Adopting a Retired Racer

When I was a teen, I have a strong memory of going to a mall and meeting a group of people who had these tall dogs- greyhounds- who were retired racers and were looking for the forever home. They were from a group called Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada in Musquodoboit Harbour. I remember taking one of their business cards and saying to my friend, “One day, I am going to adopt one of those dogs!”, I kept that business card in my wallet for many years, hoping that one day I would be able to adopt a greyhound.

Well, much time passed- I grew up, went to University and eventually became a Registered Veterinary Technician. Once out in the job force, it so happened that I worked at a Veterinary Hospital who was doing some work for Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada. We were helping to do spays and neuters for the newly retired racing greyhound who were brought up from the US. I met many greyhounds while working and loved every minute of helping these great dogs. But there was one that connected with my soul – my ‘heart dog’.

I went into her kennel before surgery and she looked into my heart and gave me a big hug. That was it. I went home and told my partner that we needed to adopt this dog. Only one small problem- he is very allergic to animals. So we agreed to foster her and see how it went. It only took her a minute to work her magic on him as well and as soon as he met her that was it; she had to be a part of our family. Also, it did help that greyhounds are great breed for allergies, as they do not produce a lot of oils and have very little fur. It was less than 24 hours from the time we said we would foster her to the time we adopted her and we haven’t looked back. Currently, we have 2 greyhounds, Data and Pluto. They say they are like Lays chips- you can’t have just one!

Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada (GPAC) is a 100% volunteer driven, Canadian registered non-profit society, and is located in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia. As of 2014, they have adopted over 4000 retied greyhounds to loving homes in Atlantic Canada. Greyhounds make great pets and unlike many people’s assumptions, they do not require a lot of exercise. They are a large dog, but do not require a lot of space and make great apartment dogs. GPAC has over 97% success with placing dogs in the forever homes. They work with the adopters and the dogs to find the right match for everyone.

GPAC is an amazing group and greyhounds are a grey’t breed! They have helped so many dogs and given people the opportunity to love and be loved by such an amazing creatures. And to this day when I look at that business card, it makes me smile, knowing that my hopes and dreams came true!

Written by Rebecca Hawes RVT