For some time now I have felt as if I should – and could – be doing more for greyhounds. Yes, I know I have already adopted a small herd of them but because you’re aware of the scale of the problem facing greys, you invariably feel that it is never enough. Before we moved to our present house, I went regularly to our local Retired Greyhound Trust branch and helped with mucking out, walking, home checking and dog delivery and derived an enormous sense of satisfaction from my efforts. A day at the kennels was so much better than four days at work and I was lucky enough to see many of the hounds that I had befriended go off to their forever home (my home, in Monty's case!). With no branch really near enough now, I have instead offered my services to Greyhound Gap, a superb charity that coordinates the efforts of ‘freelance’ volunteers all over the country. They specialise in getting greyhounds and lurchers out of dog pounds where they are under 7-day PTS (Put to Sleep) notices, and moving them either to kennels or foster parents as a stepping stone to permanent adoption. I’m not sure I’ll be doing too much fostering (seems a bit unfair on the foster-ee to have to cope with my lot) but I’ll certainly be happy to help with the regular transport requests that are posted on the forum. Of course, A thinks that I won’t be able to resist and will want to bring them all home with me...that’s him in the shed then.
25 July 2008
A gap in my life
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3 comments:
Oh no, you've just activated my "I need more greyhounds" hormone! I'm looking around the house thinking 'I'm sure we could fit another six in here' (won't comment on the boat which is pretty full).
I've thought about fostering but I'm not sure whether I'd be able to say 'goodbye' to them when they found a new home - I am rather possessive!
You're doing a great thing in supporting this charity - the waste of life when healthy dogs are put down makes me feel quite ill.
Sue, Indigo Dream
Your postings re Greys have certainly made me think about their plight. I really do not intend to add to my brood just as we are off to live on Caxton but I will certainly consider offering a home to a Grey or two when back on land or if anything were to happen to Fletcher and Floyd - God forbid. I hope that people reading Dogs on Tour will also think about offering sanctuary to a Greyhound - many have rescue dogs I know. Well done you for the help you are offering these lovely dogs.
Nb Caxton
We can but hope that more and more greys find their forever home. For every bastard out there who discards them and brutalises them, there is a wonderful person with a big heart ready to change a grey's life forever. There's a saying in grey circles - "Adopting just one Greyhound won't change the world, but the world will surely change for that one Greyhound." Amen to that.
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