Much like his fictional namesake, it didn’t take Bilbo long to realise his adventure with Cheryl would be one he couldn’t miss.
Bilbo fell into pet life with Cheryl quickly and amazingly well. A sweet, loveable, gentle giant, Cheryl considers herself to be extremely lucky to have found Bilbo.
“He is such a good boy,” says Cheryl. “He is very affectionate, in fact I have not had a dog as affectionate as he is.”
“He will wrap his body around mine and rub his head up and down on my belly, I love it. I had a friend come over and he ran to her and did that… later she was telling someone about him and said he gave me ‘a big hug’, and you know what, that’s exactly what it is.”
Bilbo loves his daily walk, sniffing for treats in paper bags, milk cartons or whatever is on hand, and a quick zoomie around the backyard. He adores his toy bear, and his real life greyhound friend Zoumi.
He does have a little bit of a cheeky side, take this recent expedition on to the bed as an example (a place he technically is not allowed to be).
“The other day, I got up, came out to the lounge but could not see him,” Cheryl explains. “I looked to my left and there he was up on the bed, pillows everywhere, quilt scrunched up and his face saying nothing to see here.”
Cheryl knew little about greyhounds before Bilbo, but now can’t see herself with any other breed.
“To someone thinking about adopting, I would encourage them as much as possible because you want others to be as happy as you are and to give a grey a forever home”.
“The fact that there is such a careful measured process to adopting a hound [with Greyhound Rescue], to being matched with one that will suit you and your lifestyle and that you will suit the hound, it’s quite remarkable,” says Cheryl.
“I can also say how well the dogs are cared for as I now volunteer weekly so have first-hand experience. The fact that it is run nearly totally by volunteers speaks volumes to the type of people looking after the greyhounds.”
Is there a hound-shaped hole in your life? Find out more about our adoption process here.