What sleeps twenty hours a day, does not fetch, feels like silk, rarely makes a sound, does not know what stairs are, and is not a cat?
If you answered ‘rescue greyhound,’ you win a dog biscuit.
I’ve been learning about this amazing and contradictory breed from friends and acquaintances who adore, and I mean adore, their greyhounds. Some dog owners have their breed preferences but for most of us dog-lovers it’s just, bring ‘em all on—we like dogs, period.
What I have discovered is that if you are a greyhound fan, you really really love greyhounds.
Take Andi Williams for instance. Andi was a judge at Doggie Olympics last weekend and she had her beloved greyhound, Wendell Oliver Williams, aka Mr. WOW, with her for the festivities.
When I called Andi after the excitement was over to see if she wouldn’t mind talking to me about greyhounds, I could feel her light up on the other end of the phone,
“Wouldn’t mind?” she said. “I will gladly talk to anybody anytime anywhere about greyhounds. And—oh boy—do I love to tell stories about Mr. Wow. How much time do you have?”
But before we regale ourselves with dog tales, a little background here. Greyhounds are a fascinating breed.
Drawings of greyhounds were found on the tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. During the Middle Ages, only members of the aristocracy could own greyhounds. Greyhounds can see clearly for a half mile but don’t have a very good sense of smell. They have bigger hearts and lungs (hence the large chest), more blood, and higher blood pressure than other dogs. But thin skin and no doggy undercoat—so they don’t smell like dogs.
Now the big question, why do we need to ‘rescue’ greyhounds?
Because they have been bred to be ‘racing machines.’ They have a supple spine and a ‘double suspension rotary gallop’—all four feet are off the ground in two phases, contracted and extended.
Before animals rights advocates came into the picture in the 1980s, over 60,000 greyhounds a year were killed at the greyhound racetracks. (There are still more than 40 tracks in 15 states.)
Racing greyhounds follow a little rabbit, eat, and sleep in their cages. The end.
They know nothing about the big world. Hence the need for ‘foster homes’ where people who know greyhounds can acclimate them to all the little details of a dog’s life that we take for granted: stairs, other dogs, windows, streets, traffic, cats, linoleum.
John Adams and Diana Thompson, a two-greyhound family, told a great story about one of their greyhounds, Paige.
“I was on the dock with Paige and Diana was out on the lake in a kayak,” says John. “Paige got out ahead of me and saw Diana and just ran to her right off the end of the dock. She had no idea what water was, or what had just happened to her.”
John and Diana now have Delta Dawn and Amos (aka A-moose) as part of their family and soap making crew. When I arrived to interview them several weeks ago, Delta and Amos greeted me gently at the door and, it seemed, stood right next to me until I acclimated to the scene in the warehouse.
As soon as they felt I had become one with the crew, they went back to their beds and watched the action.
Every greyhound owner talks about this companionship quality of the breed.
Andi shared, “Greyhounds like warm, soft things and even if they’re not sleeping, they’re on their beds. They are great watchers of their humans. In fact, you’d better be comfortable about going to the bathroom with the dog watching.”
“They seem to say ‘You might disappear into some big deep dark hole you haven’t told me about so I need to keep an eye on you.’”
It also appears that greyhounds often come in pairs.
Ed Strange, recently moved to Ocean Park from Texas, has ‘his girls.’ Two greyhounds—Jewel and Lizzy—and a pug named Sophie, who keeps everyone in line.
Ed adopted Lizzy and Jewel together because they were sisters and had never been apart. They are grand old girls at fifteen and these two long-legged beauties tower over feisty and energetic Sophie. They are a great set—sort of like two elegant salt and pepper shakers and a little votive candle.
Ed counsels, “What would I say to someone considering adopting a greyhound? That they are sweet companion animals. They’re not exterior dogs at all—just because they’re big doesn’t mean they want to be outside. If you’re cold they’ll be cold. They are docile—like felines, cat-like. They are always there for you and very low maintenance.”
He goes on, “They are sprinters, but they don’t need a lot of exercise. They are full out runners and then they like to crash.”
One person called greyhounds “forty-five mile per hour couch potatoes.”
They are truly elegant creatures.
Andi says, “I was attracted by their beauty. They are absolutely gorgeous in every way, every single hair of their bodies.”
She goes on, “Most greyhounds seem to have the wisdom of the ages. I can see everything in those eyes.”
And, like Ed, Andi concurs, “They’re quiet—they pussyfoot around, more like cats.”
It also appears that once you become a greyhound caretaker, you are in love forever.
Dee Quillen is on her third greyhound. This one is Sabrina—she raced as Sabrina’s Wish—and she has her own race track in Dee’s backyard.
Dee was an active member of the Greyhound Pets of America Northwest and placed over 60 greyhounds after their race careers ended at the old Multnomah Race Track in Portland before it closed.
“Once they don’t win two out of three races, they’re done,” she says.
Another active rescuer is Becky Early, of Surfside. Becky is tending to Sirius, Belle and Casey and is part of Puget Sound Greyhound Adoption group which works out of Seattle.
“We’re small but mighty,” Becky says of the group. “We work with people in Kansas and Colorado to adopt dogs and we match personalities. We have a very high success rate.”
“Yes, you can give people my phone number if they are interested in greyhound adoption—360-665-2874.”
Greyhounders form an informal club on the Peninsula. They may not know each other by name but they know the names of everyone’s dogs.
Jim and Mary Frances Bowers have an Italian Greyhound—a smaller version of the larger hound—called, also, Amos. And Mary let me in on Amo’s romantic secret—he is in love with Delta Dawn.
Delta must be quite a knock-out in the world of greyhounds because, according to Andi, Wendell is also head over heals for her.
“The first time he saw Delta Dawn. That was it for him. He was hooked.”
Mr. WOW might be able to woo Delta with a special talent he revealed to Andi. He can ‘roo.’
No this is not a joke. Greyhounds are hounds and hounds bay, especially at a gathering of greyhounds if a huntsman is brought out with a hunting horn.
As Andi explains, “The majority of greyhounds are quite quiet but they are capable of barking and can. But the ‘roo’ is a very special thing.”
“Wendell roos as a greeting. He’s my first greyhound who’s done it. He opens his mouth up into a little circle and roos.”
If you have any doubts about this, just search YouTube for ‘greyhound roos’ and you’ll find a veritable roo-fest.
Now I ask you—what is there not to like about greyhounds?
