A couple from Coventry who adopted a rescue Greyhound, later discovered he was the grandson of their previous dog who had died just weeks earlier.
Doreen and Stewart Hawthorne knew they wanted to adopt another ex-racing Greyhound after 13-year-old Mavis passed away earlier this year. They had adopted Mavis in 2016 from Dogs Trust Kenilworth and so it was to the Kenilworth rehoming centre that they turned once again.
Doreen immediately spotted five-year-old Rici, who bore a striking resemblance to Mavis.
Doreen says: “It was like looking at Mavis. It was a few days after he’d come home with us that we decided to look into his background and discovered the family link. It was incredible, particularly as before arriving at Dogs Trust Kenilworth Mavis was at risk of being put to sleep. When we adopted Mavis we found out that she had had several litters of puppies and when her racing days were over, she had been taken to a vet to be put to sleep. Luckily, the vet asked Dogs Trust Kenilworth to take her in and we were fortunate enough to adopt her. Here we are several years later with her grandson. It’s wonderful.”
Doreen was able to trace Rici’s family history using his racing tattoo and records. Although Rici is almost identical to Mavis in looks, when it comes to personality they are very different.
Doreen says: Mavis was very calm from the moment she came home, but Rici is a little anxious. We don’t think he’s lived in a home before so everything was new to him.
“But now, he’s really settling in and his personality is starting to shine through. He is enjoying his walks and he loves to run around the garden with his favourite squeaky toys. We missed Mavis terribly, but we are over the moon to have a second member of her family with us.”
Emma-Jane Thomas, Manager at Dogs Trust Kenilworth, says: “This is a first for Dogs Trust Kenilworth! We were delighted when Doreen told us about Rici’s relationship to Mavis. They are both very lucky dogs to have found Doreen and Stewart, but I know Doreen and Stewart feel they are the lucky ones.”
If you think you could give a Dogs Trust dog the forever home they deserve, please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming to start the virtual adoption process.
Dogs Trust Kenilworth holds Information Days every Sunday. If you would like to take a tour of the centre, meet members of the team and see the dogs spending time with their canine carers, please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk/ourcentres to book a place.
