| Here's a good story printed this week on Mick Patterson (trainer of - He Knows Uno) & what he calls "Dads Army". http://m.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/micks-dads-army-to-soldier-on/3060391/#.V4X9AvLNeP8.facebook -------------------------------------------------- EVERY morning at 5am, Mick Patterson hears his side door open as his Dad's Army of dog walkers show up, ready to grab a lead and help take his greyhounds for a walk around the streets of Iluka. There's 70-year-old Postie, who was with Mick back when he had a prawn trawler for 25 years. They got into dogs together around 14 years ago, and Postie has been helping Mick out ever since. Then there's 83-year-old Lenny Everson, who has been training greyhounds since 1986, and knows if a dog is ready to race by how hard they're pulling on the lead. Vince Colnan, who is 86 years old, started walking with Mick, Postie and Lenny six years ago when he saw Mick one morning and struck up a conversation. Vince asked if Mick had a three-legged dog, because that would be all he could handle. As luck would have it, Mick just happened to have one, and he has been walking greyhounds of a morning ever since. The latest recruit was Johno Johnston, and at 69 (and a half) is one of the youngest greyhound walkers. Johno and Vince have been neighbours for two years, and after a yarn one morning at 4am Vince said they were short of dog walkers, so Johno was in. Mick said that he wouldn't be able to train his greyhounds if it weren't for the help of his mates. "They're a great bunch of people," he said. "It can be hard to get out of bed of a morning. You've got to have a reason, and these blokes have the dogs." Over the years, the walking group has become about more than just greyhounds, Mick said. "I more regard this place as our own men's shed, we talk about everything," he said. "There's a lot of knowledge here, with the age of everyone, and they're all an inspiration to me, how they get up every morning and come here to help me out." It hasn't taken long for Johno to get to know all of the dogs by name. "They've all got their own personalities, and they're all good dogs," he said. "One of them looks out for me of a morning and as soon as he hears the door open he is jumping out of his skin. It's something I look forward to of a morning." Since Vince has been walking with the dogs, he said he can feel the difference it has made to his health. "I go to the doctor twice a year, for a flu needle and an eyesight test for my driver's license, and that's it," he said. "If all old blokes did this, they'd be in better shape, and for the rest of the day you're as fit as a fiddle. It does your shoulders and your knees the world of good, it helps everything." With the recent announcement by the NSW Government to ban greyhound racing by July next year, Mick won't know what will happen to his crew of dog walkers. "You try and dodge that question, but I haven't stopped thinking about it," he said. "We will still walk the dogs, but it's the thrill of racing and competing that's exciting. That goes for the dogs too. You see dogs before I go to the races, and every one of them wants to go. As soon as they see me dressed for the races, they're that excited, so that will be a shame. "The people who help me, we'll always be mates, that's not in danger. Every one of those blokes is a trainer at heart, and I feel sorry for everyone because we're doing what we love."
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