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Rupert the Gentle Giant

“If I knew having a greyhound was so easy and rewarding, I would have adopted one much earlier,” says Shepparton local Tessa, who adopted Rupert the greyhound at GAP’s 3 Days of Adoption back in January.

Tessa recalls the day she and her family made the trip out to GAP Seymour to adopt Rupert: “We queued up first thing on the Friday and ran to Rupert’s enclosure as we didn’t want to miss out on bringing him home.  He was the fourth greyhound adopted that day.”

Four months on and Rupert has settled in like he’s always lived with Tessa, he even shares a few personality traits with her son. “He’s very relaxed and easy going.  He’s a gentle giant with a quirky personality.  His birthday is the day after our 14-year-old son Christian, and Rupert has a very similar personality to him.  They are both easy going gentle giants who love sleeping!”

The main motivation behind adopting Rupert was so Tessa could have a companion when her son goes off to boarding school next year, but he has become much more than that. “He follows me from room to room and lays around the house.  He rises only to remind me when it’s time for walks and when it’s his mealtime.  He greets us with such enthusiasm each morning and does a spinning dance when he knows he is going for a walk or when he is going to be fed.  It’s such a pleasure to have such a loving soul.  It’s truly our blessing to give this ex-racer a home.”

Like all greyhounds, Rupert has his fair share of quirks: “It’s funny how much Rupert loves routine. He waits for his walk and his lunch at the same time and if you are slightly delayed for any reason, he will remind you that he is waiting.  When daylight savings finished no one gave him the brief so he was excitedly waiting for his walkies from 6 am! He has now adjusted to it.”

Rupert has become such an integral part of Tessa’s family that she is now even considering adopting a friend for him. “Greyhounds have such sweet gentle natures and are so easy going.  I know not all are like Rupert. The way GAP matches the greyhound to the family is simply perfect.  I would recommend a greyhound as a pet especially from GAP to everyone.  For us Rupert has been a perfect match. We are even considering adopting another to keep Rupert company once we move to a larger property.”