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(If you are reading this looking for winter boots for greyhounds then click here - winter dog boots. If not, please read on)
I remember the days of hearing horrific stories about what happened to racing Greyhounds that could no longer run. Today, thanks to the non-profit Racing Home Greyhound Adoption, retired Greyhounds have a much brighter future.
Racing Home Greyhound Adoption (RHGA) of Arizona takes in Greyhounds when they can no longer race, whether because of age or injury. These dogs, having lived in kennels at the racetrack most of their lives, don’t know what it is to walk on a leash, sit at someone’s feet or receive affection. So RHGA takes them in, covers any vet bills from injuries acquired on the track, and teaches these dogs what it is to live in a family home.
Many of these dogs go to prison. That’s right, prison. Through a partnership with Second Chance at Life, the Greyhounds go to prison where each dog is partnered with inmates who provide 2 months of training. Every few months a group of 8 dogs graduates and another group of 8 dogs go into prison. Once they reach graduation, the inmates have higher self-esteem and the dogs know basic obedience skills. The dogs are then ready to go to their forever homes.
But here’s the thing: in Arizona, the prison is a harsh place for these dogs. The concrete and hard-packed dirt get brutally hot and there’s no grass for them to walk on. (To give you a frame of reference, it’s October and still in the 90s. Now imagine an Arizona summer barefoot, like these dogs experience. Ouch.) Even in the winter, the cold concrete is harsh on their paws. RHGA was struggling with how to keep these wonderful animals comfortable while they were at the prison.
The Arizona heat gets white-hot, especially on concrete. It's brutal on paws.
When we met RHGA, we knew we wanted to help them in whatever way we could. Their passion, as you’ll see in an upcoming video on retired greyhounds, is inspiring and makes a world of difference for these dogs. So here’s what we’re going to do.
For the month of October, 10% of all sales are going to Racing Home Greyhound Adoption. Our goal is to raise the $320 needed to purchase 8 sets of boots to protect the Greyhounds that go into the prison. Anything we raise above and beyond that will go towards other expenses RHGA faces: vet bills (to treat a bad case of ticks, an injured eye or a broken leg suffered on the track – all RHGA stories from the last 6 weeks), food, the $340 it costs per Greyhound to go into the prison (food, collars, leashes, immunizations, spay/neuter, etc.).
Will you help us support Racing Home Greyhound Adoption? Pick out something for your big dog (early holiday shopping, perhaps?) and know that your purchase of big dog products from PawPosse.com is helping to support an incredible cause. Treat your big dog and support retired Greyhounds waiting for a forever home.
And please, tell your friends. Thank you.
If you liked this, you may also like:
Puppy Adoptions Leave Behind Great Senior Dogs
Gabriel's Angels Founder Shares The Power Of A Dog
Dog Boots That Stay On
Photo at top by liza31337 on Flickr and used with Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. Photo below by Sonia Singh of PawPosse.com.
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