Greyhounds are often associated with dog racing.
This dog breed is called “the champion sprinter of dogdom” and is a gentle, intelligent, and easygoing dog.
Its silhouette is familiar to many people and is associated with speed and agility.
While it’s good news that dog racing is losing popularity, and is already illegal in most American states, the waning popularity is also bad news for the breed.
Thousands of greyhounds are bred each year to create a winning race dog, but many of them end up at shelters instead.
One of these rescued greyhounds is Claude.
“I loved the idea of rescuing a greyhound, but I didn’t know anything about them,” Claude’s owner Allie Kelleher told GeoBeats Animals.
The greyhound has a notorious reputation in Australia, where Allie lives, because of an old 1927 law that states that greyhounds must be muzzled when in a public place.
This law was passed to protect greyhounds from injuring themselves while racing.
Unfortunately, some people have misinterpreted the law to mean that greyhounds are dangerous dogs.
In reality, it was just to protect the dogs while racing.
Despite this, Allie decided that she wanted to adopt a greyhound.
She and her husband went to Brightside Farm Sanctuary in Tasmania, which rescues and takes in greyhounds and other animals then finds them permanent homes.
Claude ended up in Brightside because his original owner brought him to Tasmania to race him.
However, this person lost interest in pursuing this and turned over Claude to Brightside instead.
Before he was brought to the sanctuary, Claude was kept in a paddock outside for two years by his previous owner.
“As soon as we met Claude, he was so sweet. He stayed right next to us the whole time,” she shared.
They felt he was the right dog for them.
When they brought Claude home, he couldn’t answer to his name.
It was his first time living indoors, so Claude didn’t know how to go down the stairs.
He had to be carried downstairs until he could navigate the stairs by himself.
Allie continued to build trust and said when Claude warmed up, he became the most affectionate dog.
After adopting Claude, Allie had a baby.
At first, she was nervous about how Claude would react to the new addition to their family.
Fortunately, Claude liked the baby immediately.
Allie shared that there was never an incident between Claude and the baby that worried them in any way.
They also have a cat named Hero, who loves Claude just as much as the family.
Within days of meeting each other, Claude and Hero were cuddling with each other and sleeping on the same bed.
The family lives near the beach and often visits to allow Claude to run as much as he wants.
“When you see him running, it’s quite breathtaking because he is so fast,” Allie shared.
For Allie, Claude doesn’t seem like a pet or a dog, but more like a soul or his own being.
Claude often surprises her with his sweetness, gentleness, love, and patience.
“What he’s brought to our lives is far greater than what we have brought to his,” Allie ended.
Claude is a beautiful dog, and we are so happy he found a forever home with Allie and her family.
For those thinking about getting a pet, please consider adopting from a shelter instead.
There are thousands of dogs waiting to be welcomed into new homes.
Watch the video of sweet rescue Claude the greyhound below!
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