06 Apr 2021

Botswana Greyhound Association is mourning the death of Quicksilver who died on Saturday.

Quicksilver, who was blue in colour, was bred from a South Africa dog called Chilliboy.

Greyhound race lovers, together with his track nemesis, Zorro’s Golden Strider, will miss his prowess on the track.

Quicksilver trainer and owner, Major Piet Gabosekwe said he still could not accept the death of his powerful and ruthless dog.

He said Quicksilver woke up last month with a swelling on his entire hind legs and the groin area.

He said he rushed him to hospital where the veterinarian told them that he had been bitten by a tick, hence the swelling and what they called necrotic.

Major Gabosekwe said the tick bite also caused some dead skin around the bitten area, which then spread causing a big wound.

The doctor, he said, tried to control the wound for two weeks, but that the stitches loosened and fell off because the skin was dead.

“We tried our best to treat the now bigger wound, but unfortunately the pain was too much and he died on Saturday,” he said.

Losing Quicksilver, he said, had broken their hearts as he was a friend to everyone at home, adding that they still had not come to terms with his death.

He said Quicksilver behaved like a human being on the track. “He would run and pass right by the finish line, like he knew that was the way to win. Even at home he knew what I liked and expected of him.”

Major Gabosekwe said he bred and raised Quicksilver before giving him to South African Denise Reyneke, who was Quicksilver’s fathers owner as a gift.

He said Reyneke later wanted to sell Quicksilver and he decided to buy him back.

“Quicksilver was very special. I became a well-known trainer locally and in South Africa because of him. He won all his races in the under ages,” he said

He said when he joined the open races Quicksilver lost his first race to Bricks, but became a force to be reckoned with in subsequent races.

He said Quicksilver went on to beat the dog that beat him in the next race. ENDS