Greyhound adopter Sarah Adams says her retired racer George has become her best friend, helping her to deal with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

Ahead of Therapy Dog Awareness Month in September, George – whose story was shared on Network Ten’s The Project last week – is one of the many retired greyhounds making a positive impact in the community.

Formerly known by the racing name Fishbone Express, George has been trained as an assistance dog by mindDog.

“He retired when he was three years old. When I saw him, I just loved his face, he was beautiful,” Adams told The Project.

George has joined Adams on flights from Melbourne to Sydney, he partners Adams to her workplace, and has helped her improve her mood to the point where her psychologist has reduced her medication to minimal doses each day.

“There are no words to describe how difficult it can be to go out and do things that people take for granted, like going to the supermarket,” Adams said.

“It’s impacted my life in that I feel a bit more confident going places where there are large crowds, travelling to Sydney to see my family.

“Having George beside me as my best friend has really helped. My psychologist has reduced my medication down to minimum levels.

“I’ve taken George a flight. We’ve been on trains, ferries, buses. He pretty comes everywhere with me.

“Some of the cues George picks up on are changes in my body temperature, changes in the way I move. He’s picked up on when I’ve had hypo, so when my blood sugar is low, he’ll poke me in the stomach and that’s his way of saying, ‘Mummy, you need to sit down and eat something’.

“George has given me so much more freedom to be able to go out and do things, it’s really opened up so much.”

Chiara Perri, a mindDog trainer and assessor, said the changes in Adams since George entered her life have been stark.

“When I first met Sarah, she was pretty quiet,” Perri said.

“She wasn’t making a lot of eye contact, not having much conversation, quite withdrawn and not getting out much.

“We are now seeing a person who is smiling, and I’m seeing a person hold conversation and be really quite proud about what she’s achieved with her dog.”

Watch the full story here, thanks to Network Ten’s The Project.