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Permission to post granted by The Patriot Ledger
August 5, 1999
Good neighbors
They were strangers until greyhound pets arrived
By REGINA MONTAGUE
The Patriot Ledger
LISA BUL photos/The Patriot Ledger
Neighbors on Bayfield Road in Quincy show their
greyhounds. In the front row, from left, are Chris Lavigne, Scott Pepperman, Michael
Schiavone, and Sarah Norton. Behind them are Beverly Richards, Sandra Morse, Michael
Delosh, and Jeff Morse. [Greyhounds left to right: King, Cole, Bear, Cocoa,
Brody, and Timber.]
| Until the greyhounds
came, Sandra and Jeffrey Morse never knew Sarah Norton and Beverly Richards, two of their
neighbors. Within
the last year, the Bayfield Road neighbors each adopted a pair of retired racing
greyhounds. They have formed a group called the Bayfield Road Rescued Racers.
"The dogs are best friends, and now
we're best friends," Norton said during the dogs' obedience-training graduation last
week.
The six greyhounds — Brody, Timber,
Cole, Bear, Cocoa and King — have become North Quincy celebrities, their owners said.
"They get a lot of attention,"
Sandra Morse said as a woman in a green Volvo slowed down to look at the dogs.
Affectionate attention comes from
neighborhood children like 10-year-old Chris Lavigne and 7-year-old Scott Pepperman.
The boys hugged and petted the pooches during the evening graduation ceremony,
which was led by Happy Dog Trainer Katie Berrio. |
Chris' father,
Paul, said he'd never been close to a greyhound until he moved into his apartment on
Bayfield Road last month.
"They're really nice dogs," he said. "That's my buddy right there,
King. (When) he comes to my apartment, I give him a biscuit."
Lavigne said he didn't realize that so
many people adopted greyhounds.
Norton, who owns Timber and Bear, said
whenever she walks the dogs on the beach, she gives cards with Timber's Web address to
interested passersby. The dog's Web site includes adoption information. Norton
estimates that she's given out several hundred cards.
She said greyhound racing is a
controversial issue. After the dogs retire, if they're not adopted or sent to
kennels, they're usually euthanized, she said.
There are about a dozen greyhound
adoption agencies in Massachusetts. The Bayfield Road neighbors got their dogs from
Greyhound Friends and Greyhound Adoption Service.
Greyhound Pets of America has an office
in Quincy. |
"You
really do fall in love with them," Norton said of greyhounds. "I'm
addicted. You can't have just one."
Sandra Morse, the first in the neighborhood to adopt a greyhound, said she decided to get
Brody because her husband was allergic to most dogs.
"It was either a poodle or a
greyhound. My husband didn't want a poodle, so we ended up with Brody."
The Bayfield Road greyhound owners agree
that their dogs, which live indoors and sleep on the couch, are loyal.
Norton said they stick to her "like
Velcro."
Berrio, who handed doggie treats to the
graduating greyhounds and bright yellow diplomas to the dogs' owners, said that contrary
to what some people think, greyhounds can be trained.
"They're really very smart,"
she said.
Berrio said the racing dogs are taught
not to sit on the race track, but "once you get them over the fear of sitting, they
enjoy it. For me to work with six greyhounds and have them all sitting by their
fifth obedience lesson is an accomplishment." |
Brody and Cocoa are among the greyhound pack
on Bayfield Road.
(click on Cocoa to see what a fashion plate
she is in color — even though she's black and white!)
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