Dog Owner Reveals Heartbreaking Reason Rescue Greyhound Is Scared of Snow

A pet owner has revealed the heartbreaking reason why his rescue greyhound is afraid of snow.

Holden Blanco and his wife Elizabeth Hasier from Philadelphia adopted Paul the ex-racing dog back in 2021. "We rescued Paul right off the race track in 2021," Blanco told Newsweek. "Since then we've been rehabilitating him for his life at home."

That's no easy feat. As a racing dog, Paul wasn't domesticated and initially struggled with the adjustment. That's not uncommon among former racing greyhounds. "At first he was pretty overwhelmed and constantly anxious—getting into food and trash daily," Blanco said.

Most dogs experience some form of anxiety. A 2020 study of 13,700 dogs published in the journal Nature concluded that as many as 72.5 percent of the canines polled as part of the research experienced some form of anxiety-related behavior.

Noise sensitivity ranked as the most commonly recorded type of anxiety among dogs, with 32 percent of the pet owners quizzed in the study claiming their canines experienced it.

Fear ranked as the second most common canine anxiety in the study, with a prevalence of 29 percent. More specifically, 17 percent of dogs showed fear of other dogs, 15 percent fear of strangers and 11 percent fear of novel situations.

For Paul, those novel situations include snow, which is something he never experienced previously, having grown up in sunny Florida. Blanco said that, sadly, Paul's previous life has left him with an "irrational fear of most things."

"He's so new to being a dog after suffering as a racer, there have been seemingly normal things that really freak him out," he said. "At first he was even afraid of stairs—he'd never seen them and hated going up them. Only after weeks of practice did he finally start to relax and understand stairs as a concept!"

Blanco said they first noticed Paul's aversion to snow just a few weeks after he was first adopted. Part of the problem is that Paul doesn't have much in the way of fur, so is largely exposed to the elements. His human companions have made efforts to combat that though, with Paul often wrapped in layers of clothing before he braves the elements. Unfortunately, if anything, it hasn't snowed enough.

"Since Philly hasn't had snow in almost two years, there haven't been too many opportunities for us to expose him to snow and get him familiar with it," Blanco explained. "So classic Paul, new things have spooked him as usual."

His owner still remains hopeful that, in time, Paul will adjust to the cold weather and learn to love snow. "As Philly gets more snow, I'm hopeful Paul will feel more comfortable going outside and playing in it," Blanco said.

But even if that doesn't happen, Blanco said there's plenty Paul feels less fearful of these days. "Paul has become more of a cat and loves sunshine naps and cuddles," he said. "Of course he loves his trips to the park, but most certainly he'll prefer the sunshine and grass to snow flurries."

Paul's other interests include howling at ambulance sirens, cuddles, leaning up against people when they come in the house, hikes in Vermont, playing with squeaky toys until they squeak no more and sleeping on soft surfaces.

So while snow might still be something of a struggle, it's clear this ex-racer is loving his new domesticated life.

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