FOR NEW ADOPTERS
- We are requiring a fence. Should a greyhound get loose, we may not have people to help in the search.
- Children in your family must be at least 10 years
FOR PREVIOUS ADOPTERS
- GHG no longer fosters dogs for previous adopters. You must take the dog when it becomes available. After a trial period of two weeks, you must sign the adoption agreement or make the dog available for other adopters.
- Previous adopters no longer take priority on the wait list.
LOST GREYHOUNDS
- If your greyhound is ever lost, notify Going Home Greyhounds, Inc. immediately and then your local police. We will assist you in every way humanly possible to recover your pet. Local humane societies usually will contact us if a greyhound is recovered. Going Home Greyhounds, Inc. also offers assistance to other adoption groups that may be searching for a lost pet and they offer assistance to us as well. This “network of love” offers you the best chance of recovering your pet. But act immediately, regardless of the day or hour. We have put an identification tag on each adopted dog’s collar with all GHG’s contact numbers, including an emergency cell phone that is on 24/7. This is also why our adoption agreement states to purchase and attach an additional identification tag with your name and telephone number and to keep it on your dog’s collar at all times.
Considering Adopting:
The pre-adoption process is designed to make sure a greyhound is the right pet for your family. This helps to promote a placement that is successful for both the greyhound and the adoptive family.
We’d like every GHG adopter to be automatically approved for re-adoption, but we need to ensure each greyhound is being properly cared for throughout its lifespan, physically as well as mentally.
The pre-adoption process includes:
Application:
- Required Reading – Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies by Lee Livingood (New Adopters Only)
- Fill out and submit an on-line or printable application from our website.
- Upon receipt of application, our Application Coordinator will contact you.
- We will contact your veterinarian if available as a reference to ensure
- Confirm documented pet history
- All current pets are up-to-date on vaccinations and heartworm prevention.
- Interview/Consult:
- Meeting with one of our adoption counselors who will answer any questions you may have and provide more detailed information regarding the ownership of a greyhound. We also use this time to obtain information which will help us select appropriate hounds for your situation. This includes meeting any existing pets you may have to ensure compatible personalities.
- You will learn about Going Home Greyhounds’ support system that’s set up to help you through all stages of your dog’s life.
- All family members are encouraged to participate. We try to make this process both interesting and enjoyable.
- Home Inspection
- Confirm suitability of adequate fencing (if available)
- Make suggestions to assist with transitioning a greyhound to your environment
- Confirm suitability of existing pets for life with a new greyhound companion
- Meeting with children – We will ask specific questions of the children (that would have been discussed during the interview) and will observe not only their behavior with the dogs, but each parent’s reaction to things that need to be corrected. Going Home Greyhounds requires that all children in the adoptive family be at least 10 years of age.
Finding Your Greyhound:
Once your family is approved for adoption, you will receive a copy of our New Owner Guidelines. It’s a written version of the information discussed during the interview as well as some additional handy, detailed, and valuable information to keep at your fingertips.
With recent changes in the greyhound community, our adoption program must change, too. A limited number of dogs are available at any time, so we can no longer take adopters to the kennel to select a dog. Our foster coordinator will still make every effort to find the right dog for each adopter. However, she cannot meet a list of requirements, such as size, age, color. Testing for cat/small dog tolerance requires special arrangements. As few dogs are available now, she also cannot promise a quick adoption process. Finding your dog might take several weeks. Previous adopters no longer have priority on the wait list. You must be patient.
GHG’s long-standing fostering program must change, too, due to a lack of foster parents.
New/ first-time adopters will still benefit from our foster program. Their dog will be placed with a foster parent for a period of one to two weeks, until the dog has fully recovered from spay/neuter and dental procedures. At that time the new adopter will take the dog home. Post adoption support will be available through the foster parent.
Previous adopters will take their dog as soon as it becomes available. There will be no foster parent. After a trial period of no more than two weeks, the adopter must sign the adoption contract or make the dog available for another adopter.
Keep in mind that taking this approach means we will not have previous experience with the dog and will have to rely on the kennel’s assessment of the chosen dogs’ personality. While the kennel staff has substantial experience with greyhounds and can assist with selection, they will not be able to attest to the dog’s personality in an environment outside of a kennel.
Adopting Your Greyhound
Read, understand, and complete the adoption agreement at a licensed adoption location such as the foster family’s home, or Tender Touch veterinary clinic.
- Go shopping! A few things you will need:
- Collar – Your new greyhound will require a collar for his or her required tags.
- Matching leash – Well, matching would be nice…
- Crate – Going Home Greyhounds, Inc. strongly recommends the use of a crate to adjust to home life.
- Bed – Yes, a bed is required, or your welcome to let you greyhound take over your couch. Greyhounds do not physically tolerate sleeping on hard surfaces for long periods of time.
- Raised dishes for water and food – due to the length of their legs, raises dishes are recommended by most veterinarians, especially as the hound ages.
- Dog Food – Plain dry foods moistened with warn water are fine. Your foster family can tell you what your adoptee has been thriving on.
- Toys…this list could go on forever…
Enjoying the Journey
Advice and assistance are always available through our GHG representative. We prefer real people giving firsthand advice based upon experience instead of internet resources. You will not be left alone to figure out how to care for your new family member.