Update from Sparky (Another Sparky)

By Fatima |

Thursday, November 1, 2012

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A very happy wee pup, having chased balls, run, chased birds, and sniffed all over the dog park :)
Sparky fit into our house overnight, and I remember saying to hubby "you know we're screwed right? This dog is smarter than both of us" - this was the morning after collecting Sparky, and finding that even with his muzzle on he'd managed to open and empty a plasticware container of biscuits!!!

He is just such a honey though. His sweet, gentle temperament makes him a favourite with kids, and his goofball sense of humour has me laughing in a rather undignified manner, several times a day.  I just love stroking his head when he gives me the puppy-dog eyes, and his ears are therapy themselves, and he knows just when to bring his special form of TLC.

I was amazed by the amount of personality contained within a relatively small animal, and how incredibly expressive his face is!!!  He looks so proud when we come home and find the collection of cutlery on his bed, almost as pleased as when he's running at the dog park.  And he loves doing his dog-dance with us, when he goes all silly and spins in circles.

We've discovered that cheese is his weak spot, and I laugh every time his teeth chatter for it. He also loves brushing his head through flowers, flaxes and soft shrubs... So cute to see him emerge covered in pollen!!  He has a real love of squeaky toys too!  He's great with our cats, it's just taking some time for his polite interest to be reciprocated - poor pup gets hissed at regularly!

Can't wait to discover more about this gorgeous boy as we grow to know each other better :)

Update from Kenzo (Awesome Voyage)

By Fatima |

Monday, October 29, 2012

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Kenzo and Pat :)

Gorgeous Kenzo (Awesome Voyage) now lives with Patricia and her four cats in Taumaranui, Waikato.

We just got an update from Pat:

I first became infatuated with greyhounds quite by chance: I was working in the local garden centre when one day a van pulled up out the back. I could see dogs in it so I asked the lady what sort of dogs she had in her van.  She replied that they were racing greyhounds -and of course I asked if I could see them. That was it, I was totally totally smitten after being licked to bits by Pinup Puppy, a huge beautiful blue hound raced by Jennifer Harland and Grame Clarke (famous Clarkie :).

Jennifer suggested  I had a look at the Gap website and then it was all on!  Sonja and Irene at GAP were amazing and matched me with Kenzo. I picked him up in March 2012 and brought him home to Taumarunui. He had several homes already, mainly as he didn’t like small children, but neither do I so it was  a match made in heaven haha!!

It took him quite some time to settle, we had issues with a sensitive stressy stomach, but now he seems to have realised that he is staying here for good and he has relaxed so much and is really enjoying life. He lives with four cats, the two older ones just ignore him and sometimes sit in the doorway and won’t let him inside( the meanies) but the other 2 younger ones are great fun to chase, until they stop and turn around and face up to him, then he skids to a halt and wanders off as if to say “well, I wasn’t chasing them really”. He is the most loving and adorable hound, he is very polite and calm.
He just adores his spot next to the log burner and won’t go to bed without his jammies on. He has a huge toy collection which he keeps in his bed, woe betide any that escape, they are rounded up and brought to heel.

Kenzo's toy collection :)

He is also a dab hand at counter surfing, (the theif!!), and steals the cats bikkies too!  I cannot imagine life without this wonderful hound, he gives so much and asks for very little in return. He is a much loved doggie. 

Kenzo's new car (click on the photo to see full size and check out the license plate)

Modelling new pyjamas :)

             

Cobby and Senso racing!!!

By Fatima |

Sunday, October 21, 2012

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I have been planning to post this video  for a while now but always run out of time somehow.
So here it is finally: Senso's Mum sent me this video a while back -thanks a million Milena!

This race video is of my beautiful Cobby (Cawbourne Snowy) and Senso (Royal Aker) racing in Auckland, before they retired :) This was a couple of years back :)
Also, famous Blondie from Wairarapa (Fancy Kate) is in this race and finishes fourth. Bonnie (All In One) is in this race too -she is now retired in Wellington. Senso won, Cobby came third. Well Cobby led pretty much most of the way, but my boy was not a crafty racer :)

All of them have one thing in common tho - they all had the best time.

This is what pure joy looks like:



And here are the boys today:

Cobby - nowadays his favourite pastime is posing and looking beautiful....
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...and sleeping :)
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And Senso (Royal Aker) has become an accomplished model (unlike Cobby!) and he was the face of the Canine Flaxseed Oil product last year, here are his pictures:

