A DOG’S life is not a bad deal at the Campbell household on Ecclestone Street.
Playing in the sunshine with the chooks and ponies, regular chiropractic appointments, meat that could be easily served up on the family dinner table and plenty of cuddles from a loving three-year-old – it’s a life many dogs do not get to experience.
Johnathon and Zoe Campbell breed greyhounds for racing, throwing plenty of money and time into making sure their dogs are in top performance condition.
The couple finds it very difficult to hear people slam the “cruel” industry by saying it was a puppy-farming exercise with many dogs put down each year because they do not make the grade on the track.
“I can tell you exactly where every one of our pups has gone across Australia – we have never had to put a dog down,” Mr Campbell said.
“The industry is very heavily regulated, we undergo regular inspections to make sure everything is up to scratch – if a vet sees one flea on a dog before a race, that dog is not allowed to race.
“I would invite anyone who was worried about the welfare of greyhounds to come and see what goes on behind the scenes.”
Mr Campbell said there was a perception that greyhounds were dangerous because of “outdated” regulations which meant they had to wear muzzles in public.
“Our kids will play around and sit on top of the dogs, they share the yard with the chooks and horses – we trust them a lot more than other breeds of dog we have owned.”
The Campbells bred a bitch called Casual Narda who became very ill, so they spent thousands of dollars finding out what was wrong even though they were advised to put her down.
“We eventually found a trainer who was willing to give her a special diet and separate her bowl from the other dogs and she ran second in a race last night,” Mr Campbell said.
“The bottom line is, no trainer is going to treat their dog badly – because then it would perform badly, what would be the point?
“You would be hard pressed to find a dog owner who treats their animals better than a greyhound owner.”
