A Sister?

About a month ago I heard about a 10 month old greyhound female that had been dumped in a shelter. She had been adopted by another family that was told she was a whippet mix puppy. They didn't have a fenced yard for her to play in and had no way to exercise her so you can imagine that didn't go well. They gave her to a lady with a border collie rescue that contacted greyhound rescue. We figured that she must be a littermate to my boys since she was in Alabama where they originally came from and worked it out to get her.

Her name is Piper and she looks exactly like the boys on a much smaller scale. She definitely is greyhound and doesn't have the arch or the fine bones of a whippet or even a greyhound whippet mix. She is nearly whippet sized though at around 35lbs. The runt of the litter was a tiny brindle female that was about 5lbs when Miles weighed 17lbs so it is possible that she could be half their size now.

With all the fostering I have done I haven't seen dogs that look more alike than these without being very closely related. Piper's shape is exactly like Miles. Miles has a flatter back than Otto does and it is wider like hers. Both their tails even have a slight curve in the same direction and both carry their tails very high for greyhounds curved up and over their backs. Her feet are a little flatter and her legs show some other signs of poor nutrition which would be another reason for her to be so much smaller. Without a fenced yard she may have not gotten much sun and vitamin D like the boys. I have them play outside on nice days and even nap on waterproof beds in the sun so they get plenty like the greyhound pups on the farms.

Miles and Piper



Her face looks more like Otto's as you can see in these pictures. Since she is so tiny her face looks even more like his did a couple of months ago.

Otto and Piper


While I was taking photos of Otto and Piper, she walked under him. Shows how much smaller she really is.

Piper has been an angel at my house. She crates well and is usually quiet unless she hears talking in another room. She plays like the boys but quickly let them know that she is boss and doesn't like them to jump on her. I was worried about the size difference at first because of how rough the boys play. They still jump on each other but rarely jump on her now. She loves chasing them around in the yard and is always behind them. When they turn to go the other way they like to jump over her and seem to plan on it.

About the only thing Piper does wrong is peeing and pooping on the porch instead of in the grass. She is great with kids and will run and play with kids that come over and is gentle with them. The smallest kid can take a ball or a toy out of mouth and throw it for her. She isn't quite as gentle with Pinky the Italian Greyhound. She wants to play with him more than Miles and is always pouncing on him or slapping him with her paws. She is small but still over twice his weight so too big to play that rough. I have to constantly remind her to leave Pinky alone.

Miles wasn't sure how to take Piper at first. She would get up on the bed and growl at him if he bothered her. He would walk away hanging his head and lay on a dog bed and watch her. He would try again and bring a toy with him the next time. Sometimes she would play tug but sometimes she would just steal the toy from him. He would return to the dog bed sadly. It was really funny to see him watching her and really wondering about this new pup that came in and just took over. He would run past her with toys and turn and look as he ran by hoping she would chase him. They are great friends now. She still seems to be the boss and is quick to growl or snap if Miles gets too rough but has good bite inhibition like the boys. No one has ever been hurt. Miles isn't as cautious around her now. He will take toys away from her sometimes and will lay down next to her on a bed even if she fusses at him.