Meanwhile, at greyhound racing tracks....

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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According to GAP Kennel Managers, this winter has been the best one for adoptions - ever since GAP began. So many people from all over New Zealand have had a chance to adopt a greyhound, and so many greyhounds have found their retirement homes.
It is so wonderful that New Zealand dog owners are becoming more and more aware of  racing greyhounds' superior breeding, soundness, pedigree and amazing temperament - and it shows, as adoption applications keep coming in! :) From all over NZ, from all sorts of families -which is great, as there is a greyhound out there for everyone :) Yes, some of them might have to wait a bit for their hound - but he/she will come :)

So it has been busy on this blog -featuring dogs for adoptions, pictures, videos, writeups, and then, uploading updates from newly adopted dogs. Sometimes I feel I am only doing this blog, all day long! :)
 For all of you new owners who have sent me updates - if your new greyhound has not been featured on this blog yet, please forgive me! I will get there soon, I promise! I must admit I have been slightly snowed under with updates -which is good :)

But this particular post is not about that....
Many of greyhound trainers (and their staff) help GAP transport newly adopted greyhounds all over the country  - and as I said, due to the sheer amount of material I have to post on this blog,  somehow I never managed to find  time to acknowledge them and thank them here on this blog.
But , for all it is worth, one post I have been planning to write for a long time is the one dedicated to our lovely trainers. And today, finally, here it is! :)

Tomorrow, I am off to Wanganui greyhound track to pick up some GAP incoming dogs , and also to drop off two newly adopted greyhounds, who are catching a ride with trainers to their new homes. Tomorrow, trainers helping with transport are Waikato trainer Ian George (taking one of GAP greyhounds to be adopted in Hamilton) and Auckland trainer Glennis Farrell (taking one to Auckland).
And how amazing is this: Ian George did not have space in his van initially, as he was bringing his racing dogs down to Wanganui track, to race and trial, and then driving straight back. But, when he heard that a GAP dog needed a ride, he scratched one of his racing dogs off the trials, making space for a GAP retired greyhound.  I thanked Ian and his lovely wife Natalie profusely -but I have to say again: thank you both SO much for all your help. You guys are wonderful -we are so grateful. 

I won't name all the trainers and greyhound handlers who help us transport dogs all over the place  - there are just too many. You know who you are - I just want you to know how much we appreciate your help. 

I do happen to have a couple of pictures I took of trainers/handlers picking up and dropping off dogs, so here they are (you can click on photos to see full size):

 
Luke, who works for Amberley trainer Rosemary Blackburn, brought young Mahal up -
 here he is with Irene , GAP Kennel Manager (this was at Palmerston North track, only a few weeks ago)
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And a GAP greyhound Ringo (Law's Hill) caught a ride down with Luke, to his new home in Christchurch. This is an odd photo - but you can sort of make out Irene putting Ringo in the van kennel in which Mahal came up :)
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Ringo all settled in the van. Btw, you can see the bedding hounds have in there -and why they are used to soft beds and whatnot :)
At this point, we heard that Ringo's trainer was there aswell, racing his dogs! We thought it would be lovely if he and Ringo caught up once more, before Ringo's trip to his retirement home. So here are Dave MacAuley and his ex-racer catching up again:

Hello stranger! :)








Meet Beauty (Just Teasing)

Saturday, September 15, 2012
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Our good friend and big dog lover, young greyhound trainer Ashley Bradshaw worked with Beauty while she was racing and wrote this about her:

Beauty was always one of my favourites in the racing kennels, I would go into her kennel and curl up on the bed with her! :)
She LOVES cuddles  -  she has special ‘scratchy spots’ underneath and on the back of her neck that makes her head turn sideways. On hot days Beauty would sleep on the ground in her pen or she would sleep on her mattress in the sun on her back wriggling until all her bedding fell off her bed :). Beauty is a dream dog to walk on the lead too -she will make an awesome pet for one very lucky person!


Meet Amy (Ice Ice Amy) - the "Canteen" greyhound

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Beautiful Amy
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Almost two years ago, I wrote about two gorgeous young greyhound girls who raced for CanTeen New Zealand, an organisation supporting young people living with cancer. The link to that post is  here: http://greyhoundsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/meet-canteen-greyhounds.html

Now, the girls have retired due to age (they are both 4 years old) - and Amy has just arrived to GAP (her friend "Jackpot Jackie" will follow shortly).

