Allie with one of her favorite toys
By Katie Kurylo, Communications Assistant for Animal Friends
Every little kid dreams about adopting a dog. My younger brother, Sam, and I were no different. However, many years passed without a pet, as my mother was severely allergic to all kinds of animals (cats and dogs alike). I had a fish once but he wasn’t very fun to play with.
Shortly after I graduated college, there were rumbles in the Kurylo household about getting a dog. I was so excited. After an extensive search and much reading and note taking, we decided a Greyhound would be the best kind of dog for us. A laid back, “40-mile-per-hour couch potato” fit right into my family’s energy level and, while not truly hypoallergenic, the Greyhound’s short coat would be easy on my mother’s allergies.
I remember the day we brought Allergo (Allie for short) home. It was Memorial Day weekend and we found out that weekend she was afraid of fireworks. She spent most of the weekend trembling in a corner in our living room, too frightened do to much else than pant and drool. This whole dog thing wasn’t working out, we thought. What if we can’t handle this? Will she ever not be scared? She won’t even go outside! But, everything worked out in the end though and she has been a happy member of our family for nearly two years.
I’ve always been an animal lover but I never really understood how important it is to rescue or adopt pets. Sadly, there are many cases of animal abuse at Greyhound race tracks and some of the dogs end up being euthanized after their racing careers end. Having Allie greet me every night when I come home reminds me of how many other animals there are that do not have homes or a family to love them.
Sometimes, I can see a little bit of Allie in the dogs here at Animal Friends. Maybe it’s the way they pounce on a toy or the way they greet volunteers with a big sloppy kiss. It’s those small similarities that drive me to write more biographies for our animals, design a better flyer or write a more compelling article.
I think the situation is best summed up by a card we received from the rescue organization we worked with shortly after we adopted Allie. It said, “You might not be able change the world for all Greyhounds, but for one Greyhound, you changed the world.”
My family changed the world for Allie and I truly believe I am changing the world for the animals here at Animal Friends.
You change the world for our animals, too! Click here to learn more about volunteering, or click here to view our job opps!
You change the world for our animals, too! Click here to learn more about volunteering, or click here to view our job opps!