Greyhounds generally are not barkers, (which is beneficial in suburban and apartment environments,) and they are usually as friendly to strangers as they are with their own family.

The key to the speed of a Greyhound can be found in its light but muscular build, largest heart, and highest percentage of fast-twitch muscle of any breed, the double suspension gallop and the extreme flexibility of the spine. “Double suspension rotary gallop” describes the fastest running gait of the Greyhound in which all four feet are free from the ground in two phases, contracted and extended, during each full stride.

A running greyhound at full extension

In ancient times, to be presented with a Greyhound was considered the most prized gift one could receive. Persians believed that the Greyhound was permitted in the next world to give information and evidence about mankind. It was the Egyptians who first raced Greyhounds for sport in open fields with the wild hare as quarry and no rules of the game except speed. In the Early Kingdom, Greyhounds were considered to possess divine powers.

A very common misconception regarding Greyhounds is that they are hyperactive. In retired racing Greyhounds, this is usually not the case Greyhounds can live comfortably as apartment dogs, as they do not require much space and sleep close to 18 hours per day. In fact, due to their calm temperament and the amount of time they spend sleeping, Greyhounds actually make better “apartment dogs” than smaller, more active breeds.

The Greyhound is an ancient as the desert from which it sprung. For thousands of years they were the dog of choice by kings, queens, pharaohs, sheiks, and people of distinction. In early Arabian culture, the birth of a Greyhound was cause of great celebrations and second only in importance to the birth of a son. They were the only dogs permitted to share an Arab’s tent or ride atop his camel. They were also the only dog mentioned by name in the King James Version of the Bible.

Even though Greyhounds are large dogs, they can curl up in a remarkable small space. Some famous Greyhound fanciers were Cleopatra (the first lady of the Greyhound), Queen Elizabeth I, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and General George Custer.

Greyhounds are typically a healthy and long-lived breed, and hereditary illness is rare. Some Greyhounds have been known to develop esophageal achalasia, bloat (gastric torsion), and osteosarcoma. Because the Greyhound’s lean physique makes it ill-suited to sleeping on hard surfaces, owners of companion Greyhounds generally provide soft bedding; without bedding, Greyhounds are prone to develop painful skin sores.

Due to the unique physiology and anatomy of Greyhounds, a veterinarian who understands the issues relevant to the breed is generally needed when the dogs need treatment, particularly when anaesthesia is required. Greyhounds cannot metabolize barbiturate-based anesthesia as other breeds can because they have lower amounts of oxidative enzymes in their livers. Greyhounds demonstrate unusual blood chemistry, which can be misread by veterinarians not familiar with the breed; this can result in an incorrect diagnosis.

Greyhounds have higher levels of red blood cells than other breeds. Since red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles, this higher level allows the hound to move larger quantities of oxygen faster from the lungs to the muscles. Greyhounds have lower levels of platelets than other breeds. Veterinary blood services often use Greyhounds as universal blood donors.

Greyhounds do not have undercoats and thus are less likely to trigger people’s dog allergies (they are sometimes incorrectly referred to as “hypoallergenic”). The lack of an undercoat, coupled with a general lack of body fat, also makes Greyhounds more susceptible to extreme temperatures; because of this, they must be housed inside.

These fleet-footed dogs are sight hounds. They can spot a moving object up to half a mile away. Their sprinting ability enables them to expend an enormous amount of energy in a short amount of time. They run at their fastest between 40 and 45 mph, making them the second fastest accelerating land animal on Earth, only behind the Cheetah. They can achieve that speed within their first three strides. Their ability to blend speed, coordination and strategy has made them great hunters. Like a forest of trees, Greyhounds are one of the earth’s valued treasures.

WHY ADOPT A GREYHOUND?

