Greyhounds Only Inc Adoption & Rescue

I adopted my dog from Greyhounds Only in May of 2014. This organization is staffed entirely by volunteers, so you know that all of the money for your adoption donation goes directly to the care of the dogs, and you couldn’t find a more dedicated and caring group of people!
When you fill out an application, they will call you to find out more about your situation and provide education on greyhounds. When you are ready to see the available dogs, you go to their kennel in northern Illinois where the dogs are housed. You should bring your other dog (s) if you have any, to see how they get along, and kids as well. They bring out the dogs that match what you’re looking for one at a time to see how you interact. It is a great way to find the right fit for your family!
I think that the second-​best thing about being a greyhound owner is the community that has been established for us. You have instant camaraderie as you are welcomed by all of the other owners. If your dog ever gets loose, you know that the greyhound community will take instant action to help you find your dog. If you have questions, concerns, issues, etc. or just need advice, you have a group of experts to ask at any time.
The BEST thing about being a greyhound owner is the greyhound! There is a reason why we are so bananas over our dogs — they are the best. They have such wonderful personalities. Calm, patient, loving, and so funny! I was a vet tech for 10 years, and of all the breeds that I worked with, I have to say that this one is my favorite. Once you get a greyhound, I think you are sold for life. :)

My previous dog, a golden named penny, was diagnosed with diabetes and multiple internal problems. I believe we kept her alive well beyond what her body wanted to do and did it in a way that she had a wonderful quality of life w/​myself and my now wife.
Our goal after Penny passed was to try and pass our love along to another dog in need. We googled and found Greyhound’s only. After taking a trip up to Wisconsin and walking a few greyhounds, we fell in love with Blast.
The process and support given by Greyhounds Only is second to none. These people are truly passionate to making sure Greyhounds find a loving home and really love what they do.
As you can see by my avatar, we are crazy for our boy and I cannot wait to adopt him a brother or sister.

Don’t let Steve C’s 2011 review scare you away. These people may not be veterinarians, but they do know their greyhounds and are quite adept when it comes to matching you with the specific dog you are considering as your pet.
We have adopted two, with the first being adopted in 2007 and the second in 2010. We did a lot of research before adopting the breed and guess what? The people who knew the dogs firsthand knew a lot more than the people who wrote books and generalizations about the breed and not about specific dogs.
If you are looking to adopt a greyhound, or just exploring the possibility, Greyhounds Only is the place to go.

We adopted our first greyhound, a sweet 80 lb. boy named Rowdy, a couple of years ago through Greyhounds Only. My husband had been in love with the breed for 20 years. We waited until we had a house, got a fenced backyard and our kid turned 5.
GO is run entirely by volunteers and, in our experience, they are exceptionally devoted to caring for greyhounds and ensuring that they are placed in a suitable home. A forever home. So we filled out the adoption form and read up on the breed (via GO’s recommended reading list). After a lengthy phone conversation, and after attending a mandatory child safety class, we went to their kennels in Wisconsin.
There were a few dogs on the short list (cat safe and kid safe) for us to see that day. Rowdy was the first dog we met — and that was it. He was THE one. We all fell in love with him, and he has returned it tenfold. He is happily enjoying his racing retirement with many comfy beds, stuffies and treats. He lives for neck scritches, which he gets plenty of from us.
We have attended a number of GO meet-​and-​greets at local pet stores and have made some great friends with other GO greyhound owners. If you ever need help or have questions, GO representatives are knowledgable and eager to help. And if — God forbid — your dog gets loose, GO has volunteers to help and an organized search effort. (BTW, never chase after a loose greyhound… they can run much faster than you. Run the other way, away from them… hopefully they will decide to chase after you!)
Every year, GO stages a reunion for all its adopters (usually at the DuPage County Fairgrounds). It is a fun event for dogs and owners — bag raffles, vendors, contests and a place to see some of the adoptable dogs. And this is where, two months ago, we found our second greyhound — a sweet little girl we renamed Bella. She is just as awesome as Rowdy, and they get along wonderfully.
My family and I highly recommend Greyhounds Only.

