Sooty’s story – a beloved addition

We just wanted to thank ALL involved in the adoption of our very-loved girl, Sooty.

Losing 4 beloved pets over the past 4 years had taken a toll on us, but we wanted to adopt another rescue dog. We love that both Lyndal & Alison took the time to get to know us and our needs to work out what hound would suit us and our lifestyle. We appreciate the duty of care shown with the whole process. As soon as I met Sooty, I fell in love with her.

Working mostly from home, I am blessed to be able to be here for Sooty and our very anxious Border Collie, Dash. We’ve always loved Greyhounds but found, with greyt delight, wonder and laughter, that there is much we did not know about them. 

Like my husband, Matt, & I, our Dash boy was quite impressed with our newest family member, in fact he was completely over-the-top and would not leave her alone. She, on the other hand, was not so impressed with him herding her and trying to get her to play! After some time, they’ve figured out an understanding & happy co-existence.

My mum was thrilled with our adoption of Sooty as she is calm & affectionate. Sooty just put her head on Mum’s shoulder and loved the attention and pats, as did Mum. 

We are loving watching Sooty come out of her shell and her personality develop as she starts to realize that she is here to stay. She has MANY nicknames (as has all our dogs over the years). “Bus/Mack/Road Train” (as she does not turn on a dime, like a Collie or Kelpie); “Schnoot” (she is always sticking her nose in places it should not be, and leaves marks everywhere); “Noot” (short for Schnoot); “Sooty G” (the G is for greyhound); plus “Toots” & “Tootie”.

She has not taken long to settle with us, & now knows our routine backwards. She has hooked on to me like velcro. We have gotten to know her little idiosyncrasies and personality over the past few months, and we are enjoying her company.

She has learned that Matt is a push-over and she comes out to share his toast in the morning. If she does not smell toast (when Matt is having cereal), she does not even bother getting out of bed. 

Sleeping, eating and being near me are the top priorities for her, and she has 4 indoor beds and 3 outdoor. She loves snuggles, hugs, pats and scratches.

Night-time sees her roaching a bit, with feet on the walls, running in her dreams. LOL. I love that they are like contortionists, laying with their long necks curled up and their head next to their bodies. 

She goes absolutely NUTS when we get home (and first thing in the morning when she sees me) – we get the full “teef” show, with nibbling, some teeth-chattering, & some jumping up (which we are working on), plus the yowling & crying and all the other typical greyhound noises. She is simply a delight and such a happy girl – she just loves to show you she is happy and we are thrilled that she is. Along with the Border Collie, Dash, she stands with her head on the front windowsill as we leave the house and return, and she knows the sounds of our cars.

We are eagerly awaiting some further personality development such as zoomies and a little bit of toy play, which we’ve only seen glimmers of so far.

We have really enjoyed the Northside walks at Scarborough in the past few months and it’s great to meet all the other hound parents and put faces to names, or humans to the greyhounds we see on Facebook.

The obligatory obsessive-greyhound-accessories have made their way quickly into our home, including car decals, a “beanie” plush hound called Toby, long-necked coats, beds befitting the giraffe princess, books about the hound-lexicon (language specific to hounds and their behaviours), a FOTH mug, and the list goes on…..

Thanks again for the beloved addition of our new greyt girl, Sooty, who we love enormously already and who is keeping us loved, entertained with her antics, laughing every day, and in wonderment of what we shall discover tomorrow.

Kerryn (Matt, Dash and Sooty)