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Addington’s last champion greyhound is still at his kennel in Darfield, waiting for a new home.
Sideline Sam is one of about 170 dogs previously owned by trainer Jonathan McInerney yet to enter the Great Mates programme to be retrained as pets since the racing industry closed at the end of July.
And he is one of 1249 greyhounds across the country that moved into the ownership of the Government’s Greyhound Transition Agency.
An agency spokesperson said 88 of its dogs were adopted out in August.
And while the agency saw a record number of adoption inquiries in August, the drive to find every greyhound a new home could take more than two years.
"Rehoming a greyhound can take time because every dog progresses at a different pace. We take care to ensure they are ready before being matched with the most suitable forever home.
"We have seen some remarkable matches, where adopters have felt a personal connection to a greyhound's circumstances and are well placed to provide the care, understanding and support they need.”
The retired racers are assessed on their behaviour, temperament, and response to a range of everyday situations, such as being around other animals or walking on linoleum flooring. They are then given a red, amber or green status based on how much support they will need through retraining.
A large majority of the greyhounds assessed in August, 86%, received a green rating, the agency spokesperson said.
“A small number of greyhounds were assessed as amber during this period, and we expect they will move to green quickly, once they have received some specialised support.”
McInerney said Sideline Sam can be sure of a new home; it is just a question of when.
"He'll definitely get a home, it's just a waiting game at the moment,” he said.
"It could be a long process because there's obviously a lot of dogs there on the list. Or they could call him up next week. It's just an unknown at the moment.”
About 30 of 200 of McInerney’s old dogs have already gone into retraining. He said he has had a dog called from the list every few days — “They are getting through the numbers fairly quickly.”
McInerney says Sideline Sam is getting exercised, cared for, and is already being introduced to other dogs.
While the Greyhound Transition Agency owns him now, he is still being cared for by McInerney’s staff in Darfield.
The government is compensating McInerney and other trainers with $36 per dog per day, going towards food, labour, transport, council registrations, and veterinary costs.