Thank you. Before we took her on she was found wandering alone on the streets of Exeter. The police contacted the racing stables (she was chipped) who said they had sold her to a man in a pub but they didnāt have his name. Which I donāt beieve for a minute, somebody threw the poor girl out!
But the mystery is that the racing stable was in Ireland and she has a number tatooed in green inside her ear which is, weāre told, an Irish thing so how did she end up in Exeter?
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Hmmm, sounds like a Hagrid story. Hagrid bought Fluffy the three-headed dog from a man in the pub. There is a mystery then to how she got to you, but I hear dog theft is quite common, so she might have been a victim of theft, who knows, Iām just speculating of course.
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So your Angel came to you for the Healing Power of Pets when neededā¦.gorgeous greyhoundā¦i too had to learn to walk with my twoā¦it was fun stumbling around the fields with two dogs, one running on a long lead (Mary the Hunter) and grappling with a walking stickā¦NOT!!! I clearly remember the abject fear of the first day, getting to the field and standing at the entrance and having to come straight back because I was so exhausted ā¦.but I did it!!! That was 17 mths agoā¦.i can now tromp for at least a mile every day, no stick, and go further if I feel like it. I still have balance issues on bad days but b****** that ehā¦.The Healing Power of Pets indeed!
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I suppose it doesnāt really matter but it would be interesting to know how she got from Ireland to Exeter. And thank you for expalining about the Hagrid reference! I know heās a character from Harry Potter but Iāve never read the books or seen the films.
Actually that not quite true. I did read the first book but although I can, and do, read some āyoung peoplesā books and enjoy them the Harry Potter one I found a bit childish. But people tell me they got a lot better as the series went on.
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I completely agree @Redfox we humans have bred that intuition,unconsciously breeding animals that showed us love affection and intuition,each generation the genes for these traits are āmagnifiedā itās remarkable what humans have done with a few wild dogs/cats that hung around our camps/caves to pick up scraps from meals. As you can see from my photo I love big dogs the loyalty and devotion is what gets me.I personally find cats are too much work,litter trays etc. humans had no idea what they were doing genetically but by choosing animals that had the desired traits they magnified these traits over several generations isnāt genetics fascinating.i think many of us could go on for hours discussing our various pets and the wonderful effects theyāve had on us pre-and post- stroke.iāll shut up!the biology teacher in me just canāt help getting excited by biological phenomena.
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Lovely hounds - Iām a big sighthound fan. Re. the ear tattooes - English registered greyhounds have one ear tattoed, and Irish registered greys have both ears tattooed. So you could find out more about your lovely hound by contacting the English racing register.
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There is no doubt that having Angel made a big difference to my recovery. As Iām sound in wind and limb (although like you my balance can be a little wobbly!) itās just my vision and spatial awareness (if thatās the right term?) that I have trouble with but I really can only manage one dog. But my recovery has been full of ādevelopmentsā although it was truly more my confidence that took a masive hit. Iāve never been a person who lacked confidence but the stroke knocked me sideways! I have to say though my wife played a vital role in that as well. Sheās not mollycoddled me but just always been there. With her support in the my first six or seven months we went to see Bruce Springsteen in Cardiff and on a long weekend break in Berlin with my youngest and her partner. I know there is something of a āpostcode lotteryā about the NHS but I was very well looked after. For six months I was helped by the local stroke team. First with daily visits, then weekly visits, then phone calls until they declared me discharged. That last phone call I was telling the nurse about how I walked Angel and Springsteen and Berlin and going to the pub and so on. She told me that was very good and that some of her patients with the same issues as I have had , after six months had still not left the house. That shook me a bit! In fact I was horrified.
Anyway, thank you for putting up with me. I know I have dreadful tendency to go on. And on. And on!
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That is interesting. She onlyhas one ear (her left one) tatooed but itās pretty much illegible, and although sheās the sweetest girl she doesnāt like having her ears messed with. Maybe when she was racing they were a bit rough with her? But she definitely only has one ear tatooed. But to be honest the rescue we got her from was a bit vague. They said Ireland and I asked if they meant Northern or Southern and they just sort of shrugged! Butit was a āone woman bandā of a rescue centre and they had bred from her before we got her. In fact my eldest daughter has one of her sons and a friend of hers has another! We have had her neutered now though. In fact it was a cindition of our having her. Apparently feeding a litter of puppies did her no good at all, and we were never going to breed from her anyway.
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Oh, and sorry but I forgot. We love sighthounds! Although the local Devon people here (weāre not local and never will be. Only been here for 33 years! Which is fine, theyāre all good people.) often refer to them as Gazehounds, whichis even more poetic.
If you look at the first picture I put up the tan one is Charlie who was mostly Greyhound and the grey shaggy one wwas Mr Dill who was a Scottish Deerhiound/Italian Spinona cross. A total gentledog and honestly the fastest dog Iāve ever seen!
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This is how it was with my pigs, no one else was going to feed them. First day home and I had to carry the slop bucket out, subsequently, twice a day. It was the pigs that forced me to go out and walk, as painful and slow as it was. I remember mucking them out for the first time after stroke and the anxiety I had that if I collapsed in the sty, Iād collapse on a sea of manure and probably end up pig fodder, however from my observations, pigs arenāt predators, just scavengers, so hopefully theyād clock that I am still alive and not on the menu.
They have found a new home now as I couldnāt take them with me. I do miss them, but they were a lot of work and I am relieved I only have these two chilled-out pets to worry about.
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Wow, that was a commitment! At least my wife could have walked Angel, in fact until I retired (three weeks before I had my stroke!) she always did. But the thing is I wanted to walk her for my own benefit. But, unlike feeding pigs, I didnāt have to if you see what I mean!
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Well said. Hana looks lovely - are you allowed to cuddle snakes or should they be left alone? I can imagine having a snake lying on top of one would be very comfortingā¦.hope thats not a stoopid question, I donāt know anything about snakes
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Very interactive thenā¦thatās good x for Hana.
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It certainly is. I imagine keeping snakes is a dedicated pastime as they require a reptile house, is this right? It is a subject of which I am almost ignorant about. Having come from a country with the most venomous snake in world, the Inland Taipan, not to mention the Eastern Brown snake and Tiger Snake, to name but a few, I still find myself stomping when I enter heavy undergrowth, despite there being only the Adder here. I know that snakes only strike if provoked, unless you step on one. Hana looks kind and curious though. Thanks for sharing.
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Meet Cleo, the new edition to my household. She is a four month old feral, but is warming to me. Sheāll hiss when approached and then purr once picked up. 
Annie is intrigued by her and if Cleo let her come near her, Annie would just want to play, but we havenāt got that far yet and I am keeping Cleo in a separate room until she acclimatises to me and her new home.
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Cleo looks so cute - I donāt say that often, but she does. Iām sure sheāll love being in her new home with Annie and yourself 
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Cleo is lovely. We had a ferral cat test took up residence. He never quite lost his ferralness but definitely settled on with us & was often quite friendly. When he wasnāt biting 
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Never seen these, but now Iāll keep an eye out for this.
There is a Japanese owned business not far from where I live - Iāll see if theyāve got one