Joanne, George, Luke and Isabel

(The Trayler Family)

Rosie - Camilla and James, Nantwich

The home check was informal and friendly but thorough and focused around the dog's needs.  We were left with a great idea of what to expect going forward. Within a week we were off to meet Rosie who was being fostered in a house almost identical to ours, where she had really settled in, allowing us to get a really good idea of Rosie's character before we made any decisions but needless to say Erin had done a great job matching us to Rosie and it was smiles and wags all round! The help didn't stop there, Rosie's foster mum, was on hand all the way to help us when Rosie was settling in and within a few days it was like she had always been there.

Despite being abandoned on the streets of Ireland and living as a stray, Rosie has the gentlest temperament of any dog I've ever known. She approaches all new people and dogs with calm confidence. We can leave her with no problems and she's learnt sit, stay, down, lie and paw! We're working on her making a cup of tea next! She's brought so much laughter into our lives we couldn't be without her now! Thank you for matching us so well! 

Marley was Marty - The Coasts, Crewe

Having three cats we thought it would be some time before we found the right dog but we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect boy! Thank you so much for choosing Marley for us.

 Patsy now Josie named after an Erin Hounds volunteer - Mr Boonham, York

You have been so helpful and supportive sending me so much useful information, answering all my questions and giving me lots of fantastic advice. Getting photos of Josie and all the information from her two foster homes, home-checking me so far from where you’re based and meeting me half way to drop her off is just unbelievable - it really shows the dedication you guys have to re-home these poor hounds.

I can’t believe how perfect Josie is after everything she has been through. She is really amazing, nothing seems to faze her at all. I am so lucky when we are out, everyone else's dogs are misbehaving, being dragged around and shouted at but Josie doesn't put a foot wrong. She is polite and friendly with everyone and everything. We have seen cats, rabbits and birds whilst out which she seems to ignore. Surprisingly a rabbit ran out from the hedge about 5 metres ahead of us and she didn't seem to give it a second glance?!?!

All in all I honestly couldn't have wished for a more perfect hound. Thank you!

Harry was Ryan - The Heyes family, North Wales
I would like to thank you immensely for all you did to help this dog, he is such a wonderful boy.
He was a little interested in my cats, but with a some training he is now brilliant, and both he and the cats are now living stress free together. He has been totally clean in the house and is brilliant on the lead. He is so loving and will basically do anything to get a cuddle. Looking at the amount of scars he has, he obviously has been very badly treated, but his peaceful, affectionate nature is a tribute to his fantastic character. He gets a lot of admiring attention when out, so I am making sure everyone knows where he came from and the plight you have over there!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you at Erin Hounds for all your hard work and dedication in helping these fantastic dogs. Thank you so much for Harry, from Julie and all my family, the biggest thank you from Harry himself I'm sure.

Jake - The Edge Family
We just wanted to write to thank everyone for all their hard work getting Jake to us so quickly. Wow what an experience, everyone has looked after us so well. Sue and Pat were great when they visited us and we felt we were in good hands. We were right. Jake is exactly what we needed, the perfect addition to our family. He gets on brilliantly with our little fluffy schipperke Patti, and our 2 year old daughter adores him (and him her).
We have had him for a few months now and I’ve delayed sending an e-mail until he had his feet under the table as we say. Well he's still doing well, he’s a joy to have around, the perfect jogging companion and best friends with our daughter. He's keen with squirrels still but not overly so, he’s easy to call back and very loyal. Again thank you all so much, without your hard work and dedication to this loving breed ...well......!

Dre - The Statham Family, Congleton
Dre, (formerly Cole) is doing really well - he's part of the family now! He gets on well with our Westie (she's his pillow) and is well behaved with other dogs. He enjoys his big walk every morning (good off the lead) and the kids take him round the block or to the field for a second jaunt later on. Thank you for such a great choice of dog for us!

Wilf now Bert - Jen Newman, Wirral, Cheshire
Seeing Bert grow into the hound he always was inside, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, makes it all worth while.
In his first few months with me Bert regularly froze whilst outside when he saw anything remotely small and furry, he couldn't cope with the excitement. Two weeks ago he met my new Degus (Chilean rodents). It took a few days, but with gentle slow introduction he's accepted that the Degus are not for lunch and regularly calmly visits their cage, steals a pumpkin seed, rubs noses and then wanders off again.
When Bert arrived Wilf, my lurcher, had just been discharged from hospital and was a fragile lad.  The boys have grown closer and closer, happily sharing their bowls, toys and sofas.
I can't imagine life without my skinny hounds to make it that bit more interesting and warm.

