One Sunday in February about one year ago, my husband and I ventured into our local Petsmart to look at the greyhounds GPA/OK [Greyhound Pets of America] were showing that day. We were met by four or five of the sweetest dogs I have ever seen, and three of the friendliest people I have met in a long time. One of the greys, a white one with lots of ticking, came up and nudged us. I looked down into the deepest eyes--eyes that showed you her soul! One of the volunteers told us her name was Whitney. We noticed that she had many scars on her, and in spots her hair was so thin you could see bare skin. One ear was partly gone--she was, in general, really beat up looking.
We ask what had happened to her. We were told that part of the scars were from before the Tulsa group had gotten her, but the biggest majority were gotten after she came to Tulsa. When dogs first come in, they are taken to what is called the "farm". The vice-president of GPA/OK lives on the outskirts of Sapulpa, OK. The new dogs are evaluated there before being put into foster homes. One day Whitney and three other greyhounds got into a fight over food--and Whitney got the worst end of this altercation! She was cut up pretty bad--bleeding quite a bit. She was taken to a veterinary hospital. Once there she was stiched up and put on antibiotics. She had to stay there for several days. During this time she developed a bad infection, lost lots of hair and became severely depressed. GPA was told that she had to start eating or she would die. Shahna, the one whose house Whitney was at, would go every day to the hospital and feed her Arby's roast beef!! That was all they could get her to eat, and she certainly had to eat something. Still, she remained depressed--her weight had dropped to 35 pounds [her normal weight is between 60-65] She looked like a walking skeleton. Shahna took her to the President's house. Cheryl nursed her back to health. She now weighs 63 pounds and is a beautiful dog. I am so thankful that these two people helped Whitney live so she could come and live with Pete & I.
Whitney never raced--for some reason or another--she just didn't make it. She was about three years old when we got her. Most of the dogs GPA gets are between 2 and 4. Sometimes older if they had a successful racing career. In this column I do not want to debate the racing vs non racing issue--that is not the purpose of this site. I just want people to be educated about these dogs and what happens to them after leaving the track.
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