Rupert is a complicated soul, having been through unknown trauma before coming into our care, but now, 9 months in, he is such a wonderful hound.  That is, if you look past the fact he is basically a giant house cat.

Found as a stray, he was presumed to be a Pharaoh Hound cross by the council pound...but curiosity got the better of us and according to the DNA test, he is in fact a greyhound-bull lurcher.  Go figure!  Standing smaller than a female greyhound, he comes in at 22kg, and with ears for days and that gorgeous face, it's hard to believe he hasn't been adopted yet.  Although not all that surprising when we've spent the better part of the 9 months navigating through a list of behavioural issues.​

Now though, he's doing brilliantly and is truly ready to find a forever home who will continue to work with him to overcome the last of his lingering anxieties.  

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Rupert is on anti-anxiety medication that is reviewed every three months at the vets.  Potential adopters will need to consider this additional cost in applying to take his boy home.

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So, in order to find his forever home, we felt the best way to truly convey all things Rupert would be to have his foster, who knows him inside out, to write his web profile.  If you are interested in adopting this beautiful boy after getting through this massive essay she has written, you can register your interest HERE.

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From Rupert’s foster mum:

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This, is Rupert.  A gods damned pain in the ass, and yet I love him.  But not enough to keep him, before any of you say anything.  I will see to it that he is adopted by a lovely lesbian couple, or very happily single woman, if it’s the last thing I do on his dumpster fire of a planet.

 

But why a lesbian couple?  Or a single lady?  Well, before the fragile masculinity of the internet starts coming for me; calm down.  If you’re going to get offended by a dog’s preferences, you need to go and book in with a therapist.  When they say dogs are like their owners (or in this case, foster), Rupert decided to take it a bit too literally and this man-hating dickhead of a dog wants a mum, or better yet, two, okay?  It’s not that deep.  Do I believe that somewhere along the line a man, or men, have done terrible things to him?  Yes. Quite possibly.  But I can only theorise based on his behaviour, and based on his behaviour, this boy likes ladies.  End of.  Not open to discussion.

 

Now. 

 

Moving on. 

 

What’s to love about Rupert?  Well, Ru has ears as long as his legs and he uses them to ensure that he is, at all times, the centre of attention.  Any twitch of movement in the house, he’s there.  Without fail.  Every single time.  He knows what my sign off is on my work calls and magically appears at my side before the headset even hits the desk, knowing I am available to attend to his every whim once again.

 

Unless he is otherwise occupied, very comfortably laid out and warm across the entirety of my bed, or take up the whole sofa, he is often following me around the house in the hopes of food miraculously appearing.  For the first few months I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without his supervision but thankfully we seem to have moved past that.  But for all his house-stalking tendencies, if I leave the building, he doesn’t care, I basically cease to exist to him.  Make that make sense.  He is good as gold, happy to be left for extended periods.

 

But does the world revolve around this overly emotional toddler of a dog? He seems to think so.  The whole universe, most likely, in his mind anyway.

 

Thankfully, and also very annoyingly, he is a rise-with-the-sun kind of dog.  Brilliant in winter, tragic in summer.  For several weeks I was woken up at exactly 4.21am, on the dot, every single day.  By some miracle (aka daylight savings), I tend to be able to have some time alone to get ready for my day before he emerges from the living room to start interfering and demanding breakfast.

And does he wake you up by quietly coming into the bedroom?  No, he will sneak in, ascertaining which way you’re facing and then rest his nose about two inches from your face and whine pitifully, so you wake up with a 90s style jump scare?  Yes.  Thankfully, I soon learnt to wake up before him after experiencing that delight a few too many times.

 

Ru has been a real journey and at times I’ve literally wanted to eject him from my home and never see him again (not literally of course) but despite the stress and the struggles, watching him slowly overcome whatever trauma he went through to get here has been really rewarding…in a hole in the head kind of way.

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We have been through it all, from his getting on top of the fridge to raid the defrosting raw food to resource guarding visitors.  From reactivity on walks to opening all my office draws and cupboards to raid my work snacks.  From severe sound reactivity to separation anxiety.  You name it, we've cycled through it.

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But somehow, after going through every issue you can possibly have with a dog, he is just about sorted?

 

Does he still occasionally refuse to let strangers (and close acquaintances and family) in the house?  Sure.  But honey, if the dog doesn’t like you, there’s probably a reason, right?  He’s like a built-in home security system.  That boy knows you don’t actually want visitors and would much prefer to rot in your pyjamas than entertain guests. He’s helping, obviously!

