A topic I am always overly willing and enthusiastic to discuss with whoever is listening, is my two girls, Venatrix and Coco.
Venatrix
Venatrix is my beautiful white and black greyhound. She was adopted in May 2019 and has been a source of love, laughter and anxiety ever since. She is an ex-racer, who was racing up until she was five and a half. By the time I was able to adopt her, she was already six and a half and had very little to no trust in humans.
The first day we had her, she stuck to Coco like glue, had no confidence, cowered at my every movement and constantly had her tail tucked under her body. It was extremely hard, as a dog lover and greyhound fanatic, to watch this poor, scared little girl shake in fear. She was too nervous to approach me, she was too struck with terror to eat and for the life of her, could not negotiate stairs. Venatrix is not my first hound and so I knew that with lots of love, patience and care, she would, with time, learn that I was a source of security.
Originally, Venatrix went by the racing name, Pookie, and then the rescue centre named her Nigella. I disliked both of these names and felt they were highly inappropriate for such a magnificent hound. I wanted to give her a name that conveyed her prowess as a runner and extremely keen chase instinct.
At first, I considered the name Artemis, as Artemis was the Greek Goddess of the Hunt, however, on reflection I decided against it as it was quite a mouthful and it could only be shortened to Arty, which I wasn’t keen on.
I did think that huntress was a good way to describe her though and decided to look up the Latin for huntress. Venatrix was that word. Although her name is Venatrix in full, she gets called all sorts of things: Vena, Venatrix, Venagrams, Grams, Venniwincks or Houndy.
Venatrix is still learning to be a dog and is so far enjoying every moment of retirement. She is a cheeky, photogenic, powerful girl, who makes my house a home.
Coco
Coco is not a rescued hound and has always lived a life in luxury with the very best. She was bought as a puppy from a verified Kennel Club breeder and she loves nothing more than food and water.
Obviously, her name Coco came from the fact that she is a Chocolate Labrador Retriever. I could never wish for a more emotionally tuned companion than her; she senses when I am feeling sad and will rest her head on my hand or lap and give me ‘the eyes’. She will also give me the eyes when it is dinner time.
I honestly believe she has an in built clock, which tells her when it is time for dinner. She will stare at me avidly and if I move even slightly around this time, she will attempt to encourage me to feed her by trotting over to the kitchen. Mostly, she sits and waits for the question. That one question that brings her the most joy and excitement each day. “Are you hungry, Coco?” Upon hearing these magical words, her ears go back, her eyes dilate and she bounds back to the kitchen like a puppy.
Coco lives for exploring the coast and eating. She does both extremely well and will be soaking wet in the majority of photographs taken of her.
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