GET A GREYHOUND
While you may think owning a greyhound is like living with a bundle of energy, you’re more likely to find it asleep than doing anything else.
And that’s exactly what makes the dogs the ideal pet for any family, says Denis Putt, an area coordinator for Greyhounds as Pets New Zealand.
Putt said around 300 greyhounds a year are adopted in New Zealand. ‘‘They’re really lazy, real low energy dogs. They lie around 80 per cent of the time, but they’re always up for a walk even if they don’t need it.’’
Putt said the dogs usually only required a 20 minute walk twice a day, but some don’t even need that much.
To encourage more people to give the dogs a home, on Saturday adopted greyhounds Seal, Zed, Evie, Pascha, Jenny and Lucy were at New Plymouth’s Huatoki Plaza market to meet shoppers.
‘‘We go to a few events during the year and we got invited to the markets so it was a chance to take a few adopted greyhounds out to meet the public,’’ Putt said
‘‘They’re always a hit with the kids, they always come over, we tell them they can’t let go of the dog till the dog tells them to stop.’’
Putt said there had been a resurgence of people wanting to adopt greyhounds of late and a few more had expressed interest at the event.
‘‘We have five adoptions underway in Taranaki at the moment,’’ he said. ‘‘Some have been adopted into apartments and some on to farms so they work well with anyone.
‘‘We’ve even had two 80-yearolds who have adopted them as well.’’
Despite their size Putt said they didn’t eat much when compared to other dogs. ‘‘They’re not overly huge eaters but you have to remember they are a big dog. A fat greyhound doesn’t look good.’’
When asked why people should adopt a greyhound instead of a kitten or a puppy Putt replied ‘‘Having a greyhound is like having a big kitten anyway.’’