February 09, 2001|By Laura Lippman | Laura Lippman,SUN STAFF
When they became foster parents two years ago, Bill and Nancy Fuller of Dundalk quickly learned not to expect too many similarities among the orphans they took in. Yes, they all had problems. It's just that they all had different problems.
Sandy, their current charge, cried easily at first. Sammy had strange eating habits. K. D. would wake them at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. every night, attuned to some former family's clock. Mild-mannered Rudy endured much teasing until he snapped one day. Madison was pretty much perfect, so considerate that he remembered to send a Christmas card after he found a permanent home.
Then again, it's hard to send Christmas cards when you're a greyhound.
The Fullers, who adopted a greyhound several years ago, provide temporary shelter for dogs that have retired from the racetracks or have been given up by families who can no longer keep them.
Dog rescue groups exist for virtually every breed. The Baltimore County Animal Control Board keeps a list of more than 100 such organizations in the mid-Atlantic region, from groups for Affenpinschers to Yorkshire terriers. Almost all use foster homes to care for dogs in transition.
The need for greyhound foster homes is particularly acute because the dogs are constantly being retired from the tracks where they race in New England, Florida and the Southwest.
Nonprofit groups, such as Baltimore County-based Greyhound Pets of America/Maryland Inc., ask adoptive families to pledge to return dogs if they can no longer care for them for any reason. Boarding such dogs can be expensive, and the dogs can be confined to crates for up to 20 hours a day.
That's where people like the Fullers come in. In autumn 1995, the Fullers adopted Scarlett, a greyhound who arrived Thanksgiving weekend from a New Hampshire racetrack. Scarlett arrived with a distinction: Hers was one of the last adoptions arranged by Betty S. Rosen, the Baltimore County woman who founded the local chapter of Greyhound Pets of America in 1985. Rosen died in 1996.
The Fullers had grown up with dogs, from mutts to Chihuahuas. They thought that greyhounds - which can weigh 70 pounds and can reach speeds of 45 mph - would be much more demanding pets. But they quickly learned that these ex-racers, one of the oldest breeds on the planet, excel at one thing above all else: sleeping. Greyhounds need little exercise - only one or two walks a day.
Scarlett was such an easy pet that Bill said to Nancy two years ago, "I want to ask you something. If we started offering foster care for greyhounds, could you avoid falling in love and wanting to keep every dog we took in? Because if we fall in love, we won't be able to help any other dogs."
Nancy thought she could manage that. But it hasn't been easy. Over the past two years, five dogs have come to stay with the Fullers, and parting has been sweet sorrow. Sandy has been with them for almost five months, given up by a family that had to move out of state. The Fullers want her to find a home, but they also say she's the sweetest dog they've had. She also can sit, a trick few greyhounds master.
A family doesn't need a large house or yard to own a greyhound. The Fullers' cozy Dundalk bungalow, for example, has a small backyard dominated by a swimming pool that Scarlett and Sandy seem to think is a racing track. Even a fenced yard is not mandatory. But all prospective adopters - and foster providers - must agree never to let the dog off its leash.
"And some people can't live with that," said Ethel Whitehurst, who took over as executive director of the local chapter of Greyhound Pets of America after Rosen's death. "They say, `Oh, we had a golden retriever and we loved to walk him off-leash.'"
Greyhounds' capacity for speed - and their instinct to chase rabbits, squirrels, cats and even small dogs - means they must be restrained at all times, Whitehurst said.
Under Whitehurst, the process for adopting a greyhound has grown more onerous. Prospective owners must complete a 26-question form, and in some cases, the organization requires a home visit. Whitehurst said her group has decided to stop placing the dogs in households with children younger than age 6. Although the dogs are gentle by nature, they can bite when irritated.
That's what happened when the Fullers took in Rudy, the only foster greyhound Scarlett has disliked. Scarlett teased and taunted Rudy until he turned on her, nipping her side. The scar remains visible.
Once Sandy leaves, the Fullers - and Scarlett - will take a short break. But they plan to call Whitehurst within a month or two to tell her that they're ready for another dog in transition.
"If we didn't have people like Bill and Nancy, I don't know what we'd do," Whitehurst said. "We do lose a lot of foster families because they fall in love with the dog they're fostering and can't give it up." The Fullers are among six or seven families that Whitehurst can count on.
The Fullers say they don't know what they would do without greyhounds. During the four or five hours daily that the dogs are awake, they are good companions. And their sleek contours literally stop traffic whenever they go for a walk.
The Fullers have only one complaint about the breed: their breath.
"It's rank," Bill said, when asked to describe it.
"It's bad," Nancy said. "We've tried doggie breath mints, but they just don't work."
Information about greyhound adoption or foster care: Greyhound Pets of America at 410-785-3120 or 800-600-8607.
