Kennel 31 -Sponsored in memory of Sunnie. If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I would walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.

Pet name - Tanya

Race name - Hollyoak Tanya

Colour - White and Blue

Sex - Female

Born - 1st October 2018

Arrival date - 25th September 2022

January 2026

Tanya is now 7 years old and is our longest stay dog. She has been with us since September 2022; that’s a whopping 1195 days and counting. Whilst we do get people ask about her from time to time, her biggest hang-up is that she is a ‘Spook’* and anything small that upsets her can set her back again for weeks. In September 2025, typically the day after she had officially been with us 3 yrs, she suffered another setback. This is something that we haven’t shared widely yet as she’s still in the initial treatment stages. Over the course of a day Tanya had several cluster seizures resulting in two emergency vet visits and an overnight stay for monitoring and initial treatment. She is currently being treated for Epilepsy and has just had her 3-month check. The outcome of her visit is that she needs to remain on the medicine for another 3 months (6mths total). If she remains seizure free, then at that point the vet will consider slowly reducing her dosage. So far, the tablets she is on are working and she luckily hasn’t suffered anymore seizures, but this is just another setback for her. The first week on her epilepsy medication she was clumsy on her feet and panicked whilst trying to do things at top speed. The scariest part for us was that she didn’t recognise the staff for those first few days which is not good for our Tanya, especially as this was combined with her unsteady on her feet and panicked. Currently she is stable on her medication which MUST be given 12hrs apart to be effective. She gets her medication at 8am and 8pm every day. Our chunky monkey is enjoying her late evening snack with her medication, although the snack is not good for her waistline! She has however lost 1kg in weight since her last check-up. Slow progress but progress.

Despite these setbacks she has vastly improved in a variety of ways since her first year with us. She trusts the staff but that trust still has its limits. The dirty looks we get after a nail clipping or when she must go to the vets for her check-ups. You usually get snubbed for at least half a day! She now allows some of our visitors/walkers to give her a fuss and a cheeky treat. With certain dog walkers she’ll demand treats when she sees them. She still barks at most strangers, but she is more comfortable walking passed them to go out to toilet, stretch her legs for a bit (or if there’s any sun, she’ll top up her tan) and walk past them to get back to her kennel.

This last year, Tanya will now wait at the kennel door every day when you put her back in to have a stroke and some head scratches and has turned into an affectionate dog with the staff. Since her seizures in September 2025, she has become playful in the mornings and evenings and initiates a game of chase in the paddock, followed by cuddles before bed and first thing in the mornings.

Tanya doesn’t go out for walks at all right now. She’d previously been fine going out on quiet days with staff. Currently she finds the prospect of leaving the kennel grounds a bit frightening and refuses to walk out the front gates. However, she is perfectly happy to have a mooch and a sunbathe out in our paddocks and have a wander on lead around our fields with one of the staff. When she is happy for a walk, she does like having the chance to stretch her legs and investigate new smells.

As a Spook, Tanya very much likes a strict routine and anything out of routine means she will plonk her backside in the corner of her bed and refuse to come out until we are back on schedule. Food is a big motivator for Tanya in making friends but if she doesn’t want to do anything no bribery will get her to move. She will need a calm and patient owner who can walk her in really quiet areas when she's ready and walk her on a harness plus collar/lead set. She will need a fully fence garden ideally over 6ft in height. When panicked Tanya can jump 6ft from standing. So far, she's not gone over our 6ft fences, but she is always monitored when in the paddocks.**

Tanya cannot live with children, cats, small animals, other breeds of dog or other greyhounds. She is best suited as an only pet in a quiet all adult household.

Realistically we know Tanya may spend her entire life in kennels. Despite what some people may think of the kennel environment, this is the place that Tanya feels safe to be herself, this is comfort for her. She has a steady routine and knows exactly what is expected of her and what to expect every day.

We do live in hope though that a special person will come along with the right home environment for her, a willingness to give her all the time and space that she needs to be comfortable away from where she feels safest.

*Spook refers to idiopathic fear and withdrawal syndrome. It is a genetic/hereditary issue, it is not due to any bad experiences prior to coming into homing kennels. A Spook is basically a dog that is terrified of anything and anyone that they aren’t familiar with, and it can take a long time to gain a Spooks trust and to build a relationship. Building a relationship with them does happen but you are looking at a year or more to build that relationship and not a few weeks.

**Due to Tanya’s temperament any potential adopter will be subject to a physical home visit as well as our virtual home visit and other pre-adoption checks. Tanya will need to go to a home local to the kennels only.

June 2024

Tanya is one of our longest stay dogs having been with us for 624 days and counting. She is what we call a ‘Spook’* and has taken time to settle into the kennel and get used to the staff. As a Spook, Tanya very much likes routine and anything out of routine means she will plonk her backside in the corner of her bed and refuse to come out until we are back on schedule. She has come a long way with the staff in the 21 months that we have had her. She trusts the staff but that trusts has its limits. 

Tanya will now wait at the kennel door every day when you put her back in to have a stroke and some head scratches and has turned into an affectionate dog with the staff. Although she is happy for the staff to move her around the kennel, she can be easily spooked by people she doesn't know. Despite what it sounds like she has grown in confidence since she joined us and will now walk -quickly- pass strangers and will even take treats from them. Food is a big motivator for Tanya in making friends. With time and trust you may be able to use food as a motivator to help her get comfortable with new people.

