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Regular readers of this blog probably know that I am a very happy Greyhound owner:
(That's a picture of my Pixie, race name Krafty Dixie, the day we met her at the kennel. Who wouldn't have taken her home?)
Daniel and I adopted Pixie from a great rescue organization in London, Ontario called Greyhound Adoption and Relocation Canada (GRA Canada) in March of this year. GRA is the brainchild of a great guy named Bill. Bill drives down to the States a couple of times a year and picks up dogs fresh off the racetrack, and brings them back to his farm where they live in a kennel in a converted barn until re-homed. Volunteers help him to keep them warm, fed and exercised until they can find their homes.
Every autumn there is a particularly urgent need for homes for Greyhounds. Racetracks in the Northeastern U.S. run on a seasonal basis, tons of dogs are "purged" from these tracks every year at this time. Bill does what he can, and this means taking as many dogs as he can handle at his farm in the autumn. Last year he took over 100 dogs, and had a real struggle to keep them in food, blankets etc...but eventually with the help of a lot of volunteer effort they were all re-homed!
If you have been thinking about adopting a dog, please consider a retired racing Greyhound. They make wonderful pets. Here's my own personal Top 10 Reasons to Adopt a Greyhound, in no particular order:
1) If you're a laid-back person, they are the dog for you. Greyhounds are nicknamed "45 mile per hour couch potatoes" for a reason - they sleep a lot, love to laze around and actually require less exercise than some other dog breeds (I'm looking at you Jack Russell).
2) They adapt to urban/apartment living especially well - Greys don't really need a lot of space. Since they can't be let off-leash in an unfenced area anyway, leash walks are going to be their primary form of exercise. You don't need a backyard to own a Greyhound.
3) Greyhounds are generally very affectionate, goofy dogs who live to please you. They bond very strongly with their owners and just take over your heart. Although dogs are individuals and this might not be true for every Grey, in general they are not aggressive and get along very well with people and other dogs. These are not the kind of animals that start barking when someone comes to the door.
4) That last bit really deserves its own point - Greyhounds very rarely bark. We have only heard Pixie bark 3 times...and two of them were when she was asleep and probably dreaming about chasing bunnies.
5) Greyhounds actually smile when they're happy, which if you're lucky, is most of the time.
6) Adopting a Greyhound is a great way to give a renewed lease on life to a dog that has spent the majority of its time in a cage. There is a fair amount of argument about the Greyhound racing industry and just how badly these dogs are treated ... the jury's still out for me. One thing I know for sure is that retired racers are grateful - and it's a wonderful feeling to know that you're letting this dog live out the rest of their life in a warm house, with a soft bed and some love and companionship. You will be endlessly rewarded for it.
7) The Greyhound community is a proud and powerful force - once you meet other Grey owners you'll have a great social network and support system. Since Greys are laid back, goofy dogs I think they attract similar qualities in owners. Every Greyhound owner I've met has been a really decent person.
8) Seeing a Greyhound run is something that takes your breath away. They have been bred for thousands of years to run, and run fast and seeing them in motion is beautiful.
9) What other breed of dog will allow you to trace their lineage back to the early 1800's? Just like horse racing, the Greyhound racing industry keeps stats, stats and more stats. I can go on a website called Greyhound Data and see every race that Pixie ran, look at her ancestors and their races, see the litters that she had. Check out her info page here. (* note - the "owner" information on Pixie's page is the info for her breeder/owner, not for me).
10) There is simply a great need to adopt these dogs. The Greyhound racing industry in the U.S. had come a long way in recent years, most racetracks are commited to re-homing dogs but thousands of Greys retire each year. Most racers end their career at 2 or 3 years old...and Greyhounds can live past 15. There are a lot of Greys out there looking for a soft couch to cuddle up on, maybe one of them is yours?
In the Southwestern Ontario area, I know of several Greyhound rescue groups:
Greyhounds in Need of Adoption (G.I.N.A.) - Toronto
GRA Canada - London
Adopt A Greyhound of Central Canada
Needlenose Greyhound Adoption - Hamilton
If you live elsewhere, there are Greyhound rescue groups in many countries. Just do an internet search for Greyhound rescue in your area.
Pixie says thank you for reading!
That is Pixie, kindly modeling a skein of handspun yarn from Felt Studio UK fibres, fresh off the spinning wheel. She seems a little too eager, if you know what I mean. I think I have a vain dog on my hands.
A longer post coming this week, I promise. Life has been full of changes lately and I just haven't gotten my head together to write about it.
I will leave you with a delicious bit of funny (mis)translation from a package of cleaning cloths found in an Asian grocery by a friend of mine. The flash obscures some of the writing, but all you need to know is that the really important bit is the last line.
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