Former racing greyhounds each have a story. Bred and raised in Kansas. Raced in Daytona. Finished their career in Wheeling. Adopted in Akron. Retired in Vancouver.
My wife and I adopted our first greyhound — Savannah, FKA War Bride — just after we got married. I happily referred to her as the first dog I could call my very own. Savannah ran nearly 90 races at various tracks in Florida, including Daytona.
When her story intersected ours, she was being adopted out by Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA) in Atlanta. She hopped into our Subaru, asking for a ride home, and we fell in love.
Her new life in north Atlanta would be one of road trips, pork tenderloin (mostly my portions) and a new house. She spent her last road trip to West Virginia eyeballing deer and wild turkey at a cabin in the woods.
When Savannah passed at age 11, we were devastated, but our adopted racing greyhound story wasn’t finished. Just two (2) months later, we visited the SEGA kennels again and adopted Winston, FKA WK Samson, and Salem, FKA Inkan Babe.
Both hounds came from the Birmingham, AL dog track. Winston was a shy young hound who chased but didn’t want to be chased. Offspring of the famous Lonesome Cry, Winston washed out at age two and made his way to SEGA. Salem raced at Southland and Victoryland. She ended her career of nearly 80 races in Birmingham. A quiet but competitive hound, Salem sported a distinct white-tipped tail and nibbled ear.
Their track stories, like Savannah’s, became our story. We started volunteering for SEGA and have done so for nearly seven (7) years. We share our greyhound adoption experiences with friends, family, colleagues and strangers all over the Southeast.
We’ve traveled to dog tracks and met with trainers. We’ve experienced the rush of eight (8) hounds flying past at the rail in pursuit of the lure. We’ve visited the adoption kennels where so many of the former racers begin their second journey after racing.
When our daughter was born, ours and our hounds’ stories took yet another turn. Greyhounds have been an important part of her life and will be for years to come. She’s already involved in greyhound adoption volunteering. She’s also been to the rail at Ebro and Sanford-Orlando to experience greyhounds going fast.
My daughter and I have both visited a local Humane Society shelter AND a Florida dog track adoption center in the past two years.
At the local shelter, she saw a huge modern facility full of puppies and dogs, each in their own little space, waiting for a family to come by and give them a second or third chance — another short story.
At the dog track adoption center, she got to watch greyhounds play in a turnout, barking and eyeballing this tiny human of which they had no experience. Inside the facility, she found herself in huge a room surrounded by 50+ greyhounds.
“Daddy — what do these labels say on the crates?”
“These greyhounds are all spoken for, honey. They are going to go to new homes all over the country.”
New stories forged from racing and fantastic bloodlines and continued with volunteers that care, and families that love greyhounds.
What your dog’s story? Let me tell you mine.
Michael Burns
Georgia
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