Opal - Elizabeth, Alderley Edge
I can't tell you how thrilled and delighted I am with Opal. She has fitted into my small household amazingly quickly. She and my Jack Russell Bunty, are already firm friends. We both love her. Jo has been a wonderful source of support and advice; a lovely girl too! Sue, I look forward to being able to meet you some time in the future too.

Roxy - The Howden family, Wiltshire
Every day with Roxy is a pleasure. She brings so much joy to our lives and a lot of happiness. I would highly recommend a greyhound to a family with children. Roxy is a great calming influence on the children and they love her so much. We all adore watching the expressions she makes with her eyes.
I wish we had realised earlier how wonderful greyhounds are.

DJ - The Mansons, Didsbury, Manchester
DJ was fast asleep within about 10 minutes of arriving at our house - and he has hardly woken up since! He is so easy to look after - all he needs is a walk twice a day, his food and water and a comfy place to sleep and he is happy. He is totally obsessed with squirrels and can take off like a rocket without warning (interesting if you are on the other end of the lead!) and has done some spectacular leaps into trees in his efforts to catch them. He is incredibly patient with other dogs and doesn't object even if they are being a real nuisance.
It was great that DJ had been thoroughly assessed by his fosterers before we got him as we were prepared for him.
Basically we couldn't wish for a better dog and are so glad that we found DJ and that he found us!

Billy - The Murphys, Knutsford, Cheshire
I would like to say what a wonderful, honest and caring attitude you all showed to our family and to Billy. Having been a vet nurse for 17 years I have come across many animal rescues but I found Erin Hounds to be exceptional in their re homing technique. Our home check was non invasive, any questions we had were answered and all our requirements were carefully listened to. Billy is a perfect match

Jack - Rick & Rosey, Macclesfield Cheshire
We came across Erin Hounds during an internet search for a rescue. If anybody had said we would become greyhound owners we would have laughed our socks off! They were too tall, too thin, too fast, too energetic, too 'special' breed. Boy, how wrong we were!
Victoria was knowledgeable and generously gave up lots of time to talk through our concerns. We were a little nervous at first as he was so different from our other dog. But there is something about the greyhound which is incredibly addictive.
Jack's foster mum (who has been a wonderful support to us since) suggested we take him for a walk so I could see how well he socialised with other dogs. Our former rescue had suffered from fear aggression and did not readily take to many breeds. In the course of an hour, Jack met numerous dogs of all shapes and sizes and was impeccable with all.
Naturally, we asked: 'When can he come and live with us?' (even though we were still concerned our home was too small, our garden tiny etc.).
His size quickly became irrelevant as he's very calm and well behaved. In fact he seems 'normal' size now, so much so other biggish dogs seem tiny (and overweight)!
It's amazing also how many people stop to stroke him and comment on the lovely nature of the breed. He's a real ambassador and casts a spell over all he meets. Friends who don't really 'do' dogs have been won over.
Greyhounds often get a very raw deal. We would urge anyone to give them a second chance. Believe us, you will not be sorry! Erin is a solid, well-run and consummately professional - not to mention caring - organisation that wants only the best for these deserving dogs.

Georgie - Maria, Duncan, James, Martin, Tasha, Molly, Jessie
The experience of looking for another dog was made very easy by you all. I first found a dog on another website and was advised it may be too far away and to try yourselves which I did. After a telephone conversation with Sue, telling her about us as a family and what we required, she contacted me a couple of days later to say they had Georgie and after our conversation thought he would match us well. This was a hard match as we already have 2 dogs of very different ages and it was important to us we got the right character in the new dog. I felt very comfortable that this was a two way thing and that they wanted to see Georgie with us and if he liked us as well (this I thought wonderful as so many dogs homes do not look at this issue).
Georgie had a few problems with his neutering operation and Sue called to say we could not pick him up as he was on medication and needed to go back to the vets and they would not let him go to us in this condition (once again they thought of the dog’s need first). After a week we went to pick Georgie up and he was much better. We were so welcomed into the kennels as we brought the whole family to collect him. Since Georgie has been with us we have had communication with Sue/Pat and they were only too happy to help us. The advice was great and sorted out our issue. Georgie is a wonderful family dog and he fits us as much as we fit him. I really cannot imagine our family without him. Our other dogs have accepted him well and him them. This I am sure would not have been such a good match and a wonderful stress free experience if we had gone elsewhere. I would recommend any one looking for a dog to go to Erin Hounds and also to look at this breed of dog as they are truly wonderful, wonderful family dogs.

www.erinhounds.co.uk

Sue Coldock: 01928 714558    Victoria Lyon (Ireland): 00353 9496 59276

E-mail : email@erinhounds.co.uk