By Kim J. Harmon

Their elegance, their gentleness, their sweet temperament – there were more than a few reasons why the Donigers decided to bring a greyhound into their Newtown home. And they hope those same reasons will lead other families to bring greyhounds into their homes.

“It’s their personality – they are very gentle and loving dogs,” explained Nancy Doniger. “And we were really interested in ‘rescuing’ an animal … which was another good reason (to go greyhound).

It was August of 2000 when Nancy and her son, Nick, went to Shoreline Star Dog Track in Bridgeport to meet a group of greyhounds – all of them ranging between two to five years of age – that had been retired from racing.

“There were 10 to 15 dogs when we went down there,” Nick, 19, a freshman at Western Connecticut State University remembers, “and Jade (who became the new Doniger family member) seemed to be the most excited to see someone come visit her.”

Ever since then, the Donigers have been active in trying to facilitate more rescues of the Shoreline Star retired greyhounds (under the purview now of the Pups Without Partners, a 501C non-profit organization). For instance, Jade and the Donigers will be at a meet-and-greet for prospective adopting families on Saturday, May 15, from 10 am to 4 pm, at the Wal-Mart in Danbury.

“They are my favorite dogs,” said Nick. “Most of the time they are calm and tame. They love people. I have never met one who wasn’t friendly.”

Bringing a greyhound into your home is not quite bringing a cocker spaniel or basset hound into your home. While greyhounds are generally well trained, they are usually not accustomed to walking on asphalt or even walking up and down a flight of stairs and it takes time to get used to all of that.

“But Jade became comfortable almost immediately,” said Nick. “She fit right in.”

Greyhounds love to run, too, and need a place to run. Pups Without Partners is adamant that new adoptive families don’t allow the greyhounds to run unfettered outside and so Nick will often bring Jade over to Fairfield Hills to stretch her legs.

Now, there are some 30 dogs left over from the 2003 racing season and all are in need of a new home (although Connecticut is a “no kill” state, PWP is still earnestly looking for homes for their dogs). Prospective families would have to fill out an application so Pups Without Partners could find the right homes for their animals. Plus there is, of course, the matter of covering the costs of vaccinations.

But anyone interested in adopting a greyhound should attend the meet-and-greet because there is a lot that people don’t understand about greyhounds – described by some as “40 mile-an-hour couch potatoes.”

For instance, greyhounds are not neurotic animals. They have not been starved or given anabolic steroids to make them faster. They have not been kept in crates or deprived of human contact and are certainly not put to sleep when their career is over.

In general, greyhounds are friendly, affectionate dogs who thrive on lots of attention and human companionship. Since they were raised with a number of littermates, they competed for affection and – with their new families – would love becoming the center of attention.

Simply put – greyhounds are eager to please, quiet, clean (with minimal shedding), gentle and non-aggressive, good natured with children and other pets, grateful for a new home, highly intelligent, and affectionate.

So on May 15 you can meet Jade and, perhaps like the Donigers, fall in love.

Contact Pups Without Partners at 1-203-576-1976, ext. 342.