The Joy of - Inside Chappaqua

One day I was talking about
my job as a journalist to my
friend Jester, who is a Greyhound,
and he told me that he
once had a job too. “When I was
young I was a racing dog and
now I am retired,” he said. Jester
and I are both five years old
so I thought it was strange that
I was in the prime of my career
and he had already retired. “I
was racing in Florida and broke
my leg so they didn’t want me
to race anymore.” He told me
that he spent months in a crate
before anyone repaired his leg.
That made me sad. My owner
would never treat me that way,
and I know Jester’s Chappaqua
family would never do that to
him. I wondered how he got here
from the south. “I was adopted
through Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation,
and that’s how I came to live
with Sophie and her family,” he said.
40 Inside Chappaqua May 2013
M A G G I E M A E P U P R E P O R T E R
Giving Greyhound Racers a Second Chance
By Maggie Mae...with Ronni Diamondstein
Photo by Ronni Diamondstein
Rescued by Sophie and her family, Jester found a loving home in
Chappaqua
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Bistro 146
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I was curious about greyhound racing,
because the only racing I know
is when I run around in my house or
chase a squirrel. From the ASPCA I
found out that racing dogs are not
treated as well as I am. They spend a
lot of time in crates and when they
can’t race anymore they are put to
sleep forever. That made me even
sadder, so I decided to find out about
the Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation
(known also as GRR). I contacted
the President and Founder, Christine
Johnson, who lives in Cross River. She
told me that she started GRR after she
got her own dog. Her sister recommended
that she adopt a retired greyhound,
because she lived in a condo
and racing dogs don’t need to run a lot.
I was surprised that racers didn’t need
to run, but she explained that to me.
“Greyhounds live most of their lives in
crates so they make excellent apartment
pets,” said Johnson. She adopted
her first dog in 1999. It worked so well
that within four months she adopted
a second.
Johnson started GRR because she
loved her dogs so much. She found out
that there were lots of retired greyhounds
that had been injured or “were
just a split second too slow ” Unless
these dogs found homes, their futures
were uncertain.
GRR takes greyhounds from all over
the country.
“Most of the
hounds have no
medical issues,
but we do take
in as many with
injuries as we
can afford.” Like
Jester, some
of them break
their legs while
racing. “The
retired racers
we get are from
2 to 6 years old,
however we will
146 Bedford Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570
take younger dogs if they’re injured
while getting ready to race
or older dogs, which we refer to
as ‘brood moms’ who have had
racing careers and then a second
career having puppies,” says
Johnson. GRR doesn’t have a
kennel so after each dog is examined
by a veterinarian and either
spayed or neutered, it needs a
foster family to care for it until
it is adopted. I was surprised to
learn that the foster family has
to teach the dog how to be a pet.
Racing dogs have never learned
to go up and down stairs or
walk on a leash. They don’t even
know about those things in your
house that you can look through
but not get to what is on the
other side. My owner calls them
windows. And I couldn’t believe it
when Johnson told me that these dogs
have never even had a ride in a car,
which is, next to going for a walk and
eating, one of my favorite things to do.
So to help these greyhounds find
families to love, GRR runs adoption
“Meet and Greet” events in our area.
Dogs like Jester are on hand at the
events as “Ambassadogs”. If you want
to adopt a greyhound or find out more
about Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation
and the upcoming events go to
their website: www.greyhoundrescuerehab.org
Who knew that my sweet
and personable greyhound
friend Jester had such an
interesting history? Makes
me wonder what my next
career could be. Some kind
of “Ambassadog” sounds
good to me!
Contact Maggie Mae Pup Reporter
at maggiemae10514@gmail.com
Maggie Mae lives in Chappaqua with
her adoring owner Ronni Diamondstein,
who, when she isn’t walking Maggie is a
freelance writer, PR consultant, awardwinning
photographer and a School
Library Media Specialist and teacher who
has worked in the US and abroad.