They’re a “unique group” of retired athletes and after their days in the spotlight, many will be going to new homes.
In Centre County, a presentation by another group of athletes is helping in that housing transition.
We’re talking canine athletes, greyhounds, who are known for their speed, especially at tracks in places like Florida.
These greyhounds are among those in the Nittany Greyhounds organization adoption program.
While being fast, greyhounds are also known for their calm and gentile demeanor.
Nittany Greyhounds helps former racing greyhounds find a new home.
“The greyhounds are a very different breed. especially when it’s coming from a racetrack. They don’t know what stairs are. They don’t know what a doorbell is. They’ve never heard a vacuum cleaner. So all of that is new to them.”
Some, like Beth Hench, Nittany Greyhounds foster coordinator, will adopt a dog before it finds a permanent home after an extensive interview and screening process.
Hench estimates she’s adopted 45- 50 greyhounds as the fate of many greyhounds, like many other issues, was impacted by the pandemic.
“Back in 2020, when tracks began closing down in Florida, everybody wanted a greyhound because they felt bad for them, but when they would get educated on the breed, they would be like, maybe this isn’t the breed I’m looking for. We didn’t want to place a dog just because somebody was looking for a dog.”
Nittany Greyhounds is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on donations to cover cost for the dogs.
Recently, a group from a different type of track-runners, those who participated in last months’ Tussey Mountain 50-mile relay and ultramarathon, raised just over $9,500 for the organization.
“This is an organization that is finding new homes for retired racing greyhounds. It’s something runners can appreciate because we’re running so they can retire from running so to speak.”
