On a cold Saturday afternoon in December, a group of 30 volunteers gathers in the lot of a large Denver park. Members of a greyhound rescue group, we are waiting for a “dog haul” from Oklahoma.

DSCN0338Right on schedule, a customized semi-truck pulls up in the parking lot. The load resembles a storage container, only it’s about half as high and lined with six small metal doors on each side. Behind these doors are 21 retired racing greyhounds.

The “processing” begins. The driver comes around — tired and grim-faced, perhaps indicative of the uneasy relationship that exists between the greyhound racing industry and the hundreds of rescue groups that have sprung up across the nation over the past ten or twenty years.

He opens the first door to reveal a large pile of thickly shredded paper. Emerging from the tangle is a skinny white-and-brindle greyhound. The driver quickly slips on a collar and leash and muzzles her. Volunteers mill around, check her body for injuries — there’s a nickel-sized gash on her left rear leg and a long tear on the inside of the same leg. They snap a quick picture for the greyhound adoption website, and read the tattooes in her ears. The tattooes indicate the month and year she was born and her birth order within the litter. In a week or so, volunteer veterinarians will spay or neuter the dogs and give them their first series of shots.

It turns out this first girl to come out is my new foster. Her racing name is Country Girl. After checking her for fleas and ticks, I slip a dog coat over her bony frame and take her for her first walk. I’m hoping she’ll pee but it’s too cold out and she doesn’t cooperate. She’s never been on a walk before, so she pulls this way and that, unsure about what to do. She walks on her tip toes and hops around because the ground is cold and she’s probably never encountered snow or ice before. She’s also never seen a park, a lake, a tree. In front of us, a flock of geese takes flight and she is spell-bound at the sight. However, after just a few minutes, she begins to “shut down” and I have to pull her along.

The foster coordinator I work with is an expert tick-remover so I ask her to have another look. The foster dog I got last summer was covered with more than two dozen ticks, but Country Girl seems clean. We say our goodbyes and I lift her into the back of my Subaru Forester. Teaching her to jump into the car will be one of my first chores, along with using the doggie door, walking properly on a leash and going up and down stairs.  As we take off in the warm car, she finally pees all over the dog blanket I have in the back, so I pull over, yank out the blanket, put up the backseats and get her settled in the far back where any further “incidents” won’t ruin my car.

The foster greyhound’s first night in a real home is always the toughest. Before this day, Country Girl has spent up to 22 hours a day sitting in a “sphinx” position in a crate. Her stomach and haunches are bald from rubbing against the wires. She knows nothing about the world, nothing about being a pet. Before the evening is over, she has peed twice in the house and has spent at least two hours pacing. She stares at the TV, whines at the cat (she has been tested “cat-safe.”), and sniffs my own greyhounds, who are annoyed at this dorky new kid who doesn’t know how to act.

I’ve got six vials of de-wormer and her first dose doesn’t go down that well. It’s a milky liquid in a large plastic injector and she spits it out as quickly as I squirt it into her mouth. All the greys from the south arrive with worms, ticks and fleas. Retired racers are also grossly underweight — Country Girl probably weighs 45 to 50 pounds — she will gain a good 15 or 20 pounds within the next two months, adding at least 25% of her current weight.

At the racetrack, they are fed a high-protein but obviously meager diet of 4-D meat from diseased livestock. This night she has her first meal of dog food, which will send her digestive system into a tizzy that might last the rest of her life. (After six years, I still haven’t gotten the digestion of one of my own dogs stabilized). I give her acidophilus and stewed pumpkin which will help. She’s too excited and confused to eat much at first, but before the evening ends, her bowl is empty. By tomorrow, when she has settled down, she will begin a period of ravenous eating.

When it’s time for bed, I put her in a large wire crate filled with soft blankets. I turn on the nearby desktop computer and leave it streaming a classical station all night, with the monitor turned on and facing her. Despite these “comforts,” she cries all night long. I get up once at five in the morning, bundle her up in a coat and take her out to the backyard. It is snowing and beautiful out. She runs around the yard, shivering and wagging her tail, jumping up to get her feet out of the freezing snow. Finally, she relieves herself and I praise her lavishly. The first sign of house-breaking!

Country Girl is only three years old so she’s been retired early. Retirement comes when the greyhound doesn’t win enough — that is, when the owner is not making money off the dog. This particular kennel owner has taken the trouble of driving his rejected dogs all the way to Colorado. Many greyhound racing dogs are not so lucky. According to the Greyhound Protection League, “Over the last two decades, hundreds of cases of abuse have been documented including greyhounds that were shot, starved, electrocuted and sold for research. Industry insiders report that this is only the tip of the iceberg.” Those that aren’t killed are sometimes sent to Juarez and other racetracks in Mexico, where the outlook for the a dog is notoriously bleak. Other greyhounds are sent to research facilities and veterinarian schools where they are used for experiments and “training” exercises.