Because-

• They are extremely clean and do not have the “doggie odor” of other breeds.  Genetically, in terms of hereditary health problems, they have few.
• They give, want, and need an unlimited amount of love, as they are very sensitive dogs.
• They are kennel broken, thus in most cases they house break easily.
• They are clean, easy to care for, and gentle.
• They love and enjoy children and seniors, a wonderful companion and house pet for the entire family.
• They are entertaining and amusing.
• They are young ( usually between 18 months and four years), healthy, lead trained, and instantly bond to their new family. Their life expectancy is between 12 and 14 years on average.
• They don’t need any more exercise then other breed. A daily walk or a romp in a fenced yard will do. They also make excellent jogging companions.
• They are very social and can learn to live with other pets (including cats) in your family.
• They come in many colors and stand between 26 and 29 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh between 55 and 85 pounds.
• They are examined, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, checked for heart worms, teeth cleaned, wormed, and groomed before adoption.

We are fostering a beautiful & loving greyhound for a couple of weeks, her track name is Sunset. We just picked her up from the Skyview Animal Clinic in Cape this past Monday evening, following her surgery earlier that day (she was spayed)

This girl is an absolute doll who wants to be with you as much as possible. It’s a joy to see her personality start to emerge as she starts learning about all of the new things in her life, like soft places to lie down, toys to play with and people to be with that love her for who she is, not what she can (or used to) do.

Keith, the young man who is going to adopt her, is going to have a wonderful companion and they will surely have a lot of “greyt” times together.

You can see more pics of Sunset in the links “Greyhound Pics”  link above!

Greyt news, our recently rescued greyhound mix, has been named Murphy. A very nice and fitting name given to him by Robin of GPA (Cape) since he was rescued off of the streets of Murphysboro, Illinois! He was fully vetted a couple of days ago at Skyview Animal Clinic in Cape Girardeau, Mo and is spending a couple days recuperating at Happy Tails, also in Cape. We all were so happy to see that he tested heart worm negative! Murphy also, while there, received his shots and was neutered.

From all reports we’ve received in the last couple of days from the vet staff, he is a very sweet & loving boy. It is so rewarding to know we all made a difference for this furbaby and have given him the chance to live a nice, comfortable life with people who will love him and give him the attention he needs and deserves.

A few days ago my wife Cindy & I saw a Facebook post on the Greyhound Pets of America (Cape Girardeau, Mo. Chapter) wall by Tricia Mueller.

The post was to report a greyhound that had been seen running loose in Murphysboro, Illinois for about a week and not responding to people who would call to it.   Instead it would run and, in some cases, bark at them. We decided to travel the 20 or so miles there to see if we might be able to see the dog and catch it. We looked up and down the neighborhood where the dog had been seen several times with no luck. After about 3 or 4 hours of looking we saw a man walking his dog down the street and we stopped and asked him if he had seen a greyhound running loose; he said that he and his wife had seen him several times in the past week. We gave him our phone number and asked him if he would please call us if they saw it again, and if they were able to confine it some way that would really help.

The very next morning Mrs. Hill called and said she saw the dog in her yard and when she opened the door to call to it the dog came into the house.   We told her if she could keep it there we would be right up. When we got to her house and approached the door, both she and the dog were there looking out the “storm door”.  As  Mrs. Hill opened the door just a little, the dog became very anxious and bolted, pushing out the door.   We were not able to hold on to him and he bolted down the street. I tried calling him, but he would just bark a few times, then move further away until he was finally out of sight. We asked Mrs. Hill that if he came back, would she please try to get him into the garage or somewhere away from a door so we would be able to get in without him trying to escape. We then looked around for an hour or so with no luck and returned home. We were very disappointed that we missed our chance.   With the temps dropping into the 20′s and 30′s that night, we felt very bad that this poor guy was going to have to spend yet another night out alone in the weather.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received a phone call from Mrs. Hill the very next afternoon saying the dog had indeed come back and wanted in.  He was soaking wet & very cold.  After she told us he was in her garage, I told her we would head that way immediately. When we got to the Hill residence, Mrs. Hill invited us in and showed me where the garage door was.   I cracked it open a little.   The dog was lying right in front of it and he started to bark at me;  I opened it a little more and went in and shut the door behind me. The poor dog was extremely scared but appeared to be in  fairly good condition  although apparently somewhat underweight. I approached the dog and as I got close enough  to try to place a collar on him he started to growl and lift his lip a little, and started to shake almost uncontrollably. It appeared to me that if I put too much more stress on him it might send him into shock, so I asked Mrs. Hill to come into the garage and see how he reacted to her.  She had said the previous time he was in her home she was able to pet him and he appeared to enjoy it, to the point that if she stopped he would nudge her to get her to pet him again. She had no problems with him at all and it was very apparent he trusted her, so she was able to get the collar slipped over his head and the leash on without any further stress to him. I took the leash from her; when she opened up the garage door he came alive and wanted to get out but did not put up any real resistance once he realized he could not run away. He actually handled pretty well on the leash. It was at this point, after walking him in the yard for awhile, that he surrendered to letting me pet him. We had some concerns that he may not want to get in the truck, but he actually walked over to it and looked at it;  when I opened up the door, he jumped right in.   After thanking Mrs. Hill for all of her and her husband’s help, we were on our way to SkyView Animal Clinic in Cape Girardeau to have this poor boy who had been out in the rain and cold for at least a week or more examined by the vet. Initial exam would show he is a “lurcher” or a greyhound mix, he has all of the body characteristics of the greyhound, but he does not have the greyhound head or face. He appears to be around 5 or 10 lbs underweight. His teeth would indicate an age of around 2 or 3 years. These figures are just from casual observation; more will be known after his full vet exam. He is scheduled to get shots, heartworm testing, neutering and whatever else is deemed appropriate.

