Unsung Heroes: Jacky Kemp is dedicated to improving the lives of greyhounds in need

Passionate about helping animals in need, a Busselton woman is helping rehabilitate greyhounds one pup at a time, encouraging families to get dogs off the track and into loving homes. In 2013, Jacky Kemp established Busselton Greyhound Awareness, a South West organisation dedicated to bringing awareness to the “plight of the Greyhounds during and after their racing career has ended” by fostering and rehousing them after their time on the track. Moving to the seaside town from the United Kingdom in 2009, Jacky was looking to fill the void left in her heart after the passing of her previous dog just three years earlier. Unable to commit to a full-time pet, she quickly looked into the idea of fostering. “We weren’t gonna have any more of our own pets, we couldn’t go through the heartbreak,” she said. “I went three years without a dog but it didn’t feel right,” she said. “So I sat up in bed one morning and just googled for rescue dogs to foster ... and it came up with greyhounds.” With little knowledge of the racing world up until that point, Jacky initially began fostering directly through the industry but soon decided to start her own fostering organisation. Since establishing the group 10 years ago — in affiliation with Greyhound Adoptions WA — BGA has helped rehabilitate about 300 dogs after their racing careers ended. Last year alone, 227 greyhounds died on Australian race tracks, according to the Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds. The Coalition says many of these deaths were veterinarian-administered euthanisations performed following on-track injuries. And while Jacky agrees the industry has seen some improvements over the past decade — with certain dogs no longer required to wear muzzles and changes to laws surrounding deaths — she hopes racing will one day be banned all together so to break the stereotypes associated with the breed. Often attending markets and community events, Jacky said many people presumed they were vicious, dangerous creatures but were often proved wrong after meeting the dogs themselves. “Back when they had to wear muzzles, people would stop me and asked how I care for such a vicious breed ... or cross to the other side of the street if they saw them coming,” she said. “One to one they quickly realise what beautiful dogs they are. “I get so many people say to me after meeting them or adopting one ‘I’m so happy with the dog’ and ‘I wish I’d known about greyhounds years ago’. “It’s so heart-warming to really to get that message out there and for people to feel like that.” But despite seeing a boom in foster families and adoptions in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said numbers had dropped in recent months and the group was now keen for more foster families to keep up with the demand of dogs coming through. “Our biggest problem is getting people to foster,” Jacky said “When we first started, it was fine, and then when COVID hit, it went crazy and we got so many people wanting to foster and adopt. “We have a handful of families here and in Bunbury ... but there are so many dogs coming through and not enough people to look after them.” As a foster family, the dogs will live with you full-time until they find a forever home, with all food, care and maintenance costs covered by BGA. “We buy them a bed, we pay for their food ... there really is no expense for people who are fostering, other than obviously having to physically take care of them,” she said. “What you see at the track is not what they are. “Greyhounds are great for seniors because they’re very gentle, they sleep a lot, they are suitable for people with mental health issues ... they are very basic dogs.” A bittersweet reality, she said many foster carers had fallen into “foster failing” growing attached to the dogs and deciding to adopt them themselves. Fostering for a decade now, Jacky said she had a different mindset when taking dogs in and out of her home and was simply dedicated to improving the lives of animals in need. “I love my work as a foster carer,” she said. “A lot of people say to me, ‘oh, I could never do that, I’d get too attached’ but it’s a different mindset. “I know I am rehabilitating a greyhound until it’s ready to go into a new home, and then when that’s done, I take another one and I save a life.” People interested in fostering or adopting a greyhound can reach out via the Busselton Greyhound Awareness Facebook page or visit their table at Fig Tree Lane Busselton every Saturday morning from 9am-1pm.