Play Nice
This week there are Sighthound people traveling from across the US, Canada, and even Europe to descend upon the historic town of Gettysburg, PA for the 21st annual Greyhounds in Gettysburg. As with any large gathering, there are some general rules of the road to ensure a positive experience for everyone. Many of these have to do with basic dog etiquette. If you have a big dog, please don't let them eat little dogs. If you have a little dog, please don't smear them with peanut butter put them on a retractable leash.
When it comes to the humans, everything is always more complicated. Our fabulous hosts, Nittany Greyhounds, do a great job of making everyone feel welcome, but the elephant in the room at GIG has always been Greyhound racing. This year the elephant has grown into a mastodon. At SHUG, we have long recognized the inevitable end of racing--it is one of the reasons that this group was founded. The numbers can't be disputed. Greyhound racing in the US has been on the decline for decades. Last year's campaign in Florida raised millions of dollars for a handful of humans and did not save one individual dog. In fact, the abrupt end to an industry that was drawing to a close in a natural and orderly way may have actually put more dogs at risk.
All of that being said, the danger we face this weekend in Gettysburg, is very simple. If you come prepared to gloat about the end of racing in Florida, then you are closing a door. One one side of that door is the joy of your victory and a million "I told you so"s. On the other side of that door is your ability to help Greyhounds. Please understand that the people who own and train racing Greyhounds are the ones who decide where those Greyhounds go after the track. The legislation that passed in Florida has no rules or provisions for these dogs. It is 100% the decision of the owners and trainers to determine what is going to happen to these dogs as they retire.
There was a plan. There were transporters and kennels and groups across the US ready to take these dogs as they retired, one by one, with brief spurts as each track individually closed. Since November these plans have been updated and revised to adapt to the new reality. Many individuals and groups have found that they are no longer part of this new plan. Recently the NGA has recognized that for many owners, this new plan may include exporting dogs to countries such as China. Again, this is not illegal. The NGA may do what it can to discourage owners from exporting dogs, but in the end, it is their decision.
So here is the decision you need to make when you come to Gettysburg this week. Is your joyous moral vindication more important to you than helping Greyhounds? Would you rather celebrate the end of racing or would you rather be a part of the solution and help retired racing Greyhounds land safely and gently into their new lives? Our goal is to make sure that owners and trainers know that we are here to provide their Greyhounds with veterinary care, safe foster homes, and loving forever homes for the rest of their retirement. We want the people who make decisions for Greyhounds to know that they have good options for their dogs.
Please join us in helping to develop plans to ensure the safety and happiness of retired Greyhounds. This is a time for everyone to work together to make sure each individual dog gets the happy ending they deserve. Bring your thinking caps and good intentions. Leave your party hats and self-congratulations at home.
About that Application Fee
SHUG receives hundreds of applications from potential adopters every year. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to say no. When that happens, people can get angry. Below is my response to an applicant who said she felt "scammed" by our application fee.
We're a 100% volunteer organization and all of the money that comes in goes primarily to vet bills and transport for the dogs. I personally spent over an hour on your app, and at least two other volunteers worked on it as well. Our cost for each dog is over $850. Our adoption fee is only $750 because of the many hours myself and other volunteers put into fundraising. I personally designed all of the t-shirts SHUG sells to raise money. We have to thoroughly screen each application and taking the time to do so takes time away from what we can volunteer to raise money for the dogs. This is why we charge an application fee. I'm sorry you weren't a match for our dogs. As you can see we have an incredible amount of personal time and emotional energy invested in each dog and we try very hard to make the best possible match for each one of them.
Last week myself and 5 other volunteers drove through ice and crazy twisty roads and one lane bridges to bring 9 Greyhound puppies back to SHUG HQ. Yesterday I drove 13 hours (from 9am to 10pm) to bring 4 galgos down from NY and three other volunteers drove 7 and 10 hours. And that's not counting the hours that adopters drove in the last week to meet these dogs. We put a huge amount of our personal time into each one of SHUG's dogs and that means we're going to screen applicants very carefully.
Let's look where the money goes. For dogs from overseas, their vetwork and paperwork is usually paid for by one of our partners. We reimburse them anywhere from 140 to 250 euros per dog for those expenses. Just like in the US costs vary by region. Transport to the airport usually comes out to about another 50 euros per dog. Crates are 150 to 300 euros to buy them in Spain. (Yes, we're always trying to figure out the best/cheapest way to get them back to Spain so that they can be reused. If we can't get them back to Spain we donate them to other rescues in the US.) Airfare for the dogs, when added to a human's ticket is another 360 euros.
