Local News

Former Racing Greyhounds Need Colorado Homes

Written by CBS4 special projects producer Libby Smith

WINDSOR, Colo. (CBS4) ― At the Weber Kennel in Windsor, the routine stays the same, but the mood is very different. Kennel workers turn-out the greyhounds for exercise and bathroom breaks on their regular schedule. But the end of organized dog-racing means fewer and fewer dogs to work with.

"To send them off ... we've cried a lot," kennel worker Sue Prucha said.

Of the 60 racing dogs this kennel once housed, there are only about a dozen left. Many of the greyhounds are now being housed in other states where there's still racing. The rest are being placed in homes as pets.

For kennel workers, it's like breaking up a family.

"These are our kids. We've seen most of these dogs born, we've raised them by hand, we know ever quirks, every personality about them," Prucha said.

The kennel will continue to operate -- breeding puppies for racing in other states. And like all greyhounds, when their racing days are over, they'll come back to Colorado to be placed in an adoptive family.

"We want to do right by them. We want to get them into the right homes, and make it work for them and the people who are bringing them in," said Kathie Buckley, Colorado Greyhound Adoption volunteer.

The dog Ruler is one of the former racers who was looking for a permanent home. At the kennel when a CBS4 crew was there, he met his new foster family -- Jody Laughlin and her son.

The Laughlins have fostered more than 70 greyhounds and adopted four. They will spend the next few weeks making sure Ruler is ready for life in a home.

"As a foster (guardian) what I'm going to try to do is acclimate him to living in a house with humans," Laughlin told CBS4.

Ruler will need to learn how to go up and downstairs, be introduced to glass patio doors and windows and learn the sounds and workings of a home -- all things he's never been exposed to before in his life. But after a few short weeks, greyhound adoption volunteers say he should make the perfect pet.

"We call them the 45 mile per hour couch potato," Buckley said.

Greyhounds are known for lots of lounging and only requiring short bursts of exercise to fulfill their need for speed.

For Sue Prucha, saying goodbye to Ruler isn't easy, but she sees it as the next stage in his life.

"It makes me feel like the dog has graduated to some degree. Now they get to go see the world and just really bring joy to some body else's life in some capacity."

Colorado's Last Dog Track

Mile High Racing and Entertainment decided live races would end in June at the last dog track in Colorado with live racing -- Mile High Greyhound Park in Commerce City

Track officials and kennel owners couldn't come to a financial agreement to keep running races until September.

Mile High general manager Bruce Seymore said the track ran a full season in 2007 and lost $700,000 after being profitable in 2006. It had already decided not to run through the winter of 2008-09 and vacated race dates in November, December, January and February.

Kennel operators who care for and race the dogs hoped to find a compromise to keep the season running past June, but they couldn't reach an agreement with track officials.

Seymore said racing is set to resume in April 2009, but it wasn't clear how many kennel operators would return.

Mile High Racing and Entertainment has been working to relocate greyhounds from its Commerce City track in other states for racing, or adopt them out as pets or for breeding.

Additional Resources

If you would like to find out more about greyhound adoption, or other ways you can help Colorado Greyhound Adoption as they work to find new homes for former racers, go to their Web site at Coloradogreyhoundadoption.org.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

---