CHP IS OUT THERE – BY MARK PIERREPONT

I’m writing this short piece on canine haemorrhagic pneumonia (CHP) as an urgent reminder for everybody involved in the sport to educate themselves about this terrible, fast acting illness.

It is claiming the lives of much loved greyhounds when you very least expect it. We have still not come to terms with losing Salacres Punch (Punchy).

It was the suddenness of it that magnified everything. Totally unexpected. It leaves you asking so many questions.

I had not previously heard much about CHP, at least not in detail. But I certainly had no understanding of the illness and its devastating consequences.

Since we lost Punch, I have been on a mission to learn as much as possible and have spoken to as many people as possible about it. The truth of the matter, is even the most knowledgeable of experts don’t know everything about it.

For this reason, it is vitally important that, as a sport, we don’t hide from it.

We all need to share as much information as possible and when a case is discovered, that this intelligence is made known to as many people as possible. It is surely only through transparency, that we will get to the bottom of it and ensure that the illness effects as few people as possible.

I have been stunned by the number of people who have contacted me over the past couple of months that have also lost greyhounds to CHP. It is clear that the illness is far more common and widespread in the racing community than most of us could have imagined.

Only this week I was contacted by Sarah Spillane who trains at Peterborough. Like ourselves, Sarah runs an extremely professional kennel where her love of the dogs and the cleanliness of her kennels cannot be called into account.

Yet Sarah lost an 18 month old unraced pup that she had bred herself and had nurtured from day one. A perfectly fit and healthy greyhound who within hours had lost his battle for life.

Why and how this has happened to Sarah and her pup Kane I do not know but we need to limit the possibilities for this disease to be spread amongst our community.

If any trainer has any concerns about any of their greyhounds, for example if they’re coughing, please do not take them to the track. They should be isolated immediately.

I would also advise everybody to print off the literature available from the GBGB and Professor Richard Payne and keep it to hand.

We have excellent local vets, but when Punch first showed symptoms for CH, it wasn’t even on their radar.

Sarah Spillane found herself in a similar position. Yet recognising the symptoms could be a life saver

Everybody who has ever handled greyhounds will be aware of the usual sickness signs. CHP is different. You will find that your usually happy, bouncy greyhound is extremely lethargic.

They will simply not want or be able to move. You have no time to waste. You must immediately seek veterinary help.

When Sarah found Kane in a poorly state, she suspected the possible cause (partially due to the publicity over Punch), she immediately took the pup to the vet but was still unable to save him.

But at least she had acted and isolated the problem.

The massage from this story is – PLEASE – let us be more open about this.

To have the illness diagnosed is NO REFLECTION on the trainer, their kennels or the quality of care given to their dog.

But every case has horrendous potential consequences for other greyhounds and who would want the guilt of failing to act responsibly in view of the very real risks?