At race tracks across this country, thousands of young, healthy greyhounds between the ages of 2 and 3 years are destroyed every year. "Their only crime," says David G. Wolf, director of the National Greyhound Adoption Program, "is that they do not run fast enough to win their owners money."
While they live at the track, greyhounds don’t get a lot of TLC; when they’re not forced to chase a mechanical lure at top speed, they’re kept muzzled in cages.
"Greyhounds have gentle dispositions and make wonderful companions," says Elizabeth Johnson of Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, Mass., which has rehomed more than 6,000 racers since 1983. Rescuers have their work cut out for them. According to the advocacy group GREY2K USA, some 15,000 healthy greyhounds are destroyed each year.
Currently, 46 tracks are operating in 15 states, from Colorado to Florida, Rhode Island to Wisconsin. One lucky survivor of an Arizona track was a brindle male who eventually moved to Los Angeles, inspiring his human, screenwriter Sheryl Longin, to author Dorian: A Dog’s Tale, written from the greyhound’s perspective.
Greyhound fanciers - among them the pharaohs of ancient Egypt - have appreciated the dog’s lean, elegant physique, reminiscent of an Erte lithograph, and sweetly quirky habits, which include reclining with perfect, Sphinx-like posture (their body shape makes it difficult for greyhounds to sit, so when they’re not standing, they’re Sphinxing).
There’s a common misperception that greyhounds need more exercise than most dogs, but that’s not the case. Once retired, these regal athletes are happy to be couch hounds, giving their densely-muscled physiques a rest in between leisurely walks. Slower-moving senior hounds, meanwhile, are a "greyt" match for senior humans.
Given their short coats and low body fat, greyhounds do require a thermal layer when the weather turns brisk. And because the greyhound’s slender, "needlenosed" head is narrower than his neck, he can easily escape an ordinary buckle collar, so a martingale is in order. Designed with two loops, one loose and one snug, the martingale tightens to prevent escape when a dog pulls, yet remains comfortably loose while the dog is at rest. When made of silk brocade, such as the collars by 2 Hounds Design (which donates a portion of profits to Greyhound rescue) a martingale turns its wearer into a proper fashion hound.
Whatever junk they’re fed at the track causes greyhounds’ teeth to decay rapidly, so to ensure future oral health, adopters need to brush up on doggie dental hygiene and make regular home tooth-cleanings a priority.
