In case you are new here and don’t know much about me and how I got involved in greyhound adoption here is the quick long-winded run down.
A couple of years ago I was renting a house where I was not allowed to have any pets. I had been wanting a dog for many years so I thought I could volunteer for a local rescue or shelter to get my fix as well as helping out some less than fortunate dogs. So after doing a quick search on the ASPCA web site for organizations in my area the first thing to be listed was Greyhound Rescue & Rehab and was located right down the road from me. Interesting I thought, I had not known much about the breed except they were the fastest dogs and the many misconceptions about the breed, but I always thought they were a gorgeous animal. I also had not realized there was a overwhelming need to find these dogs home after their racing careers were over. I had grown up in RI and had seen many Lincoln Park race replays late at night on TV but never heard anything about adoption for the pups. I guess I alwlays figured the owners kept the dogs as pets when they were ready to retire, little did I know but that was all about to change.
I decided to do some research on the breed before I contacted the group. I must have read about 10 different web sites and I picked up two books, Greyhounds by Collie and Adopting a Retired Racing Greyhound by Branigan. By this point I was totally fascinated by the breed and their true athleticism. All my misconceptions had been squashed but now I was astounded at the sheer population of greyhounds in the country, I had no idea as I had never seen one up close and in person and never knew about the adoption programs. Now I had to contact the group, these dogs seemed so perfect to me and I wanted to meet them and help them get homes. so I fired off an email to the group president telling her about my situation, experience with other dogs and my desire to help. She replied back that I should attend a meet & greet to meet some hounds and talk to her volunteers and get back to her.
That next weekend I was off to a local m&g to meet my first greyhounds. There I met two of the groups ‘top brass’ volunteers who were able to answer many of my questions and just talk greys with me for a bit since I had done lots of reading prior. I was in awe of the hounds, so big, beautiful and calm. The first one I met, Daquari, just came right up to me for some pets and then gave me the greyhound lean, I was hooked! As soon as I got home that afternoon I fired off another email to the group president and said I definately want to volunteer. About a week later we met, she gave me the quick run down of things and handed me my first hound, Bruno, for transport to/from a m&g.
Well that was just the beginning… Since then I can’t count the number of transports I have done, meet & greets I’ve attended or even the number of people who I have talked to and educated about greyhounds as pets. I’ve also made many contacts throughout the adoption community and racing industry and have gained wealths of knowledge and am still learning. My role in my group has also grown. Not only do I attend m&g’s and transport hounds, I am now an adoption rep and work directly with placing hounds in homes. We have also just acquired kennel space and took in 27 dogs so I’ve spent considerable time at the kennel doing the various duties required.
Oh yeah, I did eventually buy my own place so I could get my own greyhound and I adopted him one year ago. His name is Cody (Collateraldamage) and he came to me with a broken leg which required surgery and a recovery period. He is as good as new now and I couldn’t have asked for a better dog. I’ve also fostered my share of hounds over the past year and currently I have a boy named Quinn who also has a broken leg and is a big sweet angel.
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