Oh, Greyhounds Only, I miss you so much!
While living in Chicago, my husband and I adopted two greys from this amazing organization (Ollie in 2010, Lulu in 2011). Before adopting, we did a lot of research on the breed and different greyhound rescues in the area. GO certainly seemed to be the biggest (and most active) rescue in Chicago, so they won our vote.
I’ll tell you right now: it was REALLY hard to pick just one dog. The dogs are all prescreened before being chosen by GO, so you do know that there won’t be any health/​behavior issues (and really, if there are some issues, GO does a wonderful job educating potential adopters about each dog’s quirks).
Each time adopting, we went during kennel open house days (GO has a kennel in Burlington, WI, and they also work with a few Doggy Daycares throughout the city of Chicago). We had already let the volunteers know what we were looking for (whether or not the dog is cat/​small dog safe, child friendly, etc.), so they had a list of dogs waiting for us when we arrived. The first time was a bit easier picking than the second time, since we had to find a dog that our first dog clicked with. It took us a couple visits to find the right dog, but the volunteers were all very patient!
After adopting your first greyhound, you’ll have to wait at least a week or two, as they’ll have to find a foster for your grey (unless you’ve already fostered or had greyhound experience!) Foster is very important, since greyhounds haven’t lived in homes before. In foster, they’ll learn the basics: their name, how to climb stairs, how to get along with cats (if you have one), and the routine that they’ll be following once they go home.
Once your grey gets home, you’ll have a lot of support from different people in the organization. You’ll have an adoption rep, the person who fostered the greyhound, the chance to take GO’s obedience classes, and the instant community that comes along with adopting a greyhound. Since GO is such a large organization, there’s always someone who can help you with a problem.
The best part, though? The group doesn’t go away once you get settled in. There are monthly play groups, meet and greets every weekend, and the GO Reunion to look forward to. This organization is filled with some of the most dedicated volunteers– I don’t know what we would have done without them!

What a great organization! My boyfriend and I heard through friends that Greyhounds Only was a terrific, volunteers-​only organization dedicated to finding retired greyhounds permanent homes. After we completed an application, it took one day for a volunteer to contact us about adopting a greyhound. We very quickly were able to meet several greyhounds by attending the annual reunion and several «Meet and Greets» at local pet stores. We had an appointment to visit additional greyhounds at the Chicago kennel, but canceled it after we fell in love with a greyhound we met at the annual reunion. Three weeks after turning in our initial application, a greyhound adoption volunteer brought Jake to our home and spent two hours with us reviewing everything we needed to know. Like Kai Z. mentioned, we were constantly calling and trying to schedule visits, and all of the volunteers were very patient with us. I’ve had to call and email the volunteers several times with follow-​up questions and everyone has been very accomodating and helpful. This is a great organization that was very easy to work with, and we are so happy to have found them.

Gotta give due to the place that gave us our two babies. We adopted Molly back in January of 2010. I had wanted a dog my entire life and had waited 27 years for this — suffice to say, I was terribly impatient to BRING A DOG HOME ALREADY DAMMIT. They were very patient and very accommodating of my calling and scheduling visits to the kennel to see the pups. We worked with Laura and her husband, Steve, and they were so helpful and nice, and even fostered Molly for us before she came home.
Word of warning: beware when taking adoptable dogs to events! You may just end up falling in love and bringing them home. That’s how we ended up with #2 (Jet) six months after Molly. Thank god our condo has a pet limit, or we’d probably have a dozen more.

