Why Greyhounds are AWESOME!

     Let me first start off by telling you a little bit about Greyhounds. These amazing creatures are the only dog that are mentioned in the Bible, at least the King James Version. They can reach speeds up to 45 miles per hour in three strides! Greyhounds are originally from either Ireland or Egypt, depending on which side of the debate you are on. They also make great pets for those in apartments, or in big houses, and I'm going to tell you why!

     We adopted our first Greyhound, Doc's Whipper, in 2009, at the begrudging of my husband. He actually wanted a Black Lab puppy, but, I was not wanting to take on the challenge of a puppy with both of us working full time and having 2 kids as well. That's when I thought about the beautiful Greyhounds that I had seen at the Mile High Kennel Club when I lived in Colorado. They were just stunning creatures! I had always thought that these majestic creatures would be so high strung, that they would absolutely need a immense area to run in. When I found our adoption group, Greyhound Crossroads, I started reading more about these wonderful animals. It turns out, that they spend most of their days sleeping! We ended up falling in love with Doc, a beautiful red brindle male who had just turned 2.

How could you resist this face?!

     When we first brought Doc home, we were a little nervous that we would do something wrong. It was almost immediate that he laid down on the floor and "roached," where he turned over and stuck his legs up in the air like a dead cockroach (at least that's how they describe it!). He had found his forever home, and we had found our heart dog!He quickly became our other dog, Lilly's, best friend. We learned so much about Greyhounds in that first few months that you would never learn in a book. For example, did you know that Greyhounds usually don't bark? Doc does, which makes him not the normals. They also LOVE to squish into tiny beds, or at leas ours do. Greyhounds are also considered the cat of the dog world as they do like to clean themselves. They don't really have a smell to them, so only need baths every few months or less. (We give our Greyhounds a bath about once a quarter, sometimes only twice a year!) Greyhounds are also low shedding, and are usually very good for people that have dog allergies because they don't have very much dander. The down side to Greyhounds are that, sometimes when they come straight from the track, they don't know house manners. Things like walking up stairs, and not grabbing something from the kitchen counter are foreign concepts to them so they do need to be taught house rules, and given encouragement to try new things. They are also prone to bone cancer called Osteosarcoma. Some larger vets may offer cancer treatments for this type of cancer, while smaller vets may not offer these treatments. Greyhounds also need dental care, and need an experienced anesthesiologist as they are prone to complications with anesthesia.

     There are quite a few Greyhound adoption groups around the country, and if you need help finding a group, I would be more than happy to help you find a group in your area! Overall, these retired racers really just want to find a couch to curl up on and call their own. They don't call them the 45 mile per hour couch potato for nothing!