Here’s a list of the NY ones. I’ve not heard of LIGHT, but since I don’t live up that way it’s not surprising. There are a LOT of groups! Your parents should contact a few groups that are reasonably close and talk with them - groups have different ‘personalities’ and requirements, and they should pick one that has someone who responds to them promptly, answers all their questions and seems like someone they can work with.
It’s interesting the you mention GPA - we dealt with them at length in trying to adopt our latest. He was in Birmingham, and the GPA kennel there was initially pretty helpful in finding him. However, once we indicated an interest in adopting him and requested they bring him into their kennel, they stopped communicating with us. I don’t know if it was too much work or too complicated to bring him in, but it would have been nice if they had let us know. Two weeks went by without them returning a phone call or email. Since we knew that our boy was already off the track and had been for a while (also that his sister who retired with him had already been put down), we were understandably worried.
We ended up calling the Mobile, AL GPA group, which was the next closest group we could find. They were extremely helpful, and eventually put us in touch directly with our dog’s trainer - between him, us and our local rescue group, we got him up here to Ohio in less than a week. Of course, our situation was somewhat different in that we were seeking a specific dog who was the littermate of a dog we already had, but our GPA experience was both hit and miss. On preview, I see you mentioned that different groups have different “personalities”, and that was definitely the case here.
I cannot say enough good things about the rescue group we worked with, Northcoast and Cincinnati Greyhound Connection. Granted, we foster dogs for them and have an established relationship, but I have no doubt they would have worked just as hard for anyone who wanted to adopt.
Our adoption fee was $225. We saw the vet bill for neutering, dental cleaning, worming and grooming our dog - it came to $208. Add in the fact that they provided a collar and leash, and drove to Indiana to pick him up from the driver that brought him from Alabama, and there is no possible way they made a cent, more likely they lost money. We got lucky that there was already a haul coming through AL that we could get our dog on (that did cost extra and we paid that directly to the driver), but they were just as willing to drive down to AL and pull him out for us. I would definitely recommend them to anyone Ohio interested in adopting a greyhound.
Sorry about your dalmatian, Eyebrows, but I hope I get to meet the Greyhound sometime if your family gets one. Greyhounds have been on my List of Future Dogs for some time!
ETA: It’s great of your family to consider adopting one, too.
Adoption groups are full of humans, who can be anywhere from fallible to seriously f’ed up at times. Almost all adoption group people are also volunteers as well. I mentioned GPA specifically because it’s a) the largest group collectively and one of the oldest, b) a lot of GPA groups are right at tracks, and c) they do try to work with the industry, which makes them pretty successful at getting dogs from people who formerly wouldn’t have dealt with an adoption group at all. Not because I think the people who populate the chapters are all perfect and everyone who contacts them is guaranteed to have a perfect experience. I’m very glad you got your dog, but yours is also a good example of the fact that not everyone is a dream when it comes to working with them, so you work with who works with you. It’s frustrating beyond words when you are all supposed to be in this for the dogs and the dogs end up paying because some human’s ego or vanity or drama gets in the way, but giving up doesn’t help the dogs either.
When I went looking for a relative of Roman’s, I got help from a couple of friends in FL who are involved in adoption groups down there. They helped me find Idol, who turned out to be at the Daytona Beach track and was in the GPA kennel there. When I called the rep there, she very suspiciously asked me why I wanted him. I could have been insulted and hung up I suppose, but I told her why I wanted him - he was a relative of a dog of ours we loved very much and we were looking for a related dog. I’d never seen Idol and knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was related. Turns out he was a beautiful dog and she thought that perhaps I’d seen him race and wanted him just for his looks. When I explained, she immediately relaxed and told me about him - and that he was slated to go on a haul to Indiana, but she said could change him out to go to a group in Raleigh about an hour away from where we live instead. They’d built up quite an amazing network with other groups to move dogs out of FL, where the majority of tracks are, and get them to places where there are no tracks and therefore less greyhounds. So from an initial misunderstanding, we worked out something pretty good - we got Idol, and since that time we’ve done quite a bit of fundraising for that group and I respect the work they do, under some very trying circumstances sometimes.
I’ve had an Afghan hound, and have been interested in getting a greyhound. MOst of the rescue organizations insist on a fenced yard (for obvious reasons), and I have a farm and won’t lie and say my dog will never be off lease or out of the 60X50’ kennel I have for my dogs. The best part of life for a farm dog is being able to run full out, chase bunnies and hunt mice. My Afghan would run, but always came at my whistle. There’s no traffic out here (maybe 3 cars an hour), and everyone owns dogs and keeps an eye out for them.
