The Adoption Process
You have decided you are interested in adopting
a Retired Racing Greyhound from Hounds of the Heartland. Congratulations!
Here is some information about the adoption process from start to finish.
Required Reading:
We require our potential adopters to read these
books in order to familiarize you with the breed and learn what to expect
when adopting a Greyhound. You may choose either (or both!) of the
following:
- Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies (Lee Livingood)
- Adopting The Racing Greyhound (Cynthia Branagan)
If you have children:
- Childproofing Your Dog (Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson)
*required if you have children or your greyhound will be interacting
with children on a regular basis*
All of the above are available at Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble, Half Priced Books and many other local bookstores. They are
also available at your local library. These books contain extremely useful
information about greyhound specific things like tattooed ears, & martingale
collars as well as information about their unique anesthesia requirements.
They are easy reads and we are confident you will learn a great deal from
them.
Adoption Application:
Our online application is located
here.
Or you may pick up a paper version from us
during a show & tell. (Note - Online applications are processed faster,
therefore will receive priority.) The application is intended to ensure your
family is committed to providing a forever home to a greyhound and helps us
get a feel for you and your family’s living situation. When listing your
current veterinarian, please let them know they will be receiving a call
from us and permit them to release your vaccination & heartworm preventative
information to us.
If you have any interest in a specific dog from
our website or show & tell event, please let us know. Ultimately we will
suggest specific dogs for your lifestyle but it is good to let us know if
you have made a special connection. Please remember that although we may
only have 5-6 dogs available in our foster homes, there are thousands
waiting to be placed with our group and we will always be able to bring in
more.
Once we receive your application, one of our
board members will follow up with your veterinarian and then give you a call
to talk about your application. After we have spoken with you we will follow
up with the references you listed on your adoption application. We ask that
you give them a heads up that we will be calling so they will speak with us.
Selecting Your Greyhound:
If everything checks out with your veterinarian
and references, we will decide together which greyhound may be right for
you. There are many factors in choosing the right dog for you. Whether or
not you have children, cats, small dogs, a fenced yard, etc. as well as the
hours you are home during the week and what activity level you are looking
for. Your new companion will be spayed or neutered, current on vaccinations,
free of intestinal parasites and heartworms and have clean teeth. They will
also come with their very own martingale collar & leash for you to keep.
We will make an appointment to do a home check
(we may or may not bring the greyhound with us at this time, depending on
our schedule) We will look for any major areas of concern such as broken
fences, unlocked gates, sharp objects in the home or yard, etc. This is for
safety purposes only, and we appreciate you allowing us to give you
suggestions as to how to make your home safer for your new family member. At
this time we will also be able to see the interaction between you, your
family, and your other pets (if you have them) and the greyhound. If you
plan on crating your dog (which, in most cases, we recommend) we ask that
you purchase a 48" crate before we leave the greyhound with you, as we don't
have enough crates to loan them out to all potential adopters. After the
home check we will leave the greyhound with you and follow up with you about
its progress. The $200 adoption fee is due at the time your greyhound comes
to stay with you. We will not cash the check for two (2) weeks or until the
adoption is finalized and the contract is signed. If during the trial period
you feel a greyhound is not for you, the check will be returned to you when
we come to pick up the dog.
We are lucky to have great foster homes that
can learn the personalities and temperaments of our foster greyhounds in
order to place the right dog with the right family. The adoption is not
finalized until you feel comfortable with the dog in your home and think it
is the right match. If for some reason it is not working out, we can work to
place a different dog in your home in order to create the best environment
for the dog and your family. We do, however, expect you to be willing to put
a resonable amount of effort into your new family member's adjustment to
your home. Remember, it is just as important that the dog feel comfortable
as it is for you and your family.
Finalizing the Adoption:
Once you have decided to adopt your greyhound,
we will set up a day and time to finalize the adoption. At this time, you
will sign adoption paperwork agreeing to all of
our policies
on greyhound ownership and receive their veterinary records and uniquely
numbered ID tag. After the adoption we will deposit our
$200
adoption fee.
After the Adoption:
Please remember your involvement with our group
does not have to end once you finalize the adoption (and we hope it
doesn’t!). We are here to help you with any obstacles you come across and
are happy to help you make the transition and answer any questions you have
along the way. We also welcome you to stay involved with our events and
message boards. They are a great tool to meet other greyhound owners and
share information about your own experiences. If you want to stay “in the
loop” we have our
Dog
Blog, Facebook
Group, Twitter Page and
Yahoo
Group all for you to be a part of!