THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 10, 1994 TAG: 9410100049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICK LACKEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Fifty-six of the luckiest hounds on the planet gathered Sunday afternoon at Woodstock Park for a picnic.
They were greyhounds bred for racing that had proven too slow or too spooked to race, or that had slowed after a year or two at the tracks.
Normally they would have been shot, clubbed, drowned or administered a lethal injection, or possibly sold to a science lab to serve as test subjects.
Some 50,000 racing greyhounds are killed each year for the capital crime of being too slow, according to estimates by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Only one in 50 racing greyhounds lives to age 5, according to literature handed out at the picnic. By numerical comparison, bullfighting is tame, though in the ring the death is visible.
The 56 greyhounds - Grinch, Zipper, Doofus, Argus, Zeus, Hillary, Dash, Mercury and others - were attending the fourth annual fall picnic of the Tidewater Chapter of the National Greyhound Adoption Program.
The local chapter has placed 95 once-doomed greyhounds with Hampton Roads families since 1989. The national program, based in Philadelphia, has placed 1,600 racing greyhounds nationwide.
One hundred sixty of the greyhounds' owners and guests signed a petition Sunday that said, ``We Support Senate Bill (NU)537. . . Ban Greyhound Racing in Virginia Forever!!!!!'' The bill is in a Virginia Senate committee, and the five exclamation marks indicate the fervor of the signers' opposition to greyhound racing. The Maine legislature last year banned greyhound racing.
``If we get horse racing,'' Teresa Smith of Norfolk said at the picnic, ``there definitely will be dog racing. These dogs are worth nothing to the people who race them.'' They would be a cheap way, she said, for horse-track owners to extend the betting season.
Smith owns and operates Four on the Floor Pet Grooming in Norfolk. When an adopted greyhound arrives at the Norfolk International Airport, it is picked up by Sam and Gay Latimer of Virginia Beach, founders of the local greyhound-saving chapter, and taken directly to Smith's shop for a free bath and inspection. Last year she left her birthday dinner to bathe and groom three dogs that had just arrived.
Having groomed all kinds of breeds, Smith says of the greyhound, ``It's the most gentle and kindest breed of dog of any I have ever seen.'' Also, she noted, greyhounds are quiet.
Many dogs arrive underfed and bald in the rump and chest from lives spent mainly in small wire crates. For some dogs, the hair never grows back.
Greyhounds are one of the oldest pure breeds. They are depicted in Egyptian sculptures 5,000 years old.
The picnic was eerily silent for a gathering of dogs. Greyhounds rarely bark, say their owners, even when sirens sound. It's even rarer for a greyhound to sit. The position is uncomfortable for them, say their owners.
Greyhounds have short velvet coats, pointed noses, large, expressive eyes, small ears, deep chests, waspish waists and muscular hips and thighs. They are running machines, capable of exceeding 40 mph.
Most were white, black, fawn or brindle.
At first glance, the fawn greyhounds resemble deer. Tom Sheehan of Portsmouth said people have asked if his fawn-colored greyhound, Redmond, is a deer.
Harriet Golombek of Virginia Beach, who has adopted three greyhounds, said, ``They are the sweetest, most gentle, affectionate dogs that you could ever know. They are entirely devoted. They are couch potatoes. They have no body odor. They shed very little. They are laid back.''
Several people, while noting greyhounds' love of running, said they are happiest cuddling with their owners.
Susan Stanley of Chesapeake, who adopted 4-year-old Champ, said her dog often rests his head in her lap.
She said his look up at her seems to say, ``I am in heaven. This is OK. Don't ever move.''
At last fall's picnic, attended by 54 dogs, $2,100 was raised, partly from an auction of donated items. The money brought 60 dogs from Florida farms to the program's national headquarters in Philadelphia.
At this year's picnic, $2,200 was raised for more adoptions. The program is nonprofit.
People interested in adopting a greyhound may call Gay and Sam Latimer at 486-7956. Callers must give three references, including a neighbor. The references are checked to ensure the dogs are placed in good homes. A fenced-in yard is required, and the dogs must be spayed or neutered after adoption.
There is a required donation of $160, which covers the dog's transportation - most come from Florida - and immunizations. The adopter also receives 20 pounds of dog food, heart worm preventative, deworming medicine, two identification tags, leash and collar.
Many owners put racing vests on their dogs before walking them. Passers-by likely ask, ``Oh, does your dog race?'' The passers-by get earfuls about the horrors of greyhound over-breeding and dog tracks. MEMO: HOW TO ADOPT
People interested in adopting a greyhound may call Gay and Sam
Latimer at 486-7956.
Callers must give three references, including a neighbor. The
references are checked to ensure the dogs are placed in good homes.
A fenced-in yard is required.
The dogs must be spayed or neutered after adoption.
There is a required donation of $160, which covers the dog's
transportation. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Martin Smith-Rodden, Staff photos
A greyhound, perhaps used to winning by a nose during its racing
days, mugs it up at Sunday's picnic at Woodstock Park in Virginia
Beach.
Greyhounds and owners line up for one of many photos snapped at
Sunday's picnic sponsored by the Tidewater Chapter of the National
Greyhound Adoption Program.
by CNB