Gavin Goble – General Manager Greyhound Welfare and Re-homing
For more information on any of the following topics, please contact GRV at [email protected].
Desexing is now mandatory prior to GAP pre-entry assessment
It is now mandatory (under GRV policy) to desex your greyhound at least 10 days prior to its GAP pre-entry assessment (Racing Services will remind you as appropriate during the booking process). But it is important to get the desexing done as early as possible, as new assessment slots are allocated to desexed greyhounds first. This means the sooner you get it done the earlier date you will get allocated to. GRV strongly encourages you to use the GRV Desexing and Dental Scheme as this means the teeth are done at the same time. Information is available at https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/rehoming/desexing-and-dental-scheme/, including a convenient on-line application form.
Before you rehome your greyhound to another person (i.e. a member of the public or another participant), desexing is mandatory under GAR 24. The new owner cannot agree to get it done (as used to be the case under the greyhound Code of Practice). Under the rules, your greyhound does not have to be desexed prior to surrender to a rehoming group (that agrees to do it), but most rehoming groups will require it anyway.
Please advise GRV if greyhound has been desexed outside of the GRV scheme, or in the case of a male greyhound, if he has had one testicle removed previously. This will avoid greyhounds having unnecessary surgery looking for a body parts that have previously been removed.
Surrendering greyhounds to pounds and shelters
Unfortunately there has been some confusion about when it is acceptable and when it is not, so the Care and Standards webpage at https://greyhoundcare.grv.org.au/retirement-from-racing/ has been updated to clarify this. In summary, it is a breach of the racing rules (LR 12 and the Rehoming Policy) and the greyhound Code of Practice to surrender a greyhound to a “pound”, which is defined as:
- Either a council-operated pound facility, regardless of what the facility is named and/or whether it is also a registered shelter. For example, Shepparton Animal Shelter and Bendigo Animal Relief Centre (BARC) are council-operated pounds. A registered greyhound cannot be surrendered to any council-operated pound facility under any circumstances.
- Or an organisation that provides contracted pound services to council(s). For example, RSPCA, Lost Dogs’ Home and Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS) are registered animal shelters that also provide pound services for a number of different councils. A registered greyhound cannot be surrendered to any of these organisations if the owner, trainer or other registered participant responsible for the care or control of the greyhound reside in any of the local government areas for which the organisation is contracted to provide pound services for.
The webpage also lists the pound(s) for each of the 79 municipal areas, but if in doubt please contact GRV first.
Rehoming a greyhound to a member of the public
Owner returns: Under the greyhound Code of Practice the racing owner must take the greyhound back if the new owner wishes to return it for any reason within 21 days. This means that if you rehome a greyhound to a member of the public, you will need to consider this 3-week period before you take in another greyhound in its place, as there is a possibility you may need to take the greyhound back.
New owner details: As a licensed microchip registry for greyhounds (Greyhound Microchip Registry or GMR), when you rehome a greyhound to another person GRV requires the new owner’s name, full address (including postcode and municipality) and phone number, and an email address is also very useful. GRV also requires an alternate contact name and phone number, which is someone who can be contacted if the greyhound is found, and the owner cannot be contacted.
Greyhound Records
When you rehome a greyhound, or surrender to a rehoming group, you must provide the new owner with the greyhound’s records, including past injuries/treatments, vaccinations, parasite control, desexing records and relevant behavioural information. Please also deal with any medical issues before rehoming/surrender so the greyhound can have a smooth transition to a pet life.
Veterinary documentation
If you need to get veterinary documentation to GRV, please ask for a copy of the document and send to GRV directly, rather than relying on the veterinary clinic. In most cases the clinic will email it to GRV but if they do not do so, the implications can be significant. For example, if GRV does not receive a desexing certificate, this may delay being allocated to a GAP pre-entry assessment session, costing you at least another month’s wait. Failure of GRV to receive documentation such as euthanasia certificates, death certificates or completed Stewards Orders for Follow-up Veterinary Consultation on time may result in breaches of various racing rules.
