Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption

10/27/2026

One of our Greyhound moms and long time volunteer need us.
You can help by sharing this life saving message.
Thank you from the heart, Silvana
🐾❤️🙏🐾❤️🙏

Dear Greyhound pet lovers community,
I am writing to share an important message and to ask for your help.
As many of you may know, Sirkka has been dealing with kidney disease. Over the last few years, her kidney function has declined significantly. Her medical team has informed her that the best option for a long, healthy life is to receive a kidney transplant. While she is now on the national deceased donor waiting list, the wait for a matching kidney can take anywhere from three to five years, or even longer. Because of this, her doctors have urged her to look into living kidney donation.
I am reaching out today to ask if you would consider being tested to see if you could be a living donor, or if you would be willing to share her story with others who might consider it. I want to be completely open about what this means, as it is a major request:
• The first step is just a test: Asking someone to look into donation isn't asking them to commit to surgery right away. It starts with a simple blood test and a health screening to see if you are a compatible match.
• Living with one kidney: Healthy people can live a completely normal, full life with just one kidney. The remaining kidney expands slightly to do the work of two.
• No medical costs to you: The medical evaluation, surgery, and post-operative care are covered by insurance. You would not have to pay for the medical costs of donating.
• Everything is confidential: The donor evaluation process is entirely separate from her care. If you get tested and decide it isn't right for you, the medical team keeps your decision private.
Please do not feel pressured by this post. I love and value our relationship regardless of whether this is something you can explore.
If you are curious or want to learn more about how the process works, you can visit Mhs.donorscreen.org (https://mhs.donorscreen.org/). If you are open to starting the screening process, you can also contact the Memorial Transplant Institute directly at 954-265-7450. Please mention that you are interested in testing on behalf of Sirkka Hegemann (Date of Birth: 5/12/55).
Thank you so much for reading this, for keeping her in your thoughts, and for supporting us through this journey.
With love and gratitude,
William Hegemann

NKR Dash

05/10/2026

12/16/2025

If you didn’t know...
Santa stops at the Rainbow Bridge
before Christmas,
to visit all our fur angels
and bring them love..

11/30/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1797iwKNPZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Some people think dogs only need food, water, and a place to sleep.
But those of us who have lived our lives beside a dog know the truth:
they need connection—real, deep, heart-level connection.

And now science is finally proving what dog lovers have known in their bones for decades.

A fascinating study out of the University of Arizona, along with research published in Scientific Reports, followed dogs over many years to understand how social bonds affect their overall health. Researchers discovered something remarkable:
dogs who have a close canine companion—whether a sibling, a shelter buddy, or a lifelong friend—live significantly longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Not slightly longer.
Not maybe healthier.
But measurably better.

Their immune systems are stronger.
Their stress hormones are lower.
Their sleep is deeper and more restorative.
And their risk of anxiety-based behaviors—like pacing, whining, or destructive chewing—drops dramatically.

All because they have someone to share their little dog world with.

Scientists call it “social buffering,” but dog people call it something else:
friendship.

Think about how dogs greet each other. The wiggles. The sniffs. The playful bounces. The gentle nudges. Dogs have an emotional language all their own, and when two dogs truly bond, something inside them settles. They become more secure. More confident. More at peace.

The study found that dogs with a bonded companion are:

✨ 33% more active
✨ 25% less likely to develop chronic stress behaviors
✨ More resilient after traumatic events
✨ Far less prone to loneliness-based anxiety
✨ Likely to live months—and even years—longer

And here’s the part that hits the heart the hardest:
When dogs lose their bonded friend, their grief mirrors ours. They look for them. They wait for them. They feel the absence in a way that is almost human.

Because the bond they share isn’t casual—it’s life-shaping.

In shelters, this research has become essential. Many rescue groups now keep bonded pairs together, even lowering adoption fees to ensure they aren’t separated. And every time a pair goes home together, volunteers say the same thing:
“You’re not saving two dogs… you’re saving their friendship.”

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
To know that even in the animal world, love is medicine. Companionship is medicine. Connection is medicine.

Maybe that’s why, when two dogs curl up beside each other, breathing in sync, we can feel something inside us soften. They remind us of something we forget too easily:
Life is a little easier when you don’t walk it alone.

And that’s the real magic of this study.
It teaches us that dogs don’t just survive because of companionship—
they thrive because of it.

11/22/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17UNEYyjjm/?mibextid=wwXIfr

In 2024, researchers at ELTE University in Hungary uncovered something powerful about rescue dogs — something many adopters have felt in their hearts but never had scientific proof for.

Dogs who grow up with trauma, abandonment, or life on the streets form deeper emotional bonds with their new owners than dogs who never experienced hardship.

The study looked at former street dogs now living in loving homes. Researchers found that these dogs:
• show stronger emotional dependency
• are more sensitive to their owner’s presence
• rely more heavily on human comfort during stress
• form attachment patterns similar to children who finally find safety after instability

In simple terms, dogs who were once alone cling harder to the people who saved them.

It is not weakness.
It is gratitude shaped by survival.

Rescue dogs learn early that the world can be cold and unpredictable. So when they finally find someone who feeds them, shelters them, touches them gently, and stays… they give every piece of loyalty they have.

Their bond is not just affection. It is trust rebuilt from scratch.
It is love learned the hard way, and therefore given more fiercely.

If you have a rescue dog, you already know this feeling.
The way they watch you.
The way they follow you from room to room.
The way they rest their head on you like they are anchoring themselves to something safe.

Science finally confirms it:
Rescue dogs do not just love.
They love differently — deeper, stronger, and with the full heart of an animal who remembers what life was like before you.