Post by CampWhippet on Feb 13, 2006 20:41:16 GMT -5
Published - Tuesday, February 07, 2006
After the races: Greyhounds find acceptance, adventure as pets
Laurie and Mike Hickie with their daughter Ashley and dogs Romeo the greyhound and Faith. erik Daily
By DAN SIMMONS / La Crosse Tribune
Eyes closed, lying on his side, Romeo runs.
The 4-year-old greyhound’s front legs twitch. His hind legs kick. His tail stiffens, as if to steady his long, sleek frame as he rounds the turns.
The dream lasts about 30 seconds, same as all the races the 85-pounder ran as Big Run Kallie at Geneva Lakes Greyhound track in Delavan, Wis., until it closed Nov. 4.
Romeo is one of 21 Geneva Lakes veterans who’ve been adopted into Coulee Region homes since the track’s closing, at least quadrupling the local greyhound population.
He lies surrounded by trappings of his new life at the Holmen home of Laurie and Mike Hicke and their teenage daughters, Ashley and Lauren: red pillow, beige carpet, wooden stairs, and two new friends, Faith, a Jack Russell terrier, and Elijah, a fuzzy gray cat.
But his past life remains in his mind.
“He races in his sleep,” Laurie Hicke says. “All he knew (before we got him) was the kennel and the track.”
For many local residents, the track’s closing created an opportunity to adopt a dog they knew only for their streamlined body and amazing speed. An aggressive marketing campaign by the Wisconsin chapter of Greyhound Pets of America spread the word greyhounds can be lovable pets as well.
Nearly all of the 850 greyhounds from the Geneva Lakes closing have found homes, although many retired racers from other tracks remain in need, said Sheryl Clouse, adoption coordinator for the Coulee Region.
After a few months, life with their new pet sounds a lot like a second chance at first love for many owners. Or like adopting a child.
“I was dumbstruck, I fell in love, I was like, ‘This dog is fabulous,’” Morgan Nederhiser of Dakota, Minn., said of first meeting his red brindle greyhound. The couple has no children and had never owned a dog.
After weeks of deliberation, he and wife Kaye Crampton decided on the dog’s new name, Moka, combining the first two letters of each of their names. His racing name, Keeper Snoopy, didn’t fit, Nederhiser said.
“I just kept seeing a beagle, and this clearly is no beagle.”
What the greyhounds are, according to many owners, is an endearing blend of a few different species.
Inside, they’re catlike, lying around a lot, approaching the world deliberately, showing affection by rubbing against people’s legs.
Outside, they’re “like rabbits,” Mike Hicke said, throwing a ball that Romeo fetches in a blur. The dogs can reach 40 mph in three strides, but have little endurance.
Laurie Hicke takes Romeo for a walk every night, and was surprised how easily he fatigued. More surprising, though, is his growing comfort with Faith, the family’s squat, feisty Jack Russell terrier who joins Hicke and Romeo on nightly walks.
For five years, Faith was the only dog in the house and, Ashley Hicke said, “our princess.” She didn’t take kindly to other dogs.
“She’d pick fights with German Shepherds,” Laurie said.
Along came Romeo. Faith resented him for a few weeks, they said, but now rarely leaves his side.
“Faith taught Romeo how to be a dog,” Ashley said. “She taught him to go to the door, how to get up and down stairs, how to fetch.”
“I think he’s her boyfriend now,” Laurie Hicke said.
Moka, Nederhiser and Crampton’s greyhound, lives among four cats.
“(The cats) rule the roost,” Nederhiser said. “Our boy-cat will sit on his bed, and Moka will be like, ‘Oh bum, I just lost my bed,’ and go somewhere else. You’ve got this 9-pound cat looking at this 80-pound dog, and the dog says, ‘
, you win.’ ”
It’s that docile, peaceful nature that makes Moka so endearing, Nederhiser said.
“He’s a dog you need to care for, in addition to letting him care for you.”
Interested in greyhounds?
To learn more about greyhounds as pets, Greyhound Pets of America recommends three books: “Adopting the Racing Greyhound” by Cynthia Branigan, “Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies” by Lee Livingood, or “Child-Proofing Your Dog” by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. To learn more about adopting a greyhound, visit the organization’s Web site at www.gpawisconsin.org or call (414) 299-9473.
