Randolph man's group publicizes need to adopt former racing dogs

Randolph man’s group publicizes need to adopt former racing dogs
By Lauren DeFilippo
Tue Mar 31, 2009, 06:02 PM EDT
http://www.wickedlocal.com/randolph/news/x549587405/Randolph-man-s-group-publicizes-need-to-adopt-former-racing-dogs

Randolph -
At the time, Michael McCann and his wife had wanted to get a cat.
But McCann read a newspaper article that described greyhounds as the most “cat-like” breed.
Then he met a greyhound while staying at a bed and breakfast in Maine.
In 1994, the couple adopted its first greyhound.
“It was the ugliest greyhound you’d ever see,” he said, describing Teddy, who only had one eye. “(He) was the greatest dog.”
Since then, he’s opened his Randolph home to foster more than 100 of the dogs.
He owns three greyhounds now: Santos, Whisper and Camban.
McCann is president of the Greyhound Project, a non-profit group of volunteers that promotes the welfare and adoption of greyhounds.
To mark April as national Adopt-A-Greyhound Month, the group has produced six radio public service announcements that debut today.
Fostering greyhounds helps overcrowding at kennels and adoption agencies. The greyhound population at those facilities will increase after regional greyhound racetracks close their doors following voters’ approval to ban greyhound racing in the state.
Usually, the dogs stay in their foster homes for a short time before getting adopted, McCann said.
The work of adoption agencies is already hard, but adopting full-grown dogs is even harder, he said.
With the economy in its current state, adoption agencies also have seen a lot of returns.
“There are enough adoptive homes out there, they just haven’t discovered it yet,” he said.
McCann, who has had dogs as pets for much of his life, said he had never come across a breed so easygoing and gentle.
“They’re the 40 mile-per-hour couch potatoes,” he said of greyhounds.
When he was growing up, McCann said he always thought the dogs were vicious.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said.
That’s not the only myth about greyhounds circulating.
Because they run so fast, people think of them as hyper dogs, McCann said. He pointed out that greyhounds are sprinters, not distance runners.
“They’re very laid-back and gentle,” he said.
Lauren DeFilippo can be reached at ldefilip@cnc.com


Founded in the 1992, The Greyhound Project is a volunteer, non-profit organization. The mission of the Greyhound Project is to promote the welfare and adoption of greyhounds by providing support and information to adoption organizations, adopters, and the public.
For information, visit www.adopt-a-greyhound.org