Retired Race Dogs Make Great Pets

By: Tatiana Morales

If you are thinking about getting a dog this summer, how about a greyhound? They are bright, personable and very affectionate.

The Early Show resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner, says there are thousands of retired racing greyhounds that face euthanasia and desperately need a loving home.

Greyhounds were born to run. Their ability to reach speeds of up to 45 miles an hour make them a popular source of entertainment at race tracks across the country. But a different kind of race began last month, and this time it was to provide the dogs with a happy retirement.

The May closing of Connecticut's Plainfield Greyhound Park meant that more than 1,000 dogs were at risk and in desperate need of a new home on their last day of racing.

Eileen McCaughern, who rescues greyhounds from racetracks, says, "It's a rescue group's worst nightmare, and hearing it and not having a plan in place was really scary."

As news spread about the track's closing, dog lovers beat a path to the greyhound adoption activist. McCaughern founded the rescue group called REGAP (Retired Greyhounds As Pets).

The world's second fastest animals are no longer routinely destroyed once their racing days are over.

Thanks to adoption groups like REGAP, they are placed in loving homes.