A Fast Getaway : Group Arranges Adoptive Homes for Retired Racing Greyhounds

Hey, what was that?

The ears of seven retired racing greyhounds perked up.

Something was afoot in the backyard bushes. Maybe it was a tumbling leaf, or maybe . . . something to chase!

On a recent afternoon, Magic, a 90-pound black greyhound, was the first to lope over and check it out. His left front paw is bandaged because he hurt it chasing a cat, but no matter.

For Magic, and other retired greyhounds, the thrill is in the chase--three strides, and a greyhound hits peak speed at 45 mph (the greyhound is the second-fastest land animal after the cheetah).

These days, in their new lives as adopted indoor pets, the greyhounds bound after whatever they can--a wind-blown plastic bag will do in a pinch.

More than 150 retired greyhounds have been adopted via the Greyhound Pets of America’s Orange County-Greater Los Angeles chapter, which was founded in May by Magic’s owner, Joyce McRorie. McRorie, a retired school administrator, also temporarily cares for several other purebred greyhounds rescued from race tracks in Tijuana, Arizona and Colorado.

“They are very gentle and very sweet and very quiet and very clean . . . very human-like,” said McRorie, 58.

The adopted dogs otherwise would be euthanized because they are too old or too slow for racing, said Gary Guccione, executive director of the industry’s National Greyhound Assn.

Greyhound racing is illegal in California, but 50 tracks operate in 15 states.

Last year, about 12,000 racing greyhounds were euthanized, a 48% decrease since 1992, according to the industry-funded American Greyhound Council. Also in 1995, about 16,000 greyhounds were adopted, up from 9,000 in 1992, Guccione said.

Greyhound Pets of America, which has 35 chapters nationwide, is the largest of three greyhound adoption groups in California. The group does not take a stand on dog racing, said Greyhound Pets of America’s national president, Jon Underwood. The nonprofit group wants to keep a good relationship with the racing industry, which funds its hotline (1-800-366-1472) and works with its volunteers to place the greyhounds, Underwood said.

In the past few years, news stories have reported what the industry says are isolated incidents of abuse, including the discovery in 1991 of nearly 200 starving greyhounds at a racing breeder’s Florida home.

“The vast majority of them are given terrific care,” Guccione said. “They need to be. They’re performance animals. They’re athletes. In order to get the highest level of performance out of them, you need to be treating them well.”

Every few weeks or so, track managers call greyhound volunteers in Orange County to pick up dogs that don’t make the cut, McRorie said. Most of the retired dogs are 2 to 5 years old.

McRorie loads the dogs in her GMC Suburban and takes them to a farm in Ridgecrest. Each dog bears identifying tattoos in both ears. On the farm, volunteer veterinarians examine the greyhounds, which get premium dog food to get their weight up and improve their coats.

In a few weeks, the dogs go to foster homes, such as McRorie’s. Foster owners take the dogs for other veterinary care, including spaying or neutering. The $180 adoption fee covers each dog’s initial expenses.

McRorie breaks the dogs in slowly. She tests their reactions to cats and children. She housebreaks them and trains them to walk on leashes.

The dogs are not used to having the run of a house. At the track, they live in big crates.

In their first week, they poke around the house, leaving nose prints on the oven, the mirrors, the TV. They have to watch their whip-like tails, fine for propelling them around the track but lethal to glass cabinet doors.

Before the dogs are adopted, volunteers interview prospective owners and visit their homes. The dogs must live indoors because they are used to living in an enclosed area and, with such little body fat, are sensitive to cold. Volunteers also look for homes with big backyards so the dogs can exercise.

Adopted greyhound Possum does not run amok, said owner Sheila Paske, who adopted her in October.

Possum is “totally elegant,” not an in-your-face dog, said Paske, 49, a Palos Verdes resident.

“What they do,” she said, “is stand by you patiently. The attitude is, ‘It’d be really nice if you could pet me, but if you don’t, I can take it like a man, but I’m just going to stand here in hopes that you will.’ It’s like, ‘I got another chance [at life], and I’m not going to offend.’ ”

Carol Simpson’s three adopted greyhounds love to play with her three grandchildren.

“The dogs adore them,” said Simpson, 44, a Huntington Beach resident. “If the children sit on the couch, they have to be sitting right next to them with their heads in [the kids’] laps.”

Greyhound owners get used to the stares when they walk their dogs. Racing dogs are bred for speed, not looks as other greyhound are.

Are they whippets? people ask. Or, don’t you feed them?

They are naturally thin.

At her house, McRorie affectionately pats Magic’s stomach, which is stretched as tight as a drum.

Magic, 6, likes to romp around with a stuffed Barney dinosaur toy in his mouth or lap around the dining table. He is not above begging for raw carrots or asparagus.

On this day, he is right on top of the noise in the bushes.

He and Catherine, a creamy white greyhound with brown spots, look around the backyard. They rely on sight rather than smell in hunting, and can see prey half a mile away.

This time, they see nothing.

Afterward, Magic curls up on a pink pillow at McRorie’s feet.

McRorie watches Magic as she tried to explain why she spends her retirement running the Orange County chapter with her husband, Tom. She got involved with the greyhounds four years ago, as a volunteer for the San Diego chapter, after adopting one of her own.

“The pull of the dogs, whatever it is,” she said. “My whole seven days a week are filled up with the dogs, but at the end of the day, I’m smiling.”

Information on the Greyhound Pets of America’s Orange County-Greater Los Angeles chapter: (714) 962-0789.