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The Greyhound Project profile

Mission

The mission of The Greyhound Project, Inc. is to promote the welfare and adoption of greyhounds by providing support and information to adoption organizations, adopters, and the public.

Background

The Greyhound Project is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1993 by a group of greyhound adopters in Massachusetts who wanted to make a contribution to the welfare of former racing greyhounds. The information below explains who we are and what we do.

The Celebrating Greyhounds Calendar

The organization created the Celebrating Greyhounds calendar as a way of providing a fund-raising product to adoption groups. The calendar features greyhounds from around the country and an abbreviated directory of greyhound adoption groups. Most calendars are sold through adoption groups, and all proceeds from the calendar benefit greyhound adoption groups and greyhound placement.

The 1997 calendar was nominated as one of three finalists in its category in the Dog Writers Association of America's annual competition, and the 1998 calendar received the DWAA's Maxwell Award. The 2003 calendar will be the tenth calendar published by The Greyhound Project. In addition, The Project has published it's first-ever desk calendar for 2003.

The Adoption Resource Directory

When The Greyhound Project launched, it was unclear how many adoption groups existed around the country. Greyhound Pets of America had a list and the National Greyhound Adoption Network had a list. There was also a list of groups in the back of Cynthia Branigan's book Adopting the Racing Greyhound. None of the lists were complete and inclusive. Most adoption organizations seemed isolated by lack of information about similar organizations even in nearby areas.

Putting all of the information together in one place proved to be a useful tool for supporting adoption efforts. The information in the Directory has been instrumental in organizing large-scale relocation of surplus dogs from closed tracks throughout the country and continues to be used to arrange outlets for excess greyhounds.

The Directory currently lists more than 300 adoption groups.

Adopt-A-Greyhound Web Site

In 1996, the Adoption Resource Directory went online with the launching of the Adopt-A-Greyhound site. The site includes information on greyhounds and greyhound adoption published by The Greyhound Project and others, adoption referral information, and links to greyhound welfare organizations around the world. It is a vast source of material about the dogs for both potential adopters and adoption groups and has accumulated many awards. The site can be found at Adopt-A-Greyhound.org or TheGreyhoundProject.org.

Celebrating Greyhounds: The Magazine

In the Spring of 1996, The Greyhound Project began work on a publication intended for adopters as well as adoption organizations.

Celebrating Greyhounds: The Magazine is an award-winning, subscription-based quarterly. CG features greyhound-specific articles and advertising. Although the magazine carries some human interest stories, its primary purpose is to provide useful information for adopters. It features articles on subjects like handling separation anxiety, thyroid levels, and epilepsy and seizures in greyhounds. The magazine also has a regular Q&A column, book reviews, and a national listing of greyhound-related events.

The magazine won the Dog Writers Association of America's Maxwell Award for best single-breed publication in 2000 and 2001. Its current paid subscription base is 5,500, and circulation grows by about five percent each quarter.

Adopt A Greyhound Airport Advertising Campaign

With the help of major airport advertising companies, adoption groups, and individual contributors, a greyhound adoption promotional campaign with an initial market value of over $1.5 million a year was launched in 1998. Airport advertising companies donated unsold advertising space at airports throughout the country for promotional displays on greyhound adoption. The displays were designed in collaboration with representatives of the greyhound adoption community and produced by TKO Visual Communications in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. More than 150 displays were mounted in 60 major airports around the country.

In 2001, The Greyhound Project renewed the campaign with a donation of $10,000 and secured additional donations and grants totaling $23,500 from the ASPCA and PetsMart Charities, resulting in more than 200 new promotional displays located at major airports in the United States.

Canine Cancer Research Fund

In the Spring of 1998, The Greyhound Project established a matching fund with the Morris Animal Foundation for the support of studies into canine cancer. The Greyhound Project committed to match designated contributions up to a total of $2,500 in 1998, $3,000 in 1999, $3,500 in 2000, and $4,500 in 2001 and 2002. By March 2002, the Fund had raised more than $85,000, been named as one of the primary sponsors on a new study looking into the potential efficacy of endostatin for the treatment of soft tissue tumors in dogs, and was honored as an "Unsung Hero" by the Morris Animal Foundation. Information on the results of studies funded through the Morris Animal Foundation is made available to adoption groups and adopters through Celebrating Greyhounds magazine when available.

Greyhounds Reach the Beach

In 1998 The Greyhound Project assumed the coordination of the annual Greyhounds Reach the Beach gathering of adopted greyhounds in Dewey Beach, Delaware. The three-day event attracts greyhound owners and their dogs from around the country and features informal seminars, activities, and speakers. Although the primary purpose of the event is social, it has become an opportunity for adoption groups and active volunteers to network, exchange information, and develop contacts to help in placing greyhounds.

First begun with 65 greyhounds in 1995, attendance at the event doubled each year for the first five years and has grown by 20 to 30 percent each year since. Greyhounds Reach the Beach attracted about 1,200 adopted greyhounds in 1999, 2,000 greyhounds in 2000, and 2,500 greyhounds in 2001.

For more information on The Greyhound Project, Inc., contact Joan Belle Isle, president, at 617-527-8843 (joan@adopt-a-greyhound.org) or Sarah Norton, vice president, at 617-774-0230 (sarah@adopt-a-greyhound.org).