Just realised as we where singing happy birthday to Ollie (Vinnie) that his birthday was the 3rd of Nov not the 4th!!! However he did not seem to bother what day it was and I think he just believes every day is his birthday the amount of love and treats he gets! now. He sends Josie a sniff and a lick and says she is in the right place to find her forever caring home good luck sweetie Jenny xxx

So well said lovemygreys I agree with everything you have just said. Love from Sharon, Molly, Reg and family xxx

Hi everyone, thanks Nessie for info about photo. Went to sign up Ollie (Vinnie) yesterday and now he can have his new name tag done. The kennels as always was buzzing with happy volunteers and visitors collecting their new babies. It is such a lovely feeling there I believe that's why the Grey's who are lucky enough to end up at Daybreaks find homes so quickly. I think everyone who cares for these beautiful hounds has a bit of Ruth's magic rub off on them, all smiles and good energy!!! and that's just the dogs lol ! Long may you wonderful people and the RGT continue the good work. luv Jenny and Mark + Cara, Izzy, Dylan, and the new baby Ollie. x

I have not forgotten about Ollie's photograph, but want to get a few together to have printed at the same time. XXX

So glad to see all the big black boys are finding homes. My boys Ollie and Dylan are so loving and easy going with each other, the girls are like the canine equivalent of "The housewives of Orange Counnty" TV show, the odd grumble and bitching to each other but get away with it because they are so pretty, and take the boys toys and chews off them with a look that melts butter "that's the way to work it girls!"
Carn't someone take a look at Craig, such beautiful eyes. Just needs some love and time to get used to other breeds like Ollie does. Such clever dogs soon learn.
x Jenny

Yay! Thank you Jenny - it is fantastic he has stayed with you - told you fostering was difficult! We have decided to make Ollie one of the feature dogs of Max's Mission so if he needs any veterinary treatment for his haemophilia, we can fund this to help you out. Thanks for loving him xxx

Hi everyone. Well look who has all the toys !!! Seems my fostering idea didn't quite go to plan and we now have our 4th bouncing baby boy! He is now called OLLIE. Why the name change you may ask ? well apart from him liking it, on Saturday at the show we decided to keep him and as we drove home my husband said jokingly the immortal words made famous by Laurel and Hardy "Another fine mess youv'e got me into!" So Ollie it was.
Now we have 2 boys and 2 girls so our family is now complete and we are hopefully soon moving to a house with a huge garden. How did all this happen? Just look at his face with his brother and sisters toys and you'll know how. Thank you for all the good wishes, Jenny x

So pleased for you Vinny, be happy! xx

Well done Vinnie, it sounds like so much love and time has been given to you to turn you into the perfect pet that you couldn't be given up after all. Enjoy your permanent family life. xx

:) :) :) well done Vinny - be happy big boy xxxxxxxxxx

i am so happy to see that he is now a permanent hound in your wonderful home, he deserves and has got the best there is which is absolutely wonderful. Ina xx

What a lovely treat to see this gorgeous fella again. Even though it's kinda defeating the object of what Jenny was doing in fostering him, I'm inclined to think Vinnie's already found the best home for himself! Em xxx

Vinnie will be at Solihull Riding School on Saturday if anyone wants to see the gorgeous lad in person. We had hoped someone out there would have offered him a home, but as we have only had a couple of enquiries since we began fostering him in July and there are so many at the kennels who are desperate for a FOREVER home I guess he may be in the best place for him already, I find it very painful to see the returned Greys so do not comment very often now. Please come and give him a cuddle he is a fabulous dog.
Lets hope all the dogs going on Saturday looking for loving homes find them, and Daybreaks can have another day off!!! Jenny xxx

Are 'lovemygreys' going to keep Vinny? I hope they are.

how's the gorgeous lad doing? xxx

Any news on Vinny yet? I have asked everyone and posted stuff but hes still on the wrong side of the alumni section...I can't believe hes still here.

