Adoptable Greyhounds Requirements:

Love, Exercise, And A Sense Of Humor

By John Voket

Christine Johnson, co-founder of Greyhound Rescue and Rehabilitation, remembers the first time she saw James, one of two dog track cast-offs eventually adopted by Newtown resident Sue Campbell.

“There was no light in his eyes, he just stared into space,” Ms Johnson recalled.

But after introductions to Ms Campbell and her first greyhound adoptee, Jessie, and several months of TLC, “…you’d hardly recognize James as the same dog,” said Ms Johnson.

Jessie and James, along with Abby, Silver, Jack, and Onesie were all socializing nicely last Saturday as five adopting families from Newtown gathered behind the library to discuss this often misunderstood breed of hound, and promote a local adoption opportunity this weekend.

According to Penny Meek, co-president of the Spay and Neuter Association of Newtown, representatives from the Greyhound Rescue and Rehabilitation network will be available to initiate adoption processes Saturday, November 13, between 10 am and 4 pm, at the group’s benefit collectible and craft fair. Several of the regal and available greyhounds will be at the fair, which will be held at the Newtown United Methodist Church, 92 Church Hill Road.

With more than 130 available dogs from Bridgeport’s Shoreline Star Greyhound Park from this racing season alone, Ms Johnson and all her organization’s volunteers have their hands full. But they still take great pains to ensure that each dog is permanently placed with the correct family.

In fact, it is highly unusual for a dog to be placed with an adoptive family on the day applications are completed. “If you don’t have any experience with greyhounds, you don’t really get a good sense of how they really are at an event like this,” Ms Johnson told The Bee earlier this week.

Typically, applicants are screened against the inventory of adoptable animals, and a home visit is made without the dog, before the placement is completed. Luckily for Ms Johnson, and the more than 350 dogs she has placed in just over three years, she apparently has a fantastic matchmaking skill.

She has never been unsuccessful in arranging a permanent adoption for any of her greyhounds, and only about a dozen have been returned and readopted. And in almost every case, it was because the well-meaning owners were simply overwhelmed by the dogs’ difficult domestic transitions.

“The dogtrack owners treat these animals like inventory, so they eat, sleep, exercise, run, and go back in the crate,” Ms Johnson said. She explained that there is little if any human interaction beyond training and handling, and since the dogs spend their entire young lives in a track lifestyle, they do not come housebroken or equipped to immediately cope with some simple household challenges.

This was an interesting point of discovery for Beth and McRae Williams, who recently acquired their second adoptee.

“They don’t have any idea what stairs are all about, or glass doors either,” Mr Williams said. “We had to put post it notes on the patio doors so the dogs don’t run right through them.”

Ms Meek added that the dogs typically cannot be allowed to roam off leash unless they are in a high fenced area. “They shouldn’t be tied on a run, because if they get going and hit the end of that rope, they could easily break a leg or other bones because they are somewhat fragile,” she said. “They also are terrible swimmers, so they can’t be left out in patio enclosures where there might be a pool.”

Potential greyhound adoptees that will be available through Saturday’s event are typically between 2 and 5 years old, but some can be as old as 10 or 12. Ms Meek said greyhounds have an expected lifespan of 12 years or more, and they can take as little as a day or as long as several months to acclimate to new home surroundings.

“That’s why we say they need your love, daily exercise, and a sense of humor,” Ms Johnson said. “Between housebreaking, tripping, and knocking into things, they’re actually pretty amusing.”

But according to all the Newtown greyhound “parents,” there is nothing like giving a new home, and a new life to these former sports stars of the K9 world. Besides some special equipment to minimize injury to the animal during walks and a warm coat to protect them during winter outings, the dogs are fairly low maintenance.

“I’ve never met a greyhound that was naturally aggressive or mean,” Ms Johnson assured. “But if a child was to get near them while they were eating, or they become scared in some way, they might snap. Remember, these dogs have never been exposed to family life. They spend almost all their lives in a crate.”

The Newtown contingent said their greyhounds all transitioned fairly well to store-bought dog foods and most are fine with other dogs (and cats). In some cases, owners said, their greyhounds quickly became very relaxed and almost lazy, “… until it’s time for their daily exercise, and they hardly ever bark,” Ms Williams noted.

So why shouldn’t everybody consider owning a greyhound?

“We tend to not adopt to homes where there are children under the age of 5,” Ms Johnson said. “It’s our experience that up to that age, children might not be as understanding of the needs and behaviors of the dog and problems might occur.”

And no matter how cushy their lifestyle, or the age of the dog, greyhounds are gregarious and they love to run.

“So we usually avoid placing them in a home with a small house and yard,” she said.

The preadoption home visit Ms Johnson or other placement volunteers make must include meeting all in-house family members and pets, as well as a thorough inspection of the property to point out potential risks and ensure a comfortable exercise zone for the new arrival.

Another important tip: “They don’t do well with K9 fence systems,” Ms Meek said. “They get going so fast, so quickly that they run right through it.”

Ann Manley was one of the Newtown group who knew she wanted a dog, but knew absolutely nothing about greyhounds before meeting up with Abby, who coincidentally shares her master’s birthday.

“If it wasn’t for Penny, I never would have known about these lovely animals,” she said.

The fee for adopting through the Greyhound Rescue and Rehabilitation network is $240, but all dogs come with a complete bill of health, the appropriate collar, leash and muzzle, and a full tick-borne disease screening to ensure health issues do not crop up after the dog becomes settled in its new home.

For more details on the rescue organization, volunteer, and foster opportunities, and to learn about potentially qualifying to adopt one of the local greyhounds, visit www.greyhoundrescuerehab.org. To get involved with the Spay and Neuter Association of Newtown, visit Penny Meek and the volunteers this Saturday at the Collectable and Craft Fair between 10 am and 4 pm at the United Methodist Church.