Greetings to All,
Thank you for stopping by.
My name is Marion Zerrenthin, I am the owner, creative artist of Castle Hound Designs and the founder and
Program Director of The Wind Chimes Greyhound Rescue and I would like to welcome you to Castle Hound Designs.
I can not remember a time when I haven’t been in love with animals, or when I first started to marvel at the wonders of nature and its mysteries; all I can say for sure is that it must have been forever. First growing up with our Dachshund’s Sissy, Ollie, Ines, Oka, Sherry and Minnie (not all at the same time of course) and then later when I was in my senior year of college when I adopted my first Greyhound “Kelly”. Adopting Kelly started what will surely be my life long love affaire with this gentle, aristocratic and regal breed.
I was working on a photographic project at an English Greyhound Racing Track then; a project that I took on thinking how wonderful it would be to spend some time with Greyhounds and their friends not knowing then (more than 14 years ago) that so many of these hi-speed hounds have no place to go after their racing careers are over. In those days Greyhound Rescue and Adoption was still in it’s infancy and most of the dogs where destined to be destroyed after their track careers had come to an end.
My beautiful girl Kelly was also heading this sad way and before I knew it and long before my project was completed I walked away with my first retired racing Greyhound Kelly.
From that day forward I became an outspoken and pro active advocate for Greyhound Rescue & Adoption. I battled hard and up stream like a salmon in those days, since many good people then didn’t think of a Greyhound as a pet and on multiple occasions while walking down the streets of London with Kelly I noticed people crossing over to the other side of the street when they saw Kelly and I walking.
Luckily those days are gone and many Greyhound Adoption Groups have sprung up all over the world!
What hasn’t changed is the fact that there are still a larege number of hounds that will never experience the comfort, care and love that they deserve after their racing days are over.
I ran The Wind Chimes Greyhound Rescue using exclusively my own financial resources; but then one day my financial situation suddenly changed after I had suffered an accident. I was suddenly faced with a heart breaking decision; either to find a means to fundraise to keep my Greyhound Rescue going or, give up my Greyhound Adoption (which at that point I had run for more than 10 years first in England and later in Canada). Naturally the latter was unthinkable, unimaginable, not an option and I looked around realizing that I had two degrees one in Hotel Management and the other in Photography & Design and I decided that it is time to put my skills to some good use for the hounds . I started designing Greyhound collars primarily as a means to fund raise and keep the Greyhound Rescue going, but of course also to provide an income for me and my furry family. After all we all must eat, right? However, 100% of all monies raised through our ebay auctions will benefit the hounds and a fixed percentage of 20% of all net profits will benefit Greyhound Rescue.
I have since made and sold many hundreds of collars and coats and accessories to dog lovers around the Globe. Have extended my product collection to the all-breed marked and I find a special pleasure to think that some loved Italian Greyhound, Whippet, Saluki, Borzoi , Chinese Crested, Doberman and so many other grey hounds out there are wearing my designs.
My goal is to bring to you exclusive, detailed oriented styles and designs; produced from only the finest materials available. I am sourcing French brocades, Asian Silks, beautiful Jacquards and many rich fabrics from all over the world for your pleasure and to the enjoyment of your K-9 friends. I pride myself in my individualistic design style and the superior workmanship of my products. Quality and detail are everything, all of my collars are fully lined with buttery soft UltraSuede ™ , finest clothing leather, soft satin, micro fleece or grosgrain ribbon to avoid any kind of discomfort due to chafe sensitive necks. I use only top quality welded mostly heavy duty hardware in solid bronze, solid brass or nickel plated steel. I use some lighter weight hardware for the smaller breeds or on request. I refuse to compromise on quality, safety or customer service.
Marion Zerrenthin