From the middle of the pack to the middle of the lounge
I pinch myself every morning, wondering if I am dreaming. This new life with my humans is amazing.
I loved my previous life and seriously loved my owner and trainer, but let's face it, I just wasn't that fast. Perhaps I liked to be part of a pack and wasn't comfortable out front. Perhaps I was dreaming of a different life and my daydreaming stopped me from focusing on my racing.
Whatever the reason I didn't make it as a racing greyhound, I want to say thank you! By putting me up for adoption with GAP, you have allowed me to live my dream.
This life is filled with excitement and new and interesting adventures as my humans and I explore new things and have fun. Every day continues to be filled with 'firsts'; my first meeting with cows, my first trip to the ocean, my first Christmas with my new humans, my first party - and my first sausage sneakily stolen from an unattended plate. Yum!
I have three humans. Two adults and a 13-year-old girl, whom I all love to pieces. And they love me too.
I was very lucky and didn't have to wait long at all for new humans. They selected me over the phone based on my charm and dazzling personality. I can't say it was my good looks as they didn't see a photo of me until they had fallen in love with me. When they did, they loved my roman nose and distinguished markings.
My trip from Kaiapoi to Auckland to meet them was a long one but when we finally met, it was love at first sight for all of us. After the handover from Desiree, I got to ride in my human's car to my new home. I even got to sit on the seat next to my new best friend.
It didn't take me too long to settle in and we quickly established I was an indoor dog. The anxiety of being alone in the backyard for a couple of hours was too much for me and I went a little crazy. To pass some time, I started some home renovations and happened to get a little carried away with the remodeling of the front entrance to my kennel. It is now more of a sun shelter than a kennel.
Being an inside dog meant that I had to learn how to master stairs. I love to be with my human when she works from home but her office is upstairs. Going up wasn't too bad as there were treats on the stairs and a resting place half way. But going down was a challenge. Stumble, stumble, fall, leap! My humans were told it might take three months for me to get the hang of stairs. I am proud to say that I mastered them in three days!
My humans think I am goofy and I try to live up to that expectation on a regular basis. I've learnt to cockroach and keep them in fits of laughter with my dream-roaching. I hide under the cushions on the lounge and wait for someone to find me. I know how to make them dizzy by running in circles around them at the beach. I also love to play in the reeds at the park then leap out and rub up against my humans to make them as muddy as me. I am learning to run next to their bikes and make myself dizzy watching their feet go round and round. Best of all, I smile and feign innocence when I drop a sink-bomb in the car.
I love my new humans and my new life. As I pinch myself I say 'Thank You' from the bottom of my heart.
Ohoka Taylor (Kirsty)