Greyhounds As Pets Seymour

Greyhounds As Pets Seymour

The Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) is the most well known of GRV’s initiatives aimed at finding loving family homes for greyhounds who have retired from the racetrack.

GAP operates out of a purpose built facility located 90 minutes north of Melbourne’s CBD in the town of Seymour, but to make getting your greyhound into the program easier, GAP conducts regular off-site testing days at a number of tracks around Victoria.

Greyhounds that are adopted via the GAP program undergo a thorough temperament assessment to ensure that they are safe around small dogs and that they are safe to go un-muzzled in public with a novice pet owner. Some greyhounds that enter the program will also undergo a period of foster care prior to adoption. During the foster period, volunteers located across Victoria offer their homes and their time to assist the greyhounds with their transition from the track and life in a kennel environment to life in a family home. Our award winning, Prison Pet Partnership, also sees inmates at two of Victoria’s minimum security prisons act as foster carers, with the greyhounds living on-site for 6 weeks whilst they undergo training and socialisation.

Once a greyhound is ready for adoption, they are carefully matched with a potential home – with staff aiming to maximise the chances of a successful adoption. Staff assess a potential adopter’s expectations, lifestyle and requirements, including whether or not they already have other pets. Adopters are then paired with a greyhound that is most likely to meet their expectations. As not all greyhounds are cat-tolerant, there can sometimes be a wait for those adopters that have pet cats.

The Victoria Government recently changed the laws requiring greyhounds to be muzzled in public. Effective 1 January 2019, all greyhound pet owners in Victoria can choose to walk their greyhounds in public without a muzzle. (Note: greyhounds are still required to be on a lead at all times.) Prior to this, only greyhounds who had successfully passed the Greyhound Adoption Program and were wearing a GAP Green Collar were permitted to be in public muzzle free.

GAP will continue to have green collar assessments on all greyhounds available for adoption through the program and will provide a special GAP Green Collar to show the greyhound has successfully passed the program.

Racing greyhound owners are expected to plan the ‘end of career’ options for their greyhounds. It may be that you plan to keep your greyhound as a pet yourself or may have family members who are interested in providing your greyhound with a ‘forever’ home. If this is not an option for you, then will need to contact GRV to book a GAP pre-entry assessment.