Greyhounds at Becker College! New program pairs students with these retired (and sometimes traumatized) racers

By Vanessa H. Costa

Are you still looking for that perfect pet?

After you read this article, I hope your search will end and with the adoption of a retired racing Greyhound.

Thanks to the Becker College Animal Science Program, you can find your next greyhound there, where the retired racers are housed for a full semester and are enrolled in a Socialization and Training Program with Becker’s Veterinary Technology Program and Pre-veterinary majors.

Like many of us who have grown up in Worcester, I have visited both the Worcester and Leicester Campus of Becker College but, I was not aware of the Animal Science Program which has been in existence for almost three decades. Within the last couple years, retired racing greyhounds have been introduced into the program, and with the spring semester 2009, partnerships were established to house 9 greyhounds into a formal training program.

As a proud greyhound owner for 8 years, I remember the first time we took our dog, Tyler, home. The biggest obstacle he faced was adapting to all the new noises, traffic, and simple things that we take for granted like mirrors, vacuum cleaners and umbrellas.
Over time he learned not to be afraid and adapted into our world. Tyler even adjusted to the birth of our first daughter and soon became a loving companion to her.

Adopting a retired racer from the Becker Program can be an ideal situation for anyone looking to adopt but is perhaps a bit apprehensive on the whole training process that a greyhound may need. The kennel at Becker College operates solely for the care and housing of the teaching animals and is active 13 hours a day, seven days a week. Since the dogs stay for 4 months it is their responsibility to keep the animals happy, healthy and enriched during their stay. The students provide each animal with individualized physical and mental stimulation on a daily basis. According to Gretchen Gallagher, Kennel Supervisor, “their days are filled with periods of physical exercise, training
and the students’ favorite activity “snuggle time”.”

The Becker College teaching animal program is a great stepping stone for retired racing greyhounds who have just left the industry. The dogs take part in the Dog Obedience course and each dog works one-on-one with a student trainer for the entire semester. The students learn to train the dogs using “Clicker Training,” a method of positive reinforcement training which focuses on the relationship between human and canine. Their student trainers build the greyhounds’ confidence and learn to train while instilling the dogs with a skill set that will aid them in their new challenge of “life as a pet”.
The dogs also have the opportunity to work with students in a “home setting” in Becker College’s on-campus training apartment. Dogs are exposed to a house environment, giving them further preparation for life with a human family.

The dogs participating in the program are actually owned by local adoption shelters.
There is one greyhound, Moe, who is the first dog to return for a 2nd semester and is still in search for his forever home. Moe is owned by Greyhound Friends, Inc. in Hopkinton, Ma. Moe is quite the character at the Kennel, and now considered a veteran. Please check out his biography and pictures on the next pages. Louise Coleman, Executive Director of Greyhound Friends, Inc. notes “the partnership with Becker is a wonderful experience for the dogs, they get the best of both worlds - A nourishing and loving environment, along with personalized and organized training methods. We have seen the benefits Moe has reaped and have watched him transform to be better prepared to enter his new world.” The other 8 dogs are owned by the Animal Welfare Society in West Kennebunk, ME. Those dogs are retired racers from the racing circuit in Florida.

The Becker program strongly encourages students to develop and cultivate relationships with the dogs. Since the students spend a full semester with the dogs they understand their personalities quite well. As the semester starts to wind down, the kennel staff communicates what they have learned about each dog to the local shelter to provide insight into what type of home they may best adapt to. This insight into the behavior of each animal is then integrated with the shelters’ knowledge with the shared goal of finding the animals a suitable forever family!

The grand finale/graduation of the semester is the Becker College Semi-Annual Pet Fest.
To aid in teaching animal adoption promotion and to highlight the hard work of the student trainers in the Dog Obedience course, the Becker Kennel Staff in conjunction with the students in the Animal Health Club hold this event right at the Leicester Campus every November and April. Members of the public are invited to see the students demonstrate agility and clicker training with their dogs and to learn more about the Becker Program. The Shelters that own the dogs also attend the event and are available to speak with the public and take applications for adoption. The Pet Fest is a wonderful Forum for Becker College to reach out to the community as well as to educate and promote retired racing greyhound adoptions to the public.

My family and I had the pleasure of attending our first Becker Pet Fest this past November. It was a wonderful family event on a Saturday afternoon. My 6 year old daughter especially enjoyed seeing the dogs go through the obstacle course. Some of the greyhounds were excited to show off their skills, while others were a bit tentative. We had the pleasure to speak with the Kennel manager, Kara Rudgis who was very helpful and attentive. We also spoke with Claudia Rosenberg, Greyhound Coordinator and Kennel Supervisor, Gretchen Gallagher.
What a better way to adopt a pet than through this program. Just think of the 4 months of training these dogs have had before they join your home – You can basically pre-screen what type of dog you are looking for and speak to the actual trainer who spent every day with the dog.

The purpose of this article is to spread the word about the Becker program and promote greyhound adoption. As a greyhound owner, I can testify to the joy these dogs brought to my family. Start the New Year off with the gift of giving: Adopt A Greyhound.

Greyhounds make wonderful pets. They are very sweet and easy going. Take advantage of this program and learn from the staff and students. Gretchen Gallagher, supervisor of the Becker Kennel notes that “greyhounds are superb teaching dogs and have the perfect combination of gentleness, patience, cooperation and affinity for human interaction”
My family has had the pleasure of owning our first greyhound, Tyler for 8 years, before he recently passed away. We have experienced a big void without him, and are looking forward to adopting our next one. Our next dog will come from the Becker program. It is a great resource to find the dog that will work for our family – why not let it work for yours!

In today’s economic crisis all adoption groups/shelters across the country are seeing adoptions slow down, but the level of new dogs coming to the kennels has not. As more and more racetracks close down, those dogs also need a home. So, let me suggest that you consider a gift that you will never regret, a gift that will give back more to you then you could ever imagine. Also note, that not all greyhounds need a large fenced in yard to run. Our dog Tyler had injured his leg in his final race, like many greyhounds, and he had no desire to run. A couple walks a day was fine by him. All he needed was to be by our side. So, if you live in an apartment or condo, it is not a problem. In fact, if you reside in Worcester County, you could work out an arrangement to visit Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton to use their fenced in area.

Adopt a greyhound and fall in love with these beautiful, intelligent and fun canines!