Vote No on Question 3: Massachusetts greyhound adoption program is a winner

The greyhound adoption program used by kennel operators and owners in Massachusetts has worked so well that it should serve as a model throughout the racing industry. All retiring greyhound racers in Massachusetts are “petted out” through non-profit adoption groups like Racing Owners Assisting Racers, Inc. (ROAR) which facilitates arrangements and transportation for retired racers going from the racetrack to appropriate adoption groups. ROAR also serves as a safety net to assure that every dog gets into a retirement (pet) home. The demand for greyhounds to adopt during some months actually outweighs the supply or retiring racers.

The checks and balance system of each and every racer from the two greyhound racetracks in Massachusetts, Wonderland Park and Raynham/Taunton Park, is so comprehensive an official statement detailing the exact method of disposition – retired for breeding, relocated to another track, returned to owner, placed for adoption, etc. -- has to be filed with the Massachusetts State Racing Commission.
“A percentage of our purses is taken out and used to insure that dogs are taken care of for adoption,” second-generation kennel operator and greyhound owner John O’Donnell explained. “All of the greyhounds up for adoption are either neutered or spayed by veterinarians at greatly reduced rates. All of their shots have to be up-to-date, heartworm tested, and their paperwork in order. ROAR oversees petting out our greyhounds and they have a far reaching network of people who want to adopt greyhounds.

“It’s been so successful that racetracks in other states have contacted us about it. Dogs don’t sit around waiting to be adopted anymore and now we’re getting calls asking if we have any greyhounds up for adoption. Anti-racing activist groups play on people’s emotions and try scare tactics to ban racing. What they’re really doing, though, is fundraising and creating jobs for themselves. The difference between a grade A racer and a pet is only two seconds. Just from a business end, it is mandatory that every racer be at top of his or her game. Everything is done to prevent sore muscles, every toe nail is trimmed, every eye washed and every ear cleaned. Prevention is the key to a productive racer. Anyone who has been around a racing kennel realizes that our love for these dogs surpasses our financial investment as motivation to keep them fit. Besides the basic nature of the greyhound, the care that they receive during their working career adds up to greyhounds making the greytest pets after they retire from racing.”

Adoption agencies working with ROAR don’t simply give greyhounds to just anybody who asks to adopt a dog. They profile prospective pet owners and their families, first to insure that they can properly take care of the greyhound, then to match the right dog with the adopting family. Where they live, how much land, which person is home to care for the greyhound at different times of the day and night, what other pets do they own, as well as the ages and temperaments of the adopting family members are taken into consideration. Some may like one specific sex, while others prefer a certain color or age. Most families are encouraged to adopt a greyhound whose personality is a fit for their household.

Linda Jensen, the driving force behind ROAR, has been breeding greyhounds for the past quarter-century. Five years ago, ROAR organized the Greyhound Adoption Expo at Wonderland and Raynham/Taunton. Father's Day weekend 2008 saw more than 400 and 1200 people respectively at Wonderland and Raynham/Taunton with their retired greyhounds. They were treated to a day of fun, education and tours of the track. ROAR also sponsors a program that allows people to be a kennel helper for a week in order to experience first-hand what it’s really like there. Attendees heard these volunteer kennel helpers share their experiences with speeches and videos taken during the week.

“One woman held negative feelings about the racing industry but all of her information had come from the media and Internet,” Linda explained. “After working a week at the kennel, she became aware of all this misinformation. The volunteer now wants to become actively involved in correcting the misinformation about greyhound racing industry in Massachusetts.

“I started ROAR with the purpose of facilitating adoptions of greyhounds to appropriate people and working with the supportive groups. Once you adopt a greyhound through our group, you become a member of our network, which is bigger than Verizon’s. It’s almost like a cult. If somebody loses their greyhound, for example, there are tons of people out there looking for it as soon as possible. They are lead by the Lost Dog Guru of Brockton, MA.

I help arrange transportation of greyhounds to adopting groups, sometimes driving all or part of the way myself. We’ve arrange for greyhounds to go as far away as Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and many places in between. Adopters attending our Expo grow every year with attendees coming from areas where these groups are located. We have drawn vendors from even further away. There are DVD’s available for people to learn what it’s like working in a kennel as well as some of the activities that happen at the Expo.”

We are dedicated to adopting every retiring greyhound. Greyhounds who are sent out of state to race are brought back to Massachusetts to be adopted out if the track they eventually retired from cannot find them an appropriate adoptive home. When the greyhounds who have been sent to the farms retire from breeding, they also maybe brought back to the Northeast to find an adoptive home.  Pictured are Lisa Packard and Madelyn (of Maddy in Wonderland saga) with John's Song.  Johh was retired from Stud duties in Kansas.  He is going to the adoption group that recently received one of his sons.

Go on line to www.greyhoundadoptionexpo.com for more information about the Greyhound Adoption Expo and ROAR.