By Jordan Gerrans
Leah Kellaway is looking forward to educating the public on how great a pet a retired greyhound can be when the Greyhound Adoption Program throws its doors open later this month.
GAP are inviting families who are interested in bringing a retired greyhound into their home to visit their South East Queensland facility at Churchable on Saturday, April 30 for their open day.
The open day is part of the National Greyhound Adoption Month where GAP programs around the country promote the benefits of owning a retired racing greyhound.
Operations manager for the GAP in Queensland, Kellaway, believes opportunities like their annual open day provides a chance to inform people about the benefits of having a former race dog as a pet.
“We love it, we throw open our doors and showcase what we do,” Kellaway said.
“The public can walk through our kennels and ask us lots of questions, meet the dogs, talk about the adoption process and basically learn about what we do here to prepare the dogs for their homes.
“It is about people being aware of how fantastic greyhounds are as pets, hopefully people can come out here and see what we do and find out how greyhounds can fit into their family.”
Kellaway says 17 groups of people have booked in to attend the open day next Saturday afternoon with applications still open for anyone interested.
The open day will include showcasing the GAP learning space, veterinary surgery, the kennels and the free run space, while the GAP team will be available to answer questions about the adoption and foster process, general greyhound behaviour and understanding their medical needs.
“Often the dogs are raised in kennels, so they’re generally quite clean,” Kellaway said.
“They can be a beautiful addition to a family.
“We have adopted to young families, we have adopted to apartment homes, we have even adopted to people who are training to do marathons.
“If you want something in particular, jump on and ask us and we will find it for you.”
Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Shane Gillard said this year’s Greyhound National Adoption Day will be a great opportunity for potential new greyhound pet owners to explore the facility and meet greyhounds available for adoption.
“We encourage potential new owners to apply on the GAP website as pre-approved applicants will be able to meet and take home their greyhound on the day,” Gillard said.
“This year we have asked attendees to register for a free ticket and on Saturday 30 April they will have the chance to meet the GAP staff, tour the facility and receive individual attention as they adopt their greyhound.
“When matching our greyhounds to families, the team considers several factors including a family’s lifestyle, regular activities, children, other pets and the home environment.
“GAP Queensland works with the Greyhound Racing industry to rehome as many retired canine athletes as possible as a key QRIC animal welfare initiative.”
The GAP program are hoping to adopt as many greyhounds as possible throughout April.
Potential adopters are encouraged to visit the GAP website to see which dogs are available for adoption.
Open Day attendees must register for a free ticket.
For more information and to register contact the GAP team on 1300 087 021 or visit the events page on GAP website.