Former racing greyhounds seek loving homes for life, pats and belly rubs required
The kids had been spoiling for a pet to look after, and Dad was having trouble finding new reasons to put off the inevitable.
Darren Whittingham had grown up with dogs. His dad was an English Sheepdog breeder. They were a part of the furniture.
Now, he and his children often dog-sit for their aunt's beloved pet, and when they have to say goodbye at the end of the short stay, there are always tears.
Mr and Mrs Whittingham from Lambton have two kids, Charlie and Parker, and at the weekend there was a new addition to the family, a retired greyhound who stood at about Parker's chest height as he held the lead, doting on it lovingly.
"We have been thinking about it for a while," Mr Whittingham said. "The kids need something like this, and I think it is sort of time that we got one so they can look after it. They have been frothing at the bit to get one."
Theirs was one of a slew of returned racing dogs that were adopted to homes across the city and the region at the Station in Newcastle on Saturday, where re-homing agency Greyhounds As Pets, which has connections to Greyhounds NSW, sought to link families with pets that would otherwise be returned to their trainers.
The breed was hardy, the agency's regional coordinator Sara McFaarlane said, and rarely showed the genetic issues that plague big dogs bred for aesthetics over performance. And contrary to assumption, adults are rarely high-maintenance pets.
"They have a 20 minutes walk., and maybe a zoomies, and then they're on the couch for the rest of the day," Ms McFarlane said.
Kendall Davis, with her partner Brad, was mingling at the edge of the event at the weekend as Roxy, the brindle-coated greyhound, dozed at her feet. The couple were considering adopting, though thought they might put it off for a year, but had come to the meet to better understand what they were in for.
Ms Davis, who has experience with dachshunds, said the tall boys were "the opposite end of the spectrum".
"Longer legs," she said and laughed, "And less barking."
"It has been awesome today. I'm talking to a lot of foster carers as well about how much they adore them and how beautiful the breed is. I didn't really know that much about greyhounds. It has been a really cool experience."
The kids had been spoiling for a pet to look after, and Dad was having trouble finding new reasons to put off the inevitable.
Darren Whittingham had grown up with dogs. His dad was an English Sheepdog breeder. They were a part of the furniture.
Now, he and his children often dog-sit for their aunt's beloved pet, and when they have to say goodbye at the end of the short stay, there are always tears.
Mr and Mrs Whittingham from Lambton have two kids, Charlie and Parker, and at the weekend there was a new addition to the family, a retired greyhound who stood at about Parker's chest height as he held the lead, doting on it lovingly.
"We have been thinking about it for a while," Mr Whittingham said. "The kids need something like this, and I think it is sort of time that we got one so they can look after it. They have been frothing at the bit to get one."
Theirs was one of a slew of returned racing dogs that were adopted to homes across the city and the region at the Station in Newcastle on Saturday, where re-homing agency Greyhounds As Pets, which has connections to Greyhounds NSW, sought to link families with pets that would otherwise be returned to their trainers.
The breed was hardy, the agency's regional coordinator Sara McFaarlane said, and rarely showed the genetic issues that plague big dogs bred for aesthetics over performance. And contrary to assumption, adults are rarely high-maintenance pets.
"They have a 20 minutes walk., and maybe a zoomies, and then they're on the couch for the rest of the day," Ms McFarlane said.
Kendall Davis, with her partner Brad, was mingling at the edge of the event at the weekend as Roxy, the brindle-coated greyhound, dozed at her feet. The couple were considering adopting, though thought they might put it off for a year, but had come to the meet to better understand what they were in for.
Ms Davis, who has experience with dachshunds, said the tall boys were "the opposite end of the spectrum".
"Longer legs," she said and laughed, "And less barking."
"It has been awesome today. I'm talking to a lot of foster carers as well about how much they adore them and how beautiful the breed is. I didn't really know that much about greyhounds. It has been a really cool experience."
The kids had been spoiling for a pet to look after, and Dad was having trouble finding new reasons to put off the inevitable.
Darren Whittingham had grown up with dogs. His dad was an English Sheepdog breeder. They were a part of the furniture.
Now, he and his children often dog-sit for their aunt's beloved pet, and when they have to say goodbye at the end of the short stay, there are always tears.
