Greyhound giving Zaylia Coram new lease on life

By Andrew Smith

Zaylia Coram used to be reluctant to leave her house, but that all changed when greyhound Jay came into her life.

The 25-year-old acquired Jay as a medical alert and response assistance dog around six years ago, and she has not looked back since.

April is National Greyhound Adoption Month and Racing Queensland is highlighting a number of former dogs thriving away from the track throughout the month.

While Jay never made it to the racetrack, the greyhound is proving to be a winner well away from the lights of Albion or The Q.

Zaylia purchased the seven-year-old through Gumtree back in 2019.

The Brisbane resident says owning Jay has transformed her life for the better.

“Owning Jay has been the best experience of my life, she’s truly a one-of-a-kind dog and makes me laugh every day,” Zaylia said.

“She alerts me to oncoming medical episodes and responds either by doing DPT (Deep Pressure Therapy) and other grounding tasks or by directing me out of places.

“She also has a follow cue - where if we are with someone, we can follow them with ease during a medical episode.

“She has completely changed my life - I went from almost never leaving the house before 2019 to having a fulfilled life where I can go out hiking and exploring because I know she will always have my back.

“She has given me my independence back.”

From hospitals to holidays, Zaylia has travelled far and wide with Jay by her side.

She will often visit her friend’s property and head out for a drive on the quad bike with Jay running alongside her.

The calm and loving nature of the greyhound has helped Zaylia find a new lease on life.

“She’s extremely environmentally stable - nothing phases her, huge theme parks and rollercoasters zooming past are nothing to her and she takes each new experience with ease,” Zaylia said.

“I don’t really have a favourite thing about Jay, I’m extremely biased but I think every part of her is perfect.

“I also love how she can go from running crazy and doing zoomies, to resting or healing through busy areas.

“She is always having fun whether on or off-duty - I love how silly she gets when off-duty.

“She will go for a 20km hike but will also happily chill at home on the couch all day if I’m not well enough to do something.

“She’s a very loving dog and I’ve never met a more intuitive dog. She loves unconditionally but gives mad side eye when dinner’s late which always makes me laugh.”

While not ever racing on the track, Jay has still been racking up plenty of wins in a different type of sport.

The greyhound has competed in both Australian National Kennel Council (now Dogs Australia) and non-ANKC lure coursing.

Lure coursing is a sport for dogs using a machine to drag a lure around a field, with the lure consisting of plastic bags tied to a string, pulled around a series of pulleys on a designed course.

Jay proved to be quite proficient at the sport, winning multiple firsts in the non-ANKC lure events.

While Jay no longer competes after picking up an injury, Zaylia still has big future plans for her beloved pet.

“She now does both ANKC and non-ANKC sprintdog events and also has started doing Working Pack Dog events alongside my kelpie mix and other working breeds,” Zaylia said.

“Working Pack is a backpacking event where the dogs hike 16kms with a percentage of their body weight - Jay is doing the Working Novice Pack Dog which is 15 per cent weight in a backpack.

“I’m going to be slowing her down next year from more high-impact sports as she ages - she knows over 20 tricks so I would like to do trick dog or possibly dances with dogs with her in the future if she was up for it.

“I would love to do showing with Jay but she’s slightly out of standard conformation wise for a show dog so she will stick to just visiting the Ekka every year for a fun day out!”

While Greyhound Adoption Month is drawing to a close, there are opportunities for people to adopt a dog all year round.

Zaylia is encouraging more people to consider taking a greyhound into their home in the future.

“I think there’s a greyhound for almost everyone, and there’s more active youngsters that love to get up hiking and running around and hounds that are happy to chill at cafes,” Zaylia said.

“I think a lot of people underestimate how good and versatile the breed is - they can do anything any other breed can do if they have the right motivators.

“They're an extremely stable and easy dog to live with and an exceptional companion for people on all walks of life, I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog that fits so easily into any lifestyle.

“They’re an extremely non-demanding dog (unless their dinner is late) and an easy dog to maintain - I like how Jay can adapt to how I’m feeling on the day as to whether we are having an active or quiet day and she’s happy with either.”

Run by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC), the Greyhound Adoption Program Queensland is dedicated to finding suitable, loving homes for greyhounds that have retired from racing.

GAP Queensland behaviourally assesses retired racing dogs and helps to prepare them for life in a family home, matching them with the paw-fect owner.

Click here to meet greyhounds available for adoption or apply online to foster or adopt.