chris's greyhounds | a look at the retired greyhound

The tattoo page

The letters C, F, G, O, W and the nember 5 are not used in either English or Irish ear tattoos.

English Tattoos

The English greyhound has tattoos in only 1 ear these are 3 letters and 1 number, litters of 9 pups or more will have 3 letters + 1 letter. The first letter shows the year of birth.

M,N = 1993 N,P,Q = 1994 Q,R = 1995 R,S,T = 1996 T,U,V = 1997 V,X = 1998 X,Y = 1999 Z,A,B = 2000

D,E,H = 2001 H,I,J = 2002 J,K,L = 2003 and so on.

You will notice that some of the letters are repeated, the reason I don't know but you can get a rough idea of your greyhounds age.

Irish Tattoos

The Irish greyhound has tattoos in both ears 3 letters in the left ear and 2 letters in the right. The first letter in the right ear indicates the year of birth, the second letter indicates the tattooing steward.

N = 1992 P = 1993 Q = 1994 R = 1995 S = 1996 T = 1997 U = 1998 V = 1999 X = 2000 Y = 2001

Z = 2002 A = 2003 B = 2004 and so on.

A tip

If you can't read your greyhounds tattoo because the ink has faded, then get a torch and shine it through the back of the ear.