We lost Fern, our German Shepherd in July 2002, she had died in her sleep and the whole family was devastated. She had been our second rescue dog, and a very faithful and protective friend. Well that was it we thought, we couldn't possibly go through all this grief again, and what dog could possibly replace Fern? 

Time passed, and we started to realise that we were never going to be able to live without another dog, our home was just not right, there was something definitely missing. We found ourselves starting to talk about the possibility of rehoming another dog and then discussing what breeds we liked. We had seen several adverts about Greyhounds and Lurchers and became quite interested in the breed, but still couldn't decide what to do. Then....................................................................................

One day I was out shopping with a friend and went to cross the road to return to my car. My friend shouted to me that she still had to go to the newsagents, so I returned to her side of the road and as we were walking along I spotted three beautiful looking Greyhounds in the back of a parked car, I just had to stop. The gentleman asked if I wanted to meet the dogs and, of course, I was delighted. He explained that they were all ex‑racing dogs, and told me the history of each dog and how he came about rehoming them. The gentleman then introduced himself as Arthur and went on to tell me that he worked with a charity which rehomed Greyhounds and Lurchers. Arthur asked if I would be interested in rehoming a dog and after spending the previous 10 mins in the boot of his estate car with these quiet loving animals, my mind was made up, I just had to say yes. Arthur took my phone number and said that Diane from Give a Greyhound a Home would contact me.

That evening the phone rang and this was Diane, she explained about the dogs that she gets in and the worst possible scenario, but we were not deterred one bit, and just knew we were making the right decision. We had a rehoming check and Diane said she would be in touch when a suitable dog came in. We didn't have to wait long. Within the next week Diane phoned to say that she had a Lurcher called Isla who had been handed in and she thought we might be interested, but, Isla had a big problem, she was very aggressive with other dogs. Still not deterred, we set off a couple of days later to meet Isla. She was a beautiful Deerhound x Greyhound and we just knew the instant we saw her that we were going to take her home despite the problem she had. It just made us all the more determined to help her.

Isla came to live with us and we couldn't get over how quickly she settled in. It was quite an eye opening experience the first time we saw Isla faced with another dog and we realised that her aggression was a massive problem, but not one we were going to give up on. When you see Isla at home with the family, rolling around the floor with the children, lying up on the sofa watching her favourite programme (Scotland’s Top Dogs on BBC1) and the way she licks any visitors to death whether they like it or not you just know that this is a fantastic dog, who just needs some understanding and patience to help her overcome this deep rooted behavioral problem.

Isla has improved a lot since we first got her, but there is still a lot of work to be done, but we will get there, and she has proved to us time and time again that she is worth the effort. Isla proved to be a great hit on a recent trip to the local Primary School to help the children with a project on pets and she just loved all the attention, she just lay on the floor, paws in the air inviting all the children to rub her tummy. This was proof of how muchthis dog’s confidence has developed given that she would not allow a human hand near her for fear of being hit when she first arrived with Diane. 

Within a few days of getting to know Isla we soon realised that she is an expert thief. We have lost three containers of broth, 1lb of mince, a joint of beef, a freshly baked sponge and numerous other delights too many to mention. We dare not leave any item of food unattended for more than 2 seconds or it magically disappears, I am sure she is just helping me with my latest diet fad.

Isla has been part of our family now for five months and we just couldn't imagine life without her, she is quite a character and to think that if I hadn’t gone shopping that day or if I hadn't returned to the other side of the road, if I hadn't met Arthur and his three Greyhounds and he hadn't been involved with rehoming rescued dogs, we may never have met.

It was just meant to be!         The Ross Family