Greyhound Number 500 Is Successfully Adopted

Greyhounds, once only ever seen zooming around race tracks, are increasingly taking up residence in New Zealand homes.

This week, greyhound number 500 was adopted out by the Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) organisation, which began re-homing retired racers in New Zealand four years ago.

Joey, a 5 year-old red brindle hound, has been adopted by Walter McGinnis and Marci Tackett of Wellington. Marci says Joey, who used to race as Slingback, is getting used to his new home but they’re taking things slowly.

“We just so excited that we want to shower him with love and affection but he needs time to get used to us so we’re trying to give him some space too.”

Successfully re-homing 500 dogs is a huge achievement for GAP, which was set up by the greyhound racing industry in 2006. Programme spokesman, Sonja Bright, says it’s enormously satisfying to find loving homes for dogs that, in many cases, would have previously been put down when their racing careers were over.

“New Zealand has a number of race tracks around the country and with many greyhounds coming out of racing at around four years old, as well as the dogs that don't make the grade, there’s no shortage of dogs waiting to be adopted.”

Sonja, says the dogs are affectionate, great with children and, contrary to popular perceptions, extremely lazy.

“For most people the biggest challenge is getting them off the sofa,” she says.

Currently, there are 15 dogs ready for adoption and another 60 waiting to go into the programme.

Before dogs are adopted they go through a two-week assessment at one of two GAP kennels located in Sanson, near Palmerston North and Amberley in the South Island. Many of the dogs then go into foster care to teach them how to live in a house rather than a kennel. Jacqui Eyley says domestic environments present some new challenges.

“Most of these leggy hounds have never encountered stairs before and find them initially quite bewildering. Glass is also something they have to get used to, and then there is learning to live with the resident moggy.”

More than half of the greyhounds adopted live with cats and some even learn to share their home with rabbits. The gallery of photos on the GAP website show dogs and their feline siblings blissfully curled up together.

Sonja says people who adopt greyhounds are often surprised at how quiet and docile they are.

“They are very good-natured; need little exercise, compared to other breeds, and are very adaptable to a variety of different lifestyles.”

Anybody interested in adopting a Greyhound can find more information and details of dogs available, on the GAP website www.greyhoundsaspets.org.nz

ENDS

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