Adoption centre celebrates finding a home for 1000th greyhound
The Maritime Greyhound Adoption Program is celebrating after finding a home for its 1,000th greyhound.
Deb Levasseur, the owner and founder of the adoption program in Moncton, N.B., has been finding homes for greyhounds for almost 14 years.
She started the program after adopting her own greyhound and discovering there were many more out there that needed a home too.
"It's kind of surreal. When you start out and you bring up five or six dogs at a time and the organization has just grown so immensely to get to this point today, it feels good," she said.
"It's a lot of greyhounds into loving homes and really happy families out there."
'We want people to be happy with their dog'
Over the years, Levasseur and the program have been driving to Portland, Maine, to pick up greyhounds to bring to the Maritimes.
Most of the dogs are retired racing dogs from Florida, she said, that are transported to Atlantic Canada to find their forever homes.
Levasseur said the interest in greyhounds in the Maritimes is incredibly high, noting that the program has found homes for nearly 100 dogs so far this year and that the 1000th greyhound arrived in Moncton on Sunday to meet its new family.
She says the dogs are good for families because they come from an environment where they used to be "working dogs."
"They were kind of a number and not a name in a kennel with a lot of other dogs," she said.
"And when you take this type of dog, who is very people-oriented in the first place, and you put them into your home and you make them a family member they just seem to be really grateful for that and really thankful."
Looking for more forever homes
When the dogs arrive at the adoption centre in Moncton, Levasseur spoils them with a "spa day," treating them for fleas and worms as well as giving them a bath and trimming their nails.
"They've never had the upbringing that most dogs would as puppies … we want them to be stress-free for the families and the dogs," she said.
Owners are matched to greyhounds through a thorough adoption process that starts on the organization's website. Levasseur said they are always looking for more homes.
"It's pretty amazing, we're going to keep doing it as long as we're needed and dogs need us, we'll be here to help them."