Hi there avid Grey watchers of this site, Vinnie will be back at Daybreaks with Ruth next week while we are on holiday.
If anyone is interested in giving him a home please go and see for yourself what a fabulous dog he is.
As I love him so much I am really hoping there is a very special family out there(hopefully maybe with another Grey) who can give him his forever home. He really has been such a gem and been so much easier to settle in than my other 3 I am really loathe to let him go. But I trust Ruth to give the "3rd degree" to any prospective new mommy and daddy so my big boy will stay for the rest of his life with a family to give them the joy he has given us (ahh how soft am I).x
Jenny

Hi Jenny, please don't beat yourself up, you have done an amazing job by making Vinny into a pet greyhound and homeable and i am sure that once he can be seen at the kennels and people can interact with him he will be snapped up quickly. i understand how hard it will be for you to walk away from him at the kennels, Ruth cried her heart out when she had to leave Ralph and yet he was quite content lying on his sofa snoozing. i occasionally have Joe for Ruth when she goes away and i have a few tears every time he goes home, it's something about the greys that makes them leave such a dent in your heart. you have made Vinny into a confident happy dog and that will shine through and he will find his home, everyone will make such a fuss of him he will settle into kennel life in no time and after all that i really don't think he will be there for long anyway. best wishes to you, please don't be so upset what you are doing is amazing. Ina xxx

Thanks for that Donna
We are going to France to our house there and Izzy Dylan and Cara now have their passports and vaccs to come with us but poor Vinnie obviously has not as it takes about 5 months to get clearance for the Rabbies vaccination.
I would dearly like to keep him as you probably know Greys seem to take the same amount of care wether you have one or 4 once they are settled into your routine with the others, but, husband not sure our garden is big enough until we move house.
All Vinnie needs is to get used to other breeds as he freaks a bit when they come towards him from a distance. He is not agressive just frightened. Other Greys are OK.
Anyway thank you for the contact fingers crossed Jenny x

Hi Jenny, I really feel for you, how can you not fall in love with them, but you have done a brilliant thing and given him a heads up ready for his forever family, and im sure they are out their somewhere - what about bringing him out to a roadshow /collection ? most people ask if our Greys are up for adoption ! and some one will surely fall in love with him when they can give him an actual cuddle ? ! XX

Hi Jenny - absolutley not, it broke my heart to have to send Sandy back when we trialled him a few weeks back - and that was only after one night!! I too fail to understand why he hasnt been snatched up. I only passed him over myself because of the cat friendly thing.... I am sure its not the case that you have prevented him from getting a home. You have done a fantastic job. What's the situation while you are on holiday? I would dearly love to have him but now with three of our own, (one being new and very nervous to boot,) I am stumped. I am sending people to the website to look at him and thought i had managed to pursuade my cousin recently..but no luck. Will download some posters and put them up locally - you never know. Would he be suitable to go on one of the roadshows? I do feel for you Jenny. Come on folks - ideas (and preferably a forever home please.) Donna xxx

Hi Jenny, fostering is very emotional... like with Penny, Fury, Miracle, Ralph, Izzy and too many more to mention, my heart has been broken but having them at home with me for a short while did help them find their forever home eventually. I ended up being sensible and left Ralph at the kennels and although it was a very hard thing for me to do, he settled back into kennel life well and this is when he finally got chosen.

If Vinny comes back I am sure he will settle into kennel life quickly & hopefully be picked soon - with the bonus that he is now house trained and more socialised. xxxx

Hi Donna
Thanks for the message but could you take a grey back to kennels after 2 months of being with you? I believed when I started fostering him that when I went on holiday at the end of this month if he hadn't found a forever home yet he would be able to stay in a home and just go back to the kennels in the day. However circumstances have changed and that is now not the case. I took him to foster as he had been at the kennels for 3 months! with no luck (cannot understand why) to house train him etc and give him a better chance to find a home. Even Ruth couldn't leave Ralph at the kennels at night after he had been at her house recovering. I cannot stand the thought of this lovely lad thinking he had been sent back but I have no choice if people
won't come and see him at my home. Don't think fostering is for me! looks like I have stopped him getting a home because he is not at Daybreaks to view !!! Jenny x

I would take him tomorrow but i fear i would have to start moving kids out of the house to make room for number 4...he is gorgeous - perhaps taking him back to Daybreaks where people could see what a handsome fellow he is would clinch the deal...I do hope he finds a forever home soon , you have done such a good job with him Jenny. Fingers crossed. xxxx

Dad joked he'd make a good mate for Ralphie . At least I think he was joking. D'ont know about mum though.

Is there no one out there who wants a beautiful black boy who has learnt the ropes of being a retired Grey? We are going on holiday at the end of August and if he hasnt found his forever home by then he will have to go back to Daybreaks, and as great as it is there it seems a shame he has learned all the house rules so well, and been such a joy to have that I would hate for him to think he has done something wrong and been sent back because because of it.
So please someone give him a chance. Jenny

Hi Jenny, thanks for the fab photo of Cara and Vinny.... think he is definitely in love! Perhaps he could spend a day at the kennels at the weekend for people to meet him?

