Laura: Yesterday I interviewed a few people from the Buffalo Greyhound Adoption Association. The purpose of the BGA is to find forever homes for race dogs called greyhounds. People race these dogs for money and it used to be that when the dogs couldn’t race anymore, they would be killed. Organizations like the BGA adopt the dogs and try to find homes for them.
They get dogs from tracks in states like Arizona, Massachusets, West Virgina and less often, Florida. The group dosen’t usually get the dogs from Florida because it’s a really long, hot trip for the dogs.
When the dogs come to our area, a volunteer has the dogs come to their house until someone decides to adopt them. When someone decides that they’d like to adopt a greyhound from the group, a representative does a home visit for about an hour and a half. They come to educate the family about greyhounds and answer questions. Some people change their minds and some proceed.
Michelle Moore, the woman I interviewed, says that the best thing about being a volunteer is that she gets to see racer dogs become pets. Dogs who come from places with just cement and metal get used to things like stairs and grass and glass doors. Many of these dogs are timid at first. Some stay that way.
Some other things that are cool about Grayhounds, is that their nickname is the 40 Mile Per Hour Crunch Potato. Even though it’s fun to watch how the dogs run and build up their speed to about 40 to 42 miles per hour, I think it’s unfair and cruel to race these dogs like this, and I personally wish people would stop.
Yesterday I was thankful for all of the people who help these dogs, and I made a donation to the BGA as a result! Please think about helping this group too.
Nina is thankful for the snow. She likes to play in it every chance she gets! She knows she’s lucky to live in a place with four seasons too.
Filed under: animals, Uncategorized | Tagged: "twenty five days to make a difference" "BGA" "Buffalo | 5 Comments »
25 Days to Make a Difference 