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you are at all familiar with the greyhound racing grading scale). She won plenty of races, but she was never in that elite “Grade A” level of dogs for much of her career that would have seen her set up for breeding after her racing days had ended.

So, instead, she was put up for adoption and I had already called “dibs” so I brought her home. This was around 2002. She quickly adapted from kennel life to home life, although she never did quite get the hang of moving quickly on laminate or tile flooring. She ran circles around our backyard (out of habit), loved going out to my in-laws’ farm to run around and even “ran” in her sleep sometimes. She got along great with the kids and other dogs.

We had her for about three years, until New Year’s Eve of 2005. Sadly, she got spooked by some fireworks and climbed our (six foot) fence and shot off into the night. We scoured the neighborhood. Every so often, we’d run into some folks whe happened to be outside… at midnight… on New Year’s Eve… probably the same folks whe had been shooting the fireworks. Despite our search, we never saw her again. I hope she found a good home. She had identifying ear tattoos, so whoever found her could have made an effort to get her back where she belonged, so they must have decided to keep her, at least that’s what I tell myself.

So, anyway, I said all that to say this… with greyhound racing ending forever at Southland in just a few months, there are going to be a lot of greyhounds in search of retirement homes. Some will go on to race at one of the few greyhound tracks left operating in the U.S. (there are only three left in business in the whole country, two in West Virginia and one in Alabama — there were once more than 50). But most will be put up for adoption. That’s a lot of dogs!

So, if you’re looking for a fun and somewhat unique pet and you’ve got room in your heart (and in your home), I would strongly recommend adopting one.

You can get in touch with Mid-South Greyhound Adoption Option at (870) 735-7317 and go pick one out today!

Just keep them inside on fireworks nights…

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