Presently I’m full up with 2 dobes, a malamute, a standard poodle and an English setter. But I love the mellow love of a sighthound.
Thanks Marley. Oh absolutely! I forget if you had ever met BJ (the dalmatian) before, but of course whatever dog we end up getting I would love for you to meet.
I’m trying to convince them to adopt two greyhounds, it seems like a pair is better. With my sister away at school and myself out of the house, it’s been pretty quiet there without a dog.
Mr J and I want to adopt two greyhounds once we have a house and yard. We stopped into one of the pet stores one day and by chance there was a greyhound adoption volunteer in the store with two foster-dogs. We chatted with the volunteer for almost 2 hours. We asked tons of questions, interacted with the two greys she brought with her (they were calm and friendly with the pestering children too). We learned quite a bit that day and it definitely reinforced our desire to adopt greyhounds. If you are able to find the website for your local greyhound adoption group, I’d definitely suggest visiting with them.
One thing that is required from our local greyhound adoption group is to read Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies - a simple (for dummies, right?), informative book.
AKC greyhounds are much rarer than ex-racers, but you might find one you can train to reliable recall when you are ready if you are willing to work on it. Or a ‘coldblood’ or coyote dog. There are people in Western states who breed unregistered greyhounds to hunt coyotes - these dogs are smaller than either NGA or AKC dogs. There are also people who crossbreed greyhounds to scenthounds in Ohio, WV and KY.
These kind of dogs get abandoned in rural shelters when they ‘won’t hunt’ - a friend of ours had a crossbred that came out of a rural shelter in KY and he was a great dog.
Just be sure to get a dark dog - I’ll never forget the story in one of Roger Caras’ books about his fawn hound. He too had a farm (can’t remember if he had any fences on his property, but the property itself was considerable) and he would let his greyhounds roam. The fawn one got shot by a hunter, who thought she was a deer.
Which reminds me - Eyebrows, if your parents do decide to get a greyhound, they should be prepared for people to ask all sorts of questions about what kind of dog they have. More people are familiar with greyhounds these days, but we’ve had people ask us if our dogs are:
Deer (seriously - and from adults too)
Borzoi
Great Danes (I think they are reaching for ‘greyhound’ here but not quite making it)
Whippets
Whipples (again, reaching)
Wolfhounds
Wolves (directed toward the large black brindle we used to have)
Tigers (from kids if you have a brindle hound)
Ponies (again, from kids)
and …
Kangaroos (yes, a friend of mine was seriously asked this. I think mind-altering substances may have been involved).
Thanks to the link jay-c provided, here’s my sister’s dog. No pictures sorry. Dusty lived to be about 12 or 13, an amazing age for a dog of his size and a racer. He was a fabulous dog, happiest laying around the house, and he got along well with the cats.
Dusty came from this place . It’s connected to a dog racing park in West Memphis(across the river). When he was first adopted he had a real tendency to run and keep running, but this instinct faded as the years passed.
Well done, all! Lady Chance and I have rescued Greyhounds for almost 15 years now. They’re great dogs and not much trouble at all. I’ll reinforce what others have said in that they adapt to household life well and quickly and are a joy to have in the house.
When I was a teenager, we lived on a horse farm and had a greyhound named Bunny who was allowed to run loose. Sometimes when we drove away from the house, she would chase after the car and Mom would have to be damned careful not to hit her, because of course Bunny could run rings around us. It was amazing to see her keeping up as we went faster and faster. Of course, we’d have to turn around and take her back home.
Don’t bother chasing a greyhound…you’re not going to lay a finger on that doggie unless they want you to!
Dung Beetle - My father once had the car up to over 40 MPH with Siddhartha, the Afghan, running easily behind us. One couple who ran lure coursers wanted us to bring him to their meet to see how he’d do, but we never did. For a sighthound he was remarkably easy going with small critters, letting my bunny hop around him and the squirrels eat from his outside food dish. He absolutely loved my siamese cat, who treated him like a slave.
When my sister first adopted Dusty she was fortunately living in a small town in Arkansas(2000 people). He had a tendency to slip out of the door, or the gate, and once he was out, he was running. You had to track him down by car. Once you came upon him, he was more than willing to come with you, but the urge to run was so overpowering.
By the time she moved to New Orleans, Dusty had settled in, and he didn’t make any more escape attempts.
