Important Update From Friends of Greyhounds

∗∗∗ IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM FoG ∗∗∗

Friends of Greyhounds is very pleased to tell you that we are no longer in business!! Since the Florida greyhound tracks are closed, our adoption group is no longer necessary. We have waited a long time and worked hard to get to this point. This is a very good thing!

We do not have any dogs to adopt or feed or take to the vet so we do not need donations. Our charity has been dissolved.

Thank you so much for your years of support and friendship. We are still here as friends for advice and any help you and your dogs may need.

∗∗∗

Recently a Friend Visited and Took a Photo of My Dogs.

From left: Slinky, Wendy, Vic and Akira.

A New Friend for Friends of Greyhounds

As you may or may not know, I am a volunteer for Friends of Greyhounds.

Several months ago, Scott found us and began to volunteer to help out in the kennel. Soon he noticed and fell in love with Dusty.

Then, Scott created a blog titled "Dusty and Me" that he describes as "A blog about an old dog and his young greyhound".

Charlie

I recently began fostering one of the greyhounds from Friends of Greyhounds.

Charlie is a sweet boy and gets along well with people and other greyhounds. He does have issues with children and small animals. You can read Charlie's profile here.

When Charlie first came into my house he was a "slow starter". It took him 2-3 days to relax and feel at home. He has a favorite bed and loves playing in the backyard. My other three greyhounds run and play with him like he is an old friend.

The biggest problems I have experienced with Charlie are:
1. He will hit you with his head when he wants to be petted and you are ignoring him.
and
2. He will bring his outside toys into the house.

Friends of Greyhounds' Collar Chain

This is a video from Friends of Greyhounds celebration of the 1,000th dog adopted which took place on October 10, 2010 (10/10/10, 10*10*10=1,000).

By the time Friends of Greyhounds was evicted from the kennels that were being provided by the dog tracks of South Florida, over 1,900 ex-racer greyhounds had been adopted out.

Since then Friends of Greyhounds has had to down-size because of the lack of kennel space, but their rescue and adoption of these wonderful dogs continues.

When a greyhound is adopted, its kennel collar is added to the chain, in chronological order. On special occasions the chains are hung for all to admire.

This chain of 1,000 collars represents the 1,000 dogs that had been adopted out up to October 10, 2010.

Some of the original collars were lost or dogs came in with no collar at all and we use a wooden bone with the dog's name on it. 

Most of the collars hang open but a few are buckled closed.  Those are the dogs who have passed away and are waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

 

DNA Testing for Dog Breeds is a Waste of Money For Greyhounds

My friends at Friends of Greyhounds recently rescued a dog that was only part greyhound. With a well meaning desire to determine its breeding to help get it adopted, they submitted its DNA to a company that for a fee of $80 will tell you what breed or breeds your dog contains. In addition to this unknown part-greyhound the DNA for an ex-racing greyhound was submitted as a control to verify the accuracy of the DNA analysis. This greyhound is named Yahtzee and his racing name was Cry Yahtzee.

You can see in the Direct Sire Line table that Yahtzee has greyhound ancestry going back for over 30 generations. When Yahtzee's DNA analysis results were received we were surprised. According to Yahtzee's DNA report, he and all of his ancestors are pure bred whippets!

Feel free to make you own conclusion. The title is what I think.

Jimbo the Car Surfer

While driving with my dogs to Friends of Greyhounds in Hialeah one recent weekend a question crossed my mind. How many miles have we traveled to visit Friends of Greyhounds?

Here is what I came up with... The trip from my house to Hialeah is about 30 miles or 60 miles for a round trip. Since we go there on both Saturday & Sunday with 52 weeks per year that is about 100 trips times 60 miles per trip or 6,000 miles per year. I first visited Friends of Greyhounds a little over 6 years ago, so 6,000 miles per year times 6 years is 36,000 miles. I then realized that Jimbo always stands in the back of the car. That is when I realized that Jimbo has stood in the back of the car for 36,000 miles!

ROO!

There were 91 greyhounds at Friends of Greyhounds' Dinner with the Dogs. We ended the evening with a group ROO lead by Roo-Master Darryl.

Cole, Jimbo & Jazzy Running

Here is a video taken at Friends of Greyhounds of Cole, Jimbo & Jazzy running and playing.

Darryls' Halloween Costume

Here are photos of Darryl in his Halloween costume. Its hard to see in the photos but the lights are flashing.

Darryl is dressed up as the "Fun Police". His job is to supervise the other dogs at Friends of Greyhounds.

Protect Your Dog from Overheating

Summer in South Florida means rain, more rain, high humidity, hurricanes and extreme heat.

If you think dogs can handle the heat you are making a fatal mistake. Dogs do not perspire, they pant to stay cool. If the surrounding air is hot then they cannot cool down. The slightest exertion can cause their body temperature to rise.

Here is a link to Friends of Greyhounds with more information on how to protect your dog from overheating. Also, there is information on what to do if your dog gets too hot.

If you think is okay to leave your dog in the car with the windows down, I recently noticed that the temperature in my car with the windows open was over 105° F.

We need to be very careful and protect our dogs. After all we are the smart ones and our dogs have less sense of their well-being than a 2 year old child.

Darryl's Roadtrip

I just got back from my nephew's high school graduation in Lima, Ohio.

Darryl in Lima, Ohio

On previous visits there would always be someone suggesting that I should bring my dogs. Since this was the last time to visit for a high school graduation I decided to take Darryl along.

Bella Plays with Darryl

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I was worried about how Darryl would react to the 2 small dogs at my brothers house. When we first came in both dogs barked at Darryl. This helped Darryl to understand that they were not rabbits with bad haircuts.

Deer in the Backyard

Darryl also got to see a deer. Based on his reaction I think he thought he was looking at a greyhound.

Tyler & Parents

I brought along a folding crate borrowed from Friends of Greyhounds and the few times that I had to leave Darryl alone he spent his time in the crate.

Welcome to GoodGreyhound.com

I thought I should share my thoughts & experiences with owning greyhounds. I get much pleasure from being around these wonderful dogs and thought I should share this with others. Besides, I like talking about my dogs.

My Five Hounds

I have 5 greyhounds. Their names are Jimbo, Darryl, Tasha, Jazzy & Dakota. I never imagined owning 5 greyhounds, it just happened. The worst thing about having all of these dogs is when they forget to leave room for me on my bed.

Three Dogs on My Bed

I also volunteer at Friends of Greyhounds in Hialeah, Florida.