Greyhounds As Pets is an independent charitable trust established by
Greyhound Racing New Zealand to find pet homes for greyhounds which are no
longer able to race.
Since
the launch of the GAP programme in March 2006 over 300 Greyhounds have hung up
their racing vests and retired to the life of a couch
potato.
Adoption information
Congratulations! You’ve decided to adopt a greyhound, now how do you
go about getting one?!
Application form
The first step to finding your ideal companion is to complete
an application form. You can download from our website or we can send you one in
the post.
On receipt of your form we will contact you to discuss your
situation and preferences, and whether you would like to indoor train your
greyhound yourself. We will then be able to give you an idea of which greyhounds
may be suitable or whether you may need to wait before being matched with your
ideal greyhound. We will also discuss arrangements for your home
check.
Home check
It is GAP policy to complete a home check
on all prospective homes. We will arrange for a volunteer who is experienced in
greyhound ownership to come and visit you in your home. During their visit they
will complete our standard home check questionnaire and check your fencing. Many
of our volunteers will also bring their own greyhound with them for you to
meet.
The purpose of the home check is to ensure all our greyhounds have
a safe, warm and comfortable home to go to and an owner who will love them
regardless of any mistakes they may make and provide appropriate food and
exercise for them.
We want you and your greyhound to be happy together!
So if you have any concerns this is the best time to let us
know.
Finding your ideal companion
With the information
from your application form and the home check questionnaire we can now set about
finding your ideal companion. We find this objective approach works really well
as when visiting the kennel prospective owners can often fall for the dog with
the most appealing eyes! However if you do have another dog in the family then
it can be a good idea for them to come and meet their future playmate. For many
people this will not be practical and in this case giving us lots of information
about your current pets will help enormously.
Depending on your
situation we may have a selection of greyhounds available and ready to adopt, if
your criteria are more demanding you may have to wait a little longer. Please
note we do have a lot of applications from people with cats and while we do have
greyhounds which will live happily with cats there is normally a waiting list
for them.
Transport
When you have found your chosen
companion you can either pick up your greyhound from our kennels in Sanson or if
you live further away we can help arrange their transport to a location in your
area. If one of our volunteers has helped with transporting your greyhound to
your home we'd be grateful if you would help with their petrol
costs.
Administration
On adoption you are required to sign
our Adoption Agreement and pay a $380 adoption fee (for applications received
after 1 April 2009). This fee only partly defrays the costs of rehoming a
greyhound – additional donations are always welcome!
Each greyhound will
come with their Pet Passport which includes details of their vaccinations and
de-sexing, their microchip certificate and dog registration tag. They will also
have their wire racing muzzle which we recommend you use in any new situation
where you are unsure how your greyhound may react – it is not however for long
term use!
Trainer Information
Give
your dogs the retirement they deserve.
Placing a greyhound with GAP
If
you wish to enter a greyhound into the programme please contact us in the first
instance for an indication of when we will have space available. Please bear in
mind that the number of dogs going through the programme is dependant not only
on the number of permanent homes available but also the number of foster homes
we have at any one time. If there is currently no space available then you will
have the option of placing your dog on the waiting list.
We will send you
a ‘Transfer of Ownership’ form and a ‘Racing History’ questionnaire to complete.
The return of the ‘Racing History’ questionnaire will secure your greyhound’s
place on the waiting list. This questionnaire gives us important background
information on the dog and helps us select an appropriate foster home, so please
be honest and give as much information as you can. A dog is unlikely to fail the
programme for vices such as jumping or barking, but obviously if we are aware of
these potential problems then we can ensure the dog goes to a suitable home and
provide the appropriate advice.
When space becomes available one of the
kennel managers, Sonja Bright or Irene Bessem, will contact you to arrange a
suitable delivery time and date. Please arrange the delivery of your greyhound
to coincide with their opening hours where possible (8am-12pm and 3.30pm-6pm
every day except Saturday). Under no circumstances should dogs be delivered
without prior arrangement.
An entry fee of $100 is required on delivery,
along with the greyhound’s registration papers and a wire muzzle. We anticipate
that the majority of greyhounds entered on the programme will complete their
assessment satisfactorily and be rehomed as pets. However, if your dog should
prove to be unsuitable for rehoming then you have the option of the dog being
returned to you.
We are accepting greyhounds into the programme from any
location in New Zealand and are rehoming on a national basis too. This does rely
on the goodwill of those within the industry helping transport greyhounds to and
from our facility. If you regularly travel past our base on SH1 near Sanson and
are willing to help then please contact us.
Programme Director
Jacqui Eyley
Phone: 04 528 0460
Mobile: 027 447 4765
Email: jacqui@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Post:
PO Box 48-217, Silverstream, Upper Hutt 5142
GAP
Kennels
To
visit the kennels or for post adoption advice
North
Island - Sanson Kennel Base
Sonja
Bright and Irene Bessem
Phone: (06) 329 3787
Email:sonja@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Post: PO
Box 80, Bulls, 4863
Physical Address: 3191 Main Road, Sanson, Palmerston
North
Directions: GAP is based on State Highway 1 between Bulls and
Sanson.
South
Island - Amberley Kennel Base
Julie
Collett and Richard White
Phone:
(03) 314 7067
Email: richard@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Address: 256 Amberley
Beach Road, RD1, Amberley.
Directions:The kennels are based 45 minutes north
of Christchurch, just off State Highway 1 in Amberley.
Regional Co-ordinators
For general enquiries and
adoption applications.
Northern Regional Co-ordinator - Lynda
Sharp
Areas with 07- and 09- telephone prefixes
Email: lynda@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Phone: (09) 239 2649
Mob: 021 650 381
Address: 33 Cape Hill
Road, Pukekohe 2120\
Central Regional Co-ordinator - Robyn
Bowry
Areas with 04- and 06- telephone prefixes
Email: robyn@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Phone: (06) 3648899
Txt: (027) 2648899
Address: 56 Freemans Road, Otaki 5512
Southern Regional
Co-ordinator - Cate Marshall
South Island
Email: cate@greyhoundsaspets.org.nz
Phone: (03) 389 5206
Mob: 021 0222 5913
Address: 96 Woodham
Road, Avonside, Christchurch 8062
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