-by Rebecca Page
For years I had been hinting at my husband that we needed a dog, but I was always met with common sense reasons why it wasn’t practical. Our yard was too small, it would be cruel to leave a dog at home while we were at work five days a week, or it would be hard to find the time to give it the exercise it deserved.
Then one day I walked past a Greyhounds As Pets open day at Martin Place. I took a pamphlet as I rushed past to get to work, thinking it was sweet, but not for me. By the time I got to my desk the selling points on the pamphlet had started to work their magic on me. I popped back down in my break to have a chat to one of the lovely owners and his beautiful brindle and by lunchtime I was convinced that all of those ‘practical’ reasons we couldn’t get a dog didn’t apply to a greyhound.
We adopted Bandit in February and within 24 hours I was deeply in love. She is smaller than the average greyhound and a very gentle, affectionate and trusting little lady. Greyhounds notoriously have trouble negotiating stairs and having come from a farm, Bandit was no exception to the rule. We have three sets of stairs in our home, so if she wanted to really be a part of our family, she was going to have to learn! It took about 10 days and lots of treats, but we were so proud of how quickly she went from stubborn refusal to spindly giraffe to elegant leaper.
Bandit has a hidden talent that has really flourished in her retirement. She’s an interior decorator. In the first few weeks, we would come home to flick the TV on, but realise there were no remotes. Bandit obviously thought the colours on the Foxtel remote really set off the tones in the outdoor cushion covers, so she delicately moved it outside. She doesn’t chew, damage or break, she just rearranges. She has also decided that my blue boxing gloves look better nestled among the scatter cushions on the guest bed, and that the best way to prepare mum and dad for a walk after work is to place our walking shoes right at the front door so that we can save time. Clever pup.
Bandit’s made lots of friends and there are three other greyhounds in our neighbourhood she regularly walks with. We only ever let her off-leash if we’re in an enclosed (fenced) dog park, because the risk of her running faster than a car is just too great. She plays well with all other dogs, big and small, and likes to show off by sprinting faster than all of them!
When we adopted Bandit, her old owner opted in to be contacted. We’ve since been back to visit some of her siblings at her old home and keep in regular touch with her old trainer, which gives a lovely sense of how she has been loved throughout her whole journey. She’s been a lucky little girl!
Bandit has totally changed our lives and has brought so much love and joy into our home. She’s so gentle and beautiful, and has really become my little buddy. I now tell anyone who asks (and even those who don’t!) how amazing greyhounds are. They really are the perfect pet.