Welcome to Greyhound Adoption
Bringing a greyhound into your home is a commitment and a decision to be carefully considered. Adoptable greyhounds typically are 3-4 years old and can live to be 12-14. That means your hound could be a member of your family for 10 years. So take a realistic look at your life and consider where you’re likely to be next year, in five years or in seven years.

If a greyhound feels like a good fit with your lifestyle and your future, please print out our PDF Application or Email us your snailmail address and we’ll send one. Then mail your completed application with your $50 deposit to the address on the application. You also may turn in your application at one of our Saturday Meet and Greets.

Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies

Childproofing Your Dog

The Dog Listener

Once we’ve received your application and deposit, a GPA/N volunteer will contact you, usually within a week, to discuss adoption, go over your application and schedule a home visit. Prior to the home visit, we ask that you read Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies by Lee Livingood. If you have children, grandchildren or children who visit your home frequently, also read Child-Proofing Your Dog by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. The Dog Listener by Jan Ferrell is also recommended.

GPA/N sells these books or they can be purchased at local bookstores or through Amazon.com or found at libraries.

GPA/N considers the following when making an adoption decision:

• All members of the household must want to adopt a retired racing
  greyhound and be present for the home visit.
  
• The contents of Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies and Child-Proofing Your Dog have been read, understood and taken seriously.
• The commitment to keep a greyhound as an indoor family companion only is understood and agreed to
  
• Agreeing to keep your greyhound on leash or in a fully fenced area.
  
• Keeping ID tags, including the tag provided by GPA/N, on your greyhound at all times.
  
• Providing GPA/N with current contact information and allowing us to follow up regarding your greyhound's well-being, including an in-person visit, should GPA/N feel it is necessary.

Adoption Basics
The total adoption fee is $230 (including the $50 deposit). This charge helps GPA/N meet vet costs associated with preparing retired racers to live in their new homes. Every adoptable dog has had the following:

• Spay/neuter
  
• Dental care and cleaning
• Heartworm testing, treatment if needed, and heartworm preventative
  
• Screening for tick-borne infections and treatment, if necessary
  
• Worm medication
  
• Flea/tick medication
  
• Current vaccinations
  
• Nails trimmed
• A martingale/sighthound collar, lead and muzzle.

Crating is an important part of bringing a greyhound into your family. Living in a home is a new experience for a greyhound. At first, if allowed loose in your home while you’re away or out of sight, a greyhound can become frightened or disoriented and that can lead to destructive behavior, housebreaking slip-ups and even injury or death. Most have lived in crates since they were young and view them as a safe haven. It’s why GPA/N requires the purchase of a crate for the majority of adopting families. For your convenience, we’ll bring a sturdy, secure crate which you can purchase following your home visit.

The Home Visit
Typically, a home visit is scheduled 10-14 days from the receipt of your application. On the day of your home visit, two GPA/N volunteers will bring two or three adoptable greyhounds to your home. These hounds are selected based on your input and information from your application and the pre-home visit phone call.
During the home visit, volunteers will answer questions, point out potential hazards to a greyhound in and around your home and talk about feeding, crating, housebreaking and other issues. At the same time, they’ll also observe the greyhounds' interactions with family members for clues that can help guide you in selecting a compatible dog. Home visits typically last two-three hours.

Once you have settled on the greyhound, you’ll be asked to sign an adoption contract. GPA/N ‘s contract includes a safety net for all hounds. If you are unable to keep your greyhound for any reason, the contract stipulates that you notify GPA/N immediately and return him/her to us. In this way, you can ensure your hound is appropriately cared for and is rehomed with another family that GPA/N has pre-screened.

After the adoption, you’ll be assigned a mentor who will contact you periodically to make sure the greyhound and your family are making a smooth transition. If you have a question or concern, GPA/N representatives are always available to help resolve challenges that may arise.

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Greyhounds at Home
As your hound settles in, questions and concerns naturally arise. Of course, you’ll be able to contact your mentor by phone and by email. Issues addressed immediately are more easily resolved than ones that are allowed to linger, so never consider a question you may have to be too small. We also maintain a Yahoo! Groups list for all adopters and volunteers. It’s an easy-to-use forum where you can ask questions, share stories, enjoy "family" photos, etc.

As hard as GPA/N works to match greyhounds and adopters, occasionally an adoption doesn't work. When this happens, we’ll gladly will take a greyhound back and find another that better matches your home. We also understand circumstances sometimes prevent an adopter from keeping a greyhound. If this happens, the greyhound must be surrendered to GPA/N which will rehome it.

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