American dream for Sunderland greyhound who refuses to race

A greyhound who hates running around a track will instead be pursuing the American dream.

Rather than having the racing career for which she was bred, Kiki will swap Sunderland for California with her new family – jazz musicians Natalie Angst and Tomas Antonic.

Kik will accompany the couple, who are currently based in Germany, at their shows before snoozing at home on the couch.

Professional greyhound trainer Yvonne Bell, who bred and raised Kiki, said: “She’d play all day and chase a ball, but all she wanted was to be fussed by people. Not all of them have that instinct to chase – she was one of those that didn’t really have it.”

Kiki was one of a litter of seven, with most going on to race.

But when she was taken to the track for her trials, she stood out.

“You can feel it in the body when you’ve got hold of them,” Bell explained. “She wasn’t really fussed… she might jog after it [the hare], but she wasn’t keen.”