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The great greyhound problem 3

April 18th 2011 20:46

Well, alright, there are a few extra rules about living in a house, but I'll explain them as we go along and I promise you'll soon get the hang of it.

The Greyhound Adoption Program, or GAP, is an Australia-wide, non-profit organisation supported by Greyhound Racing Australia. It is dedicated to finding homes for greyhounds whose racing careers have ended. But it has a problem.

In this third of a three-part series written for Zoomies, JENNIE ALCORN continues her look at the biggest obstacle GAP faces in placing more dogs - the bottleneck caused by a shortage of foster carers.

...oOo...

As I said at the end of Part 2 of this series, I have now fostered more than 40 greyhounds, and I cannot think of one that I didn’t like.

Obviously, though, there have been favourites along the way: Amber, the most beautiful hound I’ve ever seen; Celeste, who let our crawling infant granddaughter cuddle up to her in her bed and didn’t move till the child awoke; Mr Tee, who loved a game of ball and was the perfect gentleman; Paul, a strikingly big black boy with perfect manners and the gentlest of natures; Rosco, full of fun and affection who now belongs to the residents of an aged-care facility in a country town and is loved by almost everyone in the town; Nanna Goose, who clowned her way through her foster period but was always quiet and gentle when the children were near her; Roman, a big boy with a decidedly noble roman nose who oozed personality, practically demanding cuddles from everyone he met; and sweet Kathy, who came to us after her original adoptive family were involved in a tragic accident, a sad little dog who took quite a while to adjust to her new life but who eventually became a delightfully affectionate creature with the sweetest nature of all. She now lives with an older lady, two small dogs and two cats and is utterly contented and thoroughly loved.

Of course though, the reality is that the present foster hound is always the favourite at the time. It is such fun watching their different personalities develop and seeing them discover the joys of pet life as they learn to play with toys and other dogs, enjoy the pleasures of sharing quiet time with me or my husband and experience the joys of car rides and walks down the street.

As the hound’s personality develops I report my findings to our coordinator, Angela, and she then starts to try to match it with the information she has from potential adopters. Once she has found a match we arrange for them to meet the dog. If all goes well (and I’ve never known that first meeting not to go well), we arrange a time for the adoption to go ahead. Sometimes the hounds are a little clingy at hand over, while some like Kathy fall instantly in love with their new owner and go without a backward glance. Sometimes I leave feeling elated, sometimes I am a little saddened to lose my beautiful foster hound, but always there is the excitement of looking forward to the next one, wondering what he or she will be like, and getting ready to start the process all over again.

Being a GAP foster carer is about giving, but it is also very much about receiving. It’s about wonderful memories, the deep satisfaction of helping dogs, and about knowing that you are touching, even enhancing, the lives of people.

...oOo...

Read Part 1 of this series here.
Read Part 2 of this series here

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Greyhound, Greyhound adoption programs, Pet issues

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The great greyhound problem 2

April 16th 2011 01:32

Well, alright, there are a few extra rules about living in a house, but I'll explain them as we go along and I promise you'll soon get the hang of it.

The Greyhound Adoption Program, or GAP, is an Australia-wide, non-profit organisation supported by Greyhound Racing Australia. It is dedicated to finding homes for greyhounds whose racing careers have ended. But it has a problem.

In this second of a three-part series written for Zoomies, JENNIE ALCORN continues her look at the biggest obstacle GAP faces in placing more dogs - the bottleneck caused by a shortage of foster carers.

...oOo...

The work of helping greyhounds adjust to being pets is rewarded by the pleasure they give as you learn about their different personalities and enjoy their company. There is also great satisfaction in watching them begin to blossom as they start to relax.

People often say to me, “Oh, I couldn’t give them up,” but giving them up is the best part of all! Watching the excitement of people meeting their new dog for the first time and listening to or seeing their joy when I talk to or meet them after they’ve adopted the dog is truly heart-warming. I carry the knowledge that I have brought that joy into people’s lives and I’ve done it doing something I love!

Another of the great advantages of fostering is that you can become a foster carer and therefore a dog “owner” on a limited income. GAP, through the sponsorship of Advance pet foods, provides a high-quality dry food for the foster hounds and covers any vet bills your foster hounds may incur. You also get a collar and lead and a warm jacket for the hounds, and they are not registered whilst they are foster dogs. You will have some costs you need to provide bones and other supplements to their diet, you will have to find bedding and mats for indoor and outdoor use and provide some toys, but the ongoing costs are far less than those of owning a dog.

