Good Morning friends of Lakeview, or if this is your first time visiting our site: Welcome!
My name is Wynonna and I am a retired racing greyhound from Florida. I raced like the wind in the height of my career and even won my last race in September 2012 before being retired at the age 3 1/2 and moving to Canada.
With the help of After the Track Greyhound Adoption I found my retirement home with Julie, a team member here at Lakeview Animal Hospital. When I came to Canada, I was “unemployed” and had no possessions to call my own. That quickly changed however, as I learned about living in a home and adapted to everything that came along with this adjustment. One thing that helped me along in this new journey was a little stuffed chicken my foster mom gave me as I moved from her home into my new Momma’s home. Three years later, I still cherish this squeeky chicken, even though I have played with and destroyed numerous other toys since then…
Soon after I settled into my furever home I became an Ambassadog for After the Track and have gone to countless adoption awareness days and meet ‘n’ greets with fellow retired athlete greyhounds. These days give us greyhounds an opportunity to really show people what being a guardian to a retired racing greyhound is all about and for people to get up close and personal with an ancient, elegant and often misunderstood breed. For example: The term ‘retired’ does not mean ‘old’ to us…most greyhounds are retired from racing between the ages of 3-5yrs. Sometimes even younger ones are retired! So with an average lifespan of 12-14yrs…we have PLENTY of free time to spend with our new families. More and more people are falling head over heels in love with us which means more and more people are adopting us as we end our racing careers.
Which brings me (FINALLY!) to the reason I am writing this note to you all today…my squeeky chicken and what it meant to me ~ the comfort it gave to me as I moved from my racetrack days, to Canada and into my temporary foster home. My foster mom gave me this squeeky toy, knowing it would be a source of comfort and stability as my life and everything I knew was changing.
It is my wish to make sure that every greyhound making a journey from a race track to a foster home and then onto their furever home gets a toy to call their very own. One that helps them adapt and adjust to their new home and new life here in Canada. Every year since my adoption, I have organized a toy drive via Lakeview Animal Hospital asking friends, family and clients to donate new or gently loved toys to my greyhound friends as they embark on their journeys to find their furever homes and families in Canada.
There is still one month left to bring us your toy donations, we are on the “tail end” of 2015/2016’s toy drive, but there is still time to make a positive difference to the life of a newly retired racing greyhound!
***If you would like to learn more about greyhounds, or are interested in adopting or volunteering as a temporary foster family, please visit us at www.afterthetrack.ca!
Love,
Wynonna: Ambassadog of After the Track Greyhound Adoption
(formerly known as PD Dark Winonah – retired in 2012 at the age of 3 1/2)