PEARL (named for racing as: Stir of Echos)
Sex/colour: Female Black
D.O.B: 04.10.2008
Last recorded owner: Delahunty sydicate
Last recorded trainer: L.D Wallington ( 1st recorded trainer E.Gaskin)
Races contended: 61
Stadium: Waterford,Thurles,Enniscorthy & Clonmel (Ireland)
Romford, Monmore & Swindon
Last recorded race: Swindon 18.04.2012
Came to AfG: 05.10.2018
PEARL (named by AfG) was noticed when a home pet sitter was asked to call in to a house to let her out and feed when her ‘owners’ planned an away weekend.
The lady was so concerned by Pearls condition, housed in a metal cage in the kitchen (so small she could only lay down or sit in it, not able to stand or turn around).
The poor senior hound was emaciated and smelt, she was very timid.
The pet sitter knew of another lady involved in rescue & homing of dogs, so alerted her.
AfG were asked if we could take the dear Greyhound, we had a suitable foster home where she would also have the company of another AfG hound.
Luckily, when the pet sitter spoke to the young ‘owners’ they admitted that with two young children, they could not afford to keep a dog but only got her as they saw her living on a yard and felt sorry for her.
When they inquired about Pearl, they were told (by a man at the yard) she was “no good for anything and would probably be shot”.
The young couple were adding sugar to Pearls meals as they said she was not interested in eating her food.
Pearl had no access to clean drinking water, except when the couple decided to offer to her as there was no room in the cage to put anything.
The couple claimed they had Pearl for a few months, she had hardly any exercise, they had no time to walk her and she had not seen a vet.
Arrangements were made with the couple to have Pearl picked up by the rescue lady to be signed over to AfG and brought to us.
Pearl was transported to AfG from Leicestershire.
We were saddened and shocked to see the state of dear Pearl.
She was introduced to her canine housemate (see OCI Other Breeds)on an enclosed park and enjoyed a romp and sniff around, later to enjoy a meal and settling into the comforts of her foster home.
Oci was great company for dear Pearl, being such a happy confident hound, so made Pearl feel happy and relaxed in his company.
Once Pearls ear numbers were checked, we realised the previous day ( October 4th when the pet sitter saw her) was Pearls 10th birthday.
So the life she deserved and had waited many years for, started on her 10th birthday.
AfG, along with our vet, were saddened by the state of Pearl and the obvious neglect and abuse this dear gentle hound had obviously suffered for so long.
We could not change her past but would make sure she would now only know kindness, respect and enjoyment.
The smell, mainly was from the severe dental decay, our vet stated she had not seen much worse and claimed it must be so painful for dear Pearl to even eat.
Pearl was fed small soft meals throughout the day and once she had gained weight was able to have a much needed dental ( with several extractions) and later be neutered.
Out of interest, after checking Pearls racing history, we discovered (as is often the case) the poor hound had been passed from pillar to post and being concerned how she had endured such suffering since her last race at Swindon in 2012 then being kept in such a state of neglect on a yard in Leicesteshire in 2018!!.
We decided to write to the GBGB ( Greyhound Board of Great Britain) as we knew they should have a ‘retirement form’ in their possession.
We rightly assumed they would not be forthcoming with any useful information, they only wrote back stating they had a ‘retirement form’ stating ‘the dog’ was sold to Scotland in 2012.
This of course could not have been accurate but it is doubtful the GBGB ever check a ‘retirement form’ for either a genuine new owner or address ( or even more worrying if stated a Greyhound was euthenasied by a vet….that this is ever checked as genuine).
Sadly the GBGB claimed once a dog is retired and the relevant form is in their possession, that dog is no longer their responsibility as it is no longer competing on any of their licensed tracks.
Sadly, it is no only dear Greyhounds like Pearl who end up being found in such a state of neglect with no one being held to account for the abuse.
We could see Pearl was a large Greyhound, tall and long, it was a joy to watch her transform over the following months into a big strong girl with a glossy black coat.
Once ready for adoption, Pearl found her forever home with the company of other rescued Greyhounds, where her confidence continued to improve.
Such a quiet gentle soul who sadly would have spent her abusive years just ‘suffering in silence’.
The photos below, show Pearl on her rescue day, the horrendous dental disease, then her improvement in foster care ( also a screen shot of her race history).
