Please note: If you have applied to another adoption group and are awaiting approval or are on their waiting list, please do not submit an application to GAO unless you first contact the other group(s) to withdraw your application with them. Most groups are staffed by volunteers with full-time jobs. It takes time to process applications and it’s very disheartening to spend the time going through the process only to find that you’ve already adopted from another group. Thank you for your cooperation.
If you do choose to apply to adopt through GAO, it is our duty to ensure that you get a healthy, loving greyhound and that the greyhound gets a good home with people who will take care of him or her for the rest of the greyhound’s life. We strive to match each of our wonderful hounds with the family for which the dog is best suited because we want everyone to be happy. To that end, we’ve created the application below.
Please keep in mind there is a greater demand for retired racers than we are able to meet. We ask for your patience and understanding while waiting for your interview to be scheduled.
Our adoption fee:
$750 – subject to change as expenses to obtain hounds increase $15 for a martingale collar and leash set $10 for a hanging water bucket
$775 TOTAL*
*In addition to the adoption fee, please take into consideration other expenses you will incur after adoption. Of course, there will be the food your hound requires every day. Other expenses include annual or more frequent veterinary checks, monthly flea, tick and heartworm medications, vaccinations such as rabies, annual dental cleanings and the unexpected veterinary care if your hound is ill or injured. Routine expenditures can easily exceed $1,000 per year and the unexpected expenses could be significantly higher if the injury or illness is serious.
Please do not ask us to reduce the fee for an older greyhound or one of the few that we may acquire from the tracks in West Virginia. Being an older or “local” greyhound does not make them a less valuable or loving pet. While some groups are charging an adoption fee that covers the entire cost to bring a greyhound from Ireland (we know not all adopters can afford to do that), the $750 adoption fee covers less than half our expenses. When the adoption fee is paid for an older or local dog, the additional amount, if any over our expenses, helps us to cover a small portion of our overall expense for all the hounds.
As an example, we recently received a senior from someone in Pennsylvania whose adoption group has closed. His extensive dental cost $800 and a bout with illness was another $800+. We don’t charge a higher adoption fee for a dog like this, just as we don’t charge less for a dog whose initial expense isn’t as much as the Irish dogs. It still requires an incredible amount of work to raise the funds we need. At this point, we’ll need to hold off on helping more dogs from Ireland until we can catch up with the more than $130,000 it has cost to bring the 73 dogs we’ve received from Ireland between May 2022 and June 2024. Please help us to continue our work to find these loving dogs new homes, here in America!
You will receive an email detailing the interview and approval process. Once you have read through the information and responded as appropriate, an in-person interview will be scheduled for your family at our kennel when a suitable greyhound is available. If you haven’t received an email from Greyhound Adoption of Ohio within five (5) business days of applying, please check your spam folder before emailing greyhoundadoptionofohio@gmail.com to inquire if your application has been received. Thank you.