Mr and Mrs Whittingham from Lambton have two kids, Charlie and Parker, and at the weekend there was a new addition to the family, a retired greyhound who stood at about Parker's chest height as he held the lead, doting on it lovingly.
"We have been thinking about it for a while," Mr Whittingham said. "The kids need something like this, and I think it is sort of time that we got one so they can look after it. They have been frothing at the bit to get one."
Theirs was one of a slew of returned racing dogs that were adopted to homes across the city and the region at the Station in Newcastle on Saturday, where re-homing agency Greyhounds As Pets, which has connections to Greyhounds NSW, sought to link families with pets that would otherwise be returned to their trainers.
The breed was hardy, the agency's regional coordinator Sara McFaarlane said, and rarely showed the genetic issues that plague big dogs bred for aesthetics over performance. And contrary to assumption, adults are rarely high-maintenance pets.
"They have a 20 minutes walk., and maybe a zoomies, and then they're on the couch for the rest of the day," Ms McFarlane said.
Kendall Davis, with her partner Brad, was mingling at the edge of the event at the weekend as Roxy, the brindle-coated greyhound, dozed at her feet. The couple were considering adopting, though thought they might put it off for a year, but had come to the meet to better understand what they were in for.
Ms Davis, who has experience with dachshunds, said the tall boys were "the opposite end of the spectrum".
"Longer legs," she said and laughed, "And less barking."
"It has been awesome today. I'm talking to a lot of foster carers as well about how much they adore them and how beautiful the breed is. I didn't really know that much about greyhounds. It has been a really cool experience."
The kids had been spoiling for a pet to look after, and Dad was having trouble finding new reasons to put off the inevitable.
Darren Whittingham had grown up with dogs. His dad was an English Sheepdog breeder. They were a part of the furniture.
Now, he and his children often dog-sit for their aunt's beloved pet, and when they have to say goodbye at the end of the short stay, there are always tears.
Mr and Mrs Whittingham from Lambton have two kids, Charlie and Parker, and at the weekend there was a new addition to the family, a retired greyhound who stood at about Parker's chest height as he held the lead, doting on it lovingly.
"We have been thinking about it for a while," Mr Whittingham said. "The kids need something like this, and I think it is sort of time that we got one so they can look after it. They have been frothing at the bit to get one."
Theirs was one of a slew of returned racing dogs that were adopted to homes across the city and the region at the Station in Newcastle on Saturday, where re-homing agency Greyhounds As Pets, which has connections to Greyhounds NSW, sought to link families with pets that would otherwise be returned to their trainers.
The breed was hardy, the agency's regional coordinator Sara McFaarlane said, and rarely showed the genetic issues that plague big dogs bred for aesthetics over performance. And contrary to assumption, adults are rarely high-maintenance pets.
"They have a 20 minutes walk., and maybe a zoomies, and then they're on the couch for the rest of the day," Ms McFarlane said.
Kendall Davis, with her partner Brad, was mingling at the edge of the event at the weekend as Roxy, the brindle-coated greyhound, dozed at her feet. The couple were considering adopting, though thought they might put it off for a year, but had come to the meet to better understand what they were in for.
Ms Davis, who has experience with dachshunds, said the tall boys were "the opposite end of the spectrum".
"Longer legs," she said and laughed, "And less barking."
"It has been awesome today. I'm talking to a lot of foster carers as well about how much they adore them and how beautiful the breed is. I didn't really know that much about greyhounds. It has been a really cool experience."
