Gavin Goble – General Manager Greyhound Welfare and Re-homing
For more information on any of the following topics, please contact GRV at [email protected].
Rehoming a greyhound to a member of the public
Owner returns: The Code of Practice for the Keeping of Racing Greyhounds (section 7.2) states that the racing owner must take the greyhound back if the new owner wishes to return the greyhound for any reason within 21 days (and refund the entire purchase price if any). This means if you rehome a greyhound to a member of the public (‘independent community member’), you will need to consider this 3-week period before you take in another greyhound in its place, as there is a possibility this could happen.
New owner details: when you rehome a greyhound to another person we require the new owner’s name, full address (including postcode and municipality) and phone number, and ideally an email address. In addition, we require an alternate contact name and phone number in cases where the owner cannot be contacted.
New FastTrack fields
GRV requires all greyhound owners, to provide some additional information within FastTrack in your ‘VIEW MY ACCOUNT’ personal details screen. The additional information covers the following:
1) Your Municipal (council) District: you may have this pre-populated based on your postcode, however if your postcode covers more than one municipality, it will be blank and requires completion using the drop-down options.
2) Emergency Contact Details (name and contact number): this will only be used when we may be unable to contact you. Examples of emergency contacts could be a spouse, partner, family member, child or friend
Desexing requirements for retired greyhounds
This is a reminder that (under GAR 24) you must desex your greyhound before you rehome it to another person (i.e. member of the public or another participant). The new owner cannot agree to get it done (as was the case under the Code of Practice before GAR 24 came into force). Other scenarios are as follows:
• GAP: For GAP pre-entry dates from 1 February 2023, desexing will be mandatory and GRV will require evidence at least 10 days before the assessment (as is the case for vaccinations). GRV strongly recommends that participants get it done as soon as possible after booking the greyhound in, because when new slots are released, desexed greyhounds get priority to these slots (i.e. you will get an earlier date).
• Other rehoming groups: Most rehoming groups will require the greyhound to be desexed and many will give priority to desexed greyhounds.
• Kept as a pet: GRV strongly recommends desexing once retired, especially if you are considering rehoming later, as desexing has behavioural and health benefits (including prevention of some cancers).
GRV provides funding toward the desexing and dental treatment and will pay your veterinary clinic directly. For more information, or to arrange desexing through GRV’s Desexing and Dental Scheme please see https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/rehoming/desexing-and-dental-scheme/, email the Welfare Department at [email protected] or phone 03 8329 1100.
Some greyhound veterinarians have long waiting times for routine surgery, so allow plenty of time, and contact GRV if you need help finding an alternative veterinarian if your usual one is booked out too far ahead.
Surrendering greyhounds to pounds and shelters
Surrendering a greyhound to a council pound is a breach of both the racing rules (LR 12 and the Rehoming Policy) and the greyhound Code of Practice. A council pound can be a council-run facility or an animal shelter that provides contracted pound services. Shelters in this category include RSPCA, GAWS, Lost Dogs Home, Victorian Animal Aid and Bendigo Animal Relief Centre (BARC).
If you are considering surrendering a greyhound to a shelter (not just the ones listed above) you need to check if they provide pound services for any councils. If they do, you should check with GRV first to avoid breaching both the racing rules and the Code of Practice.
Vaccinations for greyhounds
The greyhound Code of Practice and the racing rules require all adult greyhounds to have a current C5 vaccination. A “current C5” for an adult greyhound usually means a C3 (parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis) every three years and a Kennel Cough every 12 months. However, vaccination requirements for GAP are more specific, so please check with GRV if you are planning to get a vaccination for this purpose. Also see https://gap.grv.org.au/about-gap/intake-model/ for the requirements.
Please note that some jurisdictions (including WA) are already blocking nominations for unvaccinated greyhounds – if you are racing interstate please check first.
