| February 2011 |
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| INTRODUCING
TARA HERBORT While in our last edition we bid a fond farewell and a goodluck wish to Tammara, this one sees GAP in a position to welcome on board Tara Herbort as the newly appointed GAP Coordinator. Tara joins GAP with six years Vet Nursing experience and as an adopter of two of her own GAP greyhounds. "I knew from a really young age that I wanted to work with animals but wasn't quite sure how. When my family returned to WA when I was about 18 I'd realized Vet Nursing was where I wanted to be. The TAFE course is very competitive so I kept my eyes open and secured a Vet Nursing Traineeship and after a few years became a Qualified Veterinary Nurse which is where my love for greyhounds bloomed. I knew as soon as I moved out of home or had my own place I would get one as a pet. After meeting the GAP dogs at the Royal Show it didn't take me long to convince my husband of what I loved about these dogs. We then adopted China who we could not live without. Then came Tiger the charming little monster who we also adore way too much, she is just so damn cute." So be prepared to see Tara around the traps and please offer her your continued support as we know only our extended GAP family can. |
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| BARBIE
THE CGC SENSATION In November 2009 Candice Hedes adopted Barbie, a diminutive black girl, and she says it was love at first sight. Barbie and Candice have been on a wonderful journey of training and she sent in her story. After meeting Barbie back in 2009, it was love at first sight and we adopted her then and there. Her foster mum told me that she was fine in the car but would not jump in or out on her own accord, this seemed a sign of things to come as she was scared to use her legs for anything other than running. It took her two months to figure out how to even get up onto the couch. I knew that we had to work on Barbie's confidence, both with strange people and new situations. I also knew she needed to trust me. I decided to do some obedience classes with her. I contacted Rebecca from Billy's Doggie Daycare, and Desma McLeod became our guide in building Barbie's confidence and teaching her good manners. Barbie lasted about 30 minutes into her first class before her eyes glazed over. She made a lot of progress though, and by the end of it she could work for the whole time, and then cope with a trip to City Farmers or Riverside Gardens afterwards. Along the way she learned to jump in and out of my four wheel drive, hence saving my back from lifting 25kg of hound all the time. I thought the hardest part of the Canine Good Citizen award would be the requirement not to lure the dog with treats during the exercises. It was hard to get Barbie to do things if she didn't think there was a pay off at the end. Barbie learned that there would always be a reward as I practiced doing things in series - a heel, a sit, a down, some turns, and then giving a handful of treats instead of one at a time. With 12 weeks of training sessions and a few extras, it was finally time for the test. There were four dogs taking the test, the test has 11 components, and each dog did them one at a time. It took all morning, and Barbie rested quietly on her blankie between assessments. Leslie from Good Manners in Malaga was our independent certified assessor. We also had an army of volunteers who played various roles; a noisy crowd which the dogs had to walk through; a friendly stranger to pat the dog while it stays seated; a stranger to examine the dog as a vet would; and a stranger to stay with the dog during the 1 minute supervised separation while the owner ducked out of sight. There were also two volunteer dogs to test the candidate reactions to a novel dog - they had to stand a metre away from each other while the humans had a short conversation, showing no more than passing interest. Overall Barbie exceeded my expectations. I am still a little giddy with the sense of what we have achieved together, but just so this article isn't just me bragging about my dog, I asked Desma to write something: When I first met Barbie, I saw a sweet and reserved little girl with a big heart. She always held herself with dignity in class, regardless of what antics her classmates got up to. Now Barbie and I are looking for our next challenge, and while Barbie is the first Greyhound in WA to have earned her CGC, we are hoping there will be many more to follow. |
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| RECENT EVENTS GAP Quiz Night Wow! That's about all I can say for the sensational level of support and patronage that we received for our inaugural Greyhounds As Pets Quiz Night. We sought donations of goods and/or services to be used in raffles, as prizes, or as part of the Silent Auction and were thoroughly impressed with the overwhelming generosity of the items we received. In addition we managed to secure Schweppes, Swan and Warner Glen Estate sponsorship of the night for the softdrinks, beer and wine. Our initial hopes were to sell 15 tables of 8 people as it was the first time the event had been held. 28 tables were sold, physically no more people could have fitted into the room and the night was a huge success. While absolute money raised is still being confirmed, we believe we raised in the vicinity of $6-7000 (after expenses) which will go a long way to assisting us in purchasing items on the GAP "wish-list" including shade tents, banners/flags, display boards and brochure holders. All of which will help us further promote the Greyhounds As Pets message. After this level of success the event will be held annually. I would like to offer a huge personal thankyou to all of the other Greyhounds WA staff members who volunteered to assist at the event as it made a massive difference to the success of the night. It honestly would have been hard to run such a smooth event without their help. In addition Louise Gray and Wayne Coombs were sensational in their efforts manning the merchandise stall and selling raffle tickets. So be sure to look out for details on next year's event! |
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| PERTH VET
EMERGENCY We just wanted to let you all know that due to repairs to an old Asbestos roof, Perth Vet Emergency will be temporarily relocating premises between, and including Friday 25th February and Thursday 3rd March. During that time frame you will be able to visit them during usual PVE operating hours at the Wembley Veterinary Hospital: 27 Bishop Street Jolimont. PVE will be back at their Osborne Park premises, resplendent with new roof, ready for business from Friday 3rd March. |
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| PLAYGROUP Bunbury Playgroup Next playgroup date, Sunday 13th March at 4pm, Bunbury Speedway. Please contact either Susan Wells on 0439919165 and or Jody Golby on 0439971575 for more details. Perth Playgroups and Walking Groups Click here for the current dates. |
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| HEAT
POLICY With the hotter weather having arrived, we thought we should remind everyone of the heat policy surrounding the playgroups to ensure that we're taking the best welfare considerations of our hounds into account. You can see details here. |
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