Adopting Happiness: Kelly & Sonny

When Kelly Lynam began to look for a dog for her family, the one non-negotiable she had was that she wanted a dog who was “chilled.” 

Kelly, from Booragul in Lake Macquarie, had been told by friends that a greyhound could be a good fit for her and her three young children, so she started to delve further into it.

“We had just lost our previous dog, a mixed breed, and were looking for a new dog,” Kelly explained. “I had heard that greyhounds made good pets. I have young children, so I needed a dog who was going to be calmer and not reactive.

“When I looked on the Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) site, there were a couple of dogs I was interested in, but they were already meeting with other families. There were another two we found, and I spoke with Tatum at GAP and she was great. She brought both dogs to meet us, and straight away it was going to be Sonny.”

Three-year-old Sonny fit in instantly and perfectly ticked the “chilled” box Kelly was looking for.

“He’s great with the kids, he’s very, very tolerant. He’s just very calm, so chilled out. He spends most of his time sleeping,” Kelly said.

“One of my children has ADHD and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and they can be quite excitable a lot of the time, but they’ll often just go and sit in Sonny’s dog bed with him and just pat him and that’s been really good. I think it’s a good way for them to regulate themself.

“They feed Sonny and like to take the lead when we walk him, and I think that makes them feel like they have got responsibilities. He just makes everyone feel happy"

“Sonny loves it. He’s so easy to walk, he’s not reactive to other dogs or people, doesn’t pull on the lead or anything. Like I said he’s just chilled.”

The low maintenance of greyhound pet ownership has also been beneficial for Kelly who works as an Emergency Department Nurse.

“Sonny is really good when we’re not home. He has a big backyard and big dog bed and a shed out there for him,” Kelly explained. “Like I said he spends most of his time sleeping.

“He does have one little quirk. He likes to go into the kids’ rooms and grab a cuddly toy or go into my wardrobe and get a slipper or something like that, and he casually walk outs and just drops it in the middle of the room. Then he just walks off. I’m not really sure what the point of it is, he doesn’t eat or chew them or anything, he just likes to bring them out and show us.

“I can’t recommend having a greyhound as a pet enough. I tell a lot of people at work about how good they are, and whenever we are out walking, he gets a lot of attention, people asking about him and what he’s like, and ask me where I got him. I’d encourage anyone interested in getting a dog to look at greyhounds.”

Those who might be considering a pet have their chance to see why Kelly and others speak in glowing terms about greyhound ownership this Sunday.

To celebrate Greyhound National Adoption Day, Greyhounds as Pets will be staging events all around the State this weekend, including an event at Speers Point Park Lake Macquarie this Sunday. 👉 Click here for all the details.