friends of the hound is a greyhound adoption group committed to the rehabilitation& rescue of Greyhounds in NSW

HELICOPTER HELPS REHAB PATIENT REGAIN INDEPENDENCE - 12 MONTHS ON.

A note from Eva's family

Christmas Eve 2004 was a life changing day for us. It was the day we all adopted our first greyhound.
Heli is now five years old and weighs about 27kg. She's a black greyhound and was named Heli because she wags her tail in a circle like the rotor of a helicopter when excited. She certainly does that a lot!

Heli was adopted by Eva after Eva suffered a mild stroke in October 2004. Eva's mobility, confidence and sense of independence have been greatly assisted by Heli's presence. Feeding, playing with, and generally caring for Heli have made an enormous difference to Eva. Eva says Heli is the only reason she is still able to live in her own home.

When we suggested Eva adopt Heli, we had no idea a pet-for-therapy dog would make such a big difference to her health and general well being.

Heli is a quiet, reserved dog but has a "big personality" and has trained the whole family quite quickly. She is a "couch" potato - like most greyhounds - but she never gets on the furniture or beds - she has a thick foam bed in the lounge room and another one in Eva's bedroom. Each has warm blankets and a cushion/pillow for her head. We think she believes her beds are better anyway! She spends the best part of the day 'roaching' on whichever bed is closest to Eva.*

She adores her collection of soft toys that include a musical lamb (batteries thankfully now worn out), a cow, a singing dog (also with worn out batteries), a rabbit, a chew rope and sundry bits of dead palm that she enjoys shredding!

Heli takes her "job" as Eva's carer very seriously. She follows Eva everywhere to make sure she is okay, and if she thinks there is something wrong, will bark until Eva assures her everything is okay (or until someone comes).

She is a quiet dog and you'd never know she was in the house. However, if she hears someone at the door, she'll bark to let Eva know they are there. She never attempts to jump on visitors and has created a greyhound fan club at the local Bowling Club, of which Eva continues to be an active member.

Heli gets on well with Eva's grand-daughter's dogs - a Mastiff X (5years) a cattle X (5 years) and another greyhound (12 years - adopted 4 months ago) - all of whom are also rescue dogs. She established herself as the top dog very early on, and seems to enjoy bossing the others around when she comes to visit.

Size is one of the great things about a greyhound for an elderly person - they're easy to pat because you don't have to bend over, they're hard to trip over and they never get under your feet.

* roaching is the technical term for greyhounds' tendency to lie on their backs with their legs in the air like a dead cockroach..but much cuter (not to mention bigger).