Hugo, aka Illegal, is a good looking, 3-year-old red fawn male born January 1, 2005. His sire is Dodgem By Design, making his grand sire the late Gable Dodge, and his dam is Sylvania, making his grand sire My Rooster. Hugo has no races to his career, and was not a candidate as he is a little shy. He is overcoming this in his foster home and gets along well with the other greyhounds. It is not known at this time if Hugo is small animal or cat tolerant.
We have had Hugo in our home for several months. The Hugo who lives with us now is not the same Hugo who came to us in August 2007.
Hugo is a big, beautiful, fawn, three-year-old. Yes, Hugo is shy and wary of things and situations he has not dealt with before, but he is not a sissy or a scaredy-cat. He is sweet, funny, energetic, smart, curious, and affectionate. He has gotten along well with the greyhounds who are permanent residents, as well as all the others who have passed through in the period of time he has been here. In fact, Hugo probably will be adopted only to a home with other dogs. They bolster his confidence and he learns how to be a dog in that home from them.
When Hugo first came to live with us, his crate was his refuge. Now, it is only the place where he eats because he eats a little fast and is eager to help out others. In fact, if he feels he has been in there too long, he lets you know it's time to open the gate. Although he may be a little wary when new people come to visit, he no longer runs and hides and will allow those who are willing to woo him to sit on his pillow and pet him. He is not afraid of vacuum cleaners, thunderstorms, or big trains thundering past his back yard. He does not counter surf much anymore and tempting things left forgotten are usually still there later. He has not had an accident in the house since the first week he lived with us. If the doggie door is not open, he lets us know when he needs out. He seems to like children and, when he was introduced to the cat, he showed no interest. But that could have been because he was in an unfamiliar environment and he wasn't moving out of his safe space. So cats are a little iffy.
His biggest obstacle at this time is the big outdoors. It is a little overwhelming to him; however, whereas he used to retreat to his crate when the front door was left open or pace nervously, he now stands there with the rest of the pack, checking out every moving object. His walks on leash with another dog are getting longer and longer. It's true that Hugo is going to need a special home: one that is patient, calm, and kind, considerate of his feelings, and dedicated to helping him reach his full potential at his own pace.
Oh, yeah. Hugo loves carrots. And squeaky toys.
Hugo's Foster Mom