Cynthia and John Burns were excited to go to the GAP Adoption Weekend. They drove out to Seymour the night before from the Mornington Peninsula so they could be some of the first in line to find their greyhound.

The couple have owned big dogs all their lives but were a little apprehensive about getting a greyhound. They simply never had anything to do with the breed before. Cynthia is 78 and John is 80, so they didn’t want to get a big dog or a puppy. Friends of theirs told them that greyhounds are wonderful dogs and suggested they consider adopting a dog from GAP, so they did.

They said they were really impressed by the GAP Adoption Weekend. The first volunteer they spoke with told them Merlot was the dog for them. When they chatted to a few other staff members and volunteers, they also recommended the same greyhound. The couple said that they must have known Merlot well because they were right – she is the perfect dog for them. Once they picked their greyhound, they went through the adoption process with Daniela from GAP. She was incredibly helpful and spent ages answering all their questions.

Cynthia and John decided to call the greyhound by her racing name, Tilly. They drove back to the Peninsula and Tilly took really well to the car. At their house, they showed the greyhound around and she looked in every corner and went out in the yard before she looked up at them as if to say, “yes, this will do. I’ll take this.”

They had bought Tilly a special bed at the adoption day, but she had no idea what it was. So, Cynthia put a treat in the bed and placed it at the foot of their bed, and Tilly quickly learned where to curl up to sleep. Not only is she a quick learner, but Tilly is a well-trained dog who takes herself outside when she needs to toilet. She loves walks and is not the least bit aggressive. They said a little dog snapped at her once during a walk, and she just sniffed it.

“It’s lovely seeing her become a pet,” Cynthia said. “She’s started to show little signs of going back to puppy-hood. Bouncing around and running after us – we couldn’t have picked a better dog. We made the right move and it couldn’t have gone better.”

Even though Tilly has only been in the house for a short while, Cynthia and John say it feels like she’s been there forever. They are so pleased and happy to share their experience and everyone just adores Tilly. Thanks to her the couple would now highly recommend greyhounds to anyone thinking about getting a dog and would adopt another one in a heartbeat.

“We’re really in awe of her!” Cynthia enthused.

The Adoption Weekend in Seymour was an overwhelming success with 112 greyhounds finding homes. As it takes a few weeks to get each greyhound ready for adoption, the number of dogs we currently have available is lower than usual, so we are relocating our March Adoption Day from Sandown to Seymour on Saturday, March 2 from 10am to 2pm.

The next Adoption Day isn’t like our usual adoption events, it will be smaller and quieter with 15-20 greyhounds. These dogs are a little quirky and require a little extra love and care from their new owners. If you think this the right event for you, click here for more information.