I just heard from Michael Cox, Amy's (and Jackie's) owner who is thrilled with their progress , and all the work they have done for Canteen. Michael just wrote to me:

That is wonderful news that Amy has progressed well through the GAP program, I hope she becomes a great pet for someone. I am sure Jackie will do very well also, she was very sweet when I had her as a puppy.
I regularly get approached by various charities for a small contribution so I thought I would try and combine charity with my passion for greyhounds. I had a couple of young greyhounds at home in Sydney at the time who I thought would make handy chasers, two black bitches called Amy and Jackie. What appealed about Canteen other than being a very deserving group was that they wanted like to get trackside and support the dogs too. I had the pleasure of meeting a number of the young people involved at Addington raceway one evening and having a chat and few pic's with Amy and Jackie. The bitches both had good careers under the care of Rangiora greyhound trainer Gary Cleeve and his family;  it was very heartwarming seeing them win a tidy sum of money for Canteen. I would also like to thank Ashley Bradshaw (who worked with   and took care of Amy and Jackie) for her efforts with the dogs. :)


Ashley and Amy trackside in 2010, with Amy wearing her Canteen Bandana
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Amy in GAP Sanson today, 15/9/2012

Meet gorgeous Bart (Know Truth)

Thursday, September 13, 2012
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Beautiful red fawn boy Bart (Know Truth) recently arrived to GAP all the way from Rangiora :)
Our good friend and great GAP supporter, young greyhound trainer Ashley, worked with Bart while he was racing and she said this about him:

Bart is a big softy, he was definitely  was a favourite in the racing kennels. He’s a gentle dog who loves children,  a calm dog who gets along with everyone and doesn’t like to put a foot wrong.
BArt was a good racing dog too  - he had 86 starts and made over $30k in stakes.

Gorgeous nature and colour to match, how could you go wrong?

Ashley also sent me these photos, which she took while Bart was in his racing kennels:

Funny Bart :)
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Bart with his littermates :) They are only around 8 months old here :)
Bart is the one poking his tongue out!
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Watch the GAP website closely...

Tuesday, September 11, 2012
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...because a very special greyhound has just arrived to GAP and will be up for adoption soon: Taliesin Blue (or for friends, Blue), an amazing racer who had 136 starts, and earned over $45,000 in stakes.
Blue is a small blue color male -his race weight is only 30kg. Check him out in action at Auckland Cup race:
Hifi Allegro (R) races to victory in the First Sovereign Trust Railway Sprint with Taliesin Blue close behind during the 2009 Greyhound Auckland Cup meeting at Manukau Greyhound Racing Club on March 5, 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)
Another very unusual thing about Blue is that he raced until he turned 6 yrs old - and performed awesome all the way! He run his last race on his sixth birthday, in August this year. He was bred in Australia and then trained by lovely Glennis Farrel in Auckland.

A truly exceptional, special dog - and what a well-earned retirement! I daresay a person who gets to adopt this top athlete will be a lucky one :)

A few more pictures of Blue I picked up from www.greyhound-data.com :


 
 
Update 13th September:
Beautiful Blue has settled in nicely in the GAP kennels, here he is posing for his photo:


Sue, our amazing and hardworking videographer has just taken this video of Blue (playing with Irene, GAP kennel manager) :

Update from foster care: precious Bridgette and Lilly

Monday, September 10, 2012
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Always together...
Beautiful Bridgette and Lilly are in foster care with Cynhia and her Monty The Corgi in Palmerston North. We just got this update:
They've settled in well and made themselves at home, think they are just glad to be in a home again. Lilly is the 'wiggly' one, her whole body wags not just her tail, and Bridgette is more serious and quiet. Hopefully she will come out of her shell more as she settles down.
It's really difficult to get photos of them by themselves as they are always together or close by anyway. Every time you turn around there are two pairs of eyes watching you to see what you are up to!
They love going for walks and meeting dogs down at the river. Bridgette comes into her own when we are down there she gets so excited seeing other dogs and can't wait to meet them. They are such sweet dogs and are a pleasure to have in the house.
 

 

Update from foster care: Sparky (Another Sparky)

Thursday, September 6, 2012
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Gorgeous Sparky (Another Sparky) has a home lined up, and is currently in foster care with Julia and her family. We just got these pictures from her:

 Hanging out with his mate George, and eyeing up the couch!
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Having a nap with Jimmy :)
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Trying to fit into Jimmy's bed!
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Enjoying a pig's ear

Jewel Racing Kennels retired hounds :)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012
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Last week someone recommended the Facebook page of Jewel Racing Kennels in Canterbury (Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JewelRacingKennels)

As someone who loves racing I liked it immediately and - on their page, I found a picture of a truly amazing greyhound Turbine Bale (or, for friends, Fred).

