Halfway home for retired hounds
A halfway house near Picton is helping retired greyhounds on their journey from kennel to couch.
Te Paranui, a permaculture homestead between Blenheim and Picton, has been fostering greyhounds, helping them adjust to pet life on their way to a permanent home, for the past two years.
On average, greyhounds retire from the track at 4 years old.
While there are two adoption agencies working to find homes for hounds, last year a review of greyhound racing in New Zealand revealed more than 1440 dogs were euthanised over four years. The report also found that about 1300 dogs were unaccounted for.
Te Paranui Permaculture Homestead founder ‘‘Maia’’ Andrea Bahlsen said greyhounds were laid-back animals and did not demand much attention but the ‘‘wind down’’ period from kennel to couch was helpful for both the dog and the new owner.
‘‘They don’t know pet life, they come from kennels, they are handled to perform.
‘‘They might get a massage every day, because they are very valuable these dogs, but they still live in kennels, they still don’t go inside, they don’t know a couch and they definitely don’t know how to smooch with a human in front of TV.’’
Bahlsen has adopted four greyhounds over the years and fosters up to three at a time.
The dogs make their way to Marlborough through Nightrave Greyhounds, a rehoming agency supported by Greyhound Racing NZ.
Te Paranui also runs a community group, Hounds4Life, that allows greyhounds and their owners to socialise and use the racing track and paddocks at Te Paranui.
Hounds4Life president Steve Austin adopted his ‘‘former champion, celebrity greyhound’’ Blitzy four years ago.
‘‘He had a very successful racing career, and now has 132 friends on Facebook,’’ Austin said.
‘‘We set up a Facebook page because it’s a way that he can be in touch with his former trainers and exercise all the other people in his life . . . we wanted to show the people who were part of his early life, what his new life is like.
‘‘I knew that I worked so much that I didn’t have time to train a small puppy . . . so actually a mature dog that had been well cared for and came with a good CV was really going to be my best option.’’ He raced under the name ‘‘Thrilling Blitz’’ and retired at 4 years old.
Nightrave Greyhounds director Rachel Rae said it was great for greyhounds to experience living in different environments on their way to new homes.
Rae said the foster period, which can vary from weeks to months, gave the dogs more oneon-one attention and time to understand its personality and find a family to match.
Nightrave, based in Feilding, currently has 35 dogs which need homes. Nightrave started in 2013, and in 2016 Greyhound Racing NZ opted to support it financially.