On Sunday 18th of April Soomi, and her husband Changju, eagerly drove out to GAP Seymour to attend National Adoption Day. The pair already had their hearts set on one greyhound in particular, a black beauty by the name of Pumpkin, and in no time at all they were officially leaving the GAP facility with her (now renamed to Summer) in tow. It’s now been a few weeks, so we decided to check in with Soomi and Changju to see how life after adoption has been treating them and how Summer has adjusted to pet life.
Like many new adoptees would know, the anxiety of entering a whole new environment can take a toll on a greyhound, to the point where they can even refuse to go to the toilet for the first day or two.
“We understood this could happen but as new pawrents, we couldn’t help but worry about her health. She did her first poo outside on her 3rd day with us. But for some weird reason, she couldn’t pee outside, no matter how often we took her outside. I think it was the 6th day, early morning, a bit earlier than our usual morning routine, I was still asleep. She got up and whined, somehow, I just knew that she wanted to go out. So, I took her outside and that was it! She did it and I couldn’t be prouder.” says Soomi.
Prior to deciding to adopt Summer, Soomi and her husband did plenty of research and even visited another greyhound owner. “We have a new friend who adopted a greyhound via GAP. We visited her house and met her dog Gigi, and we absolutely fell in love with Gigi (shout out to Gigi and Gigi’s mum!). To be honest, my husband wanted to adopt a greyhound a bit more than me, but once I met Gigi, I couldn’t wait to welcome a gorgeous greyhound to our family. When we first met Summer, we absolutely fell in love with her. Ever since she has come home, she has brought so much joy to our family. She is just perfect. I never knew I would be able to wake up at 1 am, or 3 am without any struggle! She has somehow made me feel the way that I have never experienced before.”
For anyone considering adopting a greyhound Soomi has some words of wisdom, “In terms of welcoming any kind of furbabies to your home, I hope everyone fully understands that having these beautiful babies comes with a huge amount of responsibility. Please think through whether your lifestyle can accommodate these babies. For greyhounds especially, we, as owners, need to fully understand that there are legal regulations. Do as much research about greyhounds as you can. Also, if you want a dog that you can teach tricks to, maybe greyhounds are not for you, Hahaha!”
