In her short-lived racing career, Jill the greyhound went by the name Rippling Waters.
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It was a majestic title, but the dog’s track career ended unspectacularly after a single race at Temora, where she finished seventh.
On Saturday, after some time in foster care, the black-coated two-year-old was one of 20 greyhounds to find permanent new homes, following an adoption event in Dapto.
Jill will live on an acreage at Avondale, with another dog, some livestock and the three Tedstone brothers – Beau, 5, Lachlan, 3, and baby Cooper.
She will undergo training and will hopefully one day pass the checks required for her to shed the muzzle when out in public, said the boys’ mum, vet nurse Heather Tedstone.
“Straight away, you can tell she’s a beautiful girl,” Mrs Tedstone said.
“She’ll have a pretty easygoing life on five acres with three little boys to grow up with.
"She’s in a for a pretty good life now, that’s for sure.”
As a child, Mrs Tedstone feared greyhounds “for no real reason”.
“They just had a really bad name,” she said.
“But I think that’s changing.
“They’re very gentle creatures. Beautiful little souls. Lounge lizards.”
There were 36 dogs on offer at Saturday’s adoption event at Dapto Showground.
The dogs changed hands for $250, under a process overseen by by Greyhounds as Pets (GAS), Greyhound Racing NSW’s not-for-profit dog-matching service.
GAS volunteer Michael Stewart said the event was intended to educate those who knew little about the breed.
”A lot of people know greyhounds as a purely racing dog. They see the racing and also the muzzle and that’s it,” he said.
“The reality is, they’re just big couch potatoes. They’ll sleep for approximately 16 hours a day, they’re very easy, very low-maintenance. They hardly shed any hair, don’t really smell and are just really cruisy dogs. They require minimal exercise – half an hour a day will do it fine.”