Though while I may joke about it, he has actually done so well with learning that people coming into the house aren't scary.  Does he still occasionally have a freak out?  Yes.  But he settles quickly and will retreat to his safe space to observe.  We have found that if visitors follow the strict rule of 'no touchy, no eye contact and no talking to him' when coming in, that he does very well.  He just doesn't like being perceived until he is ready to be perceived, and that's okay.

 

Does he also still occasionally shit on the bedroom floor?  Also yes.  He acts as if he is being personally victimised by the weather because it is dark, cold and chucking down with rain.  Would you want to take a dump out there with the wind making every waving branch look like a monster coming to murder you?  Of course not.  Can’t blame him for that.  He’s perfectly house trained when the weather is not awful!  And at least he doesn’t do it on the rug, he is courteous enough to do it on the easy clean lino.  So, while he is being a nuisance, he’s being respectful about it.

 

Hell, what’s it matter?  It's not the end of the world and all a part of dog ownership isn't it.  Also, I’d forgive him regardless.  He does like to lay on the charm when he knows he’s in trouble with those big stupidly sad eyes.  He also likes to play up the victim complex, which, given his presumed history, always works.  Though I say ‘in trouble’ as if I’ve ever told him off for anything.  He might get an exasperated ‘Ruuuuuuu’ or ‘For Gods Sake Rupert whyyyyyy’ but given I discovered early on that any fast hand movements or raised voices scared the living shit out of him…we very much went down the route of gentle parenting…with lots and lots and lots of treats.

 

While he can still flinch when touched, he can, and is, very much a cuddle bug when the mood takes him.  Especially on the sofa, and he will invade your personal space if you lay on the bed.  But while he may initiate that physical contact, it doesn’t always mean he wants to be touched.  Sometimes he just wants to lay on you…and not be stroked.  I learnt that pretty quickly too.  He was so full of conflict in those early days, even now, he can display a lot of appeasement and flinching when stroked.  He has never once growled or snapped or bitten, but he demonstrates he is uncomfortable in his body language.  So, yes, he wants that reassurance of laying on you but at the same time, he doesn’t want more.  Sometimes he just wants to be with you while you doomscroll on your phone.

 

Even now, nine months into fostering him, I have to check in with him that he still wants fusses, and where, throughout each interaction, so to ensure he is comfortable and maintain the trust we have built.

 

Because consent is important guys.  If what I’m saying isn’t clear enough.

 

And speaking of, this boy is darn respectful.  He knows he can have my bed when I’m not in it, but of a nighttime, he’s not allowed in.  If I happen to collapse on it after trudging in from work and need to rot for a while, he’ll wait for permission to come up and cuddle.  Why is he not allowed in it at night?  Because while I consider him to be a 'smaller' sighthound, he sprawls out like he’s melted and takes up the entire damn bed!  I have to sleep like I’m taking part in a Tetris competition just to fit around him and then my stupid smart watch tells me what a crap nights sleep I’ve had and how I could improve it.  As if I don’t already know.

 

Jokes aside, Rupert is still very much a work in progress.

 

He is, effectively, a giant house cat.  Why?  Because he’s a damned trauma hoarder.

 

This boy’s stress bucket fills up so fast that sometimes we can’t even make it to the end of the driveway before he overwhelms himself from sniffing a bush, and then it takes 5-7 business days for it to empty back out.  As I said, he’s very emotional!  But, what can I say?  The outdoor world is very scary.

 

He very quickly associates any negative experience, mild inconvenience or weird sniff with a place or situation, meaning he is immediately on edge and stressed in going back to said place or into said situation.  Which is why the only option to get him out the house, is to go straight into the car, and drive him somewhere new or safe, such as the rental field.  The problem is we aren’t just running out of ‘new’ places that are quiet and free of other humans, but he also won’t go out in the dark and cold…soooo yay winter?

 

But ultimately, Rupert is happiest indoors, the house is his safe space, he loves his routine, he gets on with the other dogs in the home, he loves to zoom around the garden and play fetch (because tennis balls are life, obviously).

 

Since the weather turned rubbish and the dark crept in, he’s stayed in and been perfectly content with it.  If anything, his behaviour indoors has improved tenfold.  Other than the shitting on the floor part, but that’s only when it’s raining…

 

And as we haven’t been able to work on building his outdoor confidence due to the lack of sun and fair weather, we’ve been working on widening his circle of trust, and there are several people, including a couple men, that he is happy to see, let into the house and then curl up on their lap on the sofa. 

We’re still keeping these interactions short and sweet, and everyone still must follow the no-perceiving rule, but it’s a start.  He’s doing really well.   The only people he takes particular exception to these days are tradies.  Sorry guys.  But apparently, he really doesn’t like big blokes in hi-vis.  Or big blokes with beards.  Or big blokes in general.

