Dapper Dale, a 7-year-old greyhound is just one of the many greyhounds up for adoption in the Dubbo region.
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Greyhounds as Pets [GAPNSW] will be hosting Dubbo's first adoption day for the dog breed at Petbarn on October 30 for what is set to be a howling good time from 9am until 3pm.
Dale, one of the older greyhounds has been on the adoption list for over 18 months and is just waiting for his forever home.
![GAPNSW regional coordinator Leo Hellegers with older greyhound Dale. Picture by Ciara Bastow GAPNSW regional coordinator Leo Hellegers with older greyhound Dale. Picture by Ciara Bastow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37qTRiw9gHRe7AczHzCfjaK/67cbafbd-bdbe-4166-a57a-f1c50f68625f.jpg/r0_72_4032_3029_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Vet and GM of GAPNSW, Dr Alicia Fuller said Dale still has plenty of life ahead of him and loves playing and running around the yard.
"He's actually been making some local nursing home visits as well, he is a really lovely boy and would be excellent for an older couple or even people with older children," she said.
"We are hoping he can find a lovely pet home to live out the rest of his days in.
"On average greyhounds live into early teens so he certainly has a number of years ahead of him and it would be fantastic to get him a great home."
Dr Fuller said this would be the third adoption day GAPNSW held and they were hoping it took off.
"Even if people aren't ready to adopt yet, it's a great way for people to meet a greyhound and understand a bit about them and give them a pat and see what all the fuss was about," she said.
GAPNSW looks to rehome every greyhound that comes out of the greyhound racing industry no matter what age they are.
![Dale decked out in his Halloween bib. Picture by Ciara Bastow Dale decked out in his Halloween bib. Picture by Ciara Bastow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37qTRiw9gHRe7AczHzCfjaK/e2eb7788-6250-408b-9f84-9d30715bba53.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
To make sure the dogs are paired with someone correctly, the company gains information about the greyhounds and the potential adopters before going through a matching process.
"Which hopefully means we match the greyhounds well to people's lifestyles," she said.
"We have some greyhounds that don't like to spend much time on their own and they would be most suited to people that work from home and ones that love children and would be good for families and others that can live in apartments."
Dubbo's regional program coordinator Leo Hellegers works with trainers so the greyhounds don't have to stay in kennels.
"We have a focus on taking a dog straight from its racing owner into a pet home so it's great because the dogs don't go into kennels at all," she said.
Mr Hellegers will meet all the dogs that are ready to be rehomed and to start pet life and deals with the applications from the region.
![Dapper Dale is ready to find his forever home. Picture by Ciara Bastow Dapper Dale is ready to find his forever home. Picture by Ciara Bastow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37qTRiw9gHRe7AczHzCfjaK/dca4f426-9751-4d43-991b-4426f0946a3e.jpg/r0_108_4032_2868_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"He looks at all the information and matches the dogs with the owners and hopefully it will be the perfect match and they will go home together," she said.
In the regional program GAPNSW works with the owners and trainers of the greyhounds so they can be informed on information about the pet.
"It's a really added benefit of that close contact with the person that was looking after the dog beforehand," she said.
For people concerned about the maintenance of a greyhound, Dr Fuller said there was nothing to worry about.
"I think the funniest thing with the greyhound breed is they like to run very fast but only for a short amount of time and when they retire they start enjoying an odd zoom around the back garden or out on walk and the rest of the time they love nothing more than lying on the sofa," she said.
![GAPNSW regional coordinator Leo Hellegers with older greyhound Dale. Picture by Ciara Bastow GAPNSW regional coordinator Leo Hellegers with older greyhound Dale. Picture by Ciara Bastow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37qTRiw9gHRe7AczHzCfjaK/a81c4fb7-f6b0-4f20-b20e-4f24d9922b09.jpg/r0_0_1800_1200_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I think until people meet them they don't realise that because they think they are these hyper energetic dogs that are jumping all over you and stuff but they are very calm and quiet and love leaning against you."
A walk for 20 minutes twice a day is enough exercise for most greyhounds, Dr Fuller said.
"If we assessed a greyhound and they were young and too energetic or were older and just had that personality than obviously we wouldn't be putting them into an apartment," she said.
"We get lots of lovely older girls and boys that are more relaxed. Especially younger ones that never wanted to race anyway or never made it to the race track... they are more than happy to hang out not needing that yard."
Dr Fuller said greyhounds had an "easy going" nature and were great for first time dog owners.
"Greyhounds really transition well from their athletic sporting careers into being a pet and that's what they should have the chance and opportunity to do," she said.
"It's rewarding for them as well as for their owners to have them as a pet, so I think its important we find a home for them all."
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