“I was looking at the pound pages and came across Friends of the Hound, and started reading about the rescuing they were doing,” says Nadine.
“I had seen a story on TV in Australia about greyhound adoption which highlighted what great pets they were. It was also mentioned they didn’t shed or smell, which was appealing after having smelly long-haired German Shepherds.”
She investigated more and the deeper she got, the more she realised this was where they would find their next dog.
Heartbreaking reading“It was heartbreaking reading,” she says.
“Before then I had no idea they were so over-bred. Of the 18,000 dogs bred each year, just 8000 make it to the track. Trainers quickly identify within the first 12 months whether the dogs will be any good or not. If they are no good, they are got rid of.”
Kevin admits initially he needed convincing about adopting a greyhound.
“But that was more from ignorance than anything else,” he says.
“Once I knew we were saving lives by being part of this, it was a done deal.”
But Kevin still had to shift his thinking from working dogs to inside dogs.
“They are such characters. They are definitely very knowing animals, with soul.”
As part of the process, the Friends of the Hound visited the Weatherley’s home as much to vet the family as to check the property.
“They brought Alfie, this big brindle male to visit. He was just the most gorgeous dog and so keen to befriend us.”
That complete trust in humans compounds the plight of greyhounds for this family.
“They have every reason to not want to come anywhere near another human,” says Kevin.
“They’ve been raised in concrete kennels, only getting out to train or race. But instead of being resentful, they are the complete opposite.”
The Weatherleys adopted Freddy and Jasmine in 2012, and even appeared on a couple of TV commercials to raise awareness and save more greyhounds.
“The trainer had high hopes for Jasmine, but she simply refused to chase the lure. She was so fragile when we got her,” says Nadine.
A 40kg lapdogFreddy remains a 40kg lapdog, and has been forced to take things pretty easy these days after having a leg amputated — the result of an injury left untreated by his trainer.
When they made the call to return to New Zealand in 2015 after seven years in Australia, the dogs were their biggest dilemma. However, that was resolved happily when Nadine’s sister Kristina welcomed them into her home. Kristina and her husband Brendon are about to adopt greyhound No.3 at their Central Queensland property.
“It worked out well but it was really a tough decision — we knew our sun-loving Queenslander greys would really struggle to handle New Zealand winters,” says Nadine.
As soon as they were settled back in Gisborne, Nadine contacted the New Zealand Greyhound Protection League to find out who to contact on this side of the Tasman.
The boys — seven-year-old Lennox and 10-year-old Theo — happily head out most afternoons to take the dogs for a walk. Both are somewhat dwarfed by the dogs, but completely besotted with each and proud to be part of a special international family.
Both boys recount stories about their Australian dogs while draped over the new additions. Now they have Fox and Nikau, who arrived in April. The brothers came from Invercargill; Fox ditched from racing because he also had no interest in chasing the lure, and Nikau because of an injury.
Joy between human and animalThe two (human) brothers dash off to run around the backyard with the dogs, both well outstripped by weight, but the joy between hound and human is clear to see.
One of two cats that also reside in the Weatherley household wanders in to survey proceedings and with a typical down-the-nose aloof snort, haughtily walks back out of the room to find a more peaceful place to rest.
The dogs and cats happily live side by side, Fox more keen for a nose-to-nose chat than Nikau, who prefers to keep his distance.
All dogs are “cat tested” before being re-homed. Some get on with their feline “siblings” but others prefer a cat-free environment.
“Once you meet a greyhound you realise they are the nicest, softest and most human-loving dogs you will meet,” says Nadine.
“They are treated so badly by humans. You could really forgive them for not wanting to come near you.”
Questioning animal-centric sportsThere are a lot of things Nadine would like to see introduced, like a limit to the number of greyhounds bred by the racing industry each year. Her involvement in rescuing greyhounds has made her question a lot of other animal-centric sports and pastimes Antipodeans love.
Many states in the USA have banned greyhound racing.
“It is such a sad story for a dog breed that was so regal and has such history behind it,” she says.
“They are very special dogs and are renowned for their value as therapy dogs for autistic and older people.”
Funnily enough, they are also known as 70 kilometre per hour couch potatoes.
“They are built for speed and while they get up to 70 in a matter of seconds, they don’t have long-term stamina and love to just lounge,” says Kevin.
The dogs have winter coats to wear and love nothing more than to snuggle up with a favourite fluffy toy and a blanket, except perhaps if there was a chance to do so on the couch with his or her favourite human.
“If we could just get people to stop and think before they buy a puppy from the pet store or prolific breeder,” he says.
Nadine goes one further.
“It’s time there was a change in thinking through action,” she says.
Greyhound racing banned in NSW“It’s the best news ever,” says Kevin Weatherley of the recent news that New South Wales has banned greyhound racing from July, 2017.
The ruling from NSW Premier Mike Baird came out of the findings from a Special Commission of Inquiry which found, among a raft of things, evidence of live baiting and that in the past 12 years, between 49,000 and 68,000 greyhounds were killed in NSW.
“They’re fast or dead,” says Kevin.
The RSPCA is hailing the shut-down in NSW as one of the biggest days for animal welfare in the state’s history.
Just eight countries still allow greyhound racing, and New Zealand is one of them.
