LOCAL

Racing into our hearts

Group helps greyhounds find new homes in Wilmington

Bill Walsh StarNews Correspondent
Greyhounds enjoy a "grey play" outing on the beach at Fort Fisher. Wilmington Area Greyhound Satellite, an offshoot of Greyhound Friends of North Carolina, brings animals that formerly raced on tracks in Florida and West Virginia to the Wilmington area to become pets. Roy Mayo, the driving force behind the local effort, is kneeling at right and his wife, Deb, is the woman in the hat, third from left. [BILL WALSH/FOR THE STARNEWS]

WILMINGTON -- Roy Mayo is appreciative of the families who have adopted greyhounds, an appreciation he displays during monthly “grey plays,” where local adoptees are muzzled and turned loose in an enclosed ball field; at frequent greyhound meet-and-greets at local pet retailers and outdoor restaurants; and at the occasional impromptu beach walks.

But it truly is the foster families who make his life easier, he said, and who prepare the way for these wonderful animals to find permanent post-racing retirement homes.

“We had 20 dogs adopted here last year,” Mayo said recently, fresh off coordinating an early March grey play at New Hanover County’s Northern Regional Park. Even on an overcast and showery afternoon, 55 people showed up with 35 greyhounds -- numbers that demonstrate phenomenal growth in the area's embrace of the “45 mph couch potatoes” that are greyhounds.

Roy and Debbie Mayo are the driving force behind Wilmington Area Greyhound Satellite, an offshoot of Greyhound Friends of North Carolina, on whose board he serves. He travels to the main kennel near Greensboro about once a month, usually bringing back two dogs that have been dropped off there while en route between tracks in Florida and West Virginia.

“The growth has been partly because we are able to foster dogs here now, so we are getting more adoptions locally,” Deb Mayo said.

Foster homes are critical because when they leave the racetrack, greyhounds leave with very little in the way of pet skills. Foster families make sure they understand the dos and don’ts of potty etiquette, that they learn to navigate stairs and respect sliding-glass doors, learn to cross slick floors and adapt to household routines.

In foster homes, they are exposed to children. And dogs able to adapt to other pets such as cats and small dogs are identified, as opposed to those for whom the chase response is too ingrained.

Greyhounds, a breed that which traces its beginnings to ancient Egypt, do have some idiosyncrasies. They do not require tons of exercise; two 20-minute walks a day are sufficient. They love companionship, but are not cuddly or snuggly. Indeed, they often act more like cats than dogs -- independent bordering on aloof.

Out in public, they are a conversation magnet.

“When you take on a greyhound, you are truly taking on another family membe," Mayo said.

For more about this fascinating breed, visit www.facebook.com/groups/152324315555955 or call the Mayos at 910-200-6737.

Story idea? Contact the StarNews Community News desk at Community@StarNewsOnline.com or 910-343-2364. 

For potential new owners, Mayo recommends coming to the next "grey play," 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at Northern Regional Park, 4700 Old Avenue, Castle Hayne, and perhaps reading “Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies.”

Interested in greyhounds?