Reasons to smile

By Chloe Strahan

Michelle treats her two rescue dogs Kyha and Cody to several walks around the CBD each day.

“I am very lucky to have them,” said owner Michelle, 42.

The trio frequently visit Flagstaff Gardens for a stroll multiple times a day.

“We have a small apartment so I take them for a walk here a few times a day.

Sometimes I bring other people’s dogs along too,” Michelle said.

Six-year-old English Staffy Kyha is visibly content with her lifestyle, which is evident from her beaming grin that she is constantly showing off.

“Kyha always has a grin on her face.

She is always smiling,” she said.

18-year-old Maltese-cross-pomeranian, Cody is more timid, but it didn’t take long for him to warm to our reporter, begging for more pats.

After returning from a trip visiting her mother in Adelaide, Michelle was happy to come home to the CBD to see her two pals.

“Mum breeds dogs like Cody. But I bought Cody from a rescue dogs home after a lucky night at the casino,” she said.

“If Cody runs off Kyha will go chase him. She is funny. They get along really well.”

Michelle has grown up in difficult situations, living on the streets when she was 12 and being the first girl at St Augustine Boys Home in Geelong when she was nine-years-old.

However, she is grateful that things have turned around for her and that she can help others around the CBD who are having a tough time.

“Sometimes you need to help people out. Often I see people around the food vans near the Queen Victoria Market who need shelter from the rain and I like to help them out with a place to stay for the night,” she said.