Vinny is still waiting (paws crossed) for his forever family.
Troubyou with fostering is people don't get to see this lovely lad in person when they visit the kennels. As I have said, you will be very welcome to come and see him at my home where you can see what a happy friendly boy he is, who loves to play with you or his toys.

Jenny - you are doing a wonderful job and one of the hardest things is to let them go when they are ready. i am sure he will find his own home before too long as he is a gorgeous boy who now knows how to be a pet thanks to you and your family and your greys. well done and love to you all. xxxx

It is very very tempting to keep him, but like Ralph (who now has a home) he needs his own special mommy and family who have picked him and seen that special something he has that has drawn them to him.
I wanted to give him that chance as he had been at Daybreaks for a while, and now he is housetrained and his personality has had a chance to blossom maybe someone can
do that.
He would be the perfect second Grey for someone or the first really, but he does love the company of other Greys as is usually the case (hence I now have 3) and will continue learning from another.
I am trying to keep a little back as it will be very hard to let him go, but at the end of the day I will do what is best for him. Jenny x

He is so happy and it is obvious just how much you have fallen in love with him, maybe you should keep him??........Kind regards Kate xx

Vinnie is looking great now, I have brushed him within an inch of his life everyday and the kennel coat has gone and the "greyhound bum" which can be a bit lacking in hair at times is now almost as good as my other Greys.
He loves to be groomed and as soon as he sees me with the glove he is in like a shot trying to be first in the queue
He has developed a love of probiotic yoghourt! like the rest of the pack, and also forms part of the morning toast skirmish! with them as well. ( I have to have mine last, as I cannot eat for laughing at their little worried faces while they are waiting for their piece) good job I have a 4 slice appliance !!!
As you can see I still love him to bits, and when the others dash out for their morning "ablutions" he comes and says hello to me first and gives me is version of a cuddle ahhh bless.

Hi beatiful vinny how are you getting on at your foster home I'm sure you will get a forever home soon as you are soooo cute good luck beatiful boy:).xxx

I do feel for Ruth now Ralph has found his forever home as she had fostered him longer than I have Vinnie and they just steal your heart. It will be such a wrench when we find a forever home for Vinnie and I have to keep thinking that maybe (second to the people who eventually take this wonderful dog home with them) Mark and I have given him the gift of finding a happy contented retirement where he will be loved forever. (oh dear, I will have to go and pull myself together he is looking at me as I write this trying to figure out why I am upset) fingers crossed for him x Jenny

Vinny, same as Ralph, told some lovely people at Webbs today how fantastic you are, hope they will come and give you a forever home ! XX

he seems to be doing so well and he looks so chilled out and it would be great to see him going to a permanent home soon now he has been shown how to be a pet by Jenny and Mark and their greys. Vinnie is a beauty and now he is all trained up he will make the most wonderful addition to a home. good luck little man ...xxxx

Vinnie is such a good boy, takes himself off down the garden when he gets the call of nature and has been clean at night since we had him! Never been aggressive to my other 3 just walked in and fitted in from the start. Loves to play and throws his toys everywhere when he's happy (and that seems to be most of the time. Loves his food, loves people, and loves his retirement.
Walks well on the lead, but still getting used to the idea that there are other dogs in the world apart from Greys. and so is still a little spooked when he sees one, but is improving all the time. Needs a new home now and I cannot believe there is not someone out there who will not fall in love with him soon. Come and see this beautiful boy please------x

Nice to hear you are getting on well. Nice photo of you chillaxing . xxxxxxx

Went out today for 4 hrs and had to go home as I had ANXIETY SEPARATION SYNDROME !!! For Vinnnie, He is such a fabulous boy. If anyone wants him after their holidays are over I am quite happy to keep him till then, it would be no hardship. (only for me when I have to let him go to a new mommy) xxx

Sat watching telly tonight and suddenly noticed Vinnie was not on the bed with the other 3, put the garden light on and there he was watering my rose bush! He had answered the call of nature without beng reminded! . Went out shopping for 2 hours and he was fast asleep with the others when we got back. What a long way this lovely boy has come in just a week . He is a real heart stealer and very affectionate.

