“The first time you meet a Greyhound, it’s almost life changing,” said Cynthia. “I know that sounds profound. I’ve seen those who say they aren’t dog people, first meet a Greyhound, and it changes their attitude about dogs overall. There is just something very spe- cial about the breed. We have some friends now who have turned into raving fans. They always have to have at least two Greyhounds as a result of meeting our dogs,” she added. While some Greyhounds aren’t suitable for homes that have
cats, Cynthia and Bill were assured that Penny would be okay with Bob, their cat. Still, they took no chances and put the muz- zle from the track on Penny when they arrived home. Bob came out to see what all the fuss was about and puffed up when he saw Penny. Curious, of course, she walked up to Bob, who wanted nothing of this new creature and bapped her on the nose. Penny ran into the crate they had already set up in their home. From that moment on the two of them lived in peaceful co-existence out of respect. Sadly, four years later, Penny went into cardiac arrest under anesthesia during surgery for an eye operation. Cynthia and Bill were grieving her loss when they realized they would be moving to Florida. “We knew we wanted another retired Greyhound. But we decided to wait until after our move to Florida,” said Cynthia. The couple’s second retired Greyhound was Bandit, who was
about two years old at the time. He was with Greyhound Rescue & Adoptions of Tampa Bay (GREAT). “She ran very slow at the track. We think she always knew there was a sofa in her future,” said Cynthia. Bandit lived to be 13. Their third retired Greyhound was Sparkles, who lived to be 11 or 12. They waited about a year after Sparkles passed before think-
ing about adopting another Greyhound. There is a saying by those who volunteer with rescue groups. Dogs choose us. Bay Area Greyhounds was having a meet and greet at a local
pet store. When Cynthia and Bill arrived, there were a lot of peo- ple and dogs gathered. As they walked in, one of the Greyhounds broke away from the crowd and walked over to them. “This is Karma,” someone said. Of course, the couple took it as a good sign. “She is good Karma,” said Cynthia. “Even when she is not
feeling well, she is joyful and full of life.” Bill added, “She is always so happy to see us. She is the most
outgoing, animated Greyhound of all the Greyhounds we’ve had. And, she believes everyone on two feet was put on this earth to pet her.”
Looking back on the day they learned about Randy Barrow
and the need to “rescue” Greyhounds, Bill said, “What resonated with me was, why there was even a need to rescue the dogs? How was it that these dogs needed homes? The thought that these dogs were potentially discarded, that they were being euthanized or worse once they were no longer needed was incomprehensible.” Cynthia added, “I have great hope for the future of
Greyhounds. My one hope is that people will finally lose their desire for using dogs as entertainment.” “Adopting an adult dog is an entirely different experience
than adopting a puppy. For anyone who wants to provide a lov- ing home, I believe that Greyhounds are the calmest, sweetest, most loving and respectful breed of dog,” said Bill.
U
www.TheNewBarker.com Summer/Fall 2016 THE NEW BARKER 43
In 2002, a mass grave containing the bodies of more than 2000 racing Greyhounds was discovered in Lillian, Alabama, just north of the Florida Panhandle. A complaint from an industry insider led investigators from Baldwin County and Florida's Department of Pari-mutuel Wagering to the Alabama dog farm owned by Robert Rhodes, who admitted that he had been killing racing Greyhounds for more than 40 years. He charged owners and trainers $10 a head to dispose of the dogs.
Greyhounds are perfect for apartment or condo living. While they need to walk for exercise, like any dog, they are very catlike in that they are content to stay at home alone. Consider adopting a retired Greyhound: Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions
BayAreaGreyhounds.org Tampa: 813.272.2332; Ft. Myers/Naples: 239.985.9035 Greyhound Pets of America - Tampa Bay
GreyhoundPets.com Madeira Beach: 727.595.7852 Greyhound Pets of America - Orlando
GreyhoundPetsOrlando.org Longwood: 407.332.4754 Greyhound Ranch
GreyhoundRanch.org Longwood: 407.804.5257 GREAT - Greyhound Rescue & Adoptions of Tampa Bay
Great-Greyhound.org Tampa: 813.971.4732 Friends Of Greyhounds
FriendsOfGreyhounds.org Sunrise: 954.937.3647 The Greyhound Gang of Florida
GreyhoundGangFl.org Seffner: 813.684.4804 God’s Greyts Greyhound Group
GodsGreyts.com Orlando: 407.578.7496 Greyhound Friends of North Carolina
GreyhoundFriends.com Oak Ridge, NC: 336.643.0233
The First International Conference on Greyhound Advocacy takes place on Saturday, October 15 at The Seagate Hotel in Delray Beach. Hosted by Grey2K USA Worldwide.
Grey2KUSA.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81
