GAO Welcomes 12 Retired Racers from Ireland

On May 19th, Greyhound Adoption of Ohio welcomed 12 retired racing greyhounds from Ireland. We are so excited to have the opportunity to bring these dogs to the US to find loving homes. Ireland's racing industry is very active, with many dogs needing homes after retirement each year. Alternatively, with the cessation of racing in Florida, the number of available greyhounds in the US for adoption has decreased so that any dog that needs a home has ten or more homes that would love to adopt them. We, at GAO, have the time, the space and the loving greyhound families to give these Irish greyhounds wonderful lives!

Recently, GAO began to inquire about bringing dogs from Ireland and found an excellent system set up by some wonderful people to transport the dogs from Ireland. So we thought that, perhaps, sometime in the future, we might be able to help these dogs in Ireland. Little did I know that "sometime in the future" would be NOW!

Linda and a small group of dedicated GAO volunteers went to Chicago to meet the planes from England with our 12 new babies! It was six dogs to a plane, so they met two flights. A big GAO thank you to the greyhound people in Chicago for getting together to help us manage all the dogs!

We don't have exact figures yet, but the cost for each dog to be driven from Ireland to England, then get on a plane in London and fly to Chicago is approximately $2000 each. Of course, we'll have adoption fees to help offset that cost, and the dogs come fully vetted and ready to be adopted, but the expense is still daunting!

If you can help, we would be so thankful for your donation of any amount. A gift of $1000 will be considered a complete sponsorship for one dog. We know most of us can't do that, but even the smallest donation will help!

All of us at GAO thank you for your support, kindness, and love of these dogs!