OVER the past few months, the greyhound industry has been on a roller coaster.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And, owner and trainer Maureen “Billie” Sharman has felt a range of emotions.
When the NSW government announced a decision to shut down greyhound racing, she was devastated.
The Muswellbrook woman, along with her husband Eric, has bred and raced greyhounds for more than 40 years.
On Tuesday, she could not stop smiling when she heard the government had reversed its decision to ban the sport.
Mrs Sharman was excited and relieved she would be able to continue in decades of work.
When the initial decision was announced in July, she wished through her disappointment that it didn't spell the end for NSW racing.
“I hoped, but I wasn’t confident, because the greyhound [racing] industry is so misunderstood,” she said.
“You get the people that haven’t been in the industry and they don’t see the good things, they just see the bad.”
Her main concern was what the ban would mean for her dogs, which the Sharmans love like family.
“They just mean so much to us,” she said, adding she now has four eight-week-old puppies.
Mrs Sharman said she was glued to the television during the Premier’s press conference on Tuesday, and said she thought Mr Baird showed character to admit he was wrong.
But, while she feels a sense of comfort about the latest announcement, she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself.
”I’m still a little apprehensive,” she said.
“I’m not going to rejoice at first until I know what the restrictions are.
“I think a lot of the changes [need] to be made, and I think the industry will just get stronger now, because of the restrictions.
“I think a lot of reforms will be really good for the industry.”