That, however, will not be the fate of Country Girl, this skin-and-bones greyhound from Oklahoma, nor for the other 20 dogs from yesterday’s haul. Today, Country Girl will get her first flea bath, followed up by a towel rub-down and a doggie treat. After that, she’ll pace around the house for awhile, sniff at the kitty, who will hiss at her again, and then she’ll do the greyhound stretch/bow, then curl up on a soft doggie bed for a nap. She will follow me around the house, leaning against me whenever possible — she has already shown signs of being a “velcro dog.” In two or three weeks, an excited family will come along and take her away to her “forever home.” My two greyhounds will jump for joy that the dork that took so much of my attention is finally gone, and I will  feel the loss — as I always do — for a long time after.

65
Leave a Comment

Please Login to comment
18 Comment threads
47 Thread replies
1 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
21 Comment authors
Crafting4greyhoundsnellieBigDogMomChernynkayaVal Recent comment authors
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Crafting4greyhounds
Member
Crafting4greyhounds

I stumbled across your post and was very moved by your beautiful writing. I have my own greyhound Tillie and also foster other greyhounds. We are looking after Foster No 11 at the moment – Rocky nearly 7, an ex hare courser, a handsome gorgeous boy who after a long time found his forever home but them found himself unwanted again after 2

nellie
Member

Rescue work is so emotional — but so important. Thanks, ecat, for doing this for these sweet animals.

Chernynkaya
Member

Escat– that was amazing! Great writing and a wonderful, wonderful post. I am a dog lover myself, but even if I wasn’t your writing was gripping.

I noted that the first thing you did when you met Country Girl was to walk her. Do you watch The Dog Whisperer? I love that show because it’s all about understanding the essence of dogs and treating them with respect for the wonderful creatures they are, instead of laying our own needs on them.

I have one of the best dogs ever now– Zorro– who I got from the shelter as a pup. He grew to over 100# and so tall he can easily rest his chin on the dining room table (how convenient). A big Shepard mix who wants to be a lap dog.

Thank you so much for the work you do with greys!

BigDogMom
Member
BigDogMom

Cher, you’ve got big dogs too! I have two that rest their chins, like Zorro, on the dining room table, makes for interesting meals….LOL.

Chernynkaya
Member

Plus, he’s really warm to lay next to. (Don’t tell my husband! He disapproves of dogs in the bed.)I love my pets so much. But Zorro is special– maybe because he was so young (about six weeks old) he never takes his eyes off me. Knows my every move before I make it. I’ll shut up now, but I bet you have a million wonderful stories about your “kids” too.

BigDogMom
Member
BigDogMom

Lawd, I could go on and on….this morning I had to rush the younger one to the Vets, a small stick was caught in his upper palette and I couldn’t get it out, took two to hold him down and the Vet with some kind of pliers to remove it…dogs fine now, silly thing was smiling after it was removed, but Moms not smiling after the $100 bill!

bito
Member

My Afghan Hounds did that chin on the table thing. They were good about going to “their room” when eating, but don’t leave the butter on the table!!!

😮

Chernynkaya
Member

Yes- the butter! A whole stick was gone in a blink of the eyes. It must have gone down real smooth.

bito
Member

To put this polity, “It didn’t digest well” with my hounds. involved cleaning up. nuff said.

BigDogMom
Member
BigDogMom

Nuff said…LOL!

I can just imagine, you poor thing…hope it wasn’t on carpeting!

bito
Member

BDM, She wasn’t picky.
🙂

Val
Member
Val

Dear Escriacat,
What an amazing story! Thank you so much for being a greyt guardian to this dog, and for telling the tale of what these beautiful dogs go through when they are used for racing. The more people who know about the abuses that greyhounds face, the sooner greyhound racing will be a horrid distant memory.

Suzanne525
Member
Suzanne525

Someone else referred to you as “ecat”, which I like!!

Anyway, you are truly a wonderful person to help out like that. I can only imagine how hard it would be to give up the dog to the permanent family, after having helped it adjust to life as a pet.

My sister has a feral cat population behind her store in the Dallas area, and traps them to get them spayed/neutered and released back into thier colony. The kittens are removed from the colony fairly young and tamed,(she LOVES that part) then attempts to get them adopted. She is less successful with the adopting out part, so she has a lot of cats!

I have quite a few cats and dogs myself, all adopted/rescued. Two of the dogs are getting quite old, and I’m steeling myself for the inevitable.

Glad to see all the animal lovers here!

KevenSeven
Member

Man, what a complete freaking bummer. The dog is lucky to have you, but then again, there are plenty of humans in the world worse off than that dog.

I might have guessed that greyhound racers were creeps.