Fred won the NZ Derby in 2008, as well as many other races - his stakes total was over $104,000!
 He retired in his trainers house (he never came to GAP), where he apparently  promptly became a couch potato. :)
 He loves sprawling over the furniture and lying on his back. He loves food , especially chocolate!!   (which he is not allowed but does try his best!)
Here are his photos:
 
Fred (Turbine Bale) on his couch!
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Fred still tries to get into the racing van :)
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Even in the snow, Fred thinks he can sneak some food :)
Another greyhound retired with her trainers in this racing kennel is beautiful Gertie (Gershwin Jewel). I will copy what her trainers wrote about her on their FB page:
 
Gertie is coming up 12 .She has always been a pet and raced off the couch. She was bred out of two dogs we raced,  had two litters but they cramped her couch potato style! She has been a real gem in our family and now is the boss of the house! Gertie is usually asleep on the couch, legs in the air. She seems happy at the moment, she does have diabetes but we  think it is stable. However she is totally blind and sometimes bangs into things. Im amazed at how well she does get around but it must be scary for her when shes not sure where she is. Usually she just stops and barks and waits for us to direct her. She is nearly 12 and not sure what the future holds for her. Love you Gertie xx
Gertie sunbathing


 

Update from foster care: Joe (Groovy Bandit)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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And just when you think you've seen it all... Check out Joe (Groovy Bandit) - currently in foster care - in Seatoun, Wellington this morning:
 
 
And Joe relaxing :

Joe's foster Mum Jaimee says that he is a sweet boy, very friendly and cuddly. He loves heading out for walks and meeting other doggy friends. He's happy to laze around all day on his bed or join you for a car ride (the car is like his second bed - I have to drag him out he loves it in there) :) He is very calm and loves to play with his toys. He has great manners and is learning new things every day!
Jaimee sent us more gorgeous photos too (you can click on them to see full size):


Meet the Assassin! :)

Monday, September 3, 2012
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Brenda (Bigtime Assassin) :)

Beautiful 7 year old  Bigtime Assassin (or, for friends, Brenda!)  is just GORGEOUS! I met her in the Sanson kennels yesterday and had a great play with her :)

Brenda is looking for a fun-filled home as she loves to play! She enjoys playing with other dogs, kids and toys and is best suited to home without cats as she would probably like to play with them too ;)  

Very sociable with people, nicely confident and affectionate, Brenda is a really neat dog. I expect this gorgeouis girl to be snapped up pretty fast!
Brenda The Alligator!
Chasing a toy :)

Havoc arrives to GAP! :)

Sunday, September 2, 2012
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Am I pretty or what? Yes, my name is Havoc :)



Gorgeous little Havoc (Beatrix Kiddo) was delivered to GAP Sanson by her trainer Ben Craik last week. Sonja (GAP Kennel Manager) took this cute photo of Havoc and Ben:

Havoc arrives at GAP! (featuring Irene on the left :)
We have been following Havoc's racing career and looking forward to her arriving to GAP upon retirement: her Mum aswell as all her brothers and sisters have been already homed by GAP (they did not do so well in racing, so have been retired early). Havoc, though, turned out to be a good little racer. Her trainer sent me this podium photo of her:
Havoc with her trainers Ben and Tracey Craik
Havoc's Mum is famous racer and later show dog Thrilling Kim. After stellar racing career, Kim had a litter of puppies, and then went on to become a show greyhound who gained NZ Champion title ! Impressive or what? Here is gorgeous Kim at the peak of her show dog career:

Beautiful Kim (Thrilling Kim)
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After her show dog career, Kim was retired yet again and now lives in Kapiti. You can see pictures of her and her new home here.

All Havoc's littermates have already been retired  - here they are:

Shiloh (nee Shawn), (New Thing Now), now lives in Auckland. You can see her on the blog, here.
Shiloh (New Thing Now)
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Stevie (No Spoken Word) was trained both for racing and for breed showing. Like her Mum, she also gained NZ Champion title. She now lives with Monique and family in Palmerston North. You can see her update on the blog , here.
Beautiful Stevie (No Spoken Word)
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Tosh (King Tosh) now lives in Waikato. We never got any pictures of him from his retirement home -so if his owners are reading this, please do send us some pictures of the gorgeous boy!
Tosh (King Tosh)
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Vulcan (Sunset Spock) is currently up for adoption and is in a foster home in Auckland. You can see him on the blog, here.
Vulcan (Sunset Spock)
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And of course, last but not least, little Sasha, who now lives in Upper Hutt, and whose picture i dont have!:( Will work on that :)