Hi there!
I’m excited to give you guys a little bit more a detailed look into the adoption of Moose the Greyhound. It’s been such a fun process and I’d love to give a behind-the-scenes into the whole experience of adopting our sweet sleepy boy. (Our = my boyfriend Jim and I). Jim just moved to Nashville so sweet Moose is living with me, but Jim was such a huge part of the adoption process and transition afterwards!
Pre-Adoption
So the story kind of begins with my obsession with sighthounds...I don’t know where or when or why it started- maybe partially due to Jenna Marbles’ youtube channel in middle school? Is that embarrassing? Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with these gangly, sweet pups and their weirdness. I’ve always wanted a dog (and we never had dogs growing up), so getting my first pup was a pretty significant moment. Not that it wouldn’t be significant otherwise….anyway. You get it. Exciting stuff.
I had researched the breeds extensively and decided that a whippet was perfect for me- not as gargantuan as a greyhound, not as frail as an italian greyhound, just right in the middle . I hunted for breeders and puppies and willing and was honestly ready to drive across the country to pick up the perfect puppy.
Tiniest: Italian greyhound, Middle: Whippet, Big boy: Greyhound
That is, until I puppysat.
I work from home so I thought I would have lots of time and energy for a puppy, until I realized just how much time and energy puppies are. YALL. They are NO JOKE. You probably know this. Everyone in the world seemed to know this except me. When I realized puppies are basically tiny dinosaurs, hell-bent on destroying the house and your things and your schedules and THE EARTH, MAYBE, I started to re-think my plan for a whippet puppy pilgrimage.
About a month ago, my sighthound love started to creep back and I opened myself up to the possibility of a rescue greyhound. If i’m honest, I’d been nervous becaaaaause
a. They run one zillion miles an hour, which is approximately one zillion miles faster than me
b. They seem like they are maybe the size of actual horses, and
c. i selfishly felt like a rescue dog may have issues that i wasn’t prepared or knowledgeable enough to deal with. You can hate on that. But the story ends with me adopting a rescue dog, so, don’t sit in that hate for long.
Jim and I started to do our research though, and found out that the qualities I had loved in whippets were even more exaggerated in greyhounds. They may run fast, but they’re literally couch potatoes, yall. As i write this, Moose is passed out on the couch with his head on Jim’s lap. He sleeps like a dead rock. Multiple times I’ve panicked and whisper/screamed to jim “IS MOOSE BREATHING??” - good news, he has been continually breathing since the moment of his adoption. I know. What a victory. They don't really shed, slobber, or bark, and are overall incredibly low-maintenance.
Anyway, we started moving quickly researching greyhounds- both reading articles, checking out websites, reading forums and blog posts, messaging friends who have adopted retired hounds, and then visiting our friend Holly and Richard Hardin (PS- they’re also crazy talented. Check out The Hardin House), who adopted sweet GoGo Dakota and Woolfie. We’ve agreed that visit is kind of what sold me/us on greyhounds. The dogs were mellow and sweet and just wanted to be nearby. They talked about the wonderful people at MSGAO and how lovingly they treat the dogs. Turns out, MSGAO (the adoption arm of the Southland Racetrack in West Memphis, Arkansas) was having a Meet-and-Greet the next day at a pet store (see pic below). We chatted with two volunteers, one of whom has rescued NINE greyhounds in 15 years. NINE. Mostly with special needs. They told us about the community of adopters at MSGAO, the events and reunions, and about the sweet nature of all the greyhounds they had interacted with. Both volunteers had one greyhound each with them, and those pups also lived up to the hype...with their lack of hype. They leaned on us (a trademark greyhound move) and let us love on them.
At this point we were four greyhounds in, and let me tell you, I was just about ready to scoop all of them up and just drive home and turn off all my lights and live in secrecy with all my sweet stolen greyhounds.
Sweet volunteer meet-and-greet greyhound, Princess, saying "haaaay" to JIm
Jim and I decided (at the encouragement of the MSGAO volunteers) to head out to West Memphis, an arduous 11-minute drive, to meet some pups. One of the volunteers had told us- “whatever you go in looking for- gender, color, whatever- you’ll walk out with the opposite”. (this proved true)
The sweet women at MSGAO walked us all around the kennels to meet the sweet pups waiting for their homes and one in particular, News, caught both of us. This is the crazy dog-lady stuff I totally didn’t buy into pre-Moose, but honestly he just kind of looked as us like, “ok, so, we ready to go? We all done here?”
I MEAN. COME ON. LOOK AT HIS SWEETNESS.
His name, News, was shorthand for his racing name of “Bob’s Newsbreak” (check out a vid of one of his winning races here! It's crazy.). He was sweet and quiet and his eyes, ya’ll. GAH. We both fell in love pretty immediately.
Fast forward to adoption daaaayy! I was a little nervous before we left to get him- I kept cleaning the house? I think i wanted to impress the dog. And then i realized he’s a dog, and probably is like pretty chill about it if the laundry isn’t done. The adoption process was happy and easy- we signed papers, learned about his schedules, and talked about vets and care more specifically.
Post-Adoption
I can honestly say that the post-adoption transition period with Moose has been so smooth. It took him a couple weeks to figure out where to go potty and where not to go potty, he took a little coaxing to understand the stairs, but it’s been so much fun. He makes me laugh constantly with his goofy giant body and funny face. He LOVES walks, and making friends on walks, and getting treats on walks, and his leash and harness, and basically anything involving walks. I’ve taken him to a couple enclosed fields at schools and churches to play fetch with our ChuckIt, which he loves. Everything people told us about them being total couch potatoes is absolutely true- one 20/30 minute walk and he’s passed out ALL DAY. I’m honestly not even convinced that he really needs that one walk. I have barely noticed him shedding at all- a couple times he’s gotten up on my all-white bed and i’ve noticed a couple hairs. Other than that, though, you can’t even notice it. He’s wonderful with people coming over to visit or for dinner- he doesn’t beg, and usually cuddles up with them and lays his head in their lap. I mean, COME ON. Photo evidence below.
The whole experience of adopting Moose through MSGAO has been so wonderful, and I’ve loved answering questions about him! If you have any at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I would love to be a resource for future greyhound mamas (or papas!). I put together a few photos for your perusing pleasure!
