Greyhound Adoption Program Proves A Hit At Brisbane’s EKKA Show
A record number of 70,000 people engaged with retired greyhounds at the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) lounge at the Brisbane EKKA this year.
The green-collared greyhounds stole the show, attracting visitors from all walks of life. School children, families, news crews and even Members of Parliament lined up to meet the hounds and speak to the GAP team.
GAP Manager, Gail Lane, said the greyhound lounge proved far more popular than ever in 2013.
“It was our most successful EKKA to date,” said Mrs Lane. “The number of people who stopped by the GAP lounge was dramatically up from last year.
“The dogs really did the greyhound industry proud and showed everyone why they make such beautiful pets.”
Over 43 greyhounds were rehomed after the 2012 EKKA and the program enlisted the help of an extra 13 foster carers. Applications and enquiries are yet to be processed from the 2013 EKKA however Mrs Lane is hopeful of another spike in adoptions.
“Overall, the team distributed in excess of 3500 show bags to people genuinely interested in adopting, and we already have a number of adoption applications pending.”
Like many of the EKKA visitors, strawberry ice-creams are a favourite with the retired hounds.
“The dogs love a strawberry ice-cream, we treated them to one every chance we had.”
GAP is a welfare initiative of Racing Queensland, dedicated to finding loving homes for greyhounds that have retired from racing.
To find out more about the program visit www.greyhoundpets.org.au, where you can also read about life from a greyhounds point of view in Murphy's blog.
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