Ben is my friend Evelyn’s beautiful black rescue greyhound. She has had Ben for just under a year & adopted him via the Retired Greyhound Trust from Liberton Greyhound Kennels in Edinburgh. Ben had already been rehomed once, unsuccessfully, & apparently many potential adopters were put off by his size(!), but when Evelyn met Ben it was love at first sight! I first had the privilege of meeting Ben when he became one of my dog walking clients last year.
Ben is a handsome boy
Ben is 7 years old, just like my Max, & a big dog, even by greyhound standards, towering almost a full foot above my own two hounds, Max & Molly. He has a glossy, all-black coat, except for little flecks of white on his toes. He is a shy dog, but has come out of his shell a lot over the 9 months I have been walking him . He’s always really pleased to see me when I go pick him up, greeting me with a play bow & ‘singing’ till I put on his coat & lead then leaping up into the car as soon as I open the boot!
Ben on one of our walks at Longniddry beach, East Lothian
Ben is a real gentle giant & lives happily alongside Evelyn’s cat, Max. Like many rescue greyhounds, he is a member of ‘the bald butt club’ & has very little hair on his behind. It doesn’t make him any less adorable though! He is very well mannered, sitting (which is no easy feat for a greyhound) & giving paws, (ditto!) & walks beautifully on the lead.
Ben and Max are best friends
Ben shows off his bald butt!
Ben gets on well with both my own dogs, particularly Molly, who I think has a bit of a soft spot for him (I jokingly refer to him as her ‘boyfriend Ben’!), so I have no qualms about looking after him now & then when Evelyn is away from home.
Max, Molly, Ben & I at the beach
Last month, Evelyn & her partner, David, were married & I looked after Ben for a week whilst they were on their honeymoon. It was lovely having 3 greyhounds in the house again, even if they did commandeer the sofas for the whole week!
Ben tucks into one of the rawhide chews his Mum left for him
Max, Ben & Molly & Martin in the spare room!
As a wedding present for Evelyn & David I made them a screen printed tea towel with a picture Ben on it! The image is derived from a photograph which Martin took of Ben lying in our kitchen during his stay. I love the way Ben is resting his head on his paws & gazing curiously up at the camera. I created & printed the image using the technique described here.
the photograph of Ben from which my screen printed image is derived
my Big Ben print
Evelyn & David love their Ben tea towel & say it is “far too gorgeous to actually use”! I am pleased with how the print turned out too so have kept hold of the screen I made so that I can print more items with the same image (Martin has already requested a Big Ben T-shirt!). Expect to find Big Ben items in my Etsy shop soon!
the tea towel I gave to Evelyn & David
Today when I went to pick Ben up for one of his thrice-weekly walks, Evelyn had left me a wee plaque for our house, saying she couldn’t resist buying it for Martin & I:
Greyhound House Rules (click to enlarge)
I couldn’t stop laughing when I read it! I think we have worked our way down to around rule number 8 – ‘the dog can sleep under the covers by invitation only’ - so far, with the clause that ‘unless we’re too sleepy to protest!’ 
Wishing Evelyn & David every happiness in their marriage & looking forward to lots more walks with gorgeous Ben!