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"We look forward now to uniting around our future vision for Newington College as a respected, modern and dynamic school for boys, girls, young men and young women from next year and into the future." The court case may not be over yet, however. Justice Parker will later hear whether the parents will press claims that a male-only limitation applies to other property held by the school's council, including later-acquired lands. Newington's co-ed plans come as the NSW government adjusts public school boundaries to ensure all students have guaranteed access to a co-educational school by 2027. More than 150,000 girls and more than 130,000 boys attend single-sex schools across Australia, according to a 2023 Catholic schools discussion paper. About five-in-six of those students are in non-government schools, like Newington. Turning an elite private boys' school co-educational remains on foot after a court agreed a word written in a 150-year-old document was gender-neutral. Newington College in Sydney's inner west announced its intention to shift to co-education across its kindergarten-to-year 12 program in late 2023. The school, which charges fees of up to $42,200 a year, has exclusively taught boys since it was founded in 1863. While a group of parents launched street protests in January 2024, some backed a legal attack in the NSW Supreme Court. That lawsuit hit a major defeat on Wednesday with Justice Guy Parker ruling that the school's 152-year-old trust deed did not prevent girls from being admitted. "The object of such school shall be to provide an efficient course of education for youth," the trust deed reads. The parents argued that the word "youth" in this document, while ambiguous, referred solely to boys because of circumstances at the time. This stopped girls from being enrolled on the school's Stanmore land which it had acquired in 1873 months after the deed was finalised. The school's council, on the other hand, said the term was gender-neutral. Justice Parker agreed. While the original Newington School was boys-only, and the church and government at the time had only considered single-sex schools, this did not mean the term "youth" excluded girls, he said. "I have concluded that the word 'youth' in the 1873 Trust Deed was used in a gender-neutral sense, and does not mandate male-only enrolment at the College," he wrote in his judgment. "The claim for a declaration to the contrary ... fails and must be dismissed." Newington's principal welcomed the court's decision. "We have been steadfast in our position throughout these proceedings and we remain excited to build on our rich history and traditions by taking Newington into our next era," Michael Parker wrote in a letter sent to the school's community. "We look forward now to uniting around our future vision for Newington College as a respected, modern and dynamic school for boys, girls, young men and young women from next year and into the future." The court case may not be over yet, however. Justice Parker will later hear whether the parents will press claims that a male-only limitation applies to other property held by the school's council, including later-acquired lands. Newington's co-ed plans come as the NSW government adjusts public school boundaries to ensure all students have guaranteed access to a co-educational school by 2027. More than 150,000 girls and more than 130,000 boys attend single-sex schools across Australia, according to a 2023 Catholic schools discussion paper. About five-in-six of those students are in non-government schools, like Newington. Turning an elite private boys' school co-educational remains on foot after a court agreed a word written in a 150-year-old document was gender-neutral. Newington College in Sydney's inner west announced its intention to shift to co-education across its kindergarten-to-year 12 program in late 2023. The school, which charges fees of up to $42,200 a year, has exclusively taught boys since it was founded in 1863. While a group of parents launched street protests in January 2024, some backed a legal attack in the NSW Supreme Court. That lawsuit hit a major defeat on Wednesday with Justice Guy Parker ruling that the school's 152-year-old trust deed did not prevent girls from being admitted. "The object of such school shall be to provide an efficient course of education for youth," the trust deed reads. The parents argued that the word "youth" in this document, while ambiguous, referred solely to boys because of circumstances at the time. This stopped girls from being enrolled on the school's Stanmore land which it had acquired in 1873 months after the deed was finalised. The school's council, on the other hand, said the term was gender-neutral. Justice Parker agreed. While the original Newington School was boys-only, and the church and government at the time had only considered single-sex schools, this did not mean the term "youth" excluded girls, he said. "I have concluded that the word 'youth' in the 1873 Trust Deed was used in a gender-neutral sense, and does not mandate male-only enrolment at the College," he wrote in his judgment. "The claim for a declaration to the contrary ... fails and must be dismissed." Newington's principal welcomed the court's decision. "We have been steadfast in our position throughout these proceedings and we remain excited to build on our rich history and traditions by taking Newington into our next era," Michael Parker wrote in a letter sent to the school's community. "We look forward now to uniting around our future vision for Newington College as a respected, modern and dynamic school for boys, girls, young men and young women from next year and into the future." The court case may not be over yet, however. Justice Parker will later hear whether the parents will press claims that a male-only limitation applies to other property held by the school's council, including later-acquired lands. Newington's co-ed plans come as the NSW government adjusts public school boundaries to ensure all students have guaranteed access to a co-educational school by 2027. More than 150,000 girls and more than 130,000 boys attend single-sex schools across Australia, according to a 2023 Catholic schools discussion paper. About five-in-six of those students are in non-government schools, like Newington.
