My Greyhound Adoption Story Is A Bit Unorthodox
Jazz's Story

In August of 2006 I received an email from my sister; a friend of ours needed to find a home for his greyhound Jazz. He had a job opportunity to run a business in the Philippines, and at the last moment decided that it would not be in the best interests of his dog to take her with him. It was a very difficult decision for him to make as they were very close- she went everywhere with him, and he had spent a lot of time training her. He worked at home, and she had his undivided attention. My sister knew I had a friend in Florida that owned greyhounds, and thought she might still have contacts in the Bay Area where she lived when she rescued her first greyhound, Image, almost ten years ago. I already had 3 dogs, but after meeting Image had learned a lot about greyhounds and knew that some day I would own one.

When I learned that Jazz needed a home I immediately consulted with my husband ( No more dogs ! he said) and then called Jazz’s owner. He was about to leave for Scotland for two weeks; before returning to California for one week prior to relocating to the Philippines. We decided to dog sit Jazz while he was in Scotland to see how she got on with our 3 little dogs ( all rescued mix breed males, 15 to 20 pounds). Needless to say, my husband fell in love with Jazz, and she got along well with the boys. We decided to keep her after only a few days of the two weeks had gone by!

When Jazz’s owner returned I found out about GSGA, Stu, the owner’s contract…. Jazz should have been returned to GSGA, but her owner was adamant about choosing her next owner(s) himself—he wanted to remain in contact with her, and know where she would be living and with whom. While I could understand this point of view, I could also see where Stu was coming from so I called him to discuss the situation to see if we could work something out.

I told him about my involvement with cat/dog rescue, feral cats, pet therapy; described my yard and house and other dogs; asked him why there were no Meet and Greets in San Jose where I live ( I now host the San Jose Meet and Greet ) and listened to his advice and suggestions about greyhounds. My husband and I are very responsible dog owners; I convinced Stu that Jazz would be very happy with us and apparently satisfied the GSGA requirements to own a greyhound.

I immediately began to volunteer at Meet & Greets and soon realized that GSGA was a well run, committed organization with some really dedicated people in charge- I met many volunteers whose actions reinforced my opinion of the group. I’m glad that the owner’s contract does exist—it shows commitment both from prospective owners AND from GSGA with the welfare of the dog as first priority. The required home visits (which I also now do), owner’s guide and web site information all contribute to successful adoptions and GSGA ( unlike other adoption groups ) provides continuing support to owners and their hounds.

Although Jazz was an unplanned and unexpected addition to our family, the decisions to adopt her and then become active in GSGA have been both rewarding and worthwhile.

This story was submitted by greyhound owner Mary Collins