AMERICAN ALBUM : There’s life after the finish line for greyhounds : Adoption, not euthanasia, now awaits many dogs whose racing careers are over.

For four years, he was known as Swanee’s Sultan, a sleek and powerful greyhound who sprinted to victory at high-stakes races in Connecticut, Florida and Texas, generating thousands of dollars for his owners.

But today the pure white dog with the long thin face and big eyes has settled into a new life as Pete, an affectionate pet who likes nothing better than to stretch out lazily on a mat in Howard Rhodes’ living room and bask in the afternoon sunlight.

Pete is just one of hundreds of greyhounds who have found refuge over the last few years with Rhodes. The 51-year-old mail carrier has turned his three-story Colonial house into a kind of greyhound hostel, sheltering dogs who otherwise would likely be euthanized because they are no longer earning money as racers.

“They’re my life,” said Rhodes, who owns six greyhounds of his own and cares for up to 30 others at a time in a converted basement area until he can find homes for them.

Rhodes is part of a growing network of people across the country--many of them in the Northeast--who have become actively involved in the effort to place greyhounds in adopted homes once they retire as racers.

Until the adoption movement began in Florida in 1982, all but a handful of greyhounds--primarily those used for breeding--routinely were put to sleep when they no longer had value as racers, usually about age 5.

In those days, “it was an acceptable practice,” said Gary Guccione, director of the National Greyhound Assn., an industry group. “It was a reflection of the lack of sensitivity of the times.”

Today, through the combined efforts of about 200 national adoption groups and cooperating tracks, a growing number of dogs are having their lives extended after racing. The Greyhound Project, a national adoption information group, said as many as 13,000 dogs were placed in homes in 1993, compared to just 100 a decade ago.

Joan Martin, a spokeswoman for the project, estimates that 50,000 greyhounds--including ex-racers and those who never made it to the track--are being euthanized each year. The industry disputes that figure, claiming no more than about 16,000 dogs were euthanized in 1993.

“That’s 16,000 too many,” Guccione conceded. But he said the trend was toward a steady decline in the figure, noting that 27,000 were euthanized in 1991.

Adoption groups say the effort to find homes for greyhounds has eased as more people become accustomed to the dogs as pets. A popular misconception until recently, they say, was that greyhounds were too high-strung or nasty to adapt to a home environment.

But Millie Merritt, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts chapter of the Greyhounds Pets of America, said that while greyhounds may require some time to get used to the home, they make ideal companions.

“When you look at these dogs, you fall in love with every one of them,” she said. “They are quiet and loving. All they do is try to please you.”

On a recent day at Rhodes’ house, seven long-legged dogs bounded into the living room, wagging their tails excitedly and reaching their long snouts up to lick the faces of visitors. Within moments, calm returned as the dogs settled cozily onto couches or their own mats.

For Rhodes, his work with the greyhounds is a labor of love. He began his organization, Last Race Greyhounds, about eight years ago after learning about the thousands of greyhounds euthanized each year.

“My initial concept was to develop a foster home network,” he said. “That never worked. So I wound up buying a few crates and one thing led to another.”

Rhodes now devotes nearly every waking hour--when he is not delivering mail--to the dogs. Like many involved in adoptions, he is on the road often, picking up dogs at various tracks in New England after learning from trainers that they need to be placed. Other dogs arrive by truck from Florida, Texas and other states.

At home, Rhodes’ day begins at 5 a.m., when he rises to let his charges stretch their legs in the back yard. He is back with them on his lunch hour, when he feeds them, and again after work.

His concern for the animals extends to ensuring they are placed in suitable homes--all those seeking to adopt are carefully screened.

Rhodes said he does not oppose racing, and even encourages greyhound owners to visit the tracks after getting to know their dogs to see “what beautiful, elegant professional athletes they are.”

Still, the number of dogs euthanized each year weighs on him.

Asked how many dogs he has placed over the years, Rhodes has a standard reply: “Not enough,” he says sadly. “Not enough.”