Retired Greyhounds Are Set To Paint The Country Red This September!

For the first time ever, Greyhounds in red-carpet themed fancy dress will be taking over every region in New Zealand. On September 25th hundreds of retired racing Greyhounds and their owners will set off, in full glam, on the Great Global Greyhound Walk (GGGW), which raises awareness for the breed.

Oscar: Photo by Eddison Te Reo

From Invercargill to Whangarei, 24 walks are taking place throughout the country. This has set a record for New Zealand who first participated in 2014 with just five regional walks.

While Greyhounds are renowned for their speed, they will be cruising down the red carpet as proud ambassadors for other ex-racers that are still awaiting a loving home. The GGGW sees Sighthound owners from over 40 different countries all walking on the same day, with the common goal of sighthound adoption awareness.

Greyhounds as Pets (GAP), the national adoption programme for ex-racing greyhounds, is hosting 18 of the walks around New Zealand, with the first walk in the world setting off in the Chatham Islands. They hope to beat 2021's number of 502 participating hounds. GAP have decided to set a red-carpet theme this year and will be hosting a Greyhound runway at Auckland’s event in Cornwall Park, and an after party in Christchurch Central. They will also be fundraising for the Greyhounds in their care.

“The worldwide theme this year was red, but we decided to take it a step further and roll out the red carpet,” says Emelia Lake, Greyhounds as Pets Marketing Team Lead. “It’s the perfect way to show off the full spectrum of Greyhound personalities; elegant, gentle, goofy and totally lovable. We look forward to this event all year, it provides invaluable visibility for this beautiful breed.”

GAP has found home for over 3,000 retired racing Greyhounds to date, carefully matching each one with their perfect new family.

According to Lake, “Greyhound adoptees are an incredibly close-knit community and are steadfast ambassadors of the commonly misunderstood breed. They‘re all here, at the end of the day, for their love of Greyhounds.”

Famed for their athleticism, Greyhounds are actually lazy pets. With many enjoying 18 hours of sleep and one short walk a day, they make great apartment dogs and enjoy accompanying their human to a cafe or the pub. Their affectionate, gentle and loving nature is what makes these retired racers thrive as loyal companions.

“It will be hard to miss large groups of Greyhounds dressed in red, and we welcome any members of the public to join us for a pat and a chat,” says Lake. “That’s why we participate, because the more people who meet a Greyhound for the first time, the more people we have across NZ who have fallen in love with this beautiful breed.”

The Great Global Greyhound Walk will take place on September 25th at 10am.

Other participating countries include the USA, England, South Africa, Australia and Germany. The full list of NZ walks can be viewed here: https://www.greatglobalgreyhoundwalk.co.uk/walk-schedule/

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