'The 45 mph couch potato': Taunton-based nonprofit rehomes retired greyhound race dogs
TAUNTON – Denise Schumitz calls greyhound dogs “the 45 mph couch potato.” They run fast in short sprints, but don’t require much exercise beyond routine walks and play, are quite passive, and tend to “lounge around” at home, while waiting for affection from their owners.
She believes greyhound racing created a stigma with these dogs, a perception they were aggressive, due to them racing with muzzles on, which were meant as markers for tracking race finishes, and had nothing to do with the dog's behavior.
And because greyhounds have historically also been seen as hunting dogs, “a working breed of dog that had a specific job to do, people didn’t see them as the wonderful household pets they can be.”
Denise, along with her husband, Matt, run Greyhound Pets of America, a non-profit that fosters and rehomes retired greyhound race dogs. “There are plenty of retired race dogs that need homes,” she said, explaining that while Massachusetts hasn’t had greyhound racing since the beginning of 2010, there are still parts of the country and the world still racing them.
Decades of service to these beautiful animals
Greyhound Pets of America was originally founded in 1987 in Middleboro with the same mission. Schumitz said the organization originally did all its adoptions with retired greyhounds coming from the Raynham-Taunton Dog Track, before it shut down.
After greyhound racing ended in the state, Greyhound Pets of America started receiving retired dogs from Florida, until racing in that state ended in 2020.
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Today, greyhound racing in the U.S. only exists in West Virginia. Around 10% of the organization’s foster greyhounds come from there. The remaining 90% or more come from overseas, specifically Ireland and New Zealand, two of the few remaining countries that still race.
Denise explained she and her husband became devoted to helping retired greyhounds after first adopting their own in 2011, though their greyhound wasn’t a race dog.
They eventually learned of Greyhound Pets of America and became a foster home for it. In 2020, they took over the organization. In 2022, they relocated from Plymouth to Taunton, and made the base location their home.
The organization has no office to speak of. Currently, it consists of around 20 foster homes, five of which are in Massachusetts. Matt Schumitz, who runs Greyhounds Pets National, said at its peak, when greyhound racing was still across the country, the organization had close to 50 foster homes in the U.S.
Addressing misconception
Main reasons greyhound racing was either banned by states or tracks just closed down over the decades were the decline in revenue and public interest and concern over the welfare of the greyhounds. Industry-wide, opponents, including animal rights groups, had evidence and records of greyhounds being kept in inhuman living conditions, as well as collisions happening mid-race, resulting in serious injuries to the dogs and/or euthanizing.
Denise can’t speak for past practices in the now dwindling greyhound race industry, but she says all the greyhounds she’s seen that her group fosters weren’t abused as race dogs.
“It’s the biggest misconception,” she said, explaining “they are treated like athletes” overseas and “a neglected dog won’t run well.”
She adds in other countries “they care about saving these dogs” and “a lot of money goes into funding their retirement.”
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Fostering
All of the dogs they receive from overseas come spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated.
Health records, as well as a recent checkup from a veterinarian for each dog “ensuring no diseases or parasites” are mandatory in order for them to be approved by Customs for traveling into the U.S. “We know everything before they arrive. There are no surprises,” said Denise.
In addition, 100% of the traveling costs by plane from New Zealand are paid for by the handling group, while the handling group for Ireland pays 75% of the traveling costs.
When the greyhounds finally reach the U.S., Denise said there is a transition process, lasting a few weeks, where the greyhounds unlearn the structured lives of their racing careers and adapt to humans and household routines.
“A lot of them have never seen or done stairs, or sat in a room with a TV before. Many have never walked on a hardwood floor.”
Denise added that greyhounds coming from overseas tend to adapt quicker than U.S. hounds because, while race hounds in West Virginia are usually kept in kennels, dogs in Ireland, for example, often stay with their owners at their homes, and are exposed more to kids and families.
Adoption process
The adoption process starts with an online application. After a phone interview, Greyhound Pets will schedule a meeting at the person or family’s home, with one of their greyhounds brought along for the applicants to interact with.
The organization will then go through a matching process to determine which greyhound would be the best fit for the home.
Assuming a successful process so far, the applicant will then sign an adoption contract, which indicates things like the owner agrees to provide regular veterinarian care and heartworm medication.
The adoption fee is $500. The dogs come spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated.
Denise states the adoption success rate for Greyhound Pets of America is close to 100%; the rare occasion of a bounce back have been due to either health issues with the adopter, or a change in lifestyle, like no longer being financially stable.
Learn more about Greyhound Pets of America at greyhoundpets.org or gpamass.com
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Animal adoption group helps rehome greyhound race dogs
