They're couch potatoes - laid back and gentle.
"They're sprinters, and after they run they want to rest on the sofa," said Diane Durnell of Fort Wayne, Ind.
But many greyhounds, easily recognized by their lean frames, long, slender legs and slightly arched necks, are bred for racing not sprinting.
Advocates around the world, concerned about the suffering and slaughtering of greyhounds after their racing days end, met Saturday and yesterday for the fifth annual International Greyhound Welfare Conference.
The American-European Greyhound Alliance and the local Greyhound Friends Inc. hosted the event in Hopkinton, where representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Canada spoke to a crowd of about 50.
Speakers discussed the decline of greyhound racing in the U.S. and U.K. - as it relates to the welfare of the dogs after their racing days are over - and the perils that greyhounds continue to face around the world, including the recently defeated plans for Irish racing dogs to be exported to China and concerns about the expansion of racing in Asia and South America.
The greyhound organizations' collective goal is to place greyhounds in caring homes.
After a 2008 Massachusetts referendum passed to end greyhound racing, many dogs were sent to West Virginia and Florida, said Louise Coleman, founder of Greyhound Friends.
With movement in Florida's legislature to close some of the 13 dog tracks and invest in more cost-effective poker rooms, Coleman said she worries what will happen if no provisions are made for the greyhounds.
"I would like to have the legislation include a language provision for the care of the dogs," she said.
Elsewhere in the U.S., some dogs are bred as fast-running "lurchers" - a hound/greyhound mix specifically intended for racing in the Midwest. The dogs chase a raccoon, which is tied to a boat, across a body of water, said Michele Scott of Indiana.
"But if the lurchers don't perform, they are tied to trees, abandoned or dumped in shelters," said Scott, who wants the dogs to go to loving homes.
In Spain, where there are 150,000 registered hunters, residents place their bets on greyhounds, known as galgos, in a sport called "hare coursing."
After three years of racing, the dogs are abandoned, hung on trees or drowned in wells, said Irene Blanquez, a resident of Barcelona, Spain, and a member of Save our Spanish Galgos.
Sosgalgos.com rescues the dogs, pays for medical expenses and tries to find foster homes for them.
Fearing those who oppose rescues, the efforts are done secretly in Spain, where there are about 500,000 registered racing dogs. Despite death threats, rescuers save about 350 greyhounds every year.
In Spain, galgos are not seen as pets.
"They are seen as working dogs," Blanquez said.
In Ireland, Greyhound Action Ireland also wants the racing to stop. Ireland also breeds lurchers.
"The dogs are bred to die," said Bernie Wright, who represents Greyhound Action Ireland.
When the dogs underperform, they are often found shot in the head, their ear tattoos burned off with acid to remove their identifying markings.
"Thousands die," Wright said.
Before the recession began, 75 percent of the dogs were sent to England. But since the recession began and demand decreased, a plan was proposed to ship greyhounds off to race in China.
But with racing no longer subsidized by a tax, the future of greyhounds in Ireland looks brighter.
"I'm optimistic. The tax going away is a good thing," Wright said.
In the long term, Coleman said she worries what will happen to the greyhound breed.
"They're mellow, sweet, good-natured, comical and one of the oldest breeds of dogs."
(Kathy Uek can be reached at 508-626-4419 or kuek@wickedlocal.com.)
