At the track they are kept in crates to conserve energy between races, with each dog only racing more than every 3-7 days. Contrary to popular belief, while there are some instances of abuse in the track environment, this is the exception and not the rule. The majority of the trainers know each dog by name and affectionately describe each of their personalities. During their racing careers, Greyhounds are housed in kennels holding up to 60 racing dogs. Their track life is very routine – feeding in the morning and turnouts in the exercise yards 3-4 times daily. Consequently, when they go into home life as a pet, they respond well to structured schedules.
Once the dog starts dropping in grade or is injured, they become expendable to their owners and are “retired” (releasing them to adoption groups), returned to farms for breeding stock, or are disposed of by other means. Thanks to the intervention of adoption groups, many more of these noble creatures are finding their way to a well deserved life of leisure as pets.
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