In 2020, she and her husband adopted former greyhound racers Tracy, 11, and Doug, 7.
Her appreciation for the breed developed while Dr Godfrey was working at Murdoch University in Perth.
“They have got a vet school and they have greyhounds they use for teaching.”
The school chose them for their good temperament and because they were accustomed to different people handling and examining them for injuries.
“They were ex-racers and so you could take them for a walk on your lunch break.”
Dr Godfrey and her husband moved to Dunedin about eight years ago and soon connected with other enthusiasts of the breed.
“Dunedin has got a great greyhound community.
“There is a little Facebook group and organised walks.”
The couple began joining regular greyhound walks.
“Often people have got more than one dog, so there is a spare to walk.”
In 2020, they bought a house and after completing renovations such as fixing gates and fences, they began exploring the idea of adopting greyhounds.
“We knew that we wanted greyhounds, but we had to wait to save for a house of our own.”
A friend from the adoption group Nightrave Greyhounds guided Dr Godfrey through the adoption process.
“You submit an application online that asks you different questions about what your lifestyle is like … do you work? or are you retired? or do you have kids? and all these things and then someone comes to your house to do a home check.”
Tracy was sourced through Nightrave Greyhounds, then paired with Doug, who came via another group, May Hounds.
“The two groups worked together for our adoption, which was really cool.”
Tracy had been a popular racing greyhound considered suitable for breeding.
“Tracy was quite well-known by quite a few people in the racing industry because she’d had puppies as well, so there were a lot of people that recalled her exuberant personality.”
Doug had a more anxious demeanour.
“He only raced 10 races and they decided that he was not probably enjoying himself very much and that he might be better off in retirement.”
The two former racing greyhounds are now a settled part of the family.
“They are pretty chill dogs … they like routine.
“We go for a short walk in the morning, so probably not more than about 20 minutes … and then when we get home, it is dinner time and they will usually snuggle up to us on the couch.
“We love our dogs.”
sam.henderson@thestar.co.nz
