Post by CampWhippet on Feb 5, 2006 19:11:45 GMT -5
www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=120702
Dogs have their day
By Cathy Flynn/ Daily News Staff
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - Updated: 09:15 AM EST
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HOPKINTON -- Greyhound Friends, which for two decades has helped find loving homes for retired racing hounds, is about to enter a new era when it will need all the friends it can get. Luckily, help is arriving just in time.
The organization, which operates a Saddle Hill Road kennel for more than two dozen dogs, has received a $15,000 grant from the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation.
That’s good news for dogs like Morning, a brown-and-gray hound who once ran the tracks at Raynham until he became too old. Gentle and friendly, he was making short work of a staff member’s leftover turkey dinner yesterday and readily came up to a visitor for a pat before settling down for a nap.
Greyhound Friends Director Louise Coleman said as more dog racing operations close -- as the Plainfield, Conn., track did last spring -- more dogs like Morning will need a home.
"Greyhound racing is changing, and tracks that we never thought would close have closed," she said.
"When Wonderland in Revere closed for the season, we thought it probably wouldn’t reopen again," she said. "The operators are waiting to see if the state will let them have slot machines." This year, she added, a statewide referendum will ask residents whether they want to stop dog racing after 2008.
That means potentially more racing dogs will need homes.
"We expect to see much more demand for us in the future," said Coleman.
The grant, which was announced Jan. 20, will help Greyhound Friends improve its outreach efforts to get more people interested in adopting greyhounds. That means more get-togethers with potential adoptive individuals, couples and families; an improved Web site; and stronger fund-raising efforts.
"It will provide the seed money so that we can raise money and take better care of the dogs, and be all we can be for them," she said.
The grant to the Greyhound Friends is one of 22 awarded this year by the bank. Other awards went to the Boys and Girls Club of MetroWest to support the Cyber Arts program at the Hollis Street clubhouse in Framingham; a financial education program at Natick’s Kennedy School; a wilderness program at the MetroWest YMCA; improved educational programs for the Natick Visiting Nurse Association; and stronger outreach and prevention programs for the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network.
David Fleischmann-Rose, a spokesman for the charitable foundation, said the grants are possible because Middlesex Savings Bank has no stockholders, "so any profits are designated for reinvestment in the community." The foundation now has a $4.5 million endowment for these community programs, he added.
Since 1983, when Greyhound Friends was founded, it has found homes for thousands of dogs. A 2003 expansion helped it accommodate more of them. At the same time, they have worked to expand their circle of supporters, Coleman said.
Today, pet food companies donate damaged bags of dried food to the kennel, and area contractors help with electrical and construction work. Many volunteers help out with feeding and grooming the dogs. Because the new facility includes an examination room, Greyhound Friends’ on-call veterinarian can provide shots, spaying and neutering services at a much lower cost than sending the dogs to an animal hospital.
Coleman said she hopes that the kennel can keep dogs for a shorter period and place them more quickly with loving homes. But she won’t place a dog until she finds it the right home. One hard-to-place deaf dog recently found the ideal owner: an elderly woman who is also deaf.
"Every dog that we place is a representative for the breed," Coleman said. "It’s important that we place them in the right circumstances."
Dogs have their day
By Cathy Flynn/ Daily News Staff
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - Updated: 09:15 AM EST
E-mail article View text version View most popular
HOPKINTON -- Greyhound Friends, which for two decades has helped find loving homes for retired racing hounds, is about to enter a new era when it will need all the friends it can get. Luckily, help is arriving just in time.
The organization, which operates a Saddle Hill Road kennel for more than two dozen dogs, has received a $15,000 grant from the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation.
That’s good news for dogs like Morning, a brown-and-gray hound who once ran the tracks at Raynham until he became too old. Gentle and friendly, he was making short work of a staff member’s leftover turkey dinner yesterday and readily came up to a visitor for a pat before settling down for a nap.
Greyhound Friends Director Louise Coleman said as more dog racing operations close -- as the Plainfield, Conn., track did last spring -- more dogs like Morning will need a home.
"Greyhound racing is changing, and tracks that we never thought would close have closed," she said.
"When Wonderland in Revere closed for the season, we thought it probably wouldn’t reopen again," she said. "The operators are waiting to see if the state will let them have slot machines." This year, she added, a statewide referendum will ask residents whether they want to stop dog racing after 2008.
That means potentially more racing dogs will need homes.
"We expect to see much more demand for us in the future," said Coleman.
The grant, which was announced Jan. 20, will help Greyhound Friends improve its outreach efforts to get more people interested in adopting greyhounds. That means more get-togethers with potential adoptive individuals, couples and families; an improved Web site; and stronger fund-raising efforts.
"It will provide the seed money so that we can raise money and take better care of the dogs, and be all we can be for them," she said.
The grant to the Greyhound Friends is one of 22 awarded this year by the bank. Other awards went to the Boys and Girls Club of MetroWest to support the Cyber Arts program at the Hollis Street clubhouse in Framingham; a financial education program at Natick’s Kennedy School; a wilderness program at the MetroWest YMCA; improved educational programs for the Natick Visiting Nurse Association; and stronger outreach and prevention programs for the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network.
David Fleischmann-Rose, a spokesman for the charitable foundation, said the grants are possible because Middlesex Savings Bank has no stockholders, "so any profits are designated for reinvestment in the community." The foundation now has a $4.5 million endowment for these community programs, he added.
Since 1983, when Greyhound Friends was founded, it has found homes for thousands of dogs. A 2003 expansion helped it accommodate more of them. At the same time, they have worked to expand their circle of supporters, Coleman said.
Today, pet food companies donate damaged bags of dried food to the kennel, and area contractors help with electrical and construction work. Many volunteers help out with feeding and grooming the dogs. Because the new facility includes an examination room, Greyhound Friends’ on-call veterinarian can provide shots, spaying and neutering services at a much lower cost than sending the dogs to an animal hospital.
Coleman said she hopes that the kennel can keep dogs for a shorter period and place them more quickly with loving homes. But she won’t place a dog until she finds it the right home. One hard-to-place deaf dog recently found the ideal owner: an elderly woman who is also deaf.
"Every dog that we place is a representative for the breed," Coleman said. "It’s important that we place them in the right circumstances."