So assuming we have a person flying from Spain (nonstop, on an airline that accepts dogs to an airport where we have volunteers) an international dog's actual expenses come out to $725 to $1015 USD depending on the exchange rates. That doesn't include things like the volunteer's gas, tolls, and parking to pick them up at the airport. It also doesn't include any of the flight patron's expenses. For many of our trips, we have to pay at least part of those costs as well.
For our domestic dogs, our adoption fee is $350 because we don't have to pay the 360 euros airfare, but we do still pay for their vetwork, paperwork, and transport expenses in the US. And many of the dogs we rescue in the US are coming to us because they have health issues or other special needs. (So many broken puppies. SO MANY.)
The point of all of this is that fundraising is really important. We know the more reasonable we can make our adoption fee the more dogs we can get into homes. When you ask us to consider you for adoption, we ask for an application fee to reimburse SHUG for the time our volunteers are going to be spending on your application.
Our fee is non-refundable, whether you end up being a match for one of our dogs or not. We try very hard to make that really clear before you pay it. We post it on the app page, on the page where you pay the fee, and the paypal confirmation page. If you're not okay with that, PLEASE DON'T APPLY. We also try really hard to communicate what we're looking for in an adopter. We've blogged about it several times and you'll find a link to our general guidelines right on the application page.
The bottom line is that 100% of your fee is going to the dogs. SHUG has no paid staff. No one is scamming you. If you have concerns or questions you're welcome to ask them. You're also welcome to go to another group. We know we're picky. We're okay with that.
The State of Our Union
Fourteen years ago today I adopted my first Greyhound, John. Since that day, Greyhounds--and then Borzoi and Galgos and the other Sighthound breeds--have become an inextricable part of my life. For those of us who love Sighthounds, it is a love that winds its way through every corner of our hearts. It is a love that binds us to them, and to each other. The Greyhound community in particular and the greater Sighthound community in general is extraordinary for the closeness of our ties throughout North America and the world.
The passage of legislation in Florida this past November to end racing by the end of next year has accelerated the decline of Greyhound racing in this country. Initially the adoption community prepared for a large wave of retirees. Here at SHUG we geared up to assist in vetting dogs both for our own adoption program and for other groups as well. That wave has not materialized. There are not thousands--or hundreds, or even dozens--of Greyhounds in need. There are many, many groups ready to take dogs--and those dogs are not yet ready to retire.
The men and women who make up the racing community in this country have watched the repeated efforts to shut down racing in Florida for decades. Every year fewer and fewer puppies have been born. Yes, there are fewer tracks running today than there were a year ago. There are also fewer dogs racing. If anything, the number of dogs has fallen faster than the number of slots for them to race. In some places tracks are running with fewer dogs in every race. Soon the average age of active racers may start to go up. We saw this at the track in Macau as well. Training puppies is a long, expensive process. When your track's days are numbered, it makes far more sense economically to keep dogs on the track than it does to train puppies to run.
Right now, the Greyhounds we're seeing coming into rescue are primarily those who cannot race--retired broods, untrained pups, and the injured. And the numbers of the first two groups are being depleted quickly. Our wave has turned into a trickle. The reality right now is that there are limited Greyhounds available for adoption and many groups have waiting lists. The industry has regulated itself and this is our new normal.
In 2018 only 20 of the 109 dogs SHUG placed were retired racing Greyhounds. In December we were expecting that number to skyrocket for 2019. Now it looks like that will not be the case. Since tracks began closing we have only received 5 racing Greyhounds. Next week we're scheduled to receive 10. Our partners at the tracks and kennels and farms where Greyhounds are raised know that we, and many other adoption groups across the country, are here and prepared to assist any dogs who are ready for their retirement. We will always make room for a Greyhound in need.
In the meantime, SHUG is gearing up to take on two flights of Spaniards in the upcoming weeks. 6 dogs missed their January flight because of transportation issues in Spain and they will be arriving soon, along with some of their friends.
What we do is not easy. There are challenges and those challenges change and evolve. We will change and evolve with them. No matter what, we will not give up. When there are no Greyhounds who need our help, we will help Galgos. We will help Borzoi and lurchers and Salukis. We have a commitment to Sighthounds, no matter where they're from or whether their ears are pointy or silky or fuzzy. We are united in our commitment to see every Sighthound on a couch of their own. That commitment is the basis of our union. And the state of our union is strong.
