Just Ask Pasha • Senior greyhounds

I get a lot of questions about adopting a greyhound. My hope, as a guest rover reporter while our editor is on vacation, is to answer some of those questions for you. These are my own thoughts, but they do apply to most greyhound adoptions.

Do you have any younger dogs? I'm afraid an older dog won't be around for very long and my heart will get broken.

The youngest greyhounds are usually around 18-24 months old when they become available for adoption.Typically a greyhound will live to between 12 and 14 years old, which is great for a large dog. Unfortunately, as with any breed, there are no life expectancy guarantees.

Seniors still have all of the great characteristics of a greyhound with a few benefits. Sue Burkard probably explains it the best.

"Senior greyhounds don’t always give us more. You take the chance of having a couple months, if your lucky, a couple years. However when you adopt a senior greyhound something changes inside your brain. A switch is turned on and suddenly you notice all those things you take for granted in a young dog. You appreciate them more. Those moments of intense play strike a chord deep inside your soul. It’s as if a powerful joy hormone is released throughout your whole body. When they run, the real beauty shines through every time. You see every sprint, every jog, every wobble, and every stumble; and yes, you hold your breath the whole time, and when they are done, you sigh a happy sigh."

"They teach us exactly how precious life is every day."

Roxy-12 in Sept. 2008, Buddy-11 in Nov. 2008, Pasha-12 in April 2008,
Murphy-10 in June 2008, Maddie-13 in Jan. 2009

I am a proud card-carrying member of the Double Digit gang.