Aloha from Silver the greyhound.
Seven-year-old Silver has settled comfortably into retirement in Hawaii. The former GAP greyhound is living the dream of many humans who yearn for a life of surf, sand and Hawaiian shirts.
Silver is living on the Big Island with Glady and Jack Chistenson. The island is the biggest in the archipelago, with expanses of rainforest, parks, beaches, waterfalls and volcanoes. It is a long way from the racing track where she competed under the name Silver Fire.
Silver is sharing the ocean views with another dog, Henry the Shiba Inu which is a Japanese breed, and a cat which rules the roost. Silver has already been put back in her place with a feline swipe to the nose.
This is the third dog the couple have adopted from GAP. Glady prefers to adopt from GAP rather than the US mainland because, as Australia is free of rabies, the dogs don’t need to go through a long quarantine when they touch down in Hawaii, which is better for them.
The couple has fostered greyhounds in the past and adopted their first greyhound in 1995 when they were living in Washington State. They adopted from GAP for the first time in 2004, the same year they retired to Hawaii. Their previous GAP greys lived to a ripe old age and they always intended to adopt again when the time came.
“We’ve fallen in love with greyhounds, they are so gentle and sweet. After our last greyhound, we didn’t have one for many years.”
Jack and Glady decided that a greyhound would be the perfect Christmas present to themselves and contacted Larissa Darragh, GAP’s Re-homing Manager.
Glady says she has developed a wonderful relationship with Larissa over the years and always trusts that she will choose the right dog for her. She first heard about GAP Victoria from a businesswoman who sells dog collars and other pet accessories.
The arrangement works so well that Glady doesn’t mind the cost of flying greyhounds to Hawaii. Luckily, Jack loves greyhounds as much as she does – he was at the airport to meet Silver with a leash in one hand a floral lei in the other.
