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Ready ... And Waiting: Area rescue group is expecting surge in racing greyhounds needing homes
Journal Photo by David Rolfe
Blanche Fedor, the assistant kennel manager, gets a nuzzle from one of the four-legged residents.
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Published: January 8, 2010
OAK RIDGE - Archie, Cookie, Rambo and Tripie are greyhounds who once sprinted around racetracks for the pleasure of gamblers. Today, they live in retirement at a kennel in Oak Ridge, awaiting adoption.
The kennel is operated by the Greyhound Friends of North Carolina, a nonprofit organization that rescues racing greyhounds and finds them homes. About 35 greyhounds live at the kennel, which sits on a rolling parcel of land off N.C. 150.
Other greyhounds may soon be taking temporary residence at the shelter.
Seven greyhound racetracks around the country closed in 2009. The tracks closed for various reasons -- in Massachusetts, voters approved a referendum making greyhound racing illegal (North Carolina banned greyhound racing in the mid-1990s). Other tracks closed because they weren't making money.
Although some of the top-performing dogs at newly closed tracks may be transferred to other tracks, many are in need of homes.
Dan Griffin, the president of the Greyhound Friends, said that greyhound-rescue groups around the country are stepping up to help the dogs.
"At this time of year, there's always an influx of greyhounds because tracks are closing for the season. But with tracks closing down in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, this just adds more to the mix that we have to deal with," Griffin said. "We have not yet been asked to take any greyhounds from those tracks but if and when they look to us to take some dogs, we undoubtedly will."
A stable of 300 dogs or more may race at a track, Griffin said.
"Hopefully, with all the rescue groups in the country, the dogs will find at least a place at an adoption center where they can stay until they find a permanent home," he said.
Typically, the kennel in Oak Ridge will keep no more than about 35 dogs. However, it has occasionally taken in more than 40. People may be called upon to foster a greyhound if the need arises, Griffin said.
Inside the kennel, the greyhounds live in cages big enough to accommodate their long bodies. Three times a day, they are taken outside to stretch their legs and answer nature's call. When a visitor comes, only one dog, Tripie, yelps. The others stretch out on the carpet pad inside their cages.
Wayne Lambert has worked at the kennel for 10 years.
He smiled as he looked at three greyhounds lounging on their beds in the kennel's office.
"This is what they do best, just what you see," Lambert said. "They're very good at sleeping. Some people liken them to cats."
Most of the dogs are from tracks in Florida and West Virginia. Tri-State Casino and Resort near Charleston, W.Va., is the closest track to Winston-Salem.
For the most part, the dogs have been well cared for. However, they almost always need some work from a veterinarian, such as spaying or neutering, vaccinations, and a flea and tick treatment. The kennel's $295 adoption fee covers the cost of those procedures and treatments.
Dogs are usually ready to be adopted within days of their arrival at the kennel, Lambert said.
Some of the dogs are adopted within days; others may be there for a few months.
"I heartily recommend them" said Griffin, who has four greyhounds. "They're very gentle, very docile, sweet creatures."
lodonnell@wsjournal.com
727-7420
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