€145,000 bill may throw dog charity to hounds

Greyhound racing's shame/ Bord na gCons to blame!!!

AN animal welfare charity that rehomes abandoned greyhounds for Bord na gCon has been told to pick up a huge tab after the board said it has no more money to give them.

Gina Hetherington of PAWS in Sallins, Co Kildare, says she has been left reeling by the news that the Irish Greyhound Board's 2006 fund for retired dogs, which stands at €250,000, is apparently gone - despite being just four months into the year.

The charity, which rescues abandoned greyhounds from pounds, may now have to find up to €145,000 to cover veterinary bills, kennel boarding fees and transport costs or else leave the unwanted dogs to their grisly fate.

€145,000 bill may throw dog charity to hounds

AN animal welfare charity that rehomes abandoned greyhounds for Bord na gCon has been told to pick up a huge tab after the board said it has no more money to give them.

Gina Hetherington of PAWS in Sallins, Co Kildare, says she has been left reeling by the news that the Irish Greyhound Board's 2006 fund for retired dogs, which stands at €250,000, is apparently gone - despite being just four months into the year.

The charity, which rescues abandoned greyhounds from pounds, may now have to find up to €145,000 to cover veterinary bills, kennel boarding fees and transport costs or else leave the unwanted dogs to their grisly fate.

Last month the charity was told Bord na gCon was pulling the plug on transport costs and vets' fees, while from the end of this month it will no longer cover the cost of kennelling unwanted dogs.

Earlier this month Ms Hetherington took her case to Sports Minister John O'Donoghue to appeal for a grant to cover the cost of caring for the greyhounds.

But her request was declined.

"Bord na gCon will spend €5m renovating the Kilkenny stadium but it won't put €250,000 into the dogs that have served them so well," she added.

The winner of every race pays 2pc of their prize money into the retirement fund to care for unwanted greyhounds.

PAWS has been working in conjunction with Bord na gCon for the last two years rescuing unwanted greyhounds from pounds before they are destroyed. Of the 200 rescued by PAWS last year almost all were rehomed abroad - largely in Italy and Sweden - while just three found new homes here in Ireland.

"Irish people do not see greyhounds as pets.

"They think that because the dogs are muzzled they must be dangerous and that they require lots of exercise.

"But greyhounds are actually very gentle, they'll run around the garden three or four times and then collapse on the couch. They take a sprint, get tired and go to sleep," said Ms Hetherington.

The average age of the dogs rescued by PAWS from the pounds is just two years.

Unless greyhounds have proven themselves as champions on the race track by that age, unscrupulous owners will abandon them.

"There are greyhound owners who love and care for their dogs but there are also those backyard guys who dump their dogs as soon as they don't win," said Mrs Hetherington.

"Owners start training them at one year old and if they are not making good speeds they don't want them anymore," added Ms Hetherington.

A spokesman with Bord na gCon said its prime obligation is to fund its own operations to rehome retired greyhounds in Croom, Co Limerick, and that any money left over is then given to various animal charities, including PAWS. He added that PAWS has already received its allocation for 2006 but there is no reason the charity will not be considered again next year.