HITO
Member
HITO

Cat, that brought tears to my eyes.

You rock.

My sister is a board member at the county shelter, an SPCA, but of course, it get’s not one red cent of county gov dollars. She tells me stories that turn my hair grey everyday. My 17 year old raised $800 last late winter for it. That was amazing. Stood outside a grocery store with a sign that said “Can you spare ONE DOLLAR”.

You and my sister are going to heaven. I am hopeful that someday when the kids are in college, I will join you in your mission.

Thank you cat, for all you do.

Pepe Lepew
Member

E’cat, your work reminds me of a few years ago when I volunteered at a wildlife rehab centre in the San Juan Islands for about three years. Very rewarding and very heartbreaking work.

Kalima
Admin

Well done escribacat, I read your story and felt as if I had been there waiting with you for the truck to arrive. It brought back many memories of bottle feeding kittens abandoned in brown paper bags on our doorstep. Of sleepless nights after hearing the first sneeze, of the glow I felt when they gained weight and the nervousness I felt vetting the kind people who came to adopt the tiny bundles, the loneliness I felt once I had handed them over, usually with cans of food, bowls, cat bed, litter box and many toys.

Kudos to you, Country girl is a lucky girl to have you and whether they stay a few weeks or a few months, we will always remember them and hope that they might fleetingly, remember us too.

Beautiful story, made me shed a few tears. Please let us know how she is getting on.

Thanks!

TanzaniteDiamonds
Guest
TanzaniteDiamonds

Escribacat: What an incredible story! I’m speechless, and I’m in tears. From having read so many of your comments on HP, I always sensed that there was something really “extra special” about you. I just could never really pin-point what it was.

But, after reading your incredible story above, I now know why I always had those warm and fuzzy vibes about you. Not only are you an incredible writer, you’re an angel, for helping these beautiful Greyhounds.

I’ve also always wondered what happens to these wonderful dogs, when they’re no longer “racing”. My heart aches that they are so horribly treated, for nothing but a betting object, at the race track. There are, obviously, some pretty sick humans out there.

So, it’s extremely heartwarming and impressive to know that people — like yourself — do something to help them find a “forever home”, to be loved for life. Foster parents for these incredible animals, are very special human beings, with really big hearts (understatement).

It also makes me continually grateful to the foster mom, who took care of my kittens, before I adopted them.

Actually years ago, I used to work as a volunteer in “animal rescue”. Sadly, I can no longer do so, due to the fact that I’m in horrible health. I wish I could do more, but physically, I can’t. Yet, my heart still wants to; so your touching story, really means a lot to me (others too, I’m sure).

Thank you so much, for sharing this with us. Loved the photo with the cat, as well. Adorable!

TanzaniteDiamonds

Obama20082012
Member

Glad to see you here TD! I see more names I know here everyday!

TanzaniteDiamonds
Guest
TanzaniteDiamonds

Tickled to see you, Obama20082012! More and more familiar names here every day. **smiles**

AlphaBitch
Member
AlphaBitch

Whew, Escribacat!

What an amazing article, and what an amazing heart! That is one lucky Country Girl, and the “Forever Family” will also be lucky, to have you to help with her. Fostering is always hard; you grow to love anything you take the time to nurture. But giving things a second chance is one of the best feelings in the world…….

Beautiful writing, and perfect for the holidays!

PatsyT
Member

Escribacat, Thank you for sharing this. Rescue organizations are doing such great work and you have heart of gold to be taking this on. Bravo!

choicelady
Member

I tear up every time someone mentions “forever home”. That’s such a wonderful term.

Why are we so cruel to animals – and humans, too? I cannot wrap my mind around people who’d race a dog for money but feed it diseased meat and let it get sick. That’s not even good investment sense. Thank you SO MUCH for being a foster parent to these poor critters. You and boomer and everyone else who takes care of “the last, the least, and the lost” have my undying respect.

Obama20082012
Member

That was very touching E. Great post. Those poor dogs. I hate when animals are exploited this way.

boomer1949
Member

Afternoon Escribacat…

What a heartwarming post. I know it must be tough for you to let the “dorks” go, and I absolutely admire your dedication. A few tears from you coupled with the tolerance from your own “kids” certainly beats the alternative outcome.

I volunteer for a no-kill cat shelter here in Columbus, OH http://www.catwelfareohio.com/. We also have foster families and as of yet, I’ve not been able to foster any kitties because I know I wouldn’t want to let them go. I do have 3 rescues of my own and go to the shelter on weekends just to hang out and socialize with the residents. The more social they are gives them a paw up to finding a forever home. Every time I go, I just want to bring all of them home with me. My human kids laugh and call me the “crazy cat lady” and it does make for great conversation!

Kudos to you and your family for opening your hearts and your home.