ABOUT US and OUR GREYHOUNDS
CONTACT US:
Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions, Inc,
12707 North Oakleaf Avenue
Tampa, FL 33612
(813) 935-3247
BAGA@tampabay.rr.com
OUR MISSION
Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions is a non-profit, charitable organization, incorporated in the State of Florida in July 2004. Our mission is to find responsible and loving homes for greyhounds as pets after their racing days are over, and to support the programs at the prisons where the greyhounds are trained. We are staffed entirely by volunteers who love the greyhounds and are dedicated to helping them find great homes as pets. Our purpose is to promote greyhounds and to find great homes for the greyhounds in our care.
OUR CREDENTIALS
Since 2004, Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501©(3) charitable organization, tax ID #74-3126463, and we are registered with the Florida Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation.
We are approved for charitable donations and registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Registration No. CH39177. In addition, we are approved by the National Greyhound Association as an endorsed greyhound adoption group. Adoption groups must meet certain standards to be afforded this recognition.
WHERE OUR GREYHOUNDS COME FROM
The great majority of our greyhounds are now imported from Ireland. Since the ban on greyhound racing in Florida in 2020, there is no longer a supply of greyhounds here. Almost all other states do not have racing greyhounds either. There are two tracks in West Virginia, but the adoption groups in those areas can take care of the greyhounds that retire there each year.
The greyhounds that arrive from Ireland come to us in these crates. They are large enough for the greyhounds to stand and turn around. The other side, not shown, is wire so the greyhounds can see out.
ABOUT IRISH GREYHOUNDS
We are importing enough greyhounds for the training programs we participate in at Florida State prisons. We do the prison training in conjunction with another non-profit organization, Greyhound Advancement Center (GAC). These programs are wonderful for the dogs and also the inmate trainers.
The organization that registers greyhounds for racing in Ireland is Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI). Most greyhounds are registered to race, but a few are not because they either were injured as a young pup, were not interested in chasing a lure, or were not fast enough to successfully compete. We will get some of these dogs as well as the greyhounds that retire from the track. Our greyhounds come from the main organization for greyhound rehoming in Ireland, the Irish Greyhound Trust (IGT).
The greyhounds are transported on the airlines, and we pick them up at the closest international airport. Once the greyhounds arrive from Ireland, we foster them in our homes for a short period of time (a week or two) to ascertain their temperament and make sure they are suitable for the prisons, where it can be noisy. We have found that many greyhounds are home raised (already used to living in a home).
The greyhounds have arrived! We just picked them up at the Tampa International Airport.
The greyhounds are placed in the prison for a period of ten weeks, during which time they are taught all of their basic commands by the inmate trainers (sit, lie down, stay, come on recall, wait, leave it, wait at the door, back up, walk quietly by your side while on leash, etc.). At the end of each training session is their graduation. If you adopt a greyhound, you will be able to attend your greyhound’s graduation, where the inmate trainers will demonstrate all the commands they have learned.
Since we have the greyhounds in our homes for such a short period of time, we are not able to attend meet and greets with them. However, we make them available for you to see, and you can pick out your new best friend before they go to the prisons.
One of the nicest things about adopting a prison trained greyhound is being able to attend the graduation. Over the years, we have had hundreds of greyhounds graduate from the prison training programs and find new homes as well-adjusted pets, therapy and service dogs. The inmate trainers especially love the greyhounds for their quiet, easy going, gentle personalities and mild temperaments. We do not have greyhounds during the summer months because it is too hot in Florida to ship them from Ireland.
Irish greyhounds are very much like our American greyhounds. They have letters in their ears instead of numbers like we have here. In Ireland, only 6 dogs race at a time, unlike in the US where 8 are raced simultaneously. This makes it easier on the dogs and prevents injuries. The greyhounds usually have a longer hair coat when they arrive, especially in the winter months, because it is colder In Ireland. They soon shed their heavy hair coat in the Florida weather.
RETURNED PETS
When necessary, we also take in greyhounds that we have previously adopted that are returned from pet homes because their adopters have died or can no longer care for them. Most of these greyhounds are senior dogs (over 7 years of age) and many are prison trained. All are wonderful, sweet, gentle dogs. The seniors are especially easy to adapt to your home because they are already home acclimated and know the house routine.
