Forty former racing dogs strutted their stuff at a special adoption day in their honour, hoping someone would fall in love with their bashful eyes and gentle demeanour.
It worked for most – within 20 minutes of the recent rescue mission, 23 greyhounds had been snapped up bound for new homes.
But come the end of the Greyhound Adoption Program’s (GAP) event at Sandown earlier this month, Roy, Bill and Mick remained.
On Facebook that afternoon, GAP posted: “Well, our Sandown Adoption Day is done and dusted, with 37 out of 40 hounds sleeping in their new homes tonight.
“Please help us find Roy and his fellow greyhounds a home.”
Their plea was seen by Taylors Hill sisters Makenzie and Rylee, who decided nine-year-old Roy would make a perfect companion for Stuey, the greyhound they adopted about a year ago.
But they knew their dad was against the idea, so they decided to write him a letter.
“Dear Dad, we would like to compose this letter to you because we have been thinking about getting a friend for Stuey,” they wrote.
“Today (4th March) we saw on Facebook that GAP had an adoption day and all greyhounds that were at the adoption day got adopted accept (sic) Roy.
“Even though Roy is 9 years old (young), he deserves to be in a caring family … we felt really sorry for him, and so did Mum,” the girls, aged 9 and 12, wrote.
They told their father they had pooled their pocket money – $49.80, to be precise – to go towards GAP’s $75 adoption fee.
“We hope you say yes and we can get Roy. P.S. Rylee and I will start cleaning up his poop,” they said in their letter.
Mum Nicole Tresize said the girls’ tactic didn’t work on dad David, but it was enough to convince her.
So she took them out to GAP’s base in Seymour to collect Roy last Tuesday.
“He said ‘you’re not serious are you’, when we brought him home.
“He’s (Roy) settled in really well, he’s made the place his own,” Nicole said. “But I don’t think they’ll ever pick up the poop.”
