Greyhound adoption
These beautiful couch lovers may be just what
you need
MetPet.com Staff Writer
Every year, the racing industry has 20,000 or more greyhounds to
"dispose" of. Dog racing is a form of legal gambling and not an
athletic sport. It is legal in 16 states and has actually
been declining in popularity over the last 20 years. As with
thoroughbred horse racing, the popularity of greyhound racing is being
overtaken by other forms of gaming including casinos and online betting.
If they are not rescued by organizations and adopted by
families, these amazing athletes are euthanized. They are young, elegant, healthy dogs
who are tractable, gentle with humans and surprisingly lazy and docile.
They can live in a small house or apartment as long as they get the
occasional all out run around a field or dog park.
Since they have little fat, they require soft,
warm bedding to cushion their bones. They have narrow heads and thick
necks so they require wide leather or nylon collars or a martingale slip collar.
This type of collar is a slip or "choke" type but stops narrowing at a
predefined point.
Greyhounds spend most of their young lives in
cages (20-24 hours/day) without the standard socialization but they are screened
by rescue organizations and are easy to train. Greyhounds are "sight"
hounds which means they hunt by watching for small game and then chasing it
down. Since they are taught to chase fake bunnies on the track, they
can be dangerous to small mammals including cats and small dogs.
If you have other pets, ask the rescue group
about a dog that is comfortable around other animals. Since many dogs are
brought into foster homes before they are adopted, the rescuers will be able to
tell you if they have one that will work for you.
Are you interested in adopting one of these
beautiful and elegant dogs? Many rescue organizations regularly set up
adoption centers at local pet stores and are easy to find on
the net under greyhound adoption. |
