The Greyhound Collective

Sometimes I almost have to pinch myself just to confirm that I'm not dreaming. Not only do I own two of the most gentle, cutest and loveable dogs in the known universe, but I also get to spend time on one of the best Facebook pages Mark Zuckerberg has probably never heard of.

Im talking about the Greyhound collective.

It is where greyhound owners from New Zealand, Australia and a growing number of other overseas locations hang out to share silly pictures of their hounds , giving advice, support and having a giggle.

Its a non political forum. No one talks about racing - or the anti-racing lobby. The hounds are front and centre and it works like a charm.

A while back an adorable hound call Will was seriously ill and needed a series of life saving operations. His owners were hit massive vet bills. The greyhound collective swung into action.

Raffles, fund raisers, donations and a hep of other bits and bobs saw a huge number of people helping Wills owners who they'd never met.

It was a truly heart warming sight and is something that happens with startling regularity on the collective.

Last year I wrote about Tiny and how he'd gone missing. What I didn't say was that of the huge number of people out looking for him, most were drawn from the Greyhound collective.

You see, the Collective just that sort of place.

If you own a greyhound, you can ask to join. The only rules involve no politics and treating other members with respect and politeness.
  

Good news and not so good news

Huge news. the governor of the Australian state of New South Wales has announced that Greyhound racing will be banned based on the findings of an 800-page report tabled by a Special Commission into "widespread cruelty" in the industry. The last greyhound meetings are to be held on June 30 next year after what the NSW government said will be an "orderly industry shutdown".

The report makes foe harrowing reading and found that a whopping 48,000 to 68,000 greyhounds - or almost half of all greyhounds bred to race in NSW were killed in the past 12 years because they were uncompetitive.

Greyhound racing has been in a state of gradual decline for some time and feelings amongst greyhound owners tend to run high when racing is discussed, with one side pro racing and the other anti.

The end of greyhound racing may well recieved news to those who are anti-racing, but major short term headaches still exist and the NSW premier needs to provide clarification as to what plans the state government has in place to ensure that tens of thousands of dogs are not slaughtered now that they cannot earn a living for trainers.


While I wondered if Greyhounds as Pets (GAP) NZ could somehow help, the NSW news is going to create massive logistical problems that are just far to big for NZ to make more than a tiny difference. Either way the NSW news is likely to have huge animal welfare implications.


Gap NZ typically aim to adopt 300-400 hounds a year. There are arleady a huge number of hounds in NZ looking for homes. Even if Gap NZ was to take a years worth of hounds out of NSW, it'd barely make a difference. Worse still, it'd mean many hounds in NZ already looking to be adopted will have an even longer wait. 


Sadly there are no easy answers to this perplexing issue. Most trainers simply cannot afford to keep the dozens of dogs they own if they are unable to pay their way at the track. It is also unlikely that the Australian public can adopt all the dogs likely to be displaced by the shut down. Thousands of dogs will probably the euthanised.


Clearly the NSW government needs to outline what they think is an orderly shut down of the industry and how they plan to avoid such massive slaughter of innocent dogs.


Given Australia's human rights record of recent years and the shambolic state of their politics any enlightened yet costly initiatives are unlikely to happen. 


Perhaps a smarter option would have been to phase out racing over a 10 year period so what dogs could be humanely re-homed.  I just hope that the NZ industry and government is watching and taking learnings from what looks set to be nothing short of a horrific slow motion train-wreck  that'll once again see innocent dogs paying the ultimate price for human folly.


If you are an australian greyhound owner, write to your local media and state MP. Put pressure on them to clarify how there will be an orderly shut down and what is going to be done to avoid slaughter on such a massive scale. 


While the logistics of GAP NZ getting actively involved in re-homing NSW hounds makes any such initiative impossible, I fervently hope that GAP NZ offers to provide marketing and Pr resources to help drive up awareness of the plight of these gentle animals....

Update

Yesterdays news weighed heavily on my mind so I decided to do some research. here's a few numbers just to give you an idea of the sheer scale of the issue:

Between 2010 and 2015 a whopping 38,524 greyhound puppies were whelped in NSW. approximately 66% of these are raced. I've been unable to find the number of hounds re-homed in NSW, but I estimate that around 2,450 were probably adopted through GAP NSW (the actual number could be a lot lower than this)...

This means that there's at least 36,000 greyhounds needing a home real soon. I don't know what the cost per hound is for welfare, nor do I know what the NSW state govt is putting up to help these dogs.

I am however very very worried for these poor animals.

The other side of the issue is that a huge number of legit trainers and owners who have done no wrong will also probably hit the wall financially once the ban is put in place.....

WTF???

Every once and a while I read an animal welfare story that saddens me beyond belief.

