by Warren Young, CPG
My wife and I adopted Petra in 2020, a beautiful black greyhound from Gumtree Greys. The first time we met her in her foster home, she was hiding in the corner of a bedroom, appearing very afraid. She had only been in foster care for 2½ weeks after being with a trainer in regional Victorian for about 5½ years.
I don’t know the details of her life for those years but do know that she was one of 11 dogs born to ex-racing parents. Of the 11 dogs, only three were named, suggesting that these three had some sort of racing career. Petra was one of the other eight dogs that were unnamed, which means she never made it to the track where the public could bet on her performance.
Did Petra get treated badly because she was of no financial value to her owners and trainers? Maybe she was just considered a nuisance.
I often wonder why she didn’t make it – was she too slow, unwilling to cooperate with the rigours of the training routine, or just too afraid? I wonder how long it took for her to be classed as unsuitable for racing. I wonder what her living conditions were like, over this time, what space she had to move in, whether she was socialised with people and other dogs, and what she was given to eat.
I wonder if the three dogs in her litter who did race were given special treatment because of their perceived value to their owners and trainers. Did they get more attention, caring and a better diet? Did Petra get treated badly because she was of no financial value to her owners and trainers? Maybe she was just considered a nuisance.
I wonder about these things because after about 1½ years of being in our home, she is still very timid and anxious. For example, she has never become de-sensitised to travelling in the car. After about 15 min of travel, she starts panting, sometimes shaking, and this is only slightly relieved by anti-anxiety medication. We have all learned to live with this, but probably the saddest thing was revealed recently when out two grown sons (25 and 28 years) visited our home for a couple of days.
Petra has met them before but was very uncomfortable with them being in the house. She found a corner in a room as far away as possible from where our sons were sitting, so she would feel safe. She sometimes shook and never came out to eat or drink. Although the boys were able to feed her some cheese, she continued to show fear of them during their visit. She has always been more scared of men than women, so maybe that’s related to her background being handled by male trainers.
Our experience with Petra makes me wonder how the thousands of dogs that never make it to the race track are treated.
How many get killed and how many others experience long standing fear and anxiety for the rest of their lives? Petra has definitely come a long way since we first adopted her, but I just can’t help thinking that her anxiety is result of being unwanted by the cruel racing industry.
While it’s obvious that Petra struggles in some ways, she has come a long way since we brought her home. We have some fantastic adventures walking in the bush and beaches. When she is with us she’s happy and getting more comfortable around other people. Dogs like Petra and so many others deserve the dignity of a name and to live a good life.
We’d like to hear your stories
The fate of greyhounds considered unsuitable for racing is often unknown. Some are discarded as puppies and some remain with their owners for many years. We do know many of them are unnamed as they are not considered companion animals.
As community-run rescues have found, these ‘unnamed’ dogs who are retained by racing participants can experience particular issues when being prepared for re-homing. Like all rescued greyhounds, they can also show great resilience and ability to embrace a new home and a new life. If you have adopted a greyhound who has never raced, CPG is very interested to hear your story. Please comment below or email us at [email protected].
I have two pet greyhounds, one that raced and one that didn’t.
Addy never raced. I adopted Addy three years ago from Brightside Farm Sanctuary. From what I was told Addy along with another greyhound had previously been adopted. Their people moved interstate, then for whatever reason dumped both greys at dog pound. Brightside only found out as the people who had adopted them had not bothered to change their microchip information. The pound wanted some background information on the dogs. Brightside brought the greyhounds back.
Addy was terrified of men when she first came to me. It was so bad that if a man was on the other side of the road she would freeze. If a man would try to approach she would pee herself. She also had horrible nightmares and believe me if you had seen them you would know the difference between these and dog dreams.
Addy’s original trainer is known for being hard on the greyhounds, pushing them to preform. Especially the greyhounds not showing promise.
Addy has come along way in the three years that she has been with me, but there are instances where something will trigger her fears.
Addy is a beautiful, sweet gentle girl and the light of my life as is Lucy my other greyhound.