The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has announced the launch of its new greyhound homing campaign designed to showcase the benefits of owning an ex-racer.

The ‘Share Your Life With a Greyhound’ campaign has been designed to spread the word about what excellent pets greyhounds make and to reach people who may not previously have considered owning a retired racer.

The campaign, which gets underway this month, will address the myths that currently exist about the breed – for example, around how much exercise they need and their temperament – and will seek to reach new and wider audiences. Portraying greyhounds as affectionate, calm and lazy, the campaign promotes how greyhounds make the perfect pet for people of all ages and with a wide range of different lifestyles.

Alongside this, the campaign provides detailed information about both the breed and the homing process to give prospective owners confidence in giving a greyhound a forever home. The campaign website includes comprehensive advice ranging from what equipment to buy to how to make homes safe and how to help greyhounds settle into their new environment.

The new campaign, which is one of the recommendations in GBGB’s long-term welfare strategy ‘A Good Life for Every Greyhound’, builds on the success of the Greyhound Retirement Scheme (GRS). In particular, the campaign takes advantage of the excellent relationships brokered with homing centres across the country signposting prospective owners to one of GBGB’s over 100 approved homing centres.

Mark Moisley, GBGB Commercial Director, said:

“We are very excited to be launching this new campaign to help show people beyond the racing community what affectionate, gentle pets greyhounds make. At a time when a national homing crisis is affecting all dog breeds, it is more important than ever to encourage people to consider welcoming a  greyhound into their home.

“While those within the industry work with these wonderful animals every day and know what excellent companions they make, we are hoping to spread this love for the breed beyond the sport to help find loving forever homes for all ex racers.”

For more information, please visit withagreyhound.org.uk