Why Adopt From Greyhound Adoption California?
In Northern California, you have a choice of over a half dozen Greyhound Adoption Programs to adopt from. There can be significant differences from one program to another. Because adopting a Greyhound is such a significant commitment, you owe it to yourself to choose the program that provides the best opportunity for your adoption to be a success. The Greyhound Adoption California adoption process has been designed, using “Best Practices” from Adoption programs across the country. As one of the more than 50 chapters of Greyhound Pets of America, the largest Greyhound Adoption organization in the US, we are continuously looking to improve. The adoption process at Greyhound Adoption California is based on the following features: * Pre-Adoption Education * Home Visit / Adopter Profile * Greyhound Health * Greyhound Fostering and Profile * Greyhound / Adopter Matching * Follow-up Care	Download our Brochure!
Pre-Adoption Education
Retired Racing Greyhounds are unique in the canine world. Their heredity and the way they have been raised caused them to be the unique dogs they are. We want each potential adopter to take the time, before they adopt, to learn about Retired Racing Greyhounds to fully understand the type of dog they will be adopting. This way, a potential adopter can be sure that a Greyhound fits their expectations and lifestyle. This is why we ask every member of a potential adoptive family to read either “Adopting the Retired Racing Greyhound” by Cynthia Brannigan or "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" by Lee Livingood. These books provide an excellent overview of what it is like to have a Retired Racing Greyhound in your home. More information is better than not having enough.
Home Visit / Adopter Profile
Our home visit has several purposes. We continue the pre-adoption education with the home visit. There are typically questions that arise from reading the Brannigan or Livingood books that your Placement Representative will answer. Your Placement Rep will have information that they will present to you in person. The rep will also discuss with you any unique physical elements of your home that need attention. Such items as stairs, plate glass windows, pools and the presence or absence of a dog door require some extra understanding. At the home visit, we ask that all family members be present. Adopting a Greyhound is a family affair, and each family member will have some involvement with the new family member. We want to get to know the whole family. Your Placement Rep will be asking about family and individual activities, hours at home and away, and activities outside the home, to develop a profile of the adoptive family. This profile will help us to match your family to an appropriate Greyhound.
Greyhound Health
Our Greyhounds come to us by way of various resources in Oklahoma. We will typically bring between 5 to 10 dogs up from our supplier a couple times a year. Before the dogs leave our suppliers, they will have been off the track for one to several weeks. During that time, each dog will have had its spay or neuter surgery and had a thorough dental examination. When the dogs arrive from Oklahoma, they receive an examination by a local veterinarian. At that time, the vet will draw blood for a comprehensive blood analysis that looks at over 40 dimensions in the dog’s blood, including potential exposure to the common flea and tick born diseases. The dogs that we get but may have come through several other tracks and been exposed to different conditions or illnesses during their career. It is important that we check the health of every dog through a blood analysis, so that there are no hidden ailments or exposure to disease that are not apparent in the physical exams the Greyhounds receive.
Greyhound Fostering and Profile
After the transport has arrived, we place our dogs with a foster family prior to adption. All of our foster families are experienced Greyhound adopters. A new Greyhound will spend at least two weeks in it’s foster home. This foster home time gives each Greyhound time to unwind from the track/kennel mentality and begin to adjust to life in a home. For each of these Greyhounds, this will be their first exposure to life as a pet. Such things as carpet, doors, soft pillows to sleep on, the freedom to wander from room to room and the ability to go “outside” to do their business when they want, are all new concepts to each Greyhound. While most Greyhounds “get it” pretty quickly, it is still an adjustment. While in it’s foster home, the foster family will expose their foster Greyhound to everyday life: going out in public, being exposed to children, cats and small dogs. Each Greyhound is “Crate Trained” at the track, in that they know not to soil the crate that they live in. The foster family will work with the foster Greyhound to expand the concept of their crate, to encompass the entire house, in essence “house breaking” the Greyhound. The foster family also writes up a profile of their foster Greyhound. Such items as a Greyhound’s activity level, sleeping patterns, play level, indoor/outdoor preferences, bathroom habits, behavior on a leash, separation anxiety and their reaction to being in public, around cats, small dogs and small children are all documented.
Greyhound / Adopter Matching
When a family is ready to adopt a Greyhound, we match the profile of the family to a Greyhound with an appropriate temperament. We look at all those elements that make each family and each Greyhound unique. For example, a family that is active will typically want a Greyhound with a high activity level, and enjoys going for lots of “rides”. This matching has proven to be key in increasing the likelihood that the Greyhound will fit into its new family lifestyle, becoming a member of the family with minimal stress on the part of the family or the Greyhound. Whenever possible, we will put the adoptive family in touch with the foster family. This way the adoptive family can hear first hand about their new Greyhound and make arrangements to meet. There are times that when a family is ready, we do not have an appropriate Greyhound available. While disappointing, it is important that we wait to get a Greyhound that will be a fit with the family. Placing a Greyhound that doesn’t match up with the family, can lead to frustration on the part of the family and a Greyhound that acts up, because it is not happy. Despite everyone’s best efforts, there are times that a placement simply doesn’t work out. In some cases, we didn’t get the match quite right, or in others, there is a significant change in lifestyle on the part of the adoptive family, and the Greyhound is not able to make the adjustment. Greyhound Adoption California will always take back a Greyhound we have placed. That Greyhound is always taken care of.
Follow-up Care
After a new family has received their Greyhound, the Placement Rep will stay in touch with the family to address any problems and symptoms, before they develop into bigger problems. Your Placement Rep has the resources of Greyhound Adoption California at their disposal. With over 375 Greyhounds placed into permanent homes, Greyhound Adoption California has amassed quite a knowledge base on Greyhound behavior. We also have access to the knowledge base of Greyhound Pets of America which has been adopting Greyhounds for over 25 years. The Placement Rep will introduce a new family to other adoptive families in the neighborhood or area, so that the families can get together for “play dates”, or to swap or share dog-sitting when needed. When a family needs to have a dog sitter for their Greyhound, we will put out the word around the Greyhound Adoption California family to try to help find someone who can help out. We publish a newsletter in e-mail 4 times a year to keep in touch with our adopters and to encourage our adopters to keep in touch with each other. We hold a picnic each year, in the Bay Area. This picnic has gotten bigger each year, being attended by nearly 100 Greyhounds and their adopters. The picnic is a wonderful environment for Greyhound adopters to gather to share experiences and tips with other adopters. We also have a number of vendors selling Greyhound oriented items.
Get Involved!
For those people who want to get involved in Greyhound Adoption, we encourage volunteers. We always need volunteers to staff “show and tell” booths, help out with Greyhound-sitting, help out with transports, become Placement Reps and to be foster families. Volunteers can be as active as they choose to be. As a non-profit organization, expenses that our volunteers incur can be a tax deduction as a charitable contribution. We treasure our volunteers.
Greyhound Adoption California is a chapter of Greyhound Pets of America 1-800-366-1472