Well done Vinny for being such good and clever boy, and massive thanks to Jenny and Mark for giving him a chance to shine. I'm sure that because of this he will find his forever home very soon, and when he does...please can Sadie come for rehab so she can be sorted out too?!? Em xxx

This lovely boy has learnt the word NO and so realises now that HIS food is in HIS bowl, and any other bowls belong to the others in the pack, and just because he finishes his first he is not allowed "to help them out" by sticking his head in theirs! We have taught him the word WAIT, like the others, so he no longer leaps out of the front door first when we go for a walk. He is becoming my shadow learning all the time,
and we love him to bits, but like Ralph ,he still needs a forever mommy as he is such a lovely lad. Surely someone can give him a home, most of his "rehab" is done.

Vinnie looks so happy and relaxed in his foster home. Thank you to Jenny and Mark for helping him. Being socialised and toilet trained will make him so much more appealing to someone who would like a very handsome boy.

Vinnie has been walked on a main road near us for 2 days now and no sign of anxiety. Was not spooked too badly either when a Jack Russell who was sat on the front seat of a van with the window down a little jumped up and yapped loudly as we passed close by. I just say "come on good boy" and he seems to understand and trots on with my guys.!
To be honest so far he is less edgy than Dylan and Cara when we first had them.
Went from midnight to 7am without disgracing himself last night, so fingers crossed he is a quick learner as most of the Grey's are.
He also seems not to be a dominant male and sits with Dylan the "Gent " and the girls legs akimbo! quite happy in the pack.
Please someone out there help him and Ralph find their forever homes soon x Jenny and lovely boy Vinnie

Jenny its so good to see how well he is doing, they respond so well to a home environment and hopefully he will find himself his forever home now he is being shown the ropes by your greys and your family. so wonderful of you to take him on to teach him all the essentials. Ina xxx

Hi everyone. I am Vinnie's foster mom Jenny and just want to keep everyone up to date with this Sweethearts progress.
We bought him home on Saturday with our other 3 Grey's and
he is just like a little kid in a sweetshop. The outside world is so interesting to him, and after the initial freekout at the old collie down the road , he now realises she is no a threat to him and walks past "like a good un".
He knows the word wee wee and joins in barking with the girls and Dylan whenever I say it and rushes to the door with them.
Had one "accident" yesterday, but eh he's a quick learner so hopefully he will soon be as good as the others.
If any of you out there are looking for a loving sweet fella and have older children who he won't knock over or another Grey (or 2) he will be the perfect dog for you. He looks at me and melts my heart, so please someone come and see him at my house in a home environment and give him the home he so deserves.
Will keep you all posted, questions welcome to me or Ruth. x

Vinny has gone out to a foster home today to help him with toilet training and socialisation to make him more homeable. If you are interested in him, or would like more information, please give us a call!

Vinny was being groomed by Gloria today and knicked her grooming glove and chased around the run with it, he looked so sheepish doing it and was so pleased with himself when we all stood laughing at him, what a character. xxx

Vinny i love ur new photo you look cuter than ever on it. xxxx

He sounds beautiful any good with small fury things x

Why are you still here vinny your gorgeous

Loved seeing you the other day I think he liked his ears rubbed xxx

Can't believe Vinny is still here, he's such a big softie and so handsome too (aren't they all though!). Good luck sweet boy, your forever home is surely just around the corner. Em x

Vinnie looked so sweet today when we wet him to cool him down, he is a beautiful happy boy who would make a fantastic family pet, go and see for yourself. Ina x

Vinnny is absolutely lovely ! We saw him today at the kennels. He looks so different to what he looks like on this photo. He is very interactive and likes you to stroke him. Please will someone give vinny a home ? : )

i love vinny so so so much!!! he is a wonderful boy who deserves the very best of homes, he is very affectionate and loves a cuddle :) you can have a little play with him in the run then its back to snoozing! please somebody give him an amazing forever home, he deserves it xxx

Vinny is still here and still looking for his special someone. he is a happy energetic hound who loves a fuss and a walk and he likes to play, he would be fabulous for someone with kids who want to play with him and give him the attention he loves to get. go and have a look at him he is so gorgeous you will want to take him home for sure. xxxx

i do like this boy, he came for a walk today and was a good lad he loves attention and to play with you when he is in the run. xxxx

Vinny is a beautiful black greyhound with a happy nature who enjoys the company of anyone who has some time to spend with him for a cuddle, he came out for a lovely walk with us today and behaved himself very well. gorgeous lad. xxx

Oooh, there are so many black beauties in at the moment, I think I'd better avoid the kennels for a while... ;0) Em x