The Lokuge family usually goes away for the holidays, but this year they decided to stay home. They saw GAP’s request for people to foster lonely greyhounds over Christmas and thought it would be nice to spend their holiday season with Bruce.
Bruce is a five-year-old brindle with lots of character. When his foster carer, Kulari Lokuge, went to pick him up on Christmas Eve, he was so excited to go home with her.
At first, Bruce was nervous around his new foster family. He is used to being around other greyhounds and people made him a bit anxious, so he was thrilled to meet the family’s greyhound Lucy. She made Bruce more comfortable and helped him warm up to the rest of the family.
Although Lucy is older than Bruce, the two dogs got along beautifully. Lucy was happy to share her toys with Bruce, even if she didn’t have much interest in playing with him. Bruce would spend his days playing with his squeaky toys and sleeping next to Lucy on their side-by-side doggie beds.
Truthfully, Bruce preferred to sleep on the couch. He learned that his foster family didn’t like pets on the furniture, so he’d snooze with Lucy on the floor. Unless, of course, no one was looking or he’d been left behind, then he’d try to sneak right back up on the couch.
Bruce is a fast learner and quickly picked up new games and life in his foster home. He is very energetic and fun to play with, but like all greyhounds, he will eventually tire himself out.
Bruce is the first greyhound the Lokuge family has fostered and they loved the experience.
“Our dog is old and can’t run anymore because she has arthritis,” Kulari explained. “So, we got to make a lot of good memories with Bruce – taking him for walks, going to the beach, introducing him to the kids in the family and teaching them to play with him.”
“The hardest part was when we had to give him up,” she said. “We couldn’t adopt him because he needs to have people around. We’re away too often and he likes to have people there or at least another dog to keep him company.”
Kulari’s advice for Bruce’s future adopters is to get him plenty of squeaky toys – he loves them more than anything. She also suggests leaving the radio on when going out. She knew Bruce would look for her when she was out, but when the radio was on, he thought there was someone else home and didn’t worry about being alone.
Bruce’s foster family was grateful to have him stay with them over the holidays and hope he finds a new home soon. Bruce is one of the dogs available at GAP’s Adoption Bonanza in Seymour from January 18 to 20, 2019.
If you’re interested in adopting a greyhound, this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the breed and meet fantastic greyhounds like Bruce. In addition, the adoption fees have been waived for the upcoming 3-day Adoption Bonanza, so you may be able to adopt a greyhound FREE of charge.