Tanya doesn’t go out for walks as much as we would like her too as she finds the prospect of leaving the kennel grounds a bit frightening. It really is hit and miss with walking and sometimes she will go months without a walk. However, she is perfectly happy to have a mooch and a sunbathe out in our paddocks and have a wander on lead around our fields with one of the staff. When she is happy for a walk she does like having the chance to stretch her legs and investigate new smells.

She will need a calm and patient owner who can walk her in quieter areas when she's ready and walk her on a harness plus collar/lead set. She will need a fully fence garden ideally over 6ft in height. When panicked Tanya can jump 6ft from standing. So far, she's not gone over our 6ft fences, but she is always monitored when in the paddocks.

Tanya cannot live with children, cats, small animals, other breeds of dog or other greyhounds. She is best suited as an only pet in a quiet all adult household.

Is there someone out there that can give Tanya the time, patience and routine that she needs to be happy?

*Spook refers to idiopathic fear and withdrawal syndrome. It is a genetic/hereditary issue, it is not due to any bad experiences prior to coming into homing kennels. A Spook is basically a dog that is terrified of anything and anyone that they aren’t familiar with, and it can take a long time to gain a Spooks trust and to build a relationship. Building a relationship with them does happen but you are looking at a year or more to build that relationship and not a few weeks.

December 2023

Tanya is what we call a ‘Spook’*, she has settled in well with the staff and will have a fuss and a play when she feels like it. She will now wait at the kennel door every day when you put her back in to have a stroke and some head scratches. Although she is happy for the staff to move her around the kennel, she can be easily spooked by people she doesn't know. Tanya has grown in confidence a little since she joined us a year ago and will now sometimes walk -quickly- pass the odd strangers. Tanya spends time in our enclosed outside pens, but some days are better than others. Sometimes she can be outside for a while having a sniff and a mooch. Other days she is barely outside long enough for a toilet. There unfortunately is no rhyme or reason to why on some days she spends longer outside than others. 

Tanya very much likes a routine. She likes knowing what to expect everyday and if we alter that routine, she can be quite stubborn. She will refuse to move from her bed until things are done in the order, she expects them to be. She can sometimes be convinced to do things out of order, but it does take some coaxing. 

She has been introduced to toys and enjoyed having one to play with. Tanya is a foody, however taking treats from people she doesn’t know is still a struggle. She will happily take anything from the staff who she has got to know over the last year. With time and trust you may be able to use food as a motivator to help her get comfortable with new people. 

Tanya doesn’t go out for walks as much as we would like her too as she finds the prospect of leaving the kennel grounds a bit frightening. Once the staff get her beyond the kennel gates, she does like having the chance to stretch her legs and investigate new smells. 

She will need a calm and patient owner who can walk her in quieter areas when she's ready and walk her on a harness plus collar/lead set. She will need a fully fence garden ideally over 6ft in height. When panicked Tanya can jump 6ft from standing. So far, she's not gone over our 6ft fences, but she is always monitored when in the paddocks. 

Tanya cannot live with children, cats, small animals or other breeds of dog. She is best suited as an only pet in a quiet all adult household. 

Is there someone out there that can give Tanya the time, patience and routine that she need to be happy? 

*Spook refers to idiopathic fear and withdrawal syndrome. It is a genetic/hereditary issue, it is not due to any bad experiences prior to coming into homing kennels. A Spook is basically a dog that is terrified of anything and anyone that they aren’t familiar with, and it can take a long time to gain a Spooks trust and to build a relationship. Building a relationship with them does happen but you are looking at a year or more to build that relationship and not a few weeks. 

September 2022

Tanya is what we call a ‘Spook’. Spook refers to idiopathic fear and withdrawal syndrome. It is a genetic/hereditary issue, it is not due to any bad experiences prior to coming into homing kennels. A Spook is basically a dog that is terrified of anything and anyone that they aren’t familiar with, and it can take a long time to gain a Spooks trust and to build a relationship. Building a relationship with them does happen but you are looking at a year or more to build that relationship and not a few weeks.

Tanya has settled in well with the staff and will have a fuss and a play when she feels like it. Although she is happy for the staff to move her around the kennel, she can be easily spooked by people she doesn't know. Tanya has grown in confidence a little since she joined us in October and will now sometimes walk -quickly- pass the odd strangers. Tanya spends time in our enclosed outside pens but some days are better than others. Sometimes she can be outside for a while having a sniff and a mooch. Other days she is barely outside long enough for a toilet. There unfortunately is no rhyme or reason to why on some days she spends longer outside than others. 

Tanya has recently started going out on walks with the kennel staff. Tanya did so well when out and about, she enjoyed getting in new sniffs and getting a chance to stretch her legs.

She will need a calm and patient owner who can walk her in quieter areas when she's ready and walk her on a harness plus collar/lead set. She will need a fully fence garden ideally over 6ft in height. When panicked Tanya can jump 6ft from standing. So far she's not gone over our 6ft fences but she is always monitored when in the paddocks. 

Tanya cannot live with children, cats, small animals, or other breeds of dog. She is best suited as an only pet in an quiet all adult household.