Friends of the Hound was inspired by a gorgeous, timid blue greyhound at the Tweed Shire Pound in December 2002.  Lisa White & family called in at the Pound to become members of the local animal rescue group, Friends of the Pound.  Spying a sad, beautiful dog in one of the enclosures she made an casual remark about how lovely she looked, but was overheard by one of the pound staff who made the comment, "Oh don't look at her - she's a greyhound!"   At Lisa's puzzled expression she roughly explained, "She's a greyhound - she's here to be destroyed!"  Lisa gathered her family & quickly walked away.  However all afternoon & all throughout the evening the soulful eyes & gorgeous face of this pretty blue female greyhound stayed etched in her mind. She decided to check out the internet & find out more about greyhounds - and was up half the night looking at numerous greyhound adoption sites in the UK & USA & the handful in Australia, spending hours reading about the awful plight of racing dogs and the gentle, friendly nature & placid, quiet temperament of this breed.

The next day, Lisa started making phone calls & arrangements, & despite being told that Greyhounds were not released from the local pound, through sheer determination & persistence, & a great deal of luck, she managed to rescue that particular dog - the first ever Greyhound to be adopted from that pound.

Zada (meaning "lucky one") became the first pet Greyhound of the White family (who then went on to adopt another some months later, & foster hundreds of others).  Zada & Bimbi lived harmoniously with their young kids, other dogs, cats, horses, chooks, guinea pigs & rabbit.

Zada had inspired Lisa to help more Greyhounds.  In 2003, the Friends of the Hound Greyhound Adoption Group was formed with help from members of Friends of the Pound (Tweed) Inc.  Friends of the Hound is dedicated to the rescue & rehoming of Greyhounds as pets, & operates throughout NSW and SE QLD, with much of their work based in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Gold Coast &

Greater Brisbane areas.

Now known as Friends of the Hound Inc., after forming an incorporated association - a separate, stand-alone entity - in January 2010, the organisation's mission is still to create public awareness of the Greyhound as a gentle, affectionate dog and excellent family pet and advocate ADOPTION, NOT DESTRUCTION.

Through a continued program of promotion and education, Friends of the Hound aims to dispel the public misconceptions about this breed and provide permanent loving homes for Greyhounds as pets. Greyhounds are not just race dogs, they make great pets, and it is hoped that owning a Greyhound or ex-racer as a pet will become as popular in Australia as it is overseas in countries such as the United States and United Kingdom.

Friends of the Hound Inc. is volunteer-based and not-for-profit, relying solely on fundraising and donations.  It is the generosity of the community and the efforts of our members that enable the group to achieve its aims. Much effort is spent actively promoting the organisation and its functions - at various promotional events and through a range of media and advertising material.

Over the years, Friends of the Hound has gained support from members of the community, local businesses and organisations, other welfare groups, clubs, & greyhound owners & trainers, and it is hoped to continue to expand this support network.

All dogs re-homed through Friends of the Hound are desexed, vaccinated and microchipped and are rehomed with coats, collars and muzzles.

As you can appreciate, a shortage of both time and funds plague most voluntary organisations, and it is a credit to everyone involved in Friends of the Hound that so much is actually achieved. However, more volunteers are always needed, particularly foster carers, who play a very important role in the greyhound adoption process by providing a temporary home for the dogs until they are adopted out as pets.

The dream of this organissation is to eventually have a greyhound adoption centre, set up as a home for rescued greyhounds, where the dogs can be housed safely and potential adoptees can meet the greyhounds and access information about the breed and the organisaiton.  This would greatly improve on the current successful, but limited, rescue and rehoming efforts, so that more beautiful greyhounds can be saved.  The Hound Haven project needs help to change from a dream to a much-needed reality.

Friends of the Hound Inc. believe that through effective marketing and a successful re-homing program, combined with support from the general public, corporations, welfare bodies, members of parliament, and industry bodies and associations, many lovely greyhounds that would otherwise be destroyed can be adopted out to good homes to bring years of joy and companionship as much-loved pets!

With vision, and a voice - it is hoped that the current sad situation for greyhounds can change & that the disturbing 'wastage' of these lovely dogs caused by a racing & betting industry can be reduced or, better still, stopped.

GREYHOUNDS MAKE GREAT PETS!

For more information, or to express your interest in supporting the Greyhound cause or in adopting a Greyhound, please   click here to email