Beading Divas Bracelets

Lost and Found Greyhound – Greyhounds of Valley Verde, Arizona 2011/01/23

Hope greyhound lost and found

For the month of January 2011, Beading Divas to the Rescue is proud to sell bracelets for this wonderful greyhound rescue group in Northern Arizona.

They shared this wonderful story with me and I thought I’d share it with you — spoiler: it has a happy ending. 🙂

On January 7, 2011, one of a dog owner’s worst fears happened – his greyhound ran out the gate and was gone in an instant.  And this wasn’t just any greyhound, it was little female greyhound that had just been saved from the Tucson track and was in foster care.  The phone call came in to Greyhounds of the Verde Valley (GVV) at 12:30 pm and the search was on to find “High Hopes” nicknamed Hope. The black greyhound had only been in Cottonwood a short time, so she had no idea where she was or a home to go back to.

“Accidents happen and it was a team effort to find Hope.  At one time we had 12 or 13 people putting up flyers and walking all the neighbor hoods where we thought she might be,” noted Monica Davis, adoption coordinator for GVV.

If you lose a dog, time is of the essence –and if it’s a greyhound, given how fast they can run, it’s that much more important.  But what an owner has to realize is that he or she can’t do it alone.  Getting the word out is critical to success in finding a lost and probably scared dog.

A flyer was designed by one of GVV volunteers and it was copied and given out to everyone for posting.  Greyhound owners from Sedona to Clarkdale to Cornville arrived to help in the search and a reward was offered for Hope’s safe return.

The group started notifying local shelters, animal control, bus drivers, phone and cable technicians – anyone that would be out and about in the community and might see a loose dog.  Another great resource is the web – craigslist, pets911, Greytalk Amber Alert and others – and GVV internet guru, Janis Mock-Jones, began getting the word out immediately. “Just a week ago, one or GVV’s owners in Phoenix found a greyhound and they looked on craigslist and there was a listing – so happy ending.”

It is winter in the Verde Valley and temperatures were in the 20s at night so everyone was worried about this little dog surviving if she was out too long.  Greyhounds have very little body fat to keep warm and this little black greyhound was just off the track so was skinnier that most.  The volunteers had been looking for 3 days with only one potential sighting and morale was low, but no one was giving up.

It wasn’t until Monday that the hard work of posting hundreds of flyers paid off.  Two phone calls came in about seeing the black greyhound near the Mingus Bridge going toward 89A.   There was renewed hope for Hope and several volunteers (the life blood of any organization) arrived in the area and redoubled their efforts, posting flyers and talking to anyone they saw.

After 4 or 5 more hours of searching there was no sign of Hope and the search was called off for the night.  It was another tough night for rescuers as the temperatures dipped low again.

The area where Hope was sighted had several fenced/locked fields and once again the internet was a key.  A search on the Yavapai county website showed the fields were county owned, so Janis contacted Supervisor Chip Davis’ office and asked Chris Moran to help get GVV volunteers in to walk the properties.  “If a greyhound is curled up and huddled in the grass to stay warm, it is very hard to see.  So even though the Sheriff’s deputies had looked around the area from the road, we just felt it was important to get in and search the areas.”

It wasn’t long before Verl Cook, YC Verde Road Superintendent, drove over from Camp Verde with a key to the gate and he and Monica Davis began hiking the 11 acre area.  When Monica noticed a ‘black rock’ on the other side of a wire fence, she took a second look and saw eyes following her – HOPE was there  and lying right just out of reach.  “I couldn’t believe we had found her, but couldn’t get to her.  So I sat down on the ground and talked softly to her. Eventually Hope got up and came to me so I grabbed her collar through the fence and just held on!”

Verl walked out and around trying to find a way into the other fenced area and eventually got in and hooked up a leash to lead Hope out to safety.  She was cold, thirsty, hungry, and had lost several pounds, but Hope was in remarkable shape.  She is now staying with a volunteer foster family and getting the love and new life she deserves.

As volunteers took down flyers Wednesday – it was with a great feeling knowing that the saying “It takes a village” really is true and it took everyone’s efforts to save this greyhound’s life – again.

Greyhounds are bred to race at tracks throughout the US and world, but when they are hurt or can no longer win, their lives aren’t worth anything to the owners and trainers.  Many are put down despite efforts by rescue groups to save them and adopt them out as pets.

Greyhounds of the Verde Valley is located in Cottonwood and is dedicated to saving the lives of these majestic dogs.

“We are an all volunteer organization and are only as strong as our network of people who want to help.  The only way to save these dogs is to find people who are willing to foster a greyhound while we find a good home for them,” says Judy Cowan, GVV Vice President.

Greyhounds of the Verde Valley was established in 2007 as a non-profit group dedicated to placing greyhounds in loving, forever homes as pets.  For more information on helping save the lives of these intelligent dogs, visit the website or call 1-877-807-6540 or email greyhoundsverdevalley@gmail.com

Visit Etsy.com to buy online.

Buy a bracelet to benefit Greyhounds Verde Valley