Day 8: Month of Celebration Hikers and Hounds

[Kevin1322]

Reflecting on the last year and Airbnb has given me a lot to think about.

I was going to make this a shameless plug for re-homed greyhounds, but it's more of a story about the way things work out in the oddest of ways, and Airbnb has played a fair part in our lives this year.  So you'll get the greyhound plug at the end. 😆

What we hadn't appreciated when we downsized and moved to a derelict "doer-upper" was that we were in a perfect place for Airbnb. Close to a popular coastal hiking path.  Being broke our conversations often went along the lines "Maybe we can make a little extra from Airbnb, but what about the dogs?"  and "But won't it drive us mad having people in the house" But we desperately needed some extra money to get by on. When you are in your late 50s your work options get more limited.  

It took the best part of a year to sort out the house, fixing the leaks, fixing the roof, electrics, plumbing etc -YouTube was my trusty friend most nights-  but eventually we furnished the spare room,  joined Airbnb, and the bookings came thick and fast.

I should have been a bit smarter and enabled instant and same day booking, but even on the default settings the room had been booked every day it was available for in September!   

Taking advice early on from Community Center members (thank you everyone!) we made a big thing about having dogs in the listing, included photos of them, and still the guests came.  Our main worry about guests being put off by dogs was unfounded, and far from driving us mad the guests we had this year have mostly been a real pleasure, and from far flung places. New Zealand, Russia, Japan, Europe. 

Most of our guests turned out to really like dogs, some guests  said they were choosing us because we did  have dogs here.

So my Day of Celebration is every day with a dog in it, and thanks Airbnb for sending us all the guests!

Now the shameless plug for re-homed/retired greyhounds!

1.  Ex racers are usually all very fit. Greyhounds are bred for fitness, not looks.

2. Ex Racers can be as young as two years old. And they live as long as any other big dog.

3. They need surprisingly little exercise. 2 x 20 minute walks a day.

4. Many don't bark.

5. They seem to sleep for 35 hours a day

6. They are generally very sociable with people and other large dogs.

7. The only faster land animal is a Cheetah. So that's pretty cool, eh?

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

Greyhounds are a beautiful breed. I have pet sit a bunch of them & your right, they do absolutely love to sleep almost all day & are surprisingly calm & extremely well mannered! Thanks so the great post 🙂

[Miloud0]

Salute, 

Many thank @Kevin1322 for sharing this great topic 

Thanks, 

Miloud

[Susan151]

@Kevin1322 .

Greyhounds, often bundled up in winter coats used to be a common sight around Boston, especially in the more wealthy suburbs. These animals had a huge number of very vocal advocates with enough political will and strength to change the industry. Greyhound racing, which had been a daily event at Suffolk Downs sine 1935, was outlawed as of January 1, 2010.

I was always amazed at how little activity these animals, bred for speed, needed in an average day. Their owners were extremely devoted; much like you.

[Solveig0]

@Kevin1322 , I've never had a greyhound, but they seem like lovely dogs. I also thought they needed way more exercise!!

[Kevin1322]

It can be like having three pet rocks most days 😉

[Suzanne302]

@Kevin1322  I love greyhounds and about once a month I usually have the local greyhound rescue on my radio show to promote their adoptables and they are always the best guests.

The rescue coordinator here always refers to them as the fastest couch potatoes you'll ever meet! They really do have the best dispositions.

The rescue here also has monthly meetups where owners can take their dogs to an enclosed park for a group run. The dogs love it!

[Linda108]

Ok, this post has become about greyhounds, right?  Just wanted to share a picture of my girl, Camilla Anne (Cami), who is resting from, well, lying about.  She is my co-host and respectfully greets all my guests, even those who are hesitant around dogs.  Her sweet disposition has charmed many.  After more than 4 years of hosting she still attempts to get guests to break a house rule of "no dogs at the table."  My thanks is for the opportunity to enjoy retirement with my BFF.

[Kevin1322]

No dogs at the table. that's the one!

Lovely, I like brindles.

[Wende2]

Hi....she's Beautiful.!

lying about.....LOL

[Helen350]

@Linda108 @Kevin1322  "No dogs at the table" - Nope, you've lost me there....... Ben Collie just LOVES interacting (shameless begging) with guests at the table.... I DO offer to remove him, but most guests enjoy his manipulations.....

[Rita662]

Lovely dogs 🙂

[Cathie19]

Great post @Kevin1322 ...

I’ve never had much contact with greyhounds , but I hear they’re good news stories as far as being great pets, quite often.

Wishing you all the very best of luck with your continuing hosting adventures. You obviously are doing a number of things right! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 

[Kevin1322]

they certainly are great pets @Cathie19  and so good with people and kids.  Possibly less so with rabbit-sized dogs and critters in many cases 😉

[Bronwyn38]

I have hosted quite a lot of rescued Greyhounds, and they are all beautiful, quiet, gentle, and very well behaved indoors... many people bring two, which is even better! A recent guest who stayed originally with one rescue Greyhound and this time returned with two, said she had a friend who also had two rescues, one of which was very twitchy as it had been trained with live bait, and also often had to fight other dogs for its food, so it was still struggling to socialise in a civilised manner, but it was great to hear that these poor creatures are also being given a second chance... Like so many rescue Staffies that stay here as well, it's not the dogs who are at fault re their behaviour, it is totally a product of the kind of owners they used to have, and way too many of them have been trained to be vicious and hate everyone except their owner... I shall never understand how people can be so cruel. As my place is extremely pet friendly, I get to welcome pets (mostly dogs of course, but also some cats) with abouit 80% of my guests, and I am finding ever more noticeably that my guests who travel with pets are more considerate and obliging on average than those who do not. People I know who rent places out that are not pet friendly, seem to have a higher level of unpleasant or difficult guests than I have, so I like to think that this is the reason: (inn a nutshell) people who like to travel with their pets, are often 'nicer' people!