Inspired by my friends on friends on Twitter, the Iams Home for the Holidays campaign, plus just being the "right time" for our family, we started checking out available dogs on Petfinder.com.
I was a little surprised and encouraged to discover that the first few dogs I checked into had already found homes. Then my husband got involved. He hadn't forgotten Lotsie, my first Greyhound adoptee from years ago. Readers may remember that it was my husband who was responsible for the adoption of Sophie, pictured at right, after I asked if he could drop off some food at the shelter. The search was on.
I love Greyhounds and all long-nosed (dolichocephalic) dogs. However, I was viewing all types of dogs in need on Petfinder and in shelters and wanted to selected a dog most "in need" of a home. I have to say that this thought can be overwhelming. All of them are in need. Where should we start?
Turns out, there are a multitude of Greyhounds available now, since two racing tracks are closing - Dairyland in Wisconsin and Phoenix Greyhound Park in Arizona. We visited with our regional Greyhound rescue group, and both fosters and adopters are urgently needed at this time.
We did not have any preferences for age, gender or pre-existing medical conditions. I asked if they had any "hard to adopt" hounds. They said that males are traditionally harder to place. Mainly based on their size and because people are afraid of male marking behaviors.
They brought a large brindle male for the home inspection/visit. Seeing my husband's face light up, I knew the search was over. Our new rescue dog was adopted on the spot.
Sophie, our other rescue dog, was a little unsure at first. She is a "normal" size dog at 55 pounds. The Greyhound towers over her and outweighs her by almost 15 pounds. The Greyhound was also a little too curious about my cats, especially my feisty rescue cat Barnie. Would this adoption work out?
Our new Greyhound was about 3 weeks off the track, from Oklahoma. He is 4 years old. He was taken to a vet and neutered, had his teeth cleaned, vaccinated and de-wormed as soon as he was placed in the rescue group. I was impressed by all of the "vetting" done before the dogs are ready for adoption. They also tested for heartworm. (Our dog missed out on the testing, but I tested him, and he is negative.)
We also had to name our new dog. The racing dogs have a kennel/racing name and some are called by name, but many aren't. This was a big task for our family, and we weren't coming up with any name that everyone could agree on.
My good friend Nancy, About.com Guide to Celiac Disease, came to the rescue for our rescue dog. She told me the story written by Homer about Odysseus, who came home after twenty years of being away, and the only one that recognized him was his faithful dog (likely a Greyhound), Argos. That name resonated with our family, so Argos it is. He is getting to know his new name.
We took it slow that first weekend. Argos had to be wearing his racing muzzle or be on-leash in the house to ensure that the cats were safe and we didn't' have any toileting accidents. Adopting an older dog is great because most often they are house-trained.
In the case of racing Greyhounds, they aren't exactly house-trained - they are let out in exercise yards at scheduled intervals. Argos wasn't sure what the purpose of "walks" were at first. Or what Sophie was doing - all of that sniffing! What was the purpose? He is now quite into the idea of walks; both for the purpose of relieving himself and having fun sniffing new things and meeting people. House-training was a breeze, and he doesn't "mark" - he relieves himself all at one spot.
The cat integration has gone well, I am happy to report. Argos was curious, but always minded his manners. This is more than I can say for Barnie, who swatted and ran past Argos several times to see if he could stir things up like he does with Sophie.
A little bit about Greyhounds
Argos, like all Greyhounds I have known, enjoys a comfy bed (or couch) and snuggling. Contrary to what many people think, most Greyhounds are very low-key and do not require tons of exercise each day. They are very quiet and clean dogs.
Greyhounds have very little body fat, so cold weather protection is an absolute must. I am not one for dressing up my pets, but was eager to get Argos outfitted with a coat in our very cold winter temperatures. He loves his coat, too.
Greyhounds cannot be let off-leash unless in a fenced enclosure. Once they kick into running mode, they are gone. I don't trust that they can sniff their way back, either. They are sighthounds, meaning that they use their sight as their primary means of finding and chasing prey. It is amazing what he can pick out in the distance.
Many rescued/retired Greyhounds off of the track have a very keen interest in food. This was new to me, as Sophie has food available all day and eats when she wants. Argos snatched some food from the counter and is always on the lookout for more. Now that we have established a feeding routine and he knows he will be fed regularly, he is calming down. He is still very interested in meal times, though.
Greyhounds also have very sensitive gastrointestinal systems. The change of a new life (good as it may be) and a different diet may mean loose bowels. We have also dealt with this and are taking the diet change slow, with lots of white rice added.
I will be updating Argos' story in increments and plan to add in a photo gallery in the future of his life with Sophie and the cats. If you are interested in learning more about Greyhounds, adoption or fostering, please visit The Greyhound Project for more information. I also urge you to visit PetFinder.com to see what pets (dogs, cats, farm animals and exotics) are in need in your area. Every little bit of help counts for animals in need.
The story continues:
January 2010 Argos update
