2 weeks Ago By Michael Cowley
It's not the usual description of a greyhound, one of the fastest animals on earth, despite being a noted lounge lizard as a pet. or signup to continue reading Regardless, it's one which Carly Sewell feels fits her pair perfectly. "I like to refer to the greyhounds as the cat of the dog world," Carly said of her pair Bella and Benny.
"They have the loyalty of the most loyal dog, but they are just so clean. "They can be lazy and sleep all day as long as they've got a soft spot to lie on. But they're not bitchy like cats.
They are just so happy." Carly can speak with authority. As well as Bella and Benny, Carly has a chinchilla cross rag doll cat named Sylvie.
"We haven't had any problems with the dogs and the cat," Carly said. "In fact, if anything, they're scared of the cat. "She has that really calm rag doll nature about her, but she's also a cat.
"There's no desire to chase her, because she doesn't run away or anything, but, if they get too up in her grill, she will hiss at them and swipe - but it's never claws out, she just stamps her authority like a dog does when they growl, and we've never had any issues." Carly, husband Mark and their son Charlie, live in the Bathurst suburb of Llanarth. But just over six years ago they were living in Mudgee and finding greyhounds to adopt in the Central West was difficult.
They contacted the Western Sydney branch of Greyhound as Pets and brought two-year-old Angie into their home, where she lived with their staffie Barney, and the pair got on so well together. Both have since passed away, but Bella soon entered their home. "It took us a little while to get into adopting Bella because we've always had a cat, and at the time, there were no cat-friendly ones in the Central West," Carly said.
"The people at GAP helped out, though, and Bella actually came to us from Casino. "All of our greyhounds we have got sight unseen other than a photo. We've never worried about colour or size, we have just made our circumstances clear and they have found us the perfect dogs.
"Charlie is 15 and he absolutely loves the animals and you often find them on his bed with him of a morning. "What's coincidental with Bella and Benny, she was born on February 18, 2021 and Benny was born on February 17, 2021 making him older by one day." While they have had a staffie and a pug, and Carly's dad who is mortified that she doesn't have a boxer dog as he has bred boxers his entire life, greyhounds are now the only breed for the Sewells.
"My husband said we won't have any other breed again," Carly said. "A lot of people ask why you don't we get a puppy. "I tell them it's brilliant.
"You don't have to do the puppy stage and all the training, and they connect to you so beautifully as it is. "I wish people would just give them a chance. "There's no smell, their cleanliness is just next level, it's so easy and we have them inside with us all the time.
"They even sleep on our bed," Carly said. "I take our dogs out a lot and everyone is often taken aback when they see a greyhound or when you talk to them about them, because I think there has been an unfortunate misrepresentation about what greyhounds are like. "People think that they're big and scary, and the biggest misconception is how much you need to exercise them.
"Mine will go for a walk and get around the block and be like: 'alright, we're done now. Can we go home?' "I always say to people that if you're looking for the perfect companion, this is it." Carly admits that it can get a little chilly in the Central West, but with the help of her mother, she has a way to keep the greyhounds warm.
"It does get cold but my Mum has made pyjamas for our dogs in the past," she said. "Benny doesn't have a set yet, because we only got him just before Christmas last year, but no doubt I will get Mum onto making a set of pyjamas for him. "Until that time he'll probably have to wear Angie's old ones, so he'll look beautiful in hot pink, fairy bread pyjamas.
"But I'm sure he won't mind." While they won't come with their own pyjamas, for those who might be interested in a greyhound as a pet, there is an opportunity to find out more this weekend in Bathurst. To celebrate Greyhound National Adoption Day, Greyhounds as Pets will be staging events all around the state this weekend, including an event at the old racetrack at Kennerson Park in Uphold Street, on Sunday, April 27, between 9am and noon.
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