It may be difficult to think a
dog known for speed can be a couch potato of a pet, but that’s the case with
greyhounds, said Nancy Roberts, a volunteer with Greyhound Adoptions of Florida
Northeast Chapter.

The group brings up, fosters
and finds homes for retired racing dogs in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and
New Jersey.

Roberts—from Wilmington—and
Barry Tenney, from Maryland, were on hand with two of the dogs at GiggyBites in
Olde Ridge Village for a greyhound meet and greet. Debbie
Pinno, also from Wilmington, showed up with her two dogs that she got through the
organization.

Pinno said they are remarkably
good house pets. She said she got her first while she was living in a
one-bedroom apartment with two cats.

“The dog took up less room than
the cats. They’re mellow and good with kids,” she said. “If I had more hands
I’d have more dogs.”

Pinno added that the dogs are
good travel companions and routinely takes hers with her on trips to the beach
and is planning a trip to Gettysburg with them.

Roberts said finding the dogs
“their forever homes” is necessary because greyhounds are “terribly over-bred”
in the racing industry.

“There are thousands of them
that need homes. They may race for a couple of months or a year, and then
they’re done,” Roberts said.

Greyhounds might begin racing
at 18 months of age and can continue until about 5 years old. That’s the
mandatory retirement age. A good racer can reach speeds of 39 mph.

Some of the dogs GAFNE places
are younger than five because they’re not that good at racing, Roberts said.

“We get dogs anywhere from 2 to
10 years old depending on if they were bred or breeders for the industry,” she
said. “There are thousands of dogs. [Owners] are trying to find that one dog
that will bring in the money. For every winner there are lots that just don’t
make the grade.”

Some animals are kept on the
racing farms solely for breeding purposes. Many of the other animals have been
kept crated when they weren’t racing. Roberts said that actually helps them
make the transition to becoming a house pet.

What some of the dogs lack, she
said, is an understanding of what steps, furniture and toys are. Most have
never seen such things.

Roberts said her group brings
up and finds homes for about 50 dogs per year.

“They have great dispositions
[but] they’re quiet couch potatoes,” she said.

People think they’re
high-energy and need to run because they’re racing dogs, but that’s not the
case, Roberts added.

“They might want to run for a
minute or two. Other than that they’re lying on a couch, or a bed, enjoying
life as a retired dog.”

Roberts added that people who
adopt a greyhound should have a fenced-in yard and never take the dogs off
leash when outside on the chance that they do decide to run.

The average female weighs 60 to
75 pounds, the males can get up to about 90 pounds. The average life span is 10
to 14 years.

GAFNE is planning a picnic at
Bellevue State Park in Wilmington for May 22.

For more information on the
group, visit http://www.adoptagrey.org/