This week it is the story of Chip, a tiny puppy that was dumped in a garbage bin. Thankfully he was discovered and rescued.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this is a happy ending and that Chip had a long and happy life ahead of him.

Sadly that probably isn't going to happen. Chip will probably die needlessly.

Despite the fact that the person who found chip (and several others) had asked to adopt him, Auckland City Council Animal Control have decided that they will most probably euthanise chip.

Their reason - Chip could be a pitbull.

I don't know about you but I'm outraged by this decision in more ways than I can count.

For a start, Chip may have classic pitbull characteristics (muscular jaws, stocky build etc), but that doesn't mean he is a pitbull. It appears that No genetic testing has been done and this life or death decision is being made purely on a subjective whim. That is simply not good enough.

Putting dogs down because they are a certain breed is shameful. We wouldn't do this humans (we were outraged when the nazi's did it back in WW2) so why are we doing it to defenseless dogs such as Chip? Besides it isn't the dog that is the issue it is human ignorance that is the real problem.

Adding further insult to injury, it turns out that Chip has had numerous offers of adoption. That's right, this entire problem already has a solution that doesn't involve the senseless killing of a puppy.

But he might be a pitbull.

so fucking what!

Pitbulls need a special type of owner who understands the breed and can look after them responsibly.

Sadly New Zealands Animal control units (who are chronically underfunded and stretched) are hamstrung by idiotic council and poorly thought through council bylaws such is the one being used as an excuse to kill Chip, even though he has a perfectly good home on offer from several experienced dog owners.

Perhaps it is time that New Zealand's abysmal animal welfare laws were given a shot in the arm. Here's what I propose:

1) Penalise the owners/breeders, not the dog. Pitbull's can do a lot of damage to a human, and there are plenty of stories of this happening in the media. What isn't talked about so often is the sad fact that people who don't have a clue about these dogs and their unique needs tend to end up owning them.  For every pitbull attack that has happened, there is usually a human being who has abdicated responsibility and who will more often than not, just go buy another dog. These people need to be held to account and more importantly educated

2) Educate, educate and educate. We have preferential owner status which equates to a discount registration fees. It seems like a good idea and a smart way to encourage responsible dog ownership. Trouble is so many people buy a cute little puppy like chip and then discover after the fact that owning a dog involves some hard (but worthwhile) work. That is why so many dogs like Chip get dumped and suffer horribly.

Surely discounting registration fees for humans who have taken their puppies to recognised and certified canine obedience classes and passed  makes a tonne of sense. These classes are more about teaching human dumb-asses about their dogs than actual dog training. People who know what they are doing with a dog and who can correctly respond to a dogs needs are far less likely to have problem dogs.

Education should also being aimed at intending dog adopters. Too many people adopt a dog with zero knowledge about what is involved too many buy from puppy mills instead of adopting. Matching the right breed to peoples lifestyles and informing them about what is involved in having a new dog/puppy BEFORE any adoptions happen could save a lot of grief for both dogs and humans.

Similarly, educating kids and parents about how to approach a dog - simple things like asking the owner "can I pat your dog" before rushing up could also significantly reduce the number of dog attacks.

3) Strengthen Animal Welfare Laws. At the moment animal abusers who are caught get the equivalent of a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket. Even though they have often inflicted horrific injuries onto a defenseless animal. The current legal framework leaves courts largely powerless and limits penalties to a fine and an unenforceable ban on owning pets. That we can send people to jail for smoking pot and let people with brutality against animals is repugnant. Animal abusers, and irresponsible owners need to be held accountable. Then there is the fact hat FBI profilers have found a huge correlation between animal abusers and murderers/violent criminals....

There is no such thing as a perfect solution, but the existing situation borders on insanity. It should be a source of shame for all New Zealanders with a conscience. Should they be applied, these three solutions could dramatically reduce the amount of animal related crime in New Zealand, saving councils a packet in enforcement costs....

If you want to let the Auckland City Council animal control unit know of your disgust at what is being proposed for Chip, there is a petition. Please sign it. It can be found at https://www.change.org/p/auckland-council-savechip please encourage everyone you know to also sign it

UPDATE: Not long after this was written the sad news came out that Chip was euthanised. A council spokesperson said Chip was seriously ill and the decision was made. Without wanting to sound like a total conspiracy nutcase, I find it a little convenient that Chip was removed from the equation and that the council so deftly side-stepped the issue of dog policies founded on ignorance.

Its the humans stupid!

Nightly walks are a regular ritual. At the end of each day as light begins to fade Lottie (AKA the inskerator) and Bomber (AKA Tinklebertwoofledink) demand a walk. Who are we to refuse. Come rain or sun, a walk is had.

Several nights ago we were out on our neighbourhood stroll when we noticed a particularly vocal dog going nuts. It looked like it was fenced it so the hounds and us ignored and went to continue on our way.

