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 In spring 2004 I was introduced to Greyhounds for
the first time when a friend showed us his adopted Grey. After
having had a lifetime of dogs, I immediately fell in love with the
breed, and arranged to be introduced to two male Greyhounds that
were available from the now defunct organization Peoria Greyhound
Rescue. My eyes popped out of my head when I laid eyes on the two
huge, passive male dogs in the kitchen of the house where we met.
Their heads were above my waist (Originally called "Great Hounds"
because of their size, they were really great dogs to pet because
you didn't have to bend over). They greeted us with hugs and kisses.
Brought in from a racetrack in Kansas, they came with muzzles with
their track names painted on: Bansche and Easy Money. Bansche was
the most beautiful brown/red brindle four-year-old and Easy Money
was a gorgeous, stately, black six-year-old tuxedo front. About
seven seconds after we met, I said I would take both of them. The
adoption fee was $200 each, complete with shots, neutering and they
had their teeth cleaned.
Easy Money we learned had been a track champion, earning huge
amounts of money for his owners over his five-year racing career. He
had been treated much differently from Bansche who ran a total of
two races with descriptions like "Ran the whole race the wrong
direction on the track," "Dead last," and "Tripped three of the
other dogs." Bansche was retired early because they decided he was a
total loser.
When we arrived home, I renamed them "Dante" and "Falco." Because of
his champion status, praises and rewards had been lavished on Dante,
resulting in an aggressive alpha-dog attitude. Dante seemed to
belong to himself rather than to us, and over the next few weeks
this aggression showed itself when he attacked and injured Falco,
and began to show aggression to my wife and daughter. With great
heartbreak, we decided we couldn't keep this beautiful dog, and sent
him back to Peoria Greyhound Rescue.
About two months later, we were introduced to another
male Grey for adoption, an actual gray Greyhound that we immediately
fell in love with and adopted as a trade-in. We renamed him "Beau."
Beau was bigger and more muscular than even Dante, and weighed in at
over ninety pounds. He had a laid back nature, and was a "smiler."
Falco and Beau got along famously.
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Although they have the reputation of being fierce
athletic competitors on the track, Greyhounds are largely couch
potatoes, they slept about twenty hours a day and took up our whole
couch. We learned to sit on the floor in the living room and did not
allow them on the bed!
The greys were different in one respect from all the other dogs we
ever owned: since they had never lived in a home, had been kept in
cages, and had never been treated as loved members of a family, they
always seemed to be incredibly grateful, and expressed their
gratitude daily in a number of ways.
Both Falco and Beau passed away in 2012, just a couple months apart.
We have so many good memories of these fantastic animals, and
eagerly await reunion with them at the Rainbow Bridge.
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