New greyhound homing charity set up to help find loving families for retired racers
A new greyhound homing charity has been set up to help find more loving families for retired racers from Monmore Green.
Home Run Hounds, headed up by Claire Butler, is running out of the Aero Greyhounds kennels in Wombourne – also home to Monmore trainer Richie Taberner.
They aim to find forever homes for dogs who are no longer competing and Claire is calling on experience from her time volunteering for the Greyhound Trust, which has branches all across the UK.
“I first got into greyhounds 30 years ago and got the greyhound bug,” said Claire.
“I had a few years out but got back into it in 2017 when I started volunteering for the Greyhound Trust and the Mo Cara Racing kennels (headed up by Monmore trainer Craig Marston), and being among racing greyhounds again reignited my passion.
“I started volunteering on both the racing and homing side, and the two just tied together.
“The problem is there’s not enough homing for the demand of the track and the strengths needed for the individual trainers, and this desperately needs to change.
“So, the more awareness that can be raised of greyhounds as pets, the better.”
The Home Run Hounds kennel block currently has a small capacity, though they are planning to expand.
Claire, having devoted so many years to greyhounds and their welfare, is keen to emphasise how great they are as pets.
“We want to home as many greyhounds as possible,” she said.
“Greyhounds are very low maintenance and the easiest of pets.
“Two 20-minute walks a day is all they require, but you can build them up to suit your family.
“You just provide the comfort, love and warmth, and they’ll provide endless hours of entertainment and love in return.
“In the UK, there are 30-plus branches of the Greyhound Trust and a similar amount of independent homing centres.
“An army of volunteers devote countless hours for free, to ensure these beautiful souls enjoy their happy ever after.
“Everybody works so hard to find the perfect families for these dogs to go into.
“The process in doing that, giving dogs socialisation and enrichment, transitioning them from an athlete to pet, each dog takes it at a different pace.
“But they’re magnificent athletes and amazing pets.”
For more information on the charity and homing greyhounds, search for ‘Home Run Hounds’ on Facebook and Twitter.