The Year of the Greyhound
Greyhound racing in the US has been steadily declining for over 20 years. In 2015 I was invited to give a talk at Greyhounds in Gettysburg. If you aren't familiar with GIG, it's the largest gathering of Greyhound owners in the US annually. To that group, I showed this slide:
Since then, the numbers have continued to go down. Just like the number of puppies born, the number of new Greyhounds registered has also fallen in recent years.
- 2014: 10647
- 2015: 8358
- 2016: 7156
- 2017: 3720
The focus of my presentation back then was really on the needs of adopters. As a volunteer with a Greyhound adoption group, I had scheduled transports of dogs from Florida to the Mid Atlantic area . . . and it had become very clear to me that there were fewer and fewer Greyhounds available. As an adopter and admitted Greyhound addict, this was a problem for me and the other serial Greyhound adopters like me. The Sighthound Underground was founded, in part, to address that need.
The underlying concept of SHUG was this realization that the Greyhound pipeline was drying up and that instead of letting this vast network of Greyhound adoption groups simply fade away and disband as it became harder and harder to find dogs, we would re-purpose it. We would use this network of Greyhound-savvy volunteers and adopters to help other sighthounds in need--like borzoi, saluki, and galgos.
Today, we have come full circle. As SHUG enters its seventh year of operation, the network we have built--from coast to coast, from Florida to Canada--will help support the flood of Greyhounds resulting from the passing of legislation closing more than half of the Greyhound tracks in the US. We built SHUG to console ourselves when racing ended, but it will now serve the Greyhounds who are the real victims of racing's decline.
One of the greatest barriers to moving dogs from tracks to adoption groups is the logistics of vetting and transportation. Many groups are not equipped to take large groups of dogs to be vetted and may not have access to low cost vet services. In addition to ramping up our own foster and adoption operations, SHUG will serve as a way station for Greyhounds heading to other groups throughout the Mid Atlantic, New England, and eastern Canada. We will spay/neuter, vaccinate, and do Heartworm testing on new retirees before sending them on to approved groups. This should streamline the movement of dogs from the south and make it easier for northern groups to access dogs without forcing track staff to spend multiple days on the road transporting dogs.
To accomplish this goal, we will be working to expand SHUG's capacity over the next few months. There will be challenges. Expect to see more fundraisers. We will ask for your help. A lot. Several of the tracks in Florida that had completed their racing for the season have already announced that they will not be reopening in the Spring. Most of the dogs at those tracks will be heading to adoption groups. The best racers from those tracks will go to other tracks across the US, where they will displace the dogs already racing in those locations. From the farms where Greyhounds are bred and raised, brood mommas, studs, and puppies will also need placements.
SHUG has always been the safety net for seniors and broken puppies and that will not change. Likewise, we will continue to receive other sighthounds and dogs in need from Spain, Qatar, and Korea. We will need your help to make sure that we can continue to help all sighthounds, while building the capacity to support Greyhounds in need. For the next year, that is our focus. I hope you will join us in making 2019 the Year of the Greyhound.
Sincerely,
Ms. Michael Owens, Director
The Sighthound Underground
SHUG is a 501(c)3 Public Charity.
All donations are tax deductible.
This is not your dog.
Once a potential adopter complained about my terrible "customer service". Recently a man likened the experience of adopting a dog to buying a car.
Oh. Hell. No.
I explained to both gentlemen, very firmly, that they were sadly mistaken. They are neither clients nor customers. They are not buying and I am not selling. I am, however, serving. I do have clients. Today there are about 20, and at the top of the list is Petina.
Petina is a 10 year old Staghound from Indiana. She is likely mostly Greyhound but has wirehair, hinting at a Deerhound or Wolfhound in her not too distant lineage. Her previous owner was anxious because Petina was anxious because her owner was anxious because Petina was anxious . . . in her foster home, Petina is learning to not be anxious. Unless breakfast is late. If breakfast is late there is definitely going to be some whining.In my version of The Bachelor, potential mates are carefully vetted. While the gentlemen above were waiting to be flattered and courted, our team of volunteers were busy judging them. We are not unkind, but we are thorough. The matches we make have to survive not just a night--or a season--but a lifetime.
In one way or another, all of the dogs we place are special needs. They are old or broken or old and broken. They are not a commodity or even an asset. They are a dependent and a liability. They are a child who will never move out and get a job. When you adopt a dog you are signing a contract to feed them, provide vet care, and pay to replace the remotes they eat. You are taking on the obligation to sooth the asses they bite. And yes, all of this can be a terrible responsibility.
Occasionally we will receive an application from someone who wants an emotional support dog or service dog. Again, I explain to them that is not what we do. We are not here to support you. We are here to support them.