His initial response in a closed  garage to a stranger while he was in a heightened state of anxiety was to be expected; once he calmed down and realized no one was going to hurt him he had no issues at all.  He was still a little reserved, but that is to be expected as there is no telling what he has gone through in the last 7 to 10 days . . . or really who knows how long. We were absolutely thrilled to see our GPA (Cape Girardeau) group step up and take care of this “mixed” boy, and get him what he needs.  Hopefully we can get this beautiful guy a loving forever home somewhere down the road.

And with over 100 million viewers expected for Super Bowl XLVI, animal advocates fear the ad will effectively whitewash an industry so dependent on animal cruelty that it’s outlawed in 38 states.

GREY2K USA recently published findings of an undercover investigation that exposed the Tuscon Greyhound Park’s shocking cruelty. Now, the group has started a petition on Change.org asking NBC not to air Skechers’ commercial during the biggest American sporting event of the year. Will you sign GREY2K USA’s petition telling NBC to take a stand against animal cruelty by refusing to air Skechers’ new commercial, shot at the Tuscon Greyhound Park, during the Super Bowl?
When it learned Skechers was filming an ad at the Tuscon Greyhound Park, GREY2K USA wanted to draw attention to that specific track’s terrible record of mistreating greyhounds. Through its undercover investigation, the group had already found that the track was:

•muzzling greyhounds while they’re warehoused in dark, cramped kennels;
•providing inadequate exercise out of doors;
•feeding dogs raw meat from diseased animals and animals dead before slaughter;
•running dogs in dangerous conditions; and
•ignoring a disturbing frequency (every 3-4 days) of serious injuries like fractured skulls, broken bones, dislocations and muscle tears.
Then, when GREY2K USA found out the ad was planned to air during the Super Bowl and had some of the biggest names in sports behind it, it became clear this issue was much bigger than just one track in Tuscon. Thousands of dogs each year suffer broken legs, cardiac arrest, spinal cord paralysis and broken necks in the dog racing industry. When the dogs are no longer profitable, they’re killed.

Super Bowl ads are the most sought after slots on the air all year, NBC wouldn’t have any trouble replacing Skechers’ ad with another. All that’s needed is enough of a public outcry to get the broadcaster to drop Skechers’ ad promoting dog cruelty.

Please sign GREY2K USA’s petition telling NBC not to air the Skechers Super Bowl ad promoting dog abuse next month.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-super-bowl-ad-promoting-dog-racing

The majority of people attending greyhound races have little knowledge of what actually happens to these animals. They do not know, or care, what kind of life these dogs lead behind the scenes. To them it’s a lot of fun, have a few drinks, win or lose a few bucks, and return to their comfortable homes. The life of the Greyhound, most often,  is one of misery, fear, mistreatment, and finally many times a shockingly brutal death.

