As told to Ben Falkenmire
Photo Lou O’Brien

When I was eight years old, we had a kelpie and unfortunately, he attacked me. I was in a ball on the floor and the dog came away with a mouthful of hair. The attack left me with scars on my head and arms. In the end we had to put the dog down, which was heartbreaking.

From a very young age, if someone asked me what I wanted to do later in life I would say, ‘Run a dog shelter’. That didn’t change after being attacked.

I learned about Friends of the Hound through one of my clients. For years I kept asking if they needed a treasurer and then 18 months ago they approached me about replacing their current one, who was retiring.

Pictured: Kim Jay CA takes her rehomed greyhounds Lou, McKenna and Judy (from left) walking at dog-friendly Currimundi Beach, Sunshine Coast

Friends of the Hound gives ex-racing greyhounds a chance at a second life. The dogs have been retired from racing for various reasons. They might have broken bones or other physical or mental issues. We fix them up and prepare them for adoption as family pets. People are surprised to learn greyhounds are friendly and affectionate dogs that are surprisingly lazy. One dog, Hugo, leaned against his new owner’s leg on the first day they met. He is now part of an adoring family with a labrador and two cats, and happily walks on a lead and rides in the family car.

I probably spend about 10 hours a week helping out in addition to running my own accounting firm, Initiative. Since taking on the role, aside from implementing cloud storage for documents and Xero software, I’ve reviewed committee and volunteer roles and I am currently preparing instruction manuals for roles so new volunteers have a ‘go to’ document for procedures and processes. Banking and accounts payable are now done each week instead of on an ad hoc basis. These are big changes I’ve had to walk staff and volunteers through.

It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling to be helping an animal. You look into their big brown eyes and know you’re appreciated. When I married, I eventually talked my husband into getting a labrador, Pepper, who is now 14 years old.

I’m open to other opportunities to work with animals. It refocuses your perspective on life. As a CA you’re a problem solver: it is extremely satisfying to see how you can make a difference ‘just through the use of numbers’ – and not just for human problems.”

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