The relationships that we make when we match dogs to humans are not balanced and that is by design. I am not looking for an adopter who will love Petina as much as she loves them. What I am trying to find for Petina is someone who will love her ten times more than she loves them. She needs someone who will love her when she's pouting because breakfast is ten minutes late. She needs someone who will love her if she gets stressed out during a thunderstorm and poops on their floor.
Petina needs an Emotional Support Human.So before you apply to adopt, ask yourself if you can be there for this dog? When she is old and cranky? When she is scared and barks at the mailman? When she gets confused and eats your favorite shoes?
To be very, very clear, you are not buying a shirt or a car. You are applying for a job. This job has no salary, no 401K, no healthcare. This job is first, second, AND third shift. This job has no growth potential and will almost certainly end in tears.
It does, however, have fantastic fringe benefits.
This is not your dog. But if you are very, very lucky, you might be her human.
Designed by SHUG's Director, the Emotional Support Human t-shirt supports dogs like Petina. 100% of the profits go toward transport and veterinary expenses for dogs in need.
Update on Application Processing Time
As the holidays approach, the world slows down. It happens in the Federal government, in the commercial sector, and--sometimes most dramatically--here in volunteer land. Suddenly there are many fewer hands available to transport, to foster, and to process applications.
And that's okay.
If you're an adopter waiting for your application to be processed. CHILL OUT. It's November. Days are shorter, volunteers are busier--and the SHUG director is getting grumpier!
Yes, it may take us 2-3 weeks to get to your application. If you're rude about that, we will be happy to withdraw your application and give your spot to the next person in line. Here's why we can do that . . .
ALL OF THE DOGS ARE SAFE.
That's right. There are no SHUG dogs sleeping in shelters, in kennels. They're all in foster homes and happily snugged up--probably on the couch or someone's lap. So we're all going to take a deep breath and enjoy our families, our own dogs, our gifts, and our ridiculously huge holiday dinners. Bask in the turkey, people.
SHUG isn't grinding to a halt. We will still be processing applications and we will still endeavor to have them assigned to a volunteer within our customary 1-2 weeks. Once an application is assigned to a processor, there are a lot of variables that determine how quickly they can get through it. Help us along by making sure your personal and vet references are appropriate (have your personal references been to your home, met your dogs; are your pets up to date on vaccine, is this the vet who has your pets' records, are there more than one?) and available. If your best friend is setting off on a month's cruise, you may want to submit a different reference--or know ahead of time that you'll be waiting a month for your application to get to the next step.
And there is a next step. Once your application has been processed, you aren't DONE. We don't do blanket approvals. We MATCH dogs to homes. You may be a wonderful home, but you still may not be a good fit to a particular dog. The final step in the process is an interview with a dog matcher--usually our director or a particular dog's foster parent--to see if you're a possible match.
Please be patient. Please remember when you speak to any member of the SHUG Team that they don't pay us enough to put up with rude people. In fact, they don't pay us at all. We're all taking time away from our "real" jobs, our children, our own pets to help this dog find a home. We hope you'll be a part of that.
Hoping everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving,
The SHUG Team
There are good days and bad days . . .
There are good days and there are bad days . . . and sometimes they're the same days. Yesterday we lost Varou (above, image by Beverley Farmer). He was adopted and he had a new family and a new brother and a new name. Varou became Taz. And it really sucks that he only got to be Taz for a month. He passed away yesterday after surgery to remove an obstruction. Yesterday we also found out that another SHUG alum has cancer.
But if it were all bad news, we wouldn't be here. The good news yesterday was that Val the Saluki came through her dental surgery with fewer teeth and a lot less pain. April, a sweet Greyhound senior, fractured her skull last week in a freak accident--but the neurologist says she doesn't need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. Ellie Mae, the borzoi who badly broke her leg in March, is bandage free and off full activity restriction and is now available for adoption.
And the transport the SHUG team has been working on behind the scenes for weeks to move some beautiful Greyhound mommas from Kansas to foster homes on the east coast looks like it's a go! They should be hitting the road tonight and we'll have them tomorrow.
It's the good news that keeps us going.
We called. You answered.
Only two days after her arrival, little Miss Elle broke her leg badly going down the stairs of her foster home. Volunteers rushed her to the vet where we were told she would need surgery to attach a metal plate to the bone. The original estimate for the surgery was $6500--plus the $800 bill that night.
We told the vet yes. And started to deal with the ramifications of that decision the next morning. The bottom line was that the money we used for Elle's surgery was earmarked for our April transport from Spain. Although our adoption fee is $650, it actually costs us about $850 to bring each galgo or pod over and that's the amount we need to have on hand. For the April transport, only one dog was already reserved. That meant we had $650 coming in for about $6800 worth of expenses.
