Halferdid Greyhound & Hound Mix Cincinnati, OH

In light of the coronavirus outbreak and in keeping with current safety guidelines, our shelter is closed to visitors and our dogs are in foster care with volunteers. While we are unable to arrange visits with our dogs until social-distancing restrictions are lifted, we are happy to answer your questions about our dogs, our adoption process, and whether we might have a good fit for you. If you are looking to adopt NOW, please check with your local county shelter. If you’d like to be considered for one of our current dogs once our world gets back to normal, we'd love to hear from you.

* * *
UPDATE 4/22 A little more insider info from Diddy's time in foster care:

Good habits: Loves to cuddle, house trained, loves to sleep, fast learner, does not bark at neighbor dogs or other dogs on walks.

Bad habits: She likes to paw you to keep the cuddles coming. Lunges at squirrels at times, which can catch you off guard during a walk.

Needs to work on: Some socialization with other dogs probably. She'll sniff other dogs but if it goes on too long she'll growl and bark. Or if another dog is either very eager to meet or bigger than her she becomes skittish and nervous.

Dream home: Fenced yard would be good to let her out but not a deal breaker. She's pretty lazy and burns all her energy sniffing things on walks.

***
UPDATE 3/28 Good things can come out of something even as horrible as the coronavirus. Just ask any of our lucky shelter dogs who are being temporarily fostered in the homes of our huge-hearted volunteers. Halferdid is loving life in the quiet comfort of her foster home, basking in the sun and claiming one of the family couches as her personal bed. Here are some insights from her foster-hosts:

"She was a wonderful dog to have here. No accidents, she stands by the door when she needs to go out, and she is obviously used to being on the furniture. She loved sleeping in the bed and was pretty quiet overnight. She is incredibly food motivated, including counter surfing as well as flattening herself to get under the baby gate and into the laundry room to chow on cat food. Most of the day she was happy to lie down at my feet under my desk while I worked. She is very affectionate and loves cuddles and ear scratches. We walked around my neighborhood and that hound nose was to the ground the entire time!"

And from another volunteer-foster: "The first thing I discovered is that she is TERRIFIED of getting into a vehicle. I had to physically lift her into my SUV and she shook most of the way home. Getting out of the vehicle was a different story … she was like a blur in her hurry! She was also very hesitant about the stairs in my condo but got over that quickly. In the house she was very curious, sniffing every corner of each room. My cats, even when they were behind a closed door, were not very happy initially about having a dog in the house again. Over time my young ones went nose to nose with no issues. My 10-year-old cat was a beast the entire visit and poor H was terrified of him so they were not allowed to get near each other."


***
Sweet Halferdid already knows what it is to belong to a family, and is eager to find love again. Sadly, the woman who had Halle since she was a pup is no longer able to care for her due to her own health issues and living situation changes. Halle was, as you can imagine, confused and scared upon arrival, but soon found comfort in our volunteers' TLC and assurances that her forever family will soon come find her. Until then, we are enjoying getting to know this beautiful girl with the funny name.

Halle is 4 years old and weighs around 50 pounds. She gets along well with other dogs and loves humans. Her favorite things are playing with a ball outside, and cuddling with a human inside. She's a little insecure, due partly to her greyhound nature and partly to her recent dramatic life changes. She needs a family that will love, but not baby her ... one who understands both the importance of building an insecure dog's confidence, and the flight risks common with the greyhound breed. She will need to always be leashed/harnessed, supervised in a securely fenced yard, and monitored around open doors.

If you think you might be the family to provide this girl's happy ending, we'd love to hear from you. Hopefully soon!

• All of our animals are spayed/neutered and current on shots.
• We do not do same-day adoptions; we ask that you return for a follow-up visit before taking an animal home.
• You must be 21 years or older to adopt from STAF.
• We require a 4-foot-tall physical fence for homes with children under the age of 11. We also may require a physical fence for specific dogs on a case-by-case basis, depending on each dog’s behavior and exercise needs.
• Due in part to increasing coyote activity/incidents in the area and the difficulty of predicting how a dog will respond to invisible fence training, we can not adopt to homes with invisible fences.
• We do request vet and personal references.
• We can facilitate adoptions within a 75-mile radius of our Cincinnati-based shelter.

Please visit www.STAF.org for visiting hours, a downloadable application, and additional information.