FORMER RACING GREYHOUND SUPPORTS PATIENTS AS A MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT DOG

Sprawled out on the floor of a long-term mental health rehabilitation facility is a former racing greyhound called Andrew.

Patients wander in and out, giving him pats, cuddles and attention, as he basks in the warmth of the common-room.

Andrew de Dog is a five-year-old greyhound who has found his forever home amongst the 15 long-term patients and staff at Stanford House in Whanganui.

The facility is a medium-secure long-term mental health rehabilitation unit, that houses people who have had a run-in with the law for a minimum of two years.

Andrew has been a member of the Stanford House family since July last year. He has his own room, hangs out with patients and takes up a spot in the nurses’ station.

The patients feed Andrew, take him for walks, give him cuddles, wash him and make his bed.

One patient said Andrew had a funny, quirky personality and was a lovely addition to the family.

“We love him to bits. He is one of us.”

He said most of the patients were caring people, and enjoyed having a dog to love.

The man said everyone loved to give Andrew a cuddle, but he had so much attention he could pick and choose who he wanted.

He would walk Andrew occasionally, and said he would often stop in the middle of the street, only halfway around the block.

“He is stubborn.”

Another patient said Andrew was a “hard case”, and would often go floppy and refuse to move, or walk.

“He moves in his own time that dog.”

The man said Andrew was good company, loved being fed, and would park up on the end of his bed for a nap.

“It’s better with him here. I don’t feel lonely any more having him around.”

A graduate nurse came up with the idea, as Greyhound Racing New Zealand ran programmes in prisons, and she owned one herself.

After a patient and staff-wide vote, it was confirmed.

Andrew was initially taken in as a foster dog, but after a few weeks everyone had fallen in love.

Known as Smash Attack during his racing days, his new official title was “everyone’s mate”.

Whanganui District Health Board senior registered nurse Cushla Barnes said patients benefited from the unconditional love of a dog.

“It’s nice to see them bond with Andrew,” she said.

Barnes said Andrew was nervous at the beginning, and was a bit blind, so had to get used to living in a house with a toileting regime.

Greyhounds as Pets marketing and communications coordinator Daniel Bohan said former racing greyhounds often had to learn basic life lessons such as manoeuvring glass doors and hardwood floors, and living with people.

Bohan said greyhounds by nature were loyal, lazy and loving, and quite happy to snooze the day away.

He said they had great emotional intelligence and were called “velcro dogs” because they formed a strong bond with their owners. “They are quiet, well-behaved and calm.”

Greyhound Racing New Zealand head of marketing Lisa Jacques said Andrew was the first former racing greyhound to work as a mental health support dog.

The racing organisation has also partnered with the Department of Corrections for a re-homing programme where retired dogs are looked after by inmates.

Re-homing manager Candice Robbins-Goodman said prisoners take on roles as dog handlers, trainers and foster carers in purpose-built kennels and communal areas within the prison.

Dogs in need of extra training often go into the prison programme to prepare for adoption.

Robbins-Goodman said the inmates develop strong bonds with the dogs.

“Each of the greyhounds becomes a friend, an emotional support, a teacher, a listener and an encouragement to follow a better lifestyle.”

The re-homing programme provides full assessments, training, grooming, vet care and de-sexing.

However an SPCA spokeswoman cautioned that it could be difficult for some greyhounds to be re-homed once their racing career was over.

She said the animal welfare organisation was opposed to greyhound racing because of the industry’s problematic practices, including physical overexertion of dogs, a lack of socialisation, and the fate of unwanted greyhounds.

“More greyhounds are bred for the racing industry than will enter it,” she said.

She said the SPCA acknowledged the steps Greyhound Racing New Zealand has made to educate their members about the importance of socialisation and re-homing.

However, the SPCA believes further action is needed to better meet the physical, health, and behavioural needs of the dogs.

It would like to see a veterinarian present at racetracks, mandatory collection and publication of lifecycle reports, injury statistics for greyhounds bred for racing, and a national registration and traceability system.