Thinking of adopting? How about a greyhound?
By Gina Spadafori
December 4, 2008
Last weekend my brother and I went to San Francisco to get ravioli from Lucca’s, the corner store where my grandfather first bought them when the place opened in 1925. My father moved to Sacramento in 1954, when my folks got married, but my mother quickly learned to add a little Italian to her WASPy holiday dinners and more than 50 years later, we still have Lucca ravioli for the holidays.
My father has been ill, so he couldn’t make it to San Francisco to pick up the goods. More than 75 years of Lucca ravioli and you’re certainly a regular: The counter man at Lucca’s knew my dad had been sick, and immediately asked us about him. Seems my dad still has a lot of friends in SF, and they all shop at Lucca’s, too.
Since we were in San Francisco, I dropped briefly by Christie’s house. Dr. Becker and I donated 50 books to Nathan Winograd’s upcoming No-Kill Conference, and getting them to Christie was the first step in getting the signed books to Nathan, who lives across the Bay. (I’ve still never met Nathan Winograd, or even talked to him on the phone!)
Christie got a hug, but then I turned my attention to Rebel and Kyrie. Miss Kyrie Borzoi greeted us as graciously as any royal would, but soon abandoned our company for the softness of the couch. Sweet Rebel stayed close to me, nibbling gently on my sweatshirt and wagging his long tail in slow, elegant strokes.
Rebel is so big and Hound of the Baskervillish that Christie says sometimes people visibly startle when they first see him. I’m quite certain Rebel is the biggest dog my brother has ever seen, and he seemed just a little taken aback. Not me though: I adore Rebel.
Both of Christie’s dogs are so different from my own. Retrievers aren’t inclined to graciously and gently greet people at the door. They want you to know they really, really love you, and would love you much much more if you’d throw something, now. And again, like forever.
I love my active, crazy, never-say-quit retrievers, but there certainly are moments when I am jealous of Christie for having a pair of 40 mph couch potatoes.
You might have a hard time finding a Borzoi from a reputable breeder, and I guarantee you it’s not easy finding a Scottish Deerhound like the estimable Rebel — it’s a very rare breed indeed. But a slightly smaller, less furry 40 mph couch potato? Why you can bring one of those into your life pretty easily, just by contacting a rescue-and-rehome group for off-track greyhounds.
And the need for these guys to find homes may never be greater than in the months ahead. Last month, Massachusetts voted to end greyhound racing by 2010. And that means the pressure to place greyhounds is going to be even more intense for these groups. From the Boston Globe:
The reason French Larry is in Massachusetts, 1,300 miles from his birthplace, shows the conundrum the region’s greyhound adoption shelters face as they prepare for a state ban on dog racing slated to take effect in January 2010.
With the expected influx of greyhounds from the Wonderland and Raynham tracks in Massachusetts, there isn’t much place to put them. Shelters already struggle to house dogs that are sent from racetracks across the country, and even as far away as Ireland.
“I can tell you from all of the adoption agencies I know of that there is little more room anywhere,” said Michael McCann, president of the Greyhound Project, a Framingham-based nonprofit organization that supports and promotes greyhound adoption nationwide. “They’re overflowing.”
These are wonderful dogs, and great pets. If you’re thinking of adopting a dog anytime soon, think about a retired racing greyhound. In general terms, they’re a lot easier to live with than bouncy young retrievers, believe me!
A greyhound rescue group is very active in my area. I always see them at PetSmart and even at Neighborhood fairs during the summer. And they really are gentle, sweet, unflappable dogs.
Comment by 2CatMom — December 4, 2008 @ 10:58 am
Yay, Gina! Thanks for promoting the adoption of my other favorite breed. Retired racers are friendly, loving and quiet. They’re fabulous apartment or condo dogs—I always describe them as being like giant cats. My only qualifier to that statement is that if you have stairs going up to your place, you need to think about whether you could carry a greyhound up and down them in the event of injury or old age. Stairs are the only reason we no longer have a greyhound, but we hope to one day remedy that.
Comment by Kim Thornton — December 4, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
Kim, I bet you will be stunned to know that I remember the name of your greyhound.
Savannah.
:)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 4, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
Any experienced greyhound people want to comment on how they are with cats, small dogs, etc?
Comment by slt — December 4, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
Not experienced, but I believe the groups generally test for small critter compatibility. There is (was?) a website out there that has a slew of photos of greys with kittiesetc. I think it’s an individual dog thing and proper intros/ management.
