The Retired Racing Greyhound

On the photo: Darren, Retired Greyhound Racer, 2 years old, male, white/red fawm, recently adopted by a caring family. Photo from Operation Greyhound.

As promised, here is my post about Greyhounds. My family adopted a Retired Racing Greyhound in 1998, our good boy was 4 years old when we adopted him. He was part of our family for nine years. He lived for 13 years, 5 months, and 2 days. He was an outstanding travel companion, he would go everywhere I went on my truck or SUV.

When I came back from the sea, our Greyhound was the first one to welcome dad, and he would not let me out of his sight. My Greyhound would usually come to my room, knock at the door - not a knock but a scratch with his legs - and wake me up in the middle of the night. He was very good waking me up between 0100 and 0200, as he needed to go out to take care of his necessities.

Every day between 2000 and 2100 my Greyhound would come to me, raise his ears, and move his tail. This was his way of telling me that it was time to go out for the evening walk. We used to go to the community park for a good walk, and then he was ready for a good night of sleep.

My good Greyhound suffered a stroke early this year, we needed a miracle for him to survive, and it happened. He did not fully recover, but lived for another five months. He died on July 6th 2007.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." - Will Rogers

Here are a few facts about the Greyhound, taken from multiple sources.

The Greyhound is the only dog mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible. See Proverbs 30:29-31.

The Greyhound is an ancient and noble breed. Drawings of Greyhounds are depicted in temples, some of then dating back to 6000 BC.

Greyhound was the dog of choice for kings, queens, pharaohs and sheiks. In early Arabian culture, the birth of a Greyhound was cause for great celebrations.

To be presented with a Greyhound was considered the most prized gift one could receive.

It was believed that the Greyhound was permitted in the next world to give information and evidence about mankind.

It was the Egyptians who first raced Greyhounds for sport in open fields with a wild hare as quarry and no rules of the game except speed.

Greyhounds were considered to possess divine powers. The destruction of a Greyhound was an extremely serious crime.

In the 15th century, commoners were beheaded if caught with a Greyhound in their possession - so that the sport of coursing (racing) could remain an elite activity shared only by royalty.

In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth established the beginning of formalized dog racing, dubbed the "Sport of Queens". The first track to open in the United States was in California in 1920.

The Greyhound can spot a moving object up to a half mile away.

The Greyhound run at their fastest between 40-45 miles per hour.

The Greyhound life span is 10 to 13 years.

Their sprinting ability enables them to expend an enormous amount of energy in a short period of time. Their ability to blend speed, coordination and strategy have made them great hunters as well as racers. Like our forests, lanes and oceans, Greyhounds are one of our valued natural treasures.

When you adopt a former racing Greyhound, you take home a wonderful, gentle companion. You also save the life of a magnificent purebred dog that will spend the rest of his years returning your favor with unconditional love and affection.

The Greyhound is quiet, calm and extremely well-mannered indoors. They are good with other dogs, and with other pets if raised with them; outdoors, they tend to chase any small thing that moves. They are reserved with strangers, very sensitive and sometimes timid. Despite their independent nature, they are eager to please.

The greyhound needs daily exercise, but it is a sprinter, not an endurance runner. Its needs can thus be met with a chance to run, or by a longer walk on leash. It loves to run and chase outdoors, and can easily run into danger at great speed unless exercised in a safe area. It is not generally amenable to living outdoors.

Greyhounds relish creature comforts and must have soft bedding and warmth. The coat is extremely easy to care for, needing only occasional brushing to remove dead hair.

"The greatness of a nation an its moral progress can be judged by the way that its animals are treated." - Gandhi