I was recently made a “whipping boy” on a couple of so called “rescue groups” pages for being outspoken on the subject of track, kennel & trainer abuses…they told me not to make negative posts in their groups as they have a good relationship with the track/etc and do not want to make them angry as doing so would cause them to withhold dogs from them.  This is nothing more than a conspiracy of silence, or, hear no evil speak no evil. Everyone knows what is going on but none are willing to do anything about it. The inhumane treatment to these dogs is beyond comprehension.

I cannot ride the fence and pretend to overlook things and have my conscience held hostage. If a track wants to do that, who cares, get the greys somewhere else…there are plenty that need homes, but if I want to be part of the solution, I cannot also be part of the problem by looking the other way and keeping my mouth shut for fear of offending those I have an agenda against.

Once you know the facts, you’ll find there’s nothing at all entertaining about the greyhound racing industry.

The “greyt” ones may not have a voice, but I sure as hell do.

In October of 2010, Investigators with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering discovered more than 30 dead dogs inside a kennel at the Ebro Greyhound Park (located north of Panama City). An additional five dogs were found alive, but barely. Several of the dead dogs, and three of the surviving dogs, had duct tape wrapped around their necks. Trainer Ronald J. Williams was arrested and charged with 37 counts of felony animal cruelty. Two days later, the decomposing bodies of at least eight more greyhounds were discovered near Mr. Williams home.

March 20, 2010: Four greyhounds fell and broke a leg during races at the Sarasota Kennel Club; three of the dogs were immediately euthanized. The track reported that 14 greyhounds had been euthanized after accidents at the track during the previous 19 weeks of racing.

August 2009: 22 greyhounds belonging to a kennel at the Pensacola Greyhound Track were so severely neglected that they had to be euthanized.

August 2004: THE FIRST AND LAST RACE FOR DOOMED GREYHOUND PUPPY “Mr. Junior Mint,” an 18-month-old puppy, was entered into his first-ever schooling race on July 30^th at the Flagler dog track. He fell and was bumped into the rail during a collision with “Our Baby Ruth,” another 18-month-old pup. Two of his legs were severed when he was hit by the lure motor; he died from massive blood loss. “Our Baby Ruth,” who was also injured, disappeared from the record on August 27^th after performing poorly in subsequent schooling races.

The above are just a few examples out of thousands upon thousands, and yet people continue to tell me, “I agree that they may be mistreated in some instances, but the actual racing does not hurt them”

For Gods sake people, wake the &#(@ up!!

Planet Greyhound & friends believes that the only real solution to this horrendous state of affairs is for all greyhound racing everywhere to be brought to an end.

This is NOT the way mans best friend should live 20 hours a day…

This is….

The greyhound racing industry breeds approximately 50,000 puppies each year. Of these animals, only around 15,000 will actually become racing dogs. The rest are “retired,” used as breeding stock, or, in a more likely scenario,  destroyed. The racing industry also sells thousands of dogs considered unfit for racing to laboratories, which experiment on animals. Thus, greyhound racing functions not only as an “entertainment sport” and gambling enterprise, but as a breeding facility for cruel surgical practices.

Dogs that become racing animals do not live less cruel lives. Several thousand rabbits and other small animals die yearly during the training of greyhounds. Trainers use these small animals as live bait, exhorting greyhounds to chase the animals around a track in order to simulate race conditions. Trainers allow dogs to catch and destroy those bait animals that are no longer able to run effectively.

Dogs that have no propensity to kill are placed in cages at close quarters with rabbits. The trainers then deny the dogs food, starving them until hunger drives them to kill their caged companions. In this way, trainers awaken bloodlust in dogs that are non-violent by nature.

A few states have outlawed the use of live animals in training, trainers in these states sometimes employ a “jack-a-lure,” a somewhat “more humane” training method. These electronically powered lures race around tracks, attracting the attention of greyhounds. Yet many trainers manage to circumvent state anti-cruelty laws. They ship dogs out of state for live animal training, then ship them back, a practice that is not prohibited by federal interstate commerce laws.