Then the dog barrelled across to the street heckles and tail up, barking like a mad thing. It got to within 3 feet of Lottie and Bomber who both told it off in no uncertain terms.

The dog kept its distance, which by then meant it was out on the street. 

It was dark and a taxi was coming. The dog wouldn't let me near it and the taxi smartly swerved to avoid it.

Heart in mouth I coaxed the dog back to its property. A neighbour to the dogs property heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening

"Oh its him, he lives there, yes this happens all the time she explained"

With my wife waiting on the street holding Lottie and Bombers lead, I gradually got the dog to follow me by calling it in an as friendly as possible voice. Several snaps were made at my hands but it eventually worked out that I was going to take it home so it started to relax.

Sadly no one was home. It appeared that all that was keeping this dog in the property was a small 1.5 metre tall gate that the dog was obviously jumping over.

Making matters worse, the dogs collar had no tags with contact details for its owners.

The whole situation was worrying on more levels than I can count. 

For a start, this dog's behaviour towards us and our hounds indicated that it had obviously not been very well socialised. It is only probably a matter of time before it injures or kills another animal on the street. If not an animal, then there is a good chance that it'll maul a child or elderly person who doesn't know how to respond when confronted with an aggressive dog. 

That the dog can get out so easily has escaped the attentions of its owners, who may be totally unaware of the ease with which this pooch can escape.

While the street isn't particularly busy, there is some traffic and it was only good luck that the dog didn't become road kill when confronting us.

We've since gone back and walked past the house in the evening, hoping there'd be someone home who we could talk to. Sadly no one was - this was at least 7pm - the poor animal has been left alone for at least 10-12 hours. No wonder it is so pissed off.

Fixing the property so it is escape proof or other options like enrolling the dog in doggy day care are easy to explore and could see a terrible situation averted. The owners house is in one of the most expensive suburbs in my town, so I'd be surprised if they cant afford either of these two options.

   

A giant has fallen

Losing someone you love is incredibly painful. 

When that someone is an incredibly expressive giant greyhound Scooby do clone who has given you their unconditional love with no holds barred it must be near unbearable. 

Today Tiny (who I’d written about in the past) crossed the rainbow bridge.

Greyhounds are pretty healthy animals but like other large dogs they are susceptible to osteosarcoma or bone cancer. 

Sadly this is what Tiny was diagnosed with. Tiny wasn’t a small hound, in fact he was the biggest (50Kg) who ever raced in New Zealand. He also had a big heart too. Everyone who met him instantly fell under his spell the moment they locked eyes with his gentle gaze.

It is incredibly hard to know what to say to someone when they lose a much loved pet. We’ve had two pets pass and each time a part of me died with them. Even though the pain gradually becomes less unbearable, it never goes away. That is a price I’m willing to pay and is a very small cost given the love, laughter and smiles we’d had with our pets over the years.

Reading about Tiny’s  passing on Facebook I was momentarily  stuck for something to say that didn’t sound trite. I think after meeting Chris at Tiny’s recent get together it was very clear how much she loved Tiny and how he adored her in equal measures. That is such a very special thing indeed.

Tiny may have crossed the rainbow bridge, but the memories of this affectionate and gentle giant who touched so many peoples lives will live on and my thoughts are with both Chris and family. 

The good and the bad

As a greyhound owner in New Zealand, I belong to a facebook group called the Greyhound collective. In the group, Greyhound owners can seek advice, help each other and share photos of their hounds.

It's an amazing place that's put me in touch with some truly amazing people. The real depth of the community on the collective can be incredible sometimes. Last week the ironically named Tiny, (a greyhound who at 50Kg, is anything but tiny) got spooked by some kids letting off fireworks in a park and bolted.

Tiny's distraught owners posted on the collective, letting other hound owners know to keep an eye out for their wayward hound. Reading their post my heart was in my mouth. We'd had our first dog, a miniature dachshund called Monty, escape and go missing for 6 long horrifying days.

Reading their post that night, I remembered how utterly horrific a lost dog can be and promised myself that in the morning I'd get out and have a good look for Tiny too. That morning I posted that I was going to get out and have a search and to my delight several others agreed to help.

The area where Tiny had been spooked was large and bordered by hills covered in dense bush. If Tiny wanted to stay hidden, eh;d be pretty hard to find. Wandering around we called out for Tiny (who we never saw). What we did see were others from the collective also looking for Tiny.

After heading home depressed and tired at my lack of success, I checked the collective for any more updates on Tiny and was amazed to see that he'd been found by another amazing collective member who'd been with me looking and had gone back 4 times just in case.

The whole saga has shown me that people can be incredibly decent. No one hesitated to chip in and help a Greyhound owner who needed help. The level of support from other Greyhound owners was nothing short of astonishing.