I almost didn’t’ write this review because I don’t like reporting negative experiences, but I have to be honest. I have held to job of dog trainer, and trained/​help trained dogs for 15 years. While the cause is extremely noble, I believe that this volunteer organization needs slightly more organization. While half of the people I encountered were very helpful, the other half detracted from the experience so much so that I almost refused to adopt the dog that I selected. If you know what you’re looking for in a greyhound specifically, they will ignore it and try to fit what ‘they’ think will fit your situation. When I have a unique situation and have provided volumes of research to support my thesis, I have the arrogance to expect it to be heard. My experience might not be indicative of the average GO experience, but I must be honest.
I pick dogs like Harry Potter picks wands, I kinda know what I’m looking for and the right one will just let you know. When I’m talking to the GO experts and they don’t know what pyrethrin based flea medication is, then we have a problem. My recommendation is to shop around for Greyhound adoption groups, some are better or worse. It is a shame that my experience was a negative one. If you’ve never owned and know nothing about greyhounds make sure you read up on them because the information you receive can sometimes be outdated or erroneous. Vets have conducted studies indicating certain things about greyhounds, and this group will actually contradict years of research on personal grudges that I had to listen to. Very unprofessional, disorganized, and uneducated.
Pros:
–Adopting from groups ensures some degree of health
–For GO fee, quite a lot is covered: Leash and collar, micro chipping, muzzle, etc.
–Volunteer Organization (it IS a good deed being done)
Cons:
–Very disorganized, poor communication between staff
–Personal rifts of people I’ve never met are being explained to me over the phone. I neither know the relevance, nor do I care.
–Inability to hear new information or recognize veterinarian studies that contradict their ‘knowledge.‘
In summation I would like to say that the goal that GO is striving for is admirable. If they were to get a little more organized and not spend fifteen minutes on the phone with people (me) they’ve never met talking about how much they dislike another member of the group, then they might have a chance. The biggest downfall is how they actually contradict the books on their recommended reading list, which are written by professionals.

I love these guys! Everyone that works with them is so awesome and has such a genuine love. Talk about long hours and extra time spent for the greater good. Great job, G.O. you should be very proud :)

I too have «Greys» and though I did not adopt mine from GO I have met several of the volunteers at various meet and greets as well as a weekly walking group that meets at the local park during the warmer months. These people really do understand and help every adoptee choose the right hound or I guess help the hound pick you. If you have ever thought of opening up your heart to an animal, these gentle giants are probably the most loving chill dogs you will ever meet. Considering the life that most of them have led, their hearts are not scarred from the hard life they have endured.
Please check out their website!

FYI — the brick and mortar location is closed but they still have a website, attend all the street festivals in Chicago during the summer, and in general are still pretty awesome.
The people at Greyhounds Only are fantastic. We adopted our greyhound, Fuzzy Bomber, from them about five months ago and the organization has been great. They are always there for all sorts of advice when we have no idea why Fuzzy is doing something weird, which is not that often, but often enough where having a group of 100 other greyhound owners to help out is comforting. I don’t think they have a bricks and mortar location in Chicago, but there are foster parents throughout the city and we met the organization at the Renegade Arts Fair on Division during the summer and also the Bucktown Arts Festival. Just go to their website for a listing of dogs and other details.
The screening process was easy, they just wanted to make sure we would be good competent owners. When we adopted Fuzzy a really nice and committed volunteer couple drove her down to the City for us from the Wisconsin kennel. They gave us some pointers and some starting collars, etc and where on their way.
If you are looking for a dog, you should definitely consider a rescue greyhound. They are great dogs for the city as Fuzzy mostly just sleeps and hangs out with us when we watch TV. really low maintenance, and she never barks in the house. She’s ran enough in her 8 years that she deserves the rest. She’s so used to being stuck in a small space when she was raised for racing, an apartment is not a problem for her. Then when you take her to the dog park and she’ll hit only 2^nd or 3^rd gear it’s still amazing to see.
Since the Dairyland racetrack up in Wisconsin closed there are a ton of greyhounds at the organization now, I’d really recommend calling them up or going to one of their meet and greets if you are remotely thinking about a greyhound. They really are great dogs and Greyhounds Only is a great organization.

While I wasn’t able to adopt a dog from this group due to my landlord’s weight restrictions, I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a greyhound.
They have dogs available in multiple areas, as indicated on their website. All of the volunteers I spoke to were very knowledgeable about the dogs and the special needs of the breed. They really want any potential adopter to understand how former racing dogs are different from the average shelter dog.
Laura, who reviewed our application, was very kind and patient and worked with us and our landlord to see if there was a way to get weight approval. She greatly increased our knowledge and appreciation of the breed and now we have a dog that has greyhound in him!
On certain Saturdays, they are at PAWS, where you can meet some of their wonderful dogs.
Please give this group your support!