Comment by straybaby — December 4, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
A friend of mine has a greyhound, a great dane, and 4 cats. The greyhound has never been a problem and the great dane learned who ran the house when he was a puppy and the 4 cats backed him into a corner after they’d had enough puppy antics.
Comment by 2CatMom — December 4, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
I wish we could post pictures here…my greyhound (her name was Shanti) was my first rescue and was the most amazing friend one could ever hope for. I adopted her as a retired racer they had kept and used used for breeding…she was 10 years old when I adopted her and lived an incredible 11 years after! Absolutely the best adoption choice I ever made!
Comment by Joy — December 4, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
Joy … email me a pic. I’ll post it. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 4, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
I saw Nathan today and gave him the books, and I said, “Did you see Gina blogged this morning about the book swap? And she turned it into a PSA about adopting greyhounds.”
“Wow,” he said admiringly. “How did she do that?”
“She’s just that good,” I told him.
Comment by Christie Keith — December 4, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
Straybaby is correct. A good Grey Rescue will test for compatibility with smaller animals. Most greyts adapt nicely to smaller dogs and cats in their home. That doesn’t mean that when or if the neighbor’s cat wanders into your fenced yard, your greyt won’t chase it and try to kill it. 2000 plus years have honed the canine instinct to chase moving prey to an art form.
Many people who have greyts and smaller pets solve that problem by muzzling their greyts when letting them out together. This is usually a simple basket or racing muzzle, and retired track dogs don’t even blink at the idea of wearing one.
Most if not all greyhound adoption places will stress ad infinitum the importance of never letting your greyt off leash and don’t recommend electronic fences so a fenced in yard is a good thing to have if possible. However, they will adapt nicely to an apartment equipped with a comfy couch or bed and a good brisk daily walk or two. If there is somewhere near you with a suitable fence that you can let your greyt run, even better.
A Rescue greyt may not have any idea at first how to do stairs, carpets, wood floors, dog doors and a host of other regular household stuff, but will know what a crate, leash and muzzle are.
One thing I particularly enjoy is to watch a retired racer when someone brings one to practice for the first time at our LGRA club meets. The dog comes totally alive watching the dogs break from the box after the jack-a-lure. It’s awesome!!!!
Comment by Anne T — December 4, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Greyhounds are wonderful! My parents had one for 12 years. She died at age fourteen. They lived on the coast and she was able to go for daily runs on the beach. They managed to train her to come when called, but she always ran in an oval, so she always came back! (Kind of a canine boomerang.) She only ran the oval in one direction! I’m assuming it’s the same direction she ran at the track. She did spend a lot of time off leash and never offered to chase other animals.
There are a few things you have to watch carefully with greyhounds. You must be willing to spend the money for good dental care. They have notoriously poor mouths. I’m not sure what the cause is, diet or genetics. You need to find a vet that’s experienced with greyhounds. Anesthesia is tricky because they have almost no body fat. Greyhounds MUST be kept fit and trim. Extra weight is really hard on their fine frames.
The best thing about greyhounds is this: Watching one sleeping peacefully on your couch is better than having valium in the house. They are so laid back! You can’t help but catch the feeling.
Comment by C.L.H. — December 4, 2008 @ 10:23 pm
Greyhound seem aloof but sweet, too. I helped to walk the ones at the rescue near where I used to live. The people at the rescue said that if they didn’t have enough walkers the dogs only got to go out in a tiny fenced in run (this was in the city). They were always looking for people to help. So if you’re thinking “hmmm, maybe a greyhound” that might be something to try. This was a dedicated greyhound rescue in Philadelphia, PA.
I’ve heard more than one person say they are ugly dogs. I always answer with, look at them with the eyes of what they were bred for (speed) and they’re beautiful. Streamlined, aerodynamic: even their ears fold back so they don’t offer any wind resistance. :O)
Comment by Lori — December 5, 2008 @ 6:43 am
It’s interesting Lori because many of us, myself included, have aesthetic biases which reflect nothing on the individual animal but nonetheless influence our behavior. I used to show dogs for clients and found I could not bond w/dogs whose eyes were covered by hair. I’m always interested to hear people’s biases, especially because I have black dogs and that is a known bias - “Black Dog Syndrome”.
Comment by slt — December 5, 2008 @ 7:54 am
slt-I heard about Black Dog Syndrome….AFTER I had gone to the shelter and picked out a little black puppy. I was unaccountably proud of myself. :O) I still haven’t figured out how to take a good indoor picture of him though.
Comment by Lori — December 5, 2008 @ 8:11 am
Lori,
Natural lighting like outdoors or a sunny spot inside. No flash. Light background.
