Steps to Adopting a Greyhound

1. Read Required Adoption Information.
   
   
2. Do some research to see if a greyhound is the breed for you.
   • Read Adopting the Racing Greyhound by Cynthia A. Branigan or Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies by Lee Livingood. This book can be found at your local bookstore or ordered through us.
   • Attend a GPA-MN Meet and Greet. These regularly scheduled events (usually hosted by Petco stores in the Twin Cities area) are a great opportunity for you to meet a retired racing greyhound.
     
     
3. Complete and return the adoption application to GPA-MN.
   
   
4. Once we receive your application, an adoption representative will contact you.

The representative will talk to you, review your application, and answer any questions you may have. They will discuss: If a retired greyhound is right for your lifestyle. Which currently available greyhounds would fit into your family situation. The best time to set up an adoption appointment.

5. Set up an adoption appointment.

This is part of the interview process and usually takes about 1 1/2 hours. Everyone that will be living with the greyhound must attend, including any other dogs you have, if applicable.

6. Meet and select your greyhound.

This is where you get to meet and spend some time with a greyhound(s) that should fit your lifestyle. If you decide to adopt the dog, the adoption donation is due at this time. Greyhounds do not usually go home the same day they are adopted. All dogs are spayed or neutered before they go to their adoptive homes. How quickly the dog will be ready to go home depends on several things, including if they have had their vet check and surgery.

7. Pick up your greyhound!

This is usually about a 45 minute appointment. During this time, you will receive additional information and demonstrations regarding the care of your retired racer.

8. Ask Questions! Talk to Us!

GPA-MN wants to help you and your dog make a smooth transition. The adoption representative will call you within a few days to see how you and your hound are doing. Any questions? Please feel free to contact us and let us know how things are going. After the adoption representative calls you a couple of times, you will be assigned a buddy. Our buddy program matches you with a knowledgeable greyhound owner. They will be calling you to say hi, see how things are going, answer any questions you have, and just chat about greyhounds if you like. The calls will be more frequent in the beginning and should then taper off to once or twice a year. You should also contact your buddy whenever you feel the need. That's what they are there for!

9. Read Home Stretch, our monthly newsletter.

If you haven't started receiving it within a couple of months after your adoption, please let us know.

10. Consider becoming a GPA-MN volunteer.

In time, you may decide you want to become involved in GPA-MN. Please join us! We are all volunteers dedicated to finding adoptive homes for retired racing greyhounds. We have all gone through the adoption process ourselves - many of us more than once - and now we enjoy sharing our experience and enthusiasm with new and prospective owners of retired racers. We can only continue with the help of our volunteers.

Two final points...

We realize this process is pretty involved.

"Applications, appointments, research... the dogs need homes, why can't I just take one home?"

We believe in GPA-MN's adoption process for several reasons. First, the owners who turn their retired racers over to us for adoption have entrusted us with a special responsibility. We want to support their decision to release their dogs to us by carefully placing their dogs into loving homes. Our experience shows that careful adoptions are successful adoptions. We also think are greyhounds are very special dogs and are worth the effort. We think you'll agree!

Please be patient.

Everyone involved with GPA-MN are volunteers. Most of us have full-time jobs and families, not to mention our own hounds. We will work with you to move through this process as quickly as we can. Our goal is a happy owner and a happy hound!