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Monique Boggia was a nervous observer when 'Billy' the retired greyhound appeared on Channel Nine's Hey, Hey It's Saturday as part of a promotion for the Pedigree PetRescue Adoption Drive on June 9.
A few days earlier, the Greyhound Adoption Program [GAP] had promised Monique that Billy was hers, however friends and family feared that being thrust into the television spotlight would create interest from other potential adopters.
"Everyone was saying, 'have you paid a deposit for him', and 'have you signed anything', so I was a little nervous. But two weeks later he graduated from the GAP and we brought him home and we couldn't be happier", Monique said.
Billy, who will turn four in October, was known to punters as Cool Burst, a racedog who ran 65 times for seven wins and 23 placings, and won more than $11,000 in prize money.
And while Monique jokes that Billy enjoys swapping racing stories with her partner and former competitive Mountain Bike rider Baden, he is lapping up his retirement having finally got used to climbing the long staircase at his new home in Heidelberg Heights.
"His bed is upstairs and while he learned how to climb up the stairs fairly quickly, it took him a long time to come down them by himself. Baden was having to carry him down and we were quite concerned, so we called GAP and they said 'he's not silly, he’s just not coming down because he prefers being carried down'."
"After a few days a young boy who I teach music lessons to came around, and Billy flew down the stairs to say hello to him. Ever since then the stairs haven't been an issue, although if he gets half way down the stairs and decides that he wants to go back up again, he has to come all the way down because the stairwell is too narrow for him to do a u-turn", she laughed.
Monique decided on adopting a greyhound following a visit with her nephew to the Royal Melbourne Show last September.
"To tell you the truth I always thought that greyhounds were quite creepy looking until I met one at the Show. It had the softest fur, and the person looking after him explained how they don't need a muzzle once they have passed through GAP, and that they are great with young kids and that they don't need a lot of exercise. He dispelled all my myths", Monique confessed.
"It's such a shame that more people aren't aware about what greyhounds are like as pets. Some people spend so much money on pedigree dogs, yet greyhounds are the ideal pet in a lot of cases and people don't even realise it. Generally speaking, greyhounds are low maintenance, they don't rip your house apart, they don't dig up your backyard, don't suffer from separation anxiety and they are toilet trained. And they are really affectionate, especially for a big dog", she added.
One of Monique's next missions is to convince Baden that Billy needs a friend, and while the couple's next pet may not get the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Daryl Somers and Red Symmons, it is certain to be a former racer to have graduated through Greyhound Racing Victoria's Greyhound Adoption Program.
A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF BILLY
4.00am - Wakes up, wonders around the bedroom for a minute or two, then goes back to sleep.
6.00am - Alarm clock goes off
6.10am - Morning walk with Baden
7.00am - Returns home and wakes Monique from her slumber
7.30am - Gets rugged up and put outside for the day along with his breakfast [Weetbix & milk]. Monique & Baden head to work.
5.00pm - Baden returns home from work and lets Billy in the house
6.00pm - Billy's dinner time - Mince meat with rice or biscuits
7.00pm - Evening walk with Monique and Baden
8.00pm - Returns home and retires to the couch while Monique and Baden eat dinner
8.30pm - Helps Baden with homework relating to his Diploma of Project Management course at Swinburne Uni
10.00pm - Billy climbs 17 stairs to his bed, where he snuggles into his favourite soft toy [a fox]
IMAGE HOME: Billy with Hey, Hey It's Saturday hostess Suze Raymound.
IMAGES RIGHT: Billy cuddles up with Baden & Monique, makes the most of being carried downstairs by Baden, and helps Baden with his homework each night.
IMAGES BELOW: Billy on Hey, Hey It's Saturday last month.
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*Images below and on home page courtesy Bluestream Pictures. |