Comment by Heather — December 5, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
How to photograph black dogs. Skip the “film” advice, natch, since we’re all digital now.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 5, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
Rock on! I know what I’ll be doing with my Friday night. Kasey will be thrilled to put on his Bumblebee Halloween costume again, I’m sure. Thanks, guys.
Comment by Lori — December 5, 2008 @ 12:32 pm
Re Lori’s comment, I was speechless one day when a man walked up to me and my beautiful brindle Savanna and said “That’s the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen” and walked away. I was also amused at the different breeds people thought she was, including Dalmatian and pit bull. My favorite—and I wish I had been there—was the man who insisted to Jerry that she was a Whippet, not a Greyhound. It would have been fun to say “Look, I’m the editor of Dog Fancy; I think I know what kind of dog I have.”
Comment by Kim Thornton — December 5, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
Kim, someone thought my Dalmatian was a Rottie, lol!~ She does get pit bull as she is patched (well, that’s my reasoning!) My fav was the guy who pulled over to ask what breed she was because he had one that looked like her with a bit more black :)
Comment by straybaby — December 5, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
I think Dalmatian has got to be the most recognizable dog breed in America. If you don’t know a Dalmatian when you see it, you must not be too into dogs.
I had a lady stop one time to ask if my Flatcoats were English Setters. No biggie, FCs are not very common and I’m used to questions like that. Then she said the reason she asked is because she used to breed English Setters. Ruh-roh Raggy.
Comment by slt — December 5, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
I was walking the greyhound, Gwen, one day, and a little kid came up to me and asked if she was a deer. It was very cute. We have neighbors with two boxers and someone gave them a hard time about owning pit bulls! Nothing they said could convince this person that they weren’t pit bulls, they were boxers.
Comment by C.L.H — December 5, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
Greyhounds however are not immune to genetic health problems.
“AKC recognizes the National Greyhound Association, the racing registry, which means AKC greyhound breeders can, any time they wish, dip into that very diverse gene pool. But AKC greyhounds have a very low incidence of osteosarcoma, while NGA greyhounds have a very high incidence. While the exact role genetics play in this difference isn’t known, osteo definitely has a genetic component. If you go out to NGA greys, will you increase the risk of your AKC greys developing bone cancer? Good question.” Christie Keith on Pet Connection, Aug 22, 08.
GCA is one of the very few clubs that keep an open stud book. However, there is an obvious conformational difference between the AKC show dogs and the racing strains if you stood representatives of each side by side, and of course there is a segment of the AKC breeders who are dead set against the NGA dogs.
Comment by Anne T — December 6, 2008 @ 6:21 am
Greyhounds do make great pets!! I have a black grey, who is a total love- and she gets along great with her “brudder” the dachshund. She is not, however, so great with cats- but greyhounds can either be great with cats, cat correctable, or no cats. I know someone who has a cat and a cat correctable dog- and no problems so far!
As far as illness- I have helped nurse many AKC dogs through horrible illnesses like cancer.
Cancer is not something that limits itself to a certain breed unfortunately.
Having a an ex racer is totally worth it- AKC is ok for those who really need it, but why breed or buy, when you can adopt?
Comment by Jenn — December 6, 2008 @ 11:06 pm
Jenn, each person needs to be able to *responsibly* make the choice that works for their life situation without fear of censure. Buying a dog from a Responsible Breeder is the most appropriate choice for some people. Rescuing a dog from a shelter or rescue is the most appropriate choice for others.
There’s room for all, as long as the choice is made responsibly.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — December 7, 2008 @ 9:55 am
My Word Origin desk calendar has “greyhound” for the word today. It says “In Old-English, a grihund was a female hunting dog of no particular breed. Over time, the term came to be applied to a particular kind of hunting dog, bred for its slender body and terrific speed, the forerunner—so to speak—of the modern ‘Greyhound.’” Interesting!
Comment by Lori — December 11, 2008 @ 8:22 am
slt asked on Dec. 4 if anyone has experience with greyhounds and cats. We have a greyhound, a doberman and two cats. The greyhound and the cats pretty much act as if the other doesn’t exist. It’s the doberman who really wants to play with the kitties. I think it really depends on the dog and how you manage introductions. When I applied to adopt a greyhound, I specifically requested one that tested “cat-friendly” because my cats were with me first. But even so I kept a close eye on everybody at first. Now, as I said, they ignore each other.
Comment by Michelle — December 15, 2008 @ 7:45 pm