Companionship and affection are basic but vital human needs. Unfortunately, loneliness is one of the most difficult aspects of retirement and ageing for many Australians and has been tied to health problems such as cognitive decline, depression, and heart disease.

If this is something you’ve experienced, it’s important to know you aren’t alone.

Not only do pets crave and require our TLC for their wellbeing, but their reciprocal adoration has proven to have long-term health benefits for carers. Research shows pets can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and have extraordinary effects on symptoms of depression and loneliness.

Wendy Little, Coordinator for Gumtree Greys rescue charity in Queensland, says her three precious greyhounds Tarquin, Gandhi, and Tutti Fruiti give her purpose every morning and keep her active. 

At Gumtree Greys, volunteers are committed to rescuing, rehabilitating, and re-homing greyhounds no longer required for the racing industry. Wendy says the biggest problem for the volunteer-run charity is trying to gain foster carers and helping hands to continue saving these lives.

“Twenty-six thousand dogs a year are bred and 15,000 a year are killed,” Wendy says.

While they’re certainly known for their speed, greyhounds are actually very gentle and docile pets who would much prefer to relax in the lounge room than race around the backyard. And with endless love to give, these gentle, lazy, and affectionate couch potatoes may be the perfect addition to your life and health.

“With their personalities, all they want is to be loved. That’s the bottom line. So, they will do whatever you want them to do, if you ask correctly,” Wendy says.

At Gumtree Greys, there are no kennels, and all dogs go into volunteer homes, where they are given the emotional support they crave and allow them to be trained for domestic life. The dogs come desexed, fully vaccinated, wormed, flea treated, microchipped, and heartworm checked.

“The process we use is rescue, foster, adopt,” Wendy explains.

“Retirees are really good people for this process because they can foster for the time that they are around and available, which means we can accommodate more dogs.”

Greyhounds love human interaction and crave constant companionship despite sleeping for roughly 16 to 18 hours a day, with short bursts of energy.

“Look, I’m a senior and a reasonably active person. They keep me going and give me a purpose to get up in the morning and do things,” Wendy says.

“This is about what I want for me as well as what I want for them, and that is, I want a companion in my home that keeps me occupied.

“They are very gentle creatures. They don’t realise they’re as large as they are—they think they’re small dogs.

“For people who struggle with mobility, they’re a great height—you just put your hand out and pat them. Before COVID hit, we used to visit nursing homes, so it was perfect for the people in there because the dogs are tall enough that people could be in their beds and still pat the dogs.”

As the charity ensures every dog is sent into a home, foster carers are responsible for introducing and training the greyhounds for home life before adoption.

“Everything in a household is foreign to a greyhound, so we give our foster carers a job description to follow, outlining things to teach the dog while they are in their care,” Wendy says.

“We teach them how to be a pet, behave well in a home, and respect furniture.” 

Gumtree Greys’ top priority is the welfare of the animals being homed and they have established procedures to ensure the lifestyle of all foster carers and permanent companions are suitable for the dogs.

House checks are a crucial part of these procedures, involving the assessment of the home, family dynamics, social life, capability, and above all, the availability to commit.

“Commitment is the most important thing for any animal that is being rescued because it’s got to have stability,” Wendy says.

“We’re looking for a commitment of at least six to eight weeks. We don’t say people can’t have a life, but we don’t expect people to go away every weekend either.

“We ask questions like, does everyone in the home really want to commit? Do they go away regularly? If you do, where is the dog going to go?”

The environment is also an aspect closely inspected based on the personalities of individual dogs, including physical space, as well as social environment.

“We look at whether there are stairs in the home, outside areas with shade, even the type of floors. Some dogs won’t walk on certain types of floors. We also consider whether you have other animals around or children who might live in the home or visit regularly,” Wendy says.

As a general safety rule, Gumtree Greys does not allow children under the age of 16 to walk greyhounds given their large size.

“We go through these stringent checks because we have to make sure the animals are safe,” Wendy says.

“People do get upset if we decide they aren’t right for a greyhound, but we can’t put an animal that is already stressed into an environment that isn’t right for them.”

Gumtree Greys provides a wealth of support for those who are selected to foster or adopt one of their rescue greyhounds, including greyhound-approved recipes, a suggested menu, and a list of greyhound walking routes.

“Whoever puts the greyhound into the home will do a follow-up for a couple of weeks, then we turn them over to another volunteer who will call them once a week for about three months,” Wendy says.

“After that, people generally have a good idea of how everything works, so we leave them to it, but we are still available for support if they need.”

Fostering or adopting an animal is not realistic or feasible for every lifestyle, and if that’s the case, there are still many ways to get involved.

As an entirely volunteer-based charity, Gumtree Greys is always looking for helpers and any form of support.

“Just because you can’t have a dog doesn’t mean you can’t help with the greyhounds in general. There’s a lot of jobs that can be done by other people,” Wendy says.

“We need people who can do admin, drive animals to the vets, deliver greyhounds to homes, organise walks, and help sew collars to raise funds for Gumtree Greys.

“We’re always looking for funding of any kind. Whatever funds we make goes directly towards the greyhounds. We really appreciate any help raising awareness of this loving breed through markets, events and doggy days out.”

While adoption and fostering can help save some ex-racing greyhounds’ lives, Wendy says the terrible reality is that many more perish either as a result of racing injuries or when they are no longer wanted by their racing industry owners, syndicates, and/or trainers.

“For every bet that is placed, a greyhound dies somewhere. These animals are dying at a pace we can’t keep up with and we need support to help in any way we can,” she said.

If you’re interested in fostering or adopting a greyhound, you can find out more on the Gumtree Greys website.