The Home Run Hounds sight hound and all breed dog show on Sunday was the first such event held at the park for 15 years.
It was organised by the Wombourne-based Home Run Hounds which became am official charity in July and also has branches in Stourbridge and Shenstone. It takes in greyhounds after their racing careers are over and seeks to re-home them with suitable owners. As well as highlighting their work they ran the different competitions which featured many breeds of dog.
Greyhounds are part of the sight hound family of dogs which also include whippets and Afghans and there were plenty of them available as potential pets to the hundreds of visitors and dog owners who also enjoyed food and craft stalls as well as those dedicated to canines.
Classes in the show ranged from pedigree to lurchers and categories from best movement to best markings, smoothest coat to solid colour.
Chair of Home Run Hounds Tracey Parbery, who helped organise the show said: “In the UK alone there are 600 retired greyhounds looking for their forever home and across our sites we have an average of 14, many of whom were with us today enjoying the show.
“A greyhound's racing career is relatively short and finishes at four years old. With an average lifespan of 13 there is a real need for them to get a suitable home after they have retired. They are the perfect pets, with a great temperament and they spend much of their time sleeping, with only two 20-minute walks a day needed.
“We foster them out for 14 days first of all to see how the owners get on with the dog and whether it is a suitable match, and if everyone is happy the adoption takes place.”
“The idea of the dog show which was the first in 15 years here was to highlight the work we do and just also for people to enjoy a dog themed day out watching or entering their pets in the show and browsing the stalls set up in the grounds of the beautiful Himley Hall.
“We had a lot of interest in the greyhounds and it was nice to be able to get the message out there at an event that was ideal for dog lovers.”
