Great Global Greyhound walk takes place in Tewkesbury
Over 300 canine companions attended the event
Dear readers - for those of you who have been loyal free subscribers for quite a while you will remember the National Dally Rally Day piece, a gathering of around 30 Dalmations in Tewkesbury. Well now another grand event welcoming legions of beloved dogs has taken place.
The Great Global Greyhound Walk sees thousands of sighthounds and their owners around the world attend a walk for a day of walking and awareness. From South Africa to Argentina, the USA to Italy, it is a worldwide event celebrating greyhounds, lurches, whippets, salukis, galgos, podencos, borzois and other sighthound breeds - the message is how gentle and loving dogs they are as family pets.
Croft Farm Water Park was the venue for the Tewkesbury walk organised by volunteers, individual sighthound owners, rehoming organisations, walking groups and kennels. Gathering in the morning, the walk was a simple relaxed stroll, followed by a sit down, plenty of dog treats, stalls and food vendors.
The global event started in Britain in 2010 to now 42 countries as recent as last year. Tewkesbury in particular has only been running for five years in total where organiser Dave Landey has his own story to tell.
“Greyhounds are very special animals”
Retired greyhounds beyond their track-based lives, just like any pets, require as much care, attention, and the need for a quiet and safe space. Back in 2017 Dave already had two greyhounds Anya and Mickey, when he purchased his first caravan.
One afternoon he was browsing Facebook when he wondered what would happen if he set up a group for “Greyhounds in Caravans”. The idea was born. The original thought was to get 20 or 30 members who would enjoy camping with their hounds. Shortly after setting up the group he was informed of another group which was similar “Camping with Sighthounds”. To avoid duplication he contacted the admin of this group and it was agreed that the two groups should merge – Camping and Caravanning with Greyhounds and Sighthounds was born.
The group started to steadily grow and Dave remembers being excited when the group reached the dizzy heights of 100 members, but never in a million years did he expect to reach the present figures of over 7,000 members.
Dave with his dogs Ernie, Natalie and Poppy said:
“Greyhounds are very special animals and they recognise their own so spending time together you can see their reactions (to other dogs). If we’re walking down this path now and any sort of labrador came along Ernie wouldn’t react. If a greyhound comes towards us or a whippet comes towards us he’s all waggy trail and excited.
“These dogs are used to having been through their racing careers and they are used to having been on their own. It means a lot to spend time with each other. It is just great to see so many dogs having fun together.”
Coming from afar
Many owners of sighthounds have travelled from as far as Scotland to be at the event, as well as Birmingham, Northamptonshire, and closer to home here in Gloucestershire.
With ex-racer Oscar, Maureen Taylor from Staffordshire said:
“It’s lovely because we’re all together and everybody has the some philosophy about the dogs and the dogs are just beautiful. Some of the greyhounds haven’t long been rehomed so this is really good for them because they are socialising with their own and they get confidence because some of them are a bit nervous around other dogs because there are other dogs here as well apart from greyhounds.”
Martin Scott has travelled from West Yorkshire with his dog Prince, crowned as 2018 Irish Grand National champion. Martin said:
“It’s fantastic and the biggest greyhound gathering I’ve been a part of in the UK. I’ve done every meeting except the first but it’s great to see all the dogs together. Prince is actually coming up to ten years old where he raced under the name ‘Lightfoot Prince’. If you are ever looking to adopt a greyhoud you never know what you’re going to get. They are one of the best dogs you could ever hope to adopt.”
Karen and David Stiles with their dogs Daisy, Finnegan, Eli and Geoffrey have not travelled far from Yorkley in the Forest of Dean. Karen said:
“It is the first time we’ve done this and we’d just thought we’d try it out. It’s a great opportunity to be together. We’ve seen loads of fellow greyhounds and we’ve absolutely loved it.”
Supporting charities
Two charities are supported through the event including the Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue and Lurcher Link, set up to help lurchers in distress and acting as a point of contact for rescues, dog wardens, vets, stray centres and the public.
Richard Skipworth based in nearby Worcester is a cartoonist and illustrator who has a love for greyhounds often reflected in his work after having his own greyhound 14 years ago. A huge backer of raising money for charity to help the breed, Richard said:
“Events like this help raise our awareness of what is quite often a breed that needs a lot of care, attention and they are such gentle loving pets. A lot of greyhouds need rehoming after falling out of the racing industry, sadly abandoned and some are even shipped off to China for slaughter, which is horrible.”
Some bonus pictures
