Meet your purrfect greyhound
Christine Sheeran wasn’t sure if she was ready for a new greyhound after Ziggy died until she met Pearl, who cuddled up to Sheeran straight away.
“I still miss him so much. On my way here I said what I need is a little black girl because we would like her.”
Even Sheeran’s soon to be daughterin-law Charlotte Blackler’s heart was stolen by Pearl. Blackler said she wasn’t a dog person, but greyhounds are the big cats of dogs, and she loved Pearl immediately.
The happy meeting is a result of a speed dating event run by Greyhounds as Pets (GAP). The organisation helps rehome retired racing greyhounds but the purpose of the event was to help demystify some misconceptions about the breed.
The event was in full swing yesterday in Hamilton’s dog-friendly Rototuna bar The Keg Room. Owners Melissa Renwick, Andrew Pietersz and their dog Malt were happy to see the crowd.
Five greyhounds waited to be dated: Novak, Barbie, Ragsy, Pearl and Glen. While they spoke a language unintelligible to humans, their chaperones represented them.
Aman Sharma is the chaperone for Ragsy. Owning a 6-year-old greyhound himself, Sharma said he became a chaperone to spread awareness about how wonderful the dogs are.
Sharma said what a lot of people don’t know is that greyhounds are relatively low maintenance.
“They’re short-distance runners, not long-distance runners. What a lot of people don’t realise is that the greyhounds need mental stimulation, not just physical.”
While Sharma and his wife Hannah Robinson spent the day looking after greyhounds for GAP, their Tommy was happily sleeping on his favourite couch at home.
Many greyhound owners Waikato Times spoke to compared their greyhounds to an autistic child.
“You just have to be a little bit patient. They’re a little bit different. Like our boy Tommy, we've had him for two years and he still hasn't quite figured the stairs out yet. He takes on one step and he's like ‘uhhhhh’, and then he just jumps up the rest,” Sharma said.
But one owner said his Adobe Flame, who he adopted two years ago, has “healing powers” with cancer patients and autistic children. When she senses their difference, she would cuddle up to them and share her love, Craig Richmond said. Often after Adobe Flame spent a day with neurodiverse children, she would come home dressed in capes and crowns given to her.
Events and volunteer co-ordinator at GAP, Dawn Glover, said on average the organisation has about 15 greyhounds under its care in the upper North Island region, and it usually takes three months to find them a home.
Greyhounds are usually bred for racing which means they are healthy, and normally retire at the age from 3 to 6 years old. The dogs are vet-checked and vaccinated before sending them to rehome organisations.
The cost to adopt a greyhound is $450, and cheaper for those older than seven years old.