Dan Simmons can be reached at (608)791-8217 or dsimmons@lacrossetribune.com.
After the races: Greyhounds find acceptance, adventure as pets
Laurie and Mike Hickie with their daughter Ashley and dogs Romeo the greyhound and Faith. erik Daily
By DAN SIMMONS / La Crosse Tribune
Eyes closed, lying on his side, Romeo runs.
The 4-year-old greyhound’s front legs twitch. His hind legs kick. His tail stiffens, as if to steady his long, sleek frame as he rounds the turns.
The dream lasts about 30 seconds, same as all the races the 85-pounder ran as Big Run Kallie at Geneva Lakes Greyhound track in Delavan, Wis., until it closed Nov. 4.
Romeo is one of 21 Geneva Lakes veterans who’ve been adopted into Coulee Region homes since the track’s closing, at least quadrupling the local greyhound population.
He lies surrounded by trappings of his new life at the Holmen home of Laurie and Mike Hicke and their teenage daughters, Ashley and Lauren: red pillow, beige carpet, wooden stairs, and two new friends, Faith, a Jack Russell terrier, and Elijah, a fuzzy gray cat.
But his past life remains in his mind.
“He races in his sleep,” Laurie Hicke says. “All he knew (before we got him) was the kennel and the track.”
For many local residents, the track’s closing created an opportunity to adopt a dog they knew only for their streamlined body and amazing speed. An aggressive marketing campaign by the Wisconsin chapter of Greyhound Pets of America spread the word greyhounds can be lovable pets as well.
Nearly all of the 850 greyhounds from the Geneva Lakes closing have found homes, although many retired racers from other tracks remain in need, said Sheryl Clouse, adoption coordinator for the Coulee Region.
After a few months, life with their new pet sounds a lot like a second chance at first love for many owners. Or like adopting a child.
“I was dumbstruck, I fell in love, I was like, ‘This dog is fabulous,’” Morgan Nederhiser of Dakota, Minn., said of first meeting his red brindle greyhound. The couple has no children and had never owned a dog.
After weeks of deliberation, he and wife Kaye Crampton decided on the dog’s new name, Moka, combining the first two letters of each of their names. His racing name, Keeper Snoopy, didn’t fit, Nederhiser said.
“I just kept seeing a beagle, and this clearly is no beagle.”
What the greyhounds are, according to many owners, is an endearing blend of a few different species.
Inside, they’re catlike, lying around a lot, approaching the world deliberately, showing affection by rubbing against people’s legs.
Outside, they’re “like rabbits,” Mike Hicke said, throwing a ball that Romeo fetches in a blur. The dogs can reach 40 mph in three strides, but have little endurance.
Laurie Hicke takes Romeo for a walk every night, and was surprised how easily he fatigued. More surprising, though, is his growing comfort with Faith, the family’s squat, feisty Jack Russell terrier who joins Hicke and Romeo on nightly walks.
For five years, Faith was the only dog in the house and, Ashley Hicke said, “our princess.” She didn’t take kindly to other dogs.
“She’d pick fights with German Shepherds,” Laurie said.
Along came Romeo. Faith resented him for a few weeks, they said, but now rarely leaves his side.
“Faith taught Romeo how to be a dog,” Ashley said. “She taught him to go to the door, how to get up and down stairs, how to fetch.”
“I think he’s her boyfriend now,” Laurie Hicke said.
Moka, Nederhiser and Crampton’s greyhound, lives among four cats.
“(The cats) rule the roost,” Nederhiser said. “Our boy-cat will sit on his bed, and Moka will be like, ‘Oh bum, I just lost my bed,’ and go somewhere else. You’ve got this 9-pound cat looking at this 80-pound dog, and the dog says, ‘
, you win.’ ”It’s that docile, peaceful nature that makes Moka so endearing, Nederhiser said.
“He’s a dog you need to care for, in addition to letting him care for you.”
Interested in greyhounds?
To learn more about greyhounds as pets, Greyhound Pets of America recommends three books: “Adopting the Racing Greyhound” by Cynthia Branigan, “Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies” by Lee Livingood, or “Child-Proofing Your Dog” by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. To learn more about adopting a greyhound, visit the organization’s Web site at www.gpawisconsin.org or call (414) 299-9473.
Dan Simmons can be reached at (608)791-8217 or dsimmons@lacrossetribune.com.