PS: I did not want to waste my time on it initially, but I decided to put a few notes about the latest TV3s attempt at attacking the greyhounds and their love of racing in last night's '60 Minutes' programme. 
To be happy, a greyhound needs to race and chase a lure - it is a genetic need present in this breed of dog that I adore. Furthermore -there is actually a higher chance of a greyhound getting injured running around a park, beach, farm, forrest etc than a track. Such places are uneven, have hidden obstacles and can trip a dog. Going at the speed greyhounds have, they can be severely injured at any time they're exercising -anywhere. I speak from experience -one of the most frequent questions I get via this blog is regarding injuries of PET GREYHOUNDS. 
Yes, my retired greyhounds got hurt many times while running at the beach. Some owners opt to keep them on lead at all times  - I don't. Yes, my greyhound Cobby (Cawbourne Snowy), who had no racing injuries, hurt himself terribly while running at Tangimoana beach, after he retired. He cut the webbing of his foot on a seashell,which resulted in surgery under general anaestetics, having toe webbing cut off, stitched and foot bandaged, followed up by a lengthy recovery period. Did I enjoy this? No. Would I let him run there again? Yes - absolutely. Some people might not agree - but I believe in  QUALITY of life for animals, and them  doing what they love and enjoy. This is only one example -there are numerous ones out there.

Back to the sad excuse for the investigative journalism segment, unfortunately, NZ Greyhound Racing was not served by having a quiet  gentle old chap as its spokesman, when all that was needed was someone able to brush aside the idiotic criticism of a very biased journalist. In his defence, Jim Leach was visibly shaken by the fact that the one race recorded with the journalist was one where a greyhound broke its leg and was put down.
It is also very telling that a sad excuse for a journalist was so incredibly biased that she did not even mention GAP (Greyhounds As Pets) adoption programme. It is truly unbelievable  and so nasty but makes sense. GAP has been established and is largely funded by the racing industry - the biased reporter could not afford to mention that really, it would not work as part of her biased message she was trying to put accross to unsuspecting viewers.

The move for the mockumentary was that a clown by the name of Aaron Cross believes that greyhound racing is cruel and should be banned. If it was not ridiculous, it would be sad. 

People like Aaron Cross live for their 15 minutes of fame. I feel he would be much better served if he tried to do something about the tens of thousands of pets dogs and cats put down each year by animal shelters and SPCAs. And that's tens of thousands every year, in NZ alone. Why no disgust at that? Oh wait -there is no publicity in that. That has been done many times over, by Tom, Dick and Jerry, with no big results. 

Majority of dogs euthanised in this country are unwanted household pets, non-greyhound breeds. The statistics are easy to find and the SPCA for one regularly publishes their figures. In their case the number exceeds 30,000. Also the number of cruelty and attack cases prosecuted are without doubt, non greyhound related. Pet owners population in general own the absolute worst statistics in relation to animal welfare. Puppy mills are rife, supplying pet shops, where people buy the puppies.
Working dogs and pedigee dogs have been all but destroyed by breeders, sad shadows of their ancestors, ridden with genetical deformities, bad hips, unable to breathe because of exeggerated flat nose, bulging eyes etc, to name just a few of the health problems that affect their lives. Even if they are healthy, they are stuck in back yards and lucky to get any exercise, let alone exercise that their breed needs and requires. 

I don't want to see the day when people would have to do a hip score on a greyhound. That would be the end of this amazing breed as we know it. And guess what? For show greyhounds overseas (non-racing ones), hip scores are ALREADY done. No surprise there. :( We have seen it all before, with other working breeds, who have been all but butchered on the hands of  breeders. 

Racing greyhound is beautifully bred for work, for solid confirmation  - hip scores do not even exist for racing greyhounds. They would make no sense; racing dogs are bred beautifully, to be solid and healthy. Genetic defects are bred out. This is the way it should be, for any dog breed.

As we all know, retired racing greyhounds make WONDERFUL pets for today's pet owners due to their nature, temperament and low exercise requirement - that is for me, the most important message. Sadly, the reporter on this show called them 'powerful beasts with huge prey drive -you would not want them running after you'. After SUCH description -who would want to adopt one?! What upsets me the most is that this biased reporter did not say ONE WORD about GAP and what lovely pets retired racers make. So sad - and so biased. I feel sorry for the reporter in some bizarre way -it must be awful to be that sort of a person.

But at the end of the day -we will race and love our doggies, both racing and retired ones. And at the end of the day, truth will prevail and publicity-seeking clowns and biased reporters will be exposed for what they are.
 
Greyhounds love to race - let them race. And then adopt a retired one x x x

Picture of the day

By Fatima | 0 comments

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It was a warm day in Wanganui today, and racing greyhound Blackie (Chemically Free) took some time to relax:

Meet Tino (Request Funding)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

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Tino (Request Funding) is a lovely dog, currently being fostered by us. His owner and trainer, GAP volunteer Anthony Stone, was kind enough to send me the following about Tino's time as Anthony's first and much-loved racing dog:

 

I have been involved with GAP for about 4 years now, firstly as a volunteer and currently as Area Co-ordinator for the Hutt Valley and always wondered what it was like on the “other side”; when I say the “other side” I mean greyhound racing. Sure I had seen lots of retired racers enjoying their life after racing, but what was it really like to own my own racing dog? 

