Meet cheeky Chief

They say cats have 9 lives, but Chief the greyhound has had 3 already, and he still has a lot of living to do with his new owner Katia, but it has been a journey already!

Chief's first life was spent on the racetrack, in November 2018 he hung up his racing vest and retired into the care of GAP, lucky for Chief he was quickly adopted and lived his second life as a much-loved pet.

Although Chief was an outstanding pet, the family needed to return Chief back to GAP just one year after adopting him. This was really hard on Chief because he missed his family, he began to fear others and disliked being touched.

GAP was committed to bringing back the happy, affectionate Chief they once knew. Over the next 8 months, Chief got tons of special treatment, including oodles of love and attention, walks along his favourite track and extra treats.

Chief's special day finally came, on a sunny Saturday in late August the stars aligned, and Katia came to meet her new potential family member. It was love at first play and Chief was given his third life in his forever home with Katia. 

Katia has been on a bit of a journey with Chief "he seemed very shy and just wanted to keep to himself" but Katia knew that she just needed to coax out the real Chief "his biggest change thus far has been his cheekiness, he is a lot more playful and you can definitely tell when he is enjoying himself"

To say Chief has a very special place in Katia's heart is an understatement:

"He has changed our lives in very positive ways, first of all, we all love going for walks with him and has made us more active which is great, he is literally the apple of our eye we all care so much and want him to be as happy as possible.

We love how sweet he is, he is so well mannered, but also, I love when he gets excited, it makes me happy knowing he is enjoying himself which makes all of us happy in turn.

He's got some quirky habits which are quite sweet. For example, he steals a specific pillow from the couch we sit on, he doesn't want to destroy it, or anything, he is very gentle, he just wants it near him. It's adorable coming home and seeing him with it. Also, he eats like he will never be fed again, we are yet to give him something he won't devour in seconds".

Chief's journey is ongoing, "our hope for the future is just that he is happy, we are currently working on his interactions with other dogs on our walks, but he is already catching on very well!"

Katia's persistence paid off; it took her 21 years to convince her parents to adopt a greyhound. The advice that Katia would give to anyone considering greyhound adoption is "don't give up! You will be gaining a very sweet beloved member of the family that you won't be able to imagine life without".

If you are considering adopting a greyhound, submit an enquiry today so we can match you with a greyhound that best suits your lifestyle and needs.