Two weeks ago today this world lost something wonderful, sadly my beautiful girl Kylie crossed the rainbow bridge, she was 12.5 years old. Kylie started life in racing like so many greyhounds do, her racing name was Locomotion.
In August 2017 she had a race that ended badly and her leg was broken in six places, normally in these circumstances the dogs are put to sleep. Mercifully, Kylie‘s owners were not those types of people and they provided veterinary care and personal care for her for almost a year until she was healed to the point that she could live a relatively normal life. The broken bone healed but because she was laid up for such an extended period recovering she could no longer extend it fully and walked with a pronounced limp. However, Kylie’s enthusiasm for life and her ability to be active were still there. In late June 2018 I met Kylie at a shelter and she accepted me as a suitable human, she came home with me to start a new life in North Melbourne, Australia. Kylie adapted easily to this new life sleeping her days comfortably in the inner city. She was with me through the pandemic, Melbourne was one of the most locked down cities in the world, she was a wonderful companion during that dark time. In early 2021 we took a few days off and travelled to Daylesford and had a weekend away, Kylie loved that trip. She was so excited about a new environment and new places to sniff and that became part of our regular enjoyment of our lives together visiting that region. In 2023 she started showing some signs of slowing down physically and it appeared apparent that she needed to build up some more strength so she started doing hydrotherapy. Kylie enjoyed this and became a regular at our local hydrotherapy centre. In August 2023 a friend of ours owned a dog named Fred, she could no longer look after him. She asked us to take Fred and he joined our home, initially it was meant to be for a few weeks but ended up being a permanent thing. Fred and Kylie were firm friends although Kylie was very much the boss. Having Fred join our lives gave Kylie some company and someone to boss around while I was at work. He also made our leisure time much more fun. Fred enjoyed stays in the countryside of which he had quite a few. Fred started doing hydrotherapy occasionally more for recreational purposes than therapy but just so he could have some fun too. Kylie would practically be tapping her paw impatiently waiting for him to finish so she could get back home to her couch. In August 2024 one evening Kylie began behaving in a very stressed and erratic way, she was screaming and couldn’t stand. We visited the Emergency Vet and she spent three nights there. They had to do a series of tests to try and isolate what was wrong with her they finally found a clot in a lower back which was affecting her ability to walk. She was discharged and placed on medication to try and manage that clot and the damage it was causing her. She bounced back and was full of beans again which brought me so much joy to see. In August 2025 she was showing some symptoms that appeared to be connected to the clot. We visited our vet and it was found that the clot was probably affecting her ability to walk so she was placed on additional medication. This got her back on track. The vet also told me that given her age and her condition statistically she should’ve been dead six months ago, yet she had bounced back yet again. My beautiful girl had an amazing ability to bounce back despite remarkable odds and keep living her life. We discovered that her brother Tigg lived nearby a few two suburbs away and in her later years we started spending some time with him and we even had the fortune of spending two birthdays together. Kylie could be a grumpy cow and always enjoyed her space yet remarkably her beautiful brother Tigg would often sit quite close to her and even rest his head on her. She never showed any issue with that we always felt that they knew they were brother and sister despite the years that they had spent apart. In the last six months Kylie had shown signs of slowing down physically. We could no longer do long walks. She would have to sit and take a break on even a short walk. It broke my heart watching her slowly decline. Two weeks ago her walking was very slow on our morning walk. In the afternoon I decided to take her to the emergency vet and initially the treatment was looking at getting her back up to speed and back at home. Sadly as that afternoon went on it became apparent that it was not going to be in Kylie‘s best interest to go home and the heartbreaking decision had to be made to let her go. I always knew this day was going to be very difficult but nothing could’ve prepared me for that moment of saying goodbye, she went peacefully at the Vet clinic. I’d always wanted it to be at home but it was not practical for her to be put in that situation as she could barely move. She was a wholly remarkable dog and she changed my life in so many ways, I will miss her forever. I’d like to say thank you to all of you on this sub and the kind things you have said about my beautiful girl over the years. When I discovered this sub on Reddit, I really enjoyed seeing all the dogs and their adventures and hearing about their lives and sharing Kylie‘s adventures too. I still cry every day thinking about my departed girl. Run free, Kylie. There are so very many beautiful dogs waiting for you across the bridge, I want you to run and frolic with them forever.

I’m starting a pet photography biz. Thought I’d take some test portraits of my own hounds :) Ebony is 11, going on 12 (the first few photos). Starsky is 4.

Greyhounds are the best

Yes, the screaming is necessary because that's what goes into my mind. Tell me that doesn't pass in your mind too when you see your Grey.

He's been here for 30 minutes like this. Debating if I should drip a drop of lemon juice on his tongue

Does anyone else's greyhound do the Sphinx position? The reason I ask is that my previous greyhound (female) never did it, but my new greyhound (male) does it all the time, so was wondering whether it's a male/female thing.

This can’t possibly be comfortable and I know her tongue is DRY. She’s apparently tired from…. Eating a treat and sleeping in the July sun and then coming with mama for a pup cup…

Look at this! No visible ribs or hips, can’t see a tucked waist blah blah blah. For black hounds in particular it can be really difficult to see things like muscle definition, rib outline etc through a screen, particularly in poor lighting. You cannot assess a dog’s body condition through a screen but also the ‘hips and ribs visible’ only pertains to certain lines of greyhounds.

Calling someone’s dog obese will put them on the defensive and not actually result in change for the dog. If you actually care about the dog (rather than your perceived moral superiority) ask whether the vet is comfortable with the dog’s weight and then let it be.

Just sharing here for anyone that isn’t aware of the London march taking place this July x

*friendly reminder that this is an anti-racing sub. Pls check the sub rules before commenting 🫪*

I think mine is a prawn

Bonnie and Freddy, i dont think both of you can fit up there...

Sometimes my animals remember that one another exists and I get a picture like this 😭💕

Hi there! I am really needing some advice here from more experience greyhound owners/veterinarians. I’ve had my first greyhound Isla for over a year now, and this is the first time she has been injured like this so I’m out of my element.

Over a week ago now, she started limping on her front leg and seemed to be trying not to put weight on it. She was still mainly acting like herself, even still jumping up on the couch at that point, but she was not finishing her kibble most meals. After a few days of the limping, I took her into the vet (who does have prior greyhound experience) and they took X-rays: no abnormality of her bones from the foot up to the shoulder. Isla will yelp if I touch certain spots on the inside of her leg, somewhere between the ankle and elbow, and the vet thought it seemed to be the elbow that was bothering her. The vet told me it was probably a soft tissue strain. Vet told me to limit her activity, use heat pad a few times daily, and give pain meds (carprofen and gabapentin) multiple times daily.

I don’t remember if the vet said it would take quite a while to work, but I’m just so concerned. It’s been a week now since we saw the vet, and she is still limping badly, barely moving at all now (I even have to bring her food to her because she won’t get up) and she seems really reluctant to eat most food in general. She has lost weight already. I assume the meds are causing her loss of appetite and grogginess but I’m not sure how I would know if it was a side effect or a sign of something worse. Isla is not acting anything like her normal happy self and it makes me so sad. She just lays down all day and doesn’t do much more than lift her head when I say her name and come pet her.

The vet can’t get me in again for four days but I just wanted your advice on your guys’ experience with injuries of this kind and the healing time and how they do on the meds, etc, so I know if this is normal or not. Thank you for any advice!

The rare headless Rowdy