Greyhounds that actually become racers live life in small cages, usually no greater than three feet in diameter. Handlers remove them from their cages very rarely; to go to the bathroom, and for infrequent races during the course of a week, usually no more than is absolutely necessary.

Please protest greyhound racing by: Refusing to patronize dog tracks and encouraging others to do the same. Writing letters to representatives in states where dog tracks exist. Educating the public about the greyhound racing industry’s cruelty to animals. Even if you are not a greyhound advocate at present, you can become one and in effect an advocate for humane treatment of all animals by educating your family, your friends or anyone who will listen about the greyhound racing industry’s cruelty to animals.

I immediately left those groups as we most certainly have very different sets of values.

While working on greyhound issues, one of the things that has continually dumbfounded me is the absolute refusal of volunteers of adoption groups in several parts of the country to speak out publicly about abuses they have seen. I have heard horror story after horror story about the breeding farms and the tracks. I have passed on information and been rebuked for doing so. This saddens me, because I know that if all of these people did speak up, dog racing would end. They all say they will not be able to help any more dogs if they tell what they know or they do not want to make the track where they get their dogs upset, that if they did, the track would “hold the dogs hostage”…how totally absurd is that, here’s a newsflash, get them somewhere else, there are plenty to rescue where you do not have to sell your soul to the devil to obtain. I know of several high-profile adoption groups, for example Greyhound Rescue of Idaho, who have spoken out against dog racing and still receive hundreds of dogs to adopt out. I strongly believe that the adoption groups that don’t speak out are a huge public relations boon to the tracks. Greyhound adoption is crucial, however ending the need for adoption is our end goal, thus opening up a heck of a lot of homes for the lonely fellows waiting in shelters.

Don’t get me wrong, we do need to support greyhound adoption efforts unconditionally. At the same time, those greyhound “rescue groups” who see the cruelty this industry perpetuates, and turn a blind eye to it, share much responsibility in the continuation of this cruelty. One thing comes to mind, these days it is widely recognized that people serious about pet overpopulation should be working to end it, not just maintain it.

For groups only interested in finding homes for greyhounds, the end of racing could never be a goal for groups funded by the racing association.

Greyhound racing is profit-driven industry. It is dependent upon the breeding of thousands of dogs in order to find a few winners and discarding of the ones that can’t compete. Every year thousands of dogs die, even the greyhound industry admits this.

A dog can be born in Oregon, race in Colorado and Arizona, and end up in a research facility in Wisconsin. Between 1996 and 1998 over 2,600 greyhounds died at Colorado State University in experiments. Many of the dogs’ owners didn’t even know they had been donated!!

In 2002 Robert Rhodes, of Alabama was arrested after police found an estimated 3,000 dead dogs on his farm. He had been killing the unwanted greyhounds for $10.00 a piece for trainers from Florida tracks. How many other cases like these are out there that haven’t been uncovered?

When adoption groups stand up and speak out about what they have witnessed, the end of dog racing will be near.

If anyone reading this wants to join a Facebook group that is ABSOLUTELY anti racing, you are welcome to join “The Greyt Galloping Greyhound Group” or my “Planet Greyhound” Facebook page.

It is so frustrating to see adoption groups that are aware of industry-standard abusive practices, but refuse to speak publicly.  Every adoption groups first priority should be to put themselves out of business, you can not and will not accomplish that if you are sleeping with the enemy.

We were fortunate and were able to adopt our “boys” a little before their second birthday, so they were not like some greyhounds that are not rescued/adopted until later in life and therefore are deprived of such things for a much greater period of time. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the door to take them out. They were hesitant and stuck their noses up in the air sniffing, then looked down to the deck covered in about an inch of snow and sniffed some more, but otherwise just stood there. Before my wife could yell at me (something about trying to heat the whole neighborhood) I coaxed them out the door. They were just standing there, side by side in the door way, it was Vitali who first stuck out his paw, when it touched the snow, he quickly drew it back, both dogs then did this a couple of times, then came on out and from that point on, didn’t really have much of a reaction to the weather.

Here are a few pics, unfortunately I did not get any shots of their initial reactions as I was so enthused about seeing how they would react, I never thought about it until we were already outside

Enjoy….

Hey Dad, I like this stuff!