The bottom line--and the reason we could tell the vet yes at 1am that morning--was that those dogs were safe. They were with some of the wonderful groups we partner with in Spain: Podenco Friends, Perros sin Casa, Ibizan Hound Rescue. It would definitely not have gone over well, but we knew that the dogs we had committed to would be safe where they were until we could raise the money again to bring them over.
But the reality is that if we didn't take the dogs we had committed to from those groups, that meant they couldn't help more dogs. Dogs that they may have already committed to.
So we called.
We called on you, our supporters, to help us raise the money to cover Elle's surgery and after care.
And you answered. Oh, boy, did you answer!
Elle's auction had more than twice as many donations and raised more than twice as much money as any auction SHUG has ever held. The bid total at the end of the auction was $9,199. Add to that the direct donations toward Elle's care and the total was over $11,000.
Today we received the final payment for the auction and we sent out the final payment for the April transport. Because of your support our volunteers will be driving from Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday to meet the flight coming into JFK airport in New York City. Four of the eight dogs on the flight are now reserved, but please welcome the available hounds below. They don't know it, but they owe you a huge debt of gratitude. And so do we.
Cherry is a senior Pod, very petite and very sweet.
Foxy Lady is a young adult Pod, ready to conquer the world.
Ducque (Duke) is a sweet galgo boy who gets along with everyone.
Palmer is a silly, young galgo boy with lots of energy to run and play.
Eternity. 363 days. Same difference.
Yesterday the SHUG family lost Joe, aka White Squirrel. (Yes, really. His racing name was White Squirrel and he was awesome.) Tomorrow would have been Joe's one year anniversary with his family. He was picked up by his foster mom and never left. All of the problems that Joe had experienced in his previous home that had led to him ending up with SHUG two months shy of his ninth birthday . . . just disappeared. He was in the right place at the right time and he just fit.
But last week Joe presented with what his mom thought might be bloat but ended up being a hemangiosarcoma. We've lost dogs to hemangiosarcomas, to bloat, to osteosarcoma, and so many other things that conspire to take them away.
And every time it hurts.
If you're playing a numbers game, you might not like the math involved in adopting an older dog. Seniors may not be with you as long and may end up needing more vet care. But if you're playing a numbers game, you probably shouldn't adopt a dog.
But if you do, please consider adopting a senior. I absolutely recommend it with every fiber of my scarred up heart. Adopt a senior. Or you know what? Adopt a puppy. Adopt a five-year-old and a nine-year-old. Adopt two two-year-olds. Open your heart. You'll thank god you did. And then you'll regret it. And then you'll thank god again. And when you feel like your heart has been ripped out, remember they've left a piece of theirs behind.
“It came to me that every time I lose a dog, they take a piece of my heart with them. Yet, every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.”
- Unknown
Screw you, Cancer. We won.
When I first met Winter the Borzoi over two years ago, I knew immediately that he had osteosarcoma. I'd been working with Greyhounds for a decade and I'd seen a lot of osteo. The night I picked him up I drove Winter straight to the vet They were able to make him comfortable and we discussed options.
Our vet was brutally honest about Winter's chances when we spoke that night. She said we'd be lucky to get 6 months and I said, I'll take it. Lucky-Smucky. Winter was a fighter and if he was up for it, we were with him all the way. If we only had six months, they would be a fantastic six months. We scheduled his surgery.
Winter's recovery was surprisingly smooth. We put him on a strict raw diet to inhibit the cancer and he flourished. He gained back all of the weight he'd lost, got glossy and shiny, and turned out to be a happy, sweet boy. When Winter's foster family adopted him a whole lot of people shed tears of joy.
We had our six months. And then another six. And another year. It was a beautiful run.
Last night Winter went for a check up and we heard the words we knew would come someday. And it totally sucked. Remember when I said we'd take six months? Well, screw that. Apparently I lied. Two years wasn't long enough. Ten years wouldn't have been long enough. Cancer SUCKS!
But you know what? We won. Winter is LOVED. He lives in a house and gets to be a real dog. He gets to do all of the things he didn't get to do before the cancer. All of the things that cancer tried to steal from him.
And although it really hurts now that we know our time with him is coming to an end, giving him those two years of love was totally worth it. Today our hearts are with Winter's mom and dad because they're paying the price for that decision I made two years ago. We all are. But it was worth it. If you're crying today, please know that. Winter is LOVED, and he knows it. He is HAPPY.
It was worth it.
We won.