Greyhounds Around For Years?

I recently received this from the Greyhound L, which led me to ask a very vital question. Will the greyhounds be around for years because of the AKC line?

The Original Message:

I think as slow as the closing are happening there will be greyhounds around
for years and even after that there would be dogs on the farms needing
homes.?

And I believe there would be some people out there to continue to breed NGA
greyhounds to sell.?

I also wonder would you people not consider an AKC greyhound?? The number of AKC greyhound litters is very low.? So if people were interested in an AKC
dog those numbers would go up.?

The Reply from Elaine Summerhill:

First off, there are some misconceptions in your post which need to be
clarified.

AKC Greyhounds

AKC greyhound breeders do not breed for the general pet market. The only
time they have pets available is if they have some pups in a litter, which
are not suitable for the showring. An example of such a puppy is one which
retains its testicles. In addition, AKC greyhound breeders, in general, do
not breed more than one litter every couple of years or so. There are
exceptions to this generality, but they are few & far in between. My last
litter was bred 2 years ago and the one before that was 7 years ago. Laurel
Drew, a list member, bred her last litter back in 1997. AKC breeders, for
the most part, seem to only breed when they need a pup themselves to
continue their lines.

AKC Numbers & Breeding NGA Dogs for Sale

I doubt if the AKC numbers go up, UNLESS people start to "puppy mill" the
breed. If there is no racing, there will be no NGA registry. No NGA
registry, no NGA greyhounds. It really isn't a difficult concept. Any racing
bred greyhounds will be bred by those only interested in making money off
the breed, not those good people who are being driven out of the racing
business. Chances are they will be what people commonly refer to as "puppy
mills". One of your comments, "continue to breed NGA greyhounds to sell..."
pretty much describes a puppy mill - a place solely where animals are bred
for profit from puppy sales. No consideration as to health, care,
performance standard, etc. Would you really want your dogs to come from a
place like that?

Greyhounds Around for Years

In this current economic situation that many people are finding themselves,
why would you expect them to keep dogs that are not paying their bills?
People are losing their homes and their jobs, why would they keep an animal
that has no function? It is just another mouth to feed. I may be getting
one of my pups returned due to the family breaking up and losing their home.
Recent statistics that are published on the web indicated that shelter
intakes are rising and more dogs are being euthanized due to no families and
therefore, no homes. Working dogs which have no jobs are pretty much
expendable. They are a luxury that many people, including those who adopt
them, may not be able to afford when things go wrong.

The Practical Greyhound Response:

Ms. Summerhill is correct. The working greyhound without a job is expendable. If the tracks close, there will be no NGA Registry, therefore NO NGA Greyhounds. In fact everything Ms. Summerhill said is true. AKC breeders do not breed for pet purposes. AKC breeders breed for the show ring if they need another pup to show. I am not saying this is a bad thing. Responsible breeding is a must for the betterment of the lines and most importantly, the dogs.

However, the reality of this situation is there will be no greyhounds available to be adopted as pets.