Merlin Greyhound Bondurant, IA

Born January 25, 2021, Evening Puzzle's Merlin made his way from New Zealand to the states in November 2024. He has settled into his foster home but it did take a few weeks for him to feel comfortable. While an adoptive home without cats is preferred, he is compatible with both big dogs and small dogs. In fact, he was scared and ran away from the small dogs in his foster home when he first met them!

His play style is boisterous and over the top, with consistent reminders he will get better about listening to other dogs during play and taking breaks. But don't worry, he is still a greyhound and will need to recharge on your couch after short play sessions. Merlin walks perfectly on leash and loves his leash walks. Because he is young and still has a lot of energy, daily leash walks will continue to be important for him. He also loves the short training sessions he gets in his foster home. He finds any treats that are meat flavored very motivating!

Merlin currently lives with two whippets and various small dogs. He is not interested in starting anything with other dogs and will usually be the one to back down when situations arise. One exception to this is his food bowl. If potential adopters have other dogs, it is recommended that Merlin eat in a kennel. He prefers that other dogs do not approach him or his bowl while eating. Even though he is appropriate in his communication to other dogs about his bowl, there is no reason to push him. The other exception is during play, potential adopters should be prepared to continue to monitor and guide him during play so that he doesn't become too much for the dog he is playing with. His foster family is having good success with this approach and he responds quickly to his foster mom's "mom voice" when he is getting hyped up.

He does have the typical greyhound scream when he gets scared and can be a nervous guy. Change is not easy for him and will need some time to adapt to the routine in his new adoptive house. Providing him with his own kennel to retreat to will be important in the beginning. He kennels very well in his foster home which is where he typically is when his foster family needs to leave the house.

Once he is used to a new routine, he will show his adoptive family how much he enjoys snuggling with his people. He is also very gentle with strangers. He can be reluctant and nervous around small children so we would recommend a home with older children or no children. He would be fine with other dogs or as an only dog.

Merlin's hobbies include running around really fast, squeaking toys, jumping on and off the couch, moving dog beds around the house and then not using them, following his favorite people around very closely, and sleeping on couches.

This dog is being fostered in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Area. We do not ship dogs. Adopters must be committed to meeting the dog in the area it is being fostered.

If you are interested in adopting or meeting this dog or any other of HGA's dogs, please fill out an online application found here: https://www.heartlandgreyhoundadoption.org/adoption-application/
We do not do meetings for dogs without an approved application.

If you have any questions please email HGA at adopt@heartlandgreyhoundadoption.org or call 515-967-6564 (please leave a message) and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

The adoption fee for HGA is $300.00. This fee pays for medical costs including spay/neuter surgery, shots, parasite treatments, teeth cleaning, microchip and microchip registration fee. Each dog also comes with a special sighthound collar and leash set and muzzle. There is a $30 non-refundable application fee.