About 18 months ago I got my owner trainers license and was on the hunt for a dog - shortly after I purchased Tino (Request Funding), a 32kg black and white boy owned by Tony Valentic and David Scott. Tino's trainers were Nathan and Angela Udy, and Hayden McCracken.

 

 

Tino had trialled at the racetrack a few times and was nearly ready for his first race.
On the 4^th of May 2011 Tino had his first race, I think he was a bit shell shocked at all the commotion and ended up coming 5^th, even so watching your very own dog race makes your heart pound, the speed, the power is amazing.
Tino continued to race regularly until the 3^rd of August 2012 till he retired due to an ongoing niggling minor injury. Altogether Tino had 55 races. Of these he won 9, came 2^nd four times and 3^rd five times, with prize money of $9,133.50

Tino relaxing in his kennel thinking about his next race!

Tino is not the only dog I have trained and raced, I also have Lucy (Ya Gunna) who I retired to the couch on the 18^th November 2011. Here she is with Tino:

Tino and Lucy

I thoroughly enjoy greyhound racing and am planning to breed a litter next time Lucy comes into season, this way I get to name my own racedogs! :)
 

 Anthony's daughter Samantha helped with handling and training Tino, and she wrote this about her special boy:

 Tino is a very special dog as he was our very first racing dog. He has been used to living in the lap of luxury -- as well as performing on the racetrack he lived in the house with us along with our pets. He was very easy to housetrain and he has never had an accident inside.

Tino is a lovely dog, who will fit well into a family. He is smart, cuddly, affectionate and extremely handsome. Tino will happily sleep all day on his bed while everything goes on around him. He’s a dream to walk on a lead and could even be walked around the block by me whilst I was on crutches (he’s just that easy). Tino would live happily as an only dog or with another dog as he is very social and loves to play. His favourite toy is his "Squeaky Mallard Duck" and he especially enjoys throwing it around and fetching it at the park.

I’ll be extremely happy to see him go to his forever home and the family who adopts this gorgeous boy will definitely have something special!"

Tino's a confident boy who loves walks and geting out and about

GAP Misses the Mark for Millie

By Fatima |

Thursday, October 4, 2012

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My name's Millie (Millie Swanson), and last week a good friend of mine, Horse (Whanganui), decided to try out pet life and entered GAP.

Me in my kennel next to Horse, wondering just how this was all going to play out...

He's kinda cute, so after a little consideration, I decided I'd go along too. Even though I knew I'd miss my mum (trainer Jen Harland) and all my friends at home.

Well, the kennel wasn't quite what I expected. I *did* meet a lot of hot guys, but none of them were interested in settling down. They were all WAY more excited about meeting their brand new families than they were about ME. Can you imagine???

Me, wondering just what a girl has to do to get some service around here...

I passed my test with flying colours (of course) and I even made friends with the cats. Although they were a little haughty, I thought Bailey might give me some shampoo tips… she's so soft! While my own coat's beautiful, I've been trying *forever* to find a conditioner that really, really works.

It was on day two that the reality of the situation set in. This was no day spa – I was here to be rehomed!! Naturally I didn't cry (who wants running mascara on her white face, hey?) but you have NO idea how relieved I was to be summoned to the office.

Irene's a great listener, but no-one can replace Mum!

The girls had news for me! My mum missed me so much, she'd asked for me back!
Naturally, I agreed immediately. I've heard many greyhounds find lovely new forever pet homes, and good luck to them, I say.

Don't worry Mum!! I'm already packed!

I caught a ride to Wanganui track with nice Fatima from GAP, and it didn't take me long to find Mum! Thanks, GAP, for a fun adventure. But for me – I'm staying home with Mum from now on.

Me and My Mum at Wanganui track

Back home with my best mate Bronze (Dreams of Vision).

Update from foster care: Sugar (Kaitoke Princess)

By Fatima |

Monday, October 1, 2012

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Beautiful Sugar :)

We just got an update from Janet and Tony from Lower Hutt, who are fostering gorgeous Sugar (Kaitoke Princess):
Sugar has been with us two weeks now and is the most graceful, gentle, beautiful dog. She will make someone a very gracious companion. The old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" doesn't apply to this lovely lady - she learnt in only a couple of days that the dining room and kitchen are out of bounds, she learned (or was reminded) very quickly that 'pulling' on the lead is a no no and she comes to her name. Our own greyhound Pluto is still a little put out about her presence, but they are great together and look absolutely gorgeous, walking shoulder to shoulder on their dual lead.
If ever a dog deserved "the best" home, this one does! :)

Smells good in the kitchen but I know I am not allowed :)
Sugar (standing up) and Pluto
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I am REALLY good at sharing!
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He loves me really :)
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....and how could he not?! Just look  how sweet I am :)

Meanwhile, at greyhound racing tracks....

By Fatima |

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)

By Fatima |

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

By Fatima | comments

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)

By Fatima |

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...

By Fatima |

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) :