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You are here: Greyhound Dog Adoption > Greyhound Stories > Cricket’s Story


I Wanted A Greyhound Since I Was A Child. Was It Fate When An Online Questionaire Said A Greyhound Would Be My Perfect Dog?
Cricket’s Story


Cricket, She Is More Wonderful Than I Imagined

I had wanted a greyhound for a long time, since I was a child. I was long aware of the terrible conditions these magnificent animals suffer with while they are racers. However, like many folks who have never met a greyhound, I assumed they were irritable and fractious like racehorses.
Then one night, as I was surfing the internet for the type of dog that would be best for our family, I found one of those "Choose your perfect dog" questionnaires. I wanted a large dog who was gentle and calm, who could be trained easily, and who I could take out running with me. I was amazed! The greyhound came up as the perfect dog for me!

I continued to do more research about them. I found GSGA's website. It was by far the most informative website detailing what type of care a greyhound needed. I went to 2 meet and greets to meet the dogs, and was so impressed at how gentle and beautiful they were. I soon called Stu, who was very kind to spend a long time discussing with me what to expect if we adopted a retired racing greyhound. It actually took us some time (1-2 years) before we were ready for a dog in our household, but by the time we were ready, I knew I wanted to adopt one of the dogs through GSGA. I looked longingly at the website, seeing the gorgeous dogs coming through getting adopted out to other families.

My most important criterion for a family dog was the personality, so I had no anxiety about having the dog matched to our family. I didn't care what our new greyhound looked like, I just wanted to make sure she would be the best dog for us. Imagine our surprise as we met our beautiful dark brindle girl, Cricket! She looked as elegant and as exotic as an Egyptian princess or the god Anubis! I was also excited because several of the volunteers at the adoption day mentioned that she was their favorite dog of the haul. Cricket has become beloved in our family, at least by the humans. The cats have learned to tolerate her.

In between the time I started my research and got our dog, I ended up needing to have reconstructive surgery on both of my knees. She has become my exercise buddy, and I hate to miss walks with her because I know she is depending on me. My health has improved significantly because I'm out with her virtually every day. I'm looking forward to the day that she and I may get to run together.
She thrills me no end when she runs. If you've never seen an ex-racer running straight at you at full speed, it's an incredible treat! She hunkers down, straight as an arrow, and gallops by like a speeding bullet! Some of the other folks walking their dogs have been left speechless watching her go by. Last Christmas, one gentleman said it was his Christmas gift to watch her run.

There isn't much else to say, except that we have our perfect, darling girl. She's even more wonderful than I imagined.

This story was submitted by greyhound owner Lucienne AND Cricket AKA JP’s Landstar