D Day (and i'm not talking beaches of Normandy here!)

Sunday 7th May.

I was so excited I could hardly wait to see her and get her home. I've bought the toys, food and made her a bed up in the lounge. We covered the sofa just in case she took a shine to it. Finally the time had come and without batting an eyelid she hopped into the back of my car. M & P gave us their numbers and M said she'd be round the next day to see how Niamh was getting on. I paid P for her keep and the bits and pieces that I'd bought for her, including a Burberry collar and a very fetching green rain coat. Well she might get cold you never know.



This is how she looked when I left her after a last walk at the kennels



And this was her the day we bought her home. She seemed ok but she followed me everywhere. Well she still does but only because she want's something to eat!!! We allowed her to sniff around and to make herself at home. That first night was strange too. She didn't seem to grasp that she was supposed to sleep on the comfy bed we'd made her in the lounge as she flopped down on the floor at the foot of the bed. I'll need more dog beds I thought as I drifted off.

The next day M came with one of her dogs and we went for a walk out on the heath behind my home. I was advised to keep her on the lead for at least a month and then when I wanted to try her off the lead just keep a pocket of treats and reward her each time she came back.

M came 2 more times until she was sure that Niamh was settling in. She promised to be on the end of a phone if I needed her and I did when I worried that she wasn't eating or he did something a little out of the ordinary. Each time M or P reassured me that she was fine and that Greyhounds can be a little eccentric.

With each day as it passed over those 2 weeks Niamh and I built a bond that now can't be broken. I was the constant she had been looking for. Wherever I went she went too, bathroom or garden it didn't matter. She would shy away from Alan when he came in from work but I reassured him that she would settle with time.

She learnt to play with her toys and the first time she picked them up and played with them on her own both Alan and I smiled.

This was our favorite toy until he lost his squeek



And know we don't go anywhere without..................



FAT CAT (with dog as back up)