The Adoption Process
Every greyhound needs a home, but not every home needs a greyhound. Rather than placing our greyhounds on a first come, first served basis, GEM strives to match the right dog with the right forever family.
If you find a greyhound on our site that you are interested in adopting fill out an application.
We prefer that our placements be within 150 miles of Detroit / Flint, but we occasionally make exceptions when transportation is feasible.
Some of our requirements:
- ALL Adults in the home want to adopt a Retired Racing Greyhound.
- Required Reading – Available at GEM Online Store “Adopting the Racing Greyhound” by Cynthia Branigan (ISBN 0-87605-193-X) OR “Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies” by Lee Livingood (ISBN 0-7645-5276-7)
Additional Required Reading if you have young children – “Living with Kids and Dogs … Without Losing Your Mind” by Colleen Pelar, CPDT (ISBN 1-9335-6266-8) - Willingness to keep ID tags on your Greyhound at ALL times.
- Understanding that Greyhounds are not outside dogs and the intent is to keep the dog inside as a family pet.
- Willingness to maintain routine vaccinations, dental and heart worm medication.
- Willingness to provide contact information and allow GEM to follow up in regard to the Greyhounds’ whereabouts and well being.
We are always available to answer questions and help with any problems that may arise with an adopted Greyhound. We don’t always know all the answers, but we have a wonderful network of experienced Greyhound owners, Veterinary Personnel and Trainers who can provide the answer to just about question that comes up.
Please understand that when you adopt a Greyhound (or any pet), you are making a serious commitment to give that dog your best for the rest of it’s life, which could be another 10-12 years or more if you adopt a young dog.
A GEM Volunteer will remain in contact with you to make sure that your new greyhound and your family are adjusting well.
We do not place a greyhound in a home and forget about them, GEM is not just an adoption group but also a support group.
We maintain contact with our adoptive families to help ensure the adjustment goes well for all involved.
Greyhounds are sensitive and loving animals who quickly develop deep bonds with their people. Being returned is very painful for them, and usually painful for the people who adopted them. But occasionally it is unavoidable. We understand this, and if a problem simply cannot be resolved, we will gladly take the dog back and find a more suitable home for it. And, depending on the circumstances, we may try to find a dog for you that better suits your family and lifestyle. Usually dogs that didn’t work out in their first homes live long and happy lives in their second homes.
For us adoption and fostering is strictly volunteer work, a labor of love. We work very hard to match the right greyhound with the right adoptive family and support that family (and dog) during the adjustment period and beyond. Our foster homes invest much of their time in evaluating, caring for and readying greyhounds for placement.
Those efforts are what allows us to make the very best placements possible. Without the valuable insight we gain by fostering these dogs in our homes we would not be able to provide our adoptive families with the personality profiles and personal support that we give them, or the dogs with the necessary housebreaking, house manners and other training that is begun while living in the foster home environment.
GEM is registered with the State of Michigan as a non-profit organization and has Federal 501(c)3 status. We receive no compensation for our work other than the joy of seeing good people united with good dogs.
The modest adoption fee we charge is to cover some of our expenses in preparing a dog for adoption. This includes; spay or neuter surgery, a heartworm test (& treatment if needed), 3 months of heartworm preventative, all shots (including Parvo, Rabies, Bordetella, DHLPP), microchip identification, worming if needed, a general physical, teeth cleaning and any necessary dental work. If the dog was found to need worming, the adopter is notified so follow up treatment can be obtained if necessary (usually 2 weeks after first worming). Our adoption fee is $650. We accept cash, check, or PayPal (registration@gemgreyhounds.org)
Your new family member will also come with a new leash and matching martingale (greyhound) collar and muzzle. A GEM ID is provided. The ID tag must be kept on the dog permanently and at ALL times you will need a second ID tag made with your own information at the time of the adoption.
If you would like to contact other people who have adopted hounds from us, please email and we will gladly provide you with names and email addresses.
Ready to see some hounds? Click here! They’re waiting to meet you!
Or if you’ve already found one you would like to consider and would like a printable application, click here. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the application. You can find the free download at www.adobe.com You can fill it out and mail or fax it to us. If you would like to submit your application by e-mail, click here