It’s not every day that the closure of an entire industry receives wide-spread praise from the public, but there aren’t many industries as rife with cruelty as New South Wales‘ greyhound racing scene.
Earlier today, Premier Mike Baird announced the whole shebang will be shut down for good as of July 1 next year. The drastic move comes after a landmark investigation into the industry revealed rampant, irreconcilable animal abuse throughout the “sport.”
The details are nebulous at the moment, considering the move was just revealed today. Still, the organisations that are already involved with re-homing those bony buddies – and the families that have already taken some in – will tell you, for sure, that former racing greyhounds make primo pets that you should definitely consider.
Here’s why.
If you dress them in Batman pyjamas and let them in the snow, they do this.
It’s reason enough alone to adopt a greyhound, but we digress.
They’re super docile doggos.
Not so. Just as much as they’ve been bred to run at lightning speed, they’ve also been instilled with a super chilled nature. After all, life as a racing dog is mostly spent cooped up or in transit. From that perspective, it’s beneficial if they’re calm dogs who are used to being around many, many different people and animals.
They’re just as prone to have a good snuggle as they are to break the canine land speed record. Plus, during their frequent naps, they look like this:
Living with them is pretty dang easy.
While they’re not tiny and they need to stretch their legs every now and again, they’re pretty low maintenance dogs. They don’t bark much, if at all. They don’t shed a huge amount. They’re best living life as inside dogs. They’re easily house trained, and gentle to a fault.
Their temperament makes them good with kids – obviously you should still take the same precautions as you would with any other breed, but dang, they’re affectionate.
Greyhounds are also a pretty hardy breed that live long lives outside of the racing industry – lives you’ll get to share, considering most ex-racers are adopted between the ages of two and five.
Very soon, there are going to be a LOT of them available for adoption.
Every Greyhound, which acts as a directory for all greyhounds available for adoption in the country, said in a statement released today that “all of those groups are going to be inundated with surrendered dogs and adoption enquiries over the next 12 months – and they are all at capacity.
Every Greyhound already struggles to keep up with the ever increasing volume of listings and enquiries.”
Some areas of the country require greyhounds to wear muzzles when outside. Some of them aren’t 100% great with smaller pets, and each dog’s individual behaviour around cats is something that needs to be assessed.
The Greyhound Adoption Program NSW, one of the state’s more prominent adoption agencies, asks potential owners about the details of the dog’s future home – children, fences, other pets, the whole shebang.
From there, a representative will visit you + your fam to make sure your desired doggo fits your needs. If you’re successful, score! Your new buddy will soon be living the dream with you. Some pups might take a lil’ longer to head your way, but regardless, you’re locked in to make a new mate.
