Often age can be an important factor to some people who are adopting a dog, 
and most people prefer younger dogs, even if the age of the dog is only an educated guess. 
The advantage to adopting an ex-racing greyhound is that one of the letter tattoos on its ears 
represents the year the dog was born, and so knowing its approximate age is possible. 
In fact, all the letter tattoos together allow you to find out much more about the individual dog, 
including its exact date of birth. So when you adopted an older ex-racing greyhound, 
you know exactly how old the dog is. 
 
Still, some people might feel that a 6 or 7 year old greyhound is an old dog, and so avoid 
considering an older greyhound. However, the fact is that a well cared for greyhound can live well 
into its teens, and has plenty of life left in him or her before that. 
One of the OGS adopted dogs, Maxi, arrived here a few weeks short of her 8th birthday.  
Soon she will be ten and is still going strong! 
 
My own two greyhounds, Maeve and Micheál, were adopted at ages 6 and 7 respectively. 
Turning 11 years old in October 2007, Micheál is still an active boy, and as you can see from the 
photos, still loves running through the fields. 
Maeve will be 10 in April 2008, and she also is still very active, and accompanies Micheál 
on his jaunts. 
 
I purposely adopted them at ages 6 and 7, as I knew they would likely be more relaxed 
and quicker to settle down, and would most probably be well beyond any tendencies of typical 
puppy and young dog foolishness. They both have been nothing less than model dogs, affectionate 
and undemanding, biddable and sensitive. They are my reception committee for newly arrived dogs, 
and are a very important part of socializing and training the newer dogs, particularly the shy and 
traumatized ones. 
 
It is not at all uncommon for an older dog to serve as model for younger dogs to follow, and makes 
training the younger dog that much easier. 
 
So when you are considering adopting a greyhound, don't overlook the "oldies"! They have a lot 
of years left in them, and certainly deserve a home and love in the second half of their lives. 
Wonderful and quiet companions, they will thank you in a thousand ways for letting them be your 
constant and devoted companions. 

Molly is as quiet as a mouse, gentle on the leash, great with other dogs and people, 
and very well behaved in the house. 
She is still elastic in her movements, and is of uncertain age, though she looks to be about 8. 
She appears to have had a rough life at some point. 

Eleven-year-old Micheál still has no problem running in the fields and keeping up with 6-year-old Josef. 

Ten-year-old Maxi still loves to go to the beach and run with all her companions, 
including terrier Brandy. She was adopted at the age of 8. 

Jenny is 7 and arrived in poor condition, but she is quickly gaining ground and enjoys a good run!

Golden Greyhounds

Golden Greyhounds for adoption or permanent fostering

If you want to give an older greyhound a comfortable retirement in the later years of its life, that is a generous and selfless thing to do. 
Some older greyhounds have never ever seen the inside of a house, slept on a duvet, had a warm meal, or had the company of humans 
very much. 
Nevertheless, they settle down beautifully in a home environment, and show their appreciation in a range of ways.
 Here are a few golden greyhounds for you to consider taking in. 
We also offer some financial backup for medical expenses for those who want to permanently foster one of these deserving beauties. 

Susie and Clara - these two ladies arrived together in late November, and are kept together here at the sanctuary. 
They can of course be adopted separately. 
Both are 9 years old, Clara having come from another rescue which says she was brought in to the vet's to be put down, but the owner 
agreed to let her be put up for adoption. 
After a few weeks at that rescue, she was reportedly doing poorly and so OGS was asked to take her. 
On the same day, she arrived here with Susie, who had just been rescued from a Dublin pound. 

Click on the above image for further details.