In addition, very few foster carers commit to fostering throughout the year. If you travel a lot but would like to have a dog whilst you are at home this is the way to do it. If your work is somewhat seasonal, here’s the dog for you in your less busy times. If you like the idea of having a dog but don’t want a full-time commitment, fostering is a way to do it.

Be prepared to be fully committed to the hounds whilst they are with you, but once you have passed them on you can relax for a while until you feel ready to take on another one.

As part of my commitment to fostering greyhounds, I am a member of a rewards-based dog club, K-9 Connections, at Clare, South Australia, which teaches leadership rather than strict obedience. All the foster hounds go along to gain the experience of working alongside other dogs, both large and small, and to try to progress to the Dog and Cat Management Board obedient dog certificate. The club is enthusiastic in its support of GAP and two of the instructors and I give lessons in basic leadership for dogs to new GAP foster carers at Greyhound Racing SA’s headquarters once or twice a year.

I have now fostered more than 40 hounds and I cannot think of one that I didn’t like.

...oOo...

Read Part 1 of this series here.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Greyhound, Greyhound adoption programs, Pet issues

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The great greyhound problem 1

April 14th 2011 06:37

Well, alright, there are a few extra rules about living in a house, but I'll explain them as we go along and I promise you'll soon get the hang of it.

The Greyhound Adoption Program, or GAP, is an Australia-wide, non-profit organisation supported by Greyhound Racing Australia. It is dedicated to finding homes for greyhounds whose racing careers have ended. But it has a problem.

In a three-part series written for Zoomies, JENNIE ALCORN looks at the biggest obstacle GAP faces in placing more dogs - the bottleneck caused by a shortage of foster carers.

...oOo...

Racing greyhounds are no different from greyhounds which have spent their lives snoozing on sofas or in sunny corners of suburban back yards. All greyhounds are gentle – possibly the gentlest of all dog breeds – as well as intelligent and loving.

So when Australia’s Greyhound Adoption Program (and equivalent groups around the world) work to transition a retired racing greyhound into a domestic pet, personality is not a problem.

Neither is the problem finding sufficient trainers putting their dogs into the GAP program, or sufficient people willing to adopt a retired racer. The problem is the middle step – foster carers willing to take dogs for a few weeks and oversee the transition.

Racing greyhounds have a very different upbringing to that of a pet dog. They are trained to race, a task they enjoy, by people who respect them, but they are not taught about houses or about walking quietly down a suburban street or about being alone for long periods of time.

They are used to strict routines and a highly regulated lifestyle that makes it difficult for them to adjust to the disorder of family life. In addition they live alongside other greyhounds (each in his or her individual kennel), not with a mixture of other dogs, so their doggy manners are often lacking. Their curiosity about other breeds, coupled with this lack of manners, sometimes requires strong leadership skills from the foster carer.

A racing greyhound is not used to stairs or glass doors, finds walking on slippery floors a challenge and is bemused by televisions, vacuum cleaners and mirrors. They will probably think food left on tables (which are just the right height for greyhound inspection) is for them to eat and that sofas and beds are for them to sleep on.

Foster carers need to set clear guidelines for their foster hounds so the adopting owners have a strong base from which to set their own rules. Gently, but firmly, we guide each greyhound through the minefield of experiences it must cope with as it learns about a new way of life.

It rarely takes more than six weeks for a hound to learn the basics of life as a house pet. During this time it will be de-sexed, vaccinated and health-checked, and it must pass a personality test to ensure that it will walk quietly on the lead, is friendly towards small dogs and that a stranger can touch its food whilst it eats.

The problem for GAP is that not enough people are prepared to take a succession of strange dogs into their homes. The trainers are keen to place their dogs with GAP and there are enough people ready to adopt them, but not enough foster homes are available.

As a foster carer, you need to have a degree of patience as the hounds adjust to their new lives and you need to be able to provide firm but gentle leadership. However, it’s not as hard as you might think. They have been taught, for example, to be kennel clean, so it is rare for a foster dog to mess inside the house.

Greyhounds are sensitive and cannot handle harsh discipline, especially not in the huge upheaval they are going through as they become pet dogs.

On the other hand, they are intelligent animals and keen to please, so it doesn’t take long for them to learn about home life.

Fostering greyhounds is fun. You get to work with an industry that really cares about the animals it works with - GAP would not exist without the financial and caring support of Greyhound Racing Australia, and you are working with dogs whose trainers have shown them care and clear leadership all their lives so you don’t have the behavioural issues often associated with dogs from shelters.

...oOo...

Read Part 2 of this series here.

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