I work in adoption in the Southern Calfornia area. I see the dogs who come in from Mexico. A lot of them raced in the United States at one time (some at the high end tracks) and then graded down to the lower end tracks when they could no longer perform as well. Caliente is the last stop or the end of the line as they say. For that reason, some California adoption groups concentrate their efforts on this track alone.

The dogs generally do have ticks and fleas. Anywhere from none to a lot. It varies. Their ears and teeth are usually very dirty and their toenails need to be cut. They have minor muzzle scrapes that usually go away within a few weeks. Their coats always look better after they have been in a home and settled in. For the most part, none of these things are major problems that cannot be corrected pretty easily. Their teeth can still be in good shape once they are cleaned because they haven't really had time to decay at such a young age.

Probably the worst case I have ever seen was a white greyhound who I was about to dry off after his bath. We keep their muzzles on up to that point because they are still together in a group so this was the first time his came off and because of his sensitive skin, his face was really, really raw and sore looking. I wasn't prepared for it and was really shocked. It probably hurt me more than it did him, so but instead of acting like a dolt, I pulled myself together and just gave him a big welcome home hug.

We also get our share of injuries and broken bones that need to be repaired.

If you decide to adopt a dog, try to use an adoption group who will offer you support throughout the dog's life and is willing to take the dog back if things don't work out for whatever reasons. Racing issues should be discussed outside of the adoption process if you choose to do so. There are so many other things that you can learn from your group and as we say, it's all about the dogs.

Jay