While the greyhound collective showcases the very best in people, facebook sadly also highlights the other end of the spectrum.

BassGalgo a Spanish based charity that rescues Galgos (the Spanish equivalent of greyhounds) posted an alarming photo of a Galgo that'd been chained to a fence in a carpark and left to starve. The poor Galgo is horribly emaciated but survived but has thankfully been rescued.

Incredibly Spanish hunters who use Galgos during the hunting season seem to think that it's ok to abandon these dogs by tying up in a remote location where they'll endure dehydration and starvation. Its a cruel and sickening way to treat an animal who has shown its owner nothing but loyalty. It needs to be stopped.

Amazingly there seems to be little being done to stop this horrendous practice from happening at the end of each hunting season, and the Brits and Germans who flood into Spain each summer remain blissfully unaware of the horrors being inflicted on these gentle and trusting animals.

Perhaps if the media picked up on these stories and educated tourists, the Spanish Government might be forced to get off its ineffectual behind and craft laws to prevent these sickening acts from happening.

Meanwhile if you want to help, donations can be made to http://galgosdelsol.org/ or www.baasgalgo.com. With the hunting season drawing to a close in Spain, they could really do with your help.

Time for some sanity around fireworks?

It’s almost that time of year when New Zealand is gripped with the pyrotechnic insanity that is Guy Fawkes.

It’s something that puts dread into the hearts of many a pet owner, exhausts animal shelters as well as fire services and yet bizarrely it goes ahead each year like clockwork.

Calling for a ban attracts cries of “don’t spoil our fun” from people who you’d charitably say weren’t aware of the mayhem and harm caused. The more cynical amongst us could also say that these people lacked empathy, simply don’t care and were too self involved to give a  damn.

Amazingly many of the people who are pro fireworks were amongst the first to express their anger at the shooting massacres in the US, smugly proclaiming that this sort of thing hardly ever happens in NZ as we have decent gun control laws.

Yet the reality is that for one week a year in NZ it is perfectly legal to sell a box of low power explosives and pyrotechnic devices to almost any consenting adult who’ll buy them. Making matters worse, many less scrupulous retailers are also happy to sell them to kids weeks before Guy Fawkes.

The parallels between the US gun law controversy and fireworks in NZ are eerily similar. A few crazed lunatics go on a shooting spree and responsible gun owners fear getting penalised. Sadly it’s the few bad apples in New Zealand that seem to go stupid with fireworks who are ruining it for the rest who enjoy fireworks every November.

Then there’s the pro gun people who argue that in the US it is their constitutional right to bear arms, regardless of how many kids are killed in each monthly shooting massacre. In New Zealand it is mostly pets and animals that cop the brunt of our crazy fireworks laws, yet some still feel compelled to argue that do-gooders are “ruining their fun”.  

This needn’t be the case. Banning the sale of fireworks to the general public and instead investing in professional fireworks displays managed by trained professionals could see a lot of damage, injury and heartache ended while people still got to enjoy far better fireworks than the box of 30 second fizzers sold each year.

Meanwhile, back in 2015, its already too late. We’re now two weeks away from Guy Fawkes yet we already have the first animal casualty. 

Tiny, a gentle and friendly greyhound was spooked by fireworks being set off at a park by kids - even though Guy Fawkes is still a fortnight away. At the time of writing Tiny has yet to be found and groups of greyhound owners are out searching.

I don’t know about you, but I find it bizarre that New Zealanders feel compelled to celebrate events that took place hundreds of years ago in a country on the other side of the world. You’d think that for all the clamour surrounding getting rid of the Union Jack off our flag,we’d feel a tad inclined to drop what is essentially a UK centric event that has little if not no relevance to New Zealand.

 Last year a petition made it to the Government asking for an end to the sale of fireworks to the general public. Sadly the Government referred it to a select committee who rejected the petition, ignoring 25,000 signatures as well as the phenomenal amount of damage done to property and injuries to animals/kids by fireworks over the years.

The select committee chair, Ruth Dyson said that  she believes that most people act responsibly and enforcing a ban would be tough on police. Well I guess poor Tiny must have encountered two irresponsible people who purchased fireworks from an irresponsible retailer. As for her comment about the Police, they are already doing a tough job, Boo bloody hoo.

Here’s the rub. If the ban did go ahead and even if that meant the life of one animal was saved, or one house was prevented from burn down, then that’s a massively positive outcome. Taking Dyson's comments to their logical extreme, we might as well give up on doing anything because it might be too tough. Perhaps New Zealand needs to grow a pair, especially when a simple and sane solution is within easy reach.

P.S. Several hours after this post was written, Tiny was found and returned home. Ain't happy endings just the best thing ever?