 

He has also been brilliant with every dog that’s come into the house, other than a horrendously scatty cockapoo and a nuisance of a lurcher puppy…but can’t blame him for that.  He does best with calm, easy going dogs who don't escalate the 'excitement' in the house.  He can get overwhelmed if a dog is too out-of-control playful and will turn into the fun police.  He does like to play and do zoomies, but largely on his own.  He gets a bit worried if the other dogs join in but is slowly learning how to engage in polite play with the other dogs in the home.  He was playing tug of war the other day with the little one and it was just adorable how gentle he was being. 

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Oh, and he also plays fetch!  He loves a tennis ball.

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Rupert is very clever, but is lazy...or perhaps too clever for his own good.  He isn't particularly driven to work or engage in training a lot of the time, and will absolutely try to take short cuts to receive a reward.  But he is hugely food motivated and is very quick in social learning.  He has learnt a lot of his house behaviour from observing and copying my chihuahua cross, especially at meal times.  He is literally perfect with this, always has been.  He is very respectful of food bowls and treat times. 

The only problem we have ever had around food was guarding a very high value chew (which he hadn't had before) in the early days toward the other dog (not me, he didn't give a monkeys about me touching it).  I always separate the dogs with high value items, but I will hold my hands up and say that incident was entirely my fault, the chihuahua sneaked in the baby gate behind me without my noticing.  

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Have we had issue since?  No.  But that's because the lesson was learnt and we don't have high value chews in the house any more.​

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Am I making him sound adoptable, probably not.  But I won't shy away telling the truth about his behaviour and the journey he's been through.  And no doubt the hair-pulling-out calls I've put the TZZ behaviourist through!

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But all that aside, in the house now, I couldn’t fault him.  He is pretty much perfect now.

 

No counter surfing, no sleep startle, no resource guarding, no separation anxiety, no reaction to fireworks.  He sleeps through the night, eats like a champ, is 99.9% house trained (stupid weather!) and is somewhat on his way to learning how to play politely with the other dogs…but while he usually instigates it, 9 times out of 10 he gets scared when they play back and he will run to me for help.  Idiot.

 

There is no more sound reactivity or pacing around freaking out about humans existing in the street, we are long past that now, unless he has otherwise been stressed out to the max.  So, for instance, he did have to go to the vet for a medication review the other day, so it’s fair to say for a few days after he was quite highly strung!  But he got over it and is back to being the perfect little house cat that he is.

 

I love him.  I do.  He is a whole different dog to when he first came in.  And yes, he is a proper little dickhead sometimes.  Like, he doesn’t understand he can’t just walk off with your slipper while you’re wearing it.  But then at dinner time, he is so patient, sitting waiting with the other dogs without complaining or causing a fuss.

 

He’s been here for nine months now.  That is a long darn time…and I fully expect to have him for another nine at his rate because no one wants to adopt a dog with 'problems'. 

 

And sure, he comes across as really complicated and confusing, and for a long time I believed that, as he had me questioning everything I know about dog behaviour.  But now, I get it.  He’s just a very emotional dog who can have really big feelings and doesn’t know what to do with them.  He likes things how he likes them.  He likes his routine.  He likes things calm.  He likes things simple.  This boy is the dog equivalent of someone with cPTSD (and probably autism, if we’re being honest).  Avoid the triggers, or support him through them, and you have a fantastic hound.

 

Because once you have his trust, he’s just the best dog.  I really couldn’t fault him, but maybe I just love him too much to do so.

 

And hopefully, there is someone out there who might just love him as much as I do.  Who will take him home and give him the time, space and respect to grow and learn and thrive.

 

Whether that is in a home where he can just be a big house cat, or in a home where they’re prepared to put the work in to get him out and enjoying the big wide world.  Who knows.

 

But there is a home out there for him, we just need to find it!

 

I know the world is a shit place to be right now, money is tight, the future is uncertain and the crusty orange you-know-what leaves us wondering every other day if we’re going to plunge into WW3, and the idea of adopting a dog probably seems crazy.

 

But you only live once, and this boy has been through some level of hell that we’ll never fully comprehend.  He deserves his happily ever after, for however long that may be.

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If you have gotten this far, thank you.  If you happen to be a nice lesbian couple, who lives in the countryside, even better!  Do you want a silly emotional idiot to be your child?  Because he really needs a rural home, or at least a semi-rural home, where he is away from societal pressures.  He is not a city dog.  He does not like street walking.  It's too much for him.

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I will really miss this boy when he goes.  I really really will.  But I live in town and I know that I can never give him everything he needs.​​

 

So, give him a chance.  Please?