In Memory of Jerry Gerhling

I’d like to begin by reviewing the Needle Nose Crew’s mission statement for those not familiar with it and our intended goals…

" Needle Nose Crew (NNC), a Greyhound adoption information organization, began as a grass roots volunteer group in 1994. The mission of the N.N.C. is to assist Greyhound adoption organizations in the placement of ex-racing Greyhounds through public awareness programs, shows, special events, and advertising. As such, N.N.C. offers the prospective adopter a list of adoption agencies, information particular to the breed, as well as a chance to meet Greyhounds up close and personal. N.N.C. volunteers offer anecdotal accounts of life with their Greyhounds and offer support through past experience and published resources. N.N.C. is strictly volunteer and welcomes anyone who is dedicated to the welfare of these rescued racers and their ultimate match with loving, devoted homes and families."

The N.N.C. has grown substantially since 1994, as has Greyhound rescue at large. Southern California is now home to seven independent Greyhound adoption agencies. The N.N.C. is here to aid the various groups, as we are able. We have received feedback from members of various adoption groups complaining that we don’t promote "their" organization, but the fact is, we do. We will refer to any and all organization(s) we think may prove helpful to a potential adopter given their particular situation. For example, some of the local rescues will not adopt to families with small children. In this case it would be a waste of time for all concerned to refer them to such a rescue group. Likewise, it would be foolish to refer someone to Retired Racers in Acton when they live in San Diego. For whatever reason, they may ultimately end up at Retired Racers, but our policy is to start with the agencies closest to the potential adopter’s home. Unfortunately, there is often an "us vs. them" mentality among many Greyhound adoption volunteers. Many seem to feel that adopters must stay within the ranks of the organization from which their personal dog(s) were adopted. The N.N.C. does not believe this philosophy is of any merit to the Greyhound rescue community and, as such, does not adhere to this belief. It would be great if all the adoption groups in a given regional area could work in an environment of trust and co-operation for the benefit of retired racing Greyhounds at large. Our doors (and ex-pens) are open to anyone interested in helping us promote greyhounds, regardless from whom they adopted their dog. We even have a few volunteers who don’t have greyhounds but still wish to help. We invite you to join us. The N.N.C. has a show and tell somewhere in the greater Orange County area two to three times a month. A calendar of upcoming events is posted in every edition of the Needle Nose Notes, and you can get a recorded listing by calling (949) 552-1373. You and your greys are welcome anytime. The N.N.C. is made up of people who simply want to see Greyhounds find loving homes. You will find there is very little in the way of politics. All members have equal status, with the veterans in attendance helping the newer members along until they feel comfortable in whatever capacity they have chosen to help. I have made many valuable and long-term friendships as a N.N.C. member. We are many, we have a good time and we welcome you to join us whenever and for as long as you wish to be part of what we do.

EXTRA! EXTRA! ANNOUNCING REVISED LITERATURE

Mike’s article this month is very timely as we issue our first major revision of our literature in four years. When first writing in 1996, we decided to concentrate on the groups headquartered in the Orange and Los Angeles county areas. Two years ago, we realized we needed an additional sheet to include not only the San Diego area groups but also groups located throughout California. Because we cover so many areas that attract tourists it also seemed logical to add a couple of national referral numbers for our out-of-state guests to use when they returned home. Our original literature and the later insert addition have served us well. Many hundreds of copies have been passed out over the course of four years. Many greyhounds have found permanent homes with loving families who have read our information. With the number of active adoptions groups increasing from four in 1994 to seven in 1999, we knew it was time to make another change. More importantly, with the number of representatives from every group increasing in number and areas served, it was time to make a radical change this year. We decided to list the groups headquartered in Los Angeles and Orange counties in geographical order. We also switched the San Diego groups from the insert to our regular flyer and listed them in alphabetical order. Our insert now lists the balance of the California groups by region, the two national 800 numbers and the web site for the Greyhound Project national directory. It is our hope that these changes will better serve the potential adopter in locating a group which not only has representation in their area but with whom they feel comfortable working. Due to space allocations, we have listed only the specifics on the San Diego based groups. We hope the following facts about these organizations will assist all of you as you discuss greyhound adoption possibilities with those that you meet. The Greyhound Adoption Center (formerly GPA-CA) maintains a kennel in Lakeside as well as a few select foster homes. Home visit checks are a requirement of the Center as well as a visit to the kennel to see the available twenty to thirty greyhounds. The newest group in San Diego is The Greyhound Connection. The GC also performs home visits but houses available greys exclusively in foster homes. GC is the smallest with approximately half a dozen greyhounds available at any given time. This group has had a very strong and positive start, which we believe will result in dramatic growth in the number of greyhounds available in the future. Operation Greyhound is run from Bruna and Bob Palmatiers’ home in El Cajon. The fifteen plus available greyhounds are housed there and can be seen by making an appointment with either Bob or Bruna. Home visits are generally not done, but one should plan on spending a significant amount of time during a visit. Not only is this visit an opportunity to look over the available greys, but it is also the time when potential adopters are reviewed for acceptability. Please remember that each group has its own set of rules, requirements and preferences when interviewing and selecting potential adopters. We will not review any of these points as we believe that this specific information is best left up to each group to pass on to interested individuals and families. We hope that receiving a copy of our latest literature is of benefit to everyone connected with the Needle Nose Crew. We welcome your comments and suggestions on any aspect of the material as we are always looking for ideas to improve our methods of "getting the word out". In addition, we hope that each of you will find just one area to post our information for all to see. You can contact your veterinarian’s office, boarding kennel or groomer. You can also see if specialty shops and feed stores might post a copy. These are just a few suggestions. If you come up with other ideas, please let us know. We’ll pass the information on to other greyhound advocates. If any of you would like additional copies to pass on to interested individuals, businesses or organizations, please let us know. We will be happy to send some off to you. The more people who know about the plight of the greys, the better chance we have of getting greys adopted. For those of you who are already working tirelessly to help with greyhound adoptions, Thank You! Keep up the great work and be sure to let us know if we can help in any way.

• John and Kindra Willey for the loss of eleven year old Wonderful Drew. Drew touched many hearts in the last months of her life.

If you plan on attending the Orange County Fair, stop by the exhibit of art by locals. A stained glass piece by Lane Kussman, depicting the greyhound head we wear on the backs of our shirts, will be on display. Lane has generously donated this piece to the Needle Nose Crew to help in promoting greyhound adoption.

We have some changes from our past years’ scheduling. Expressly Portraits in Mission Viejo Mall (now the Picture People) has decided to run their Pet Photo Contest on an alternate year basis. We have already been asked back for the 2001 summer contest, but we will be sitting out this year. In addition, we will not be attending the Anaheim Home & Garden Show at the Anaheim Convention Center. We encourage all of you who plan on attending to stop by the booths of the two groups representing greyhounds in fine fashion – Greyhound Adoption Center (formerly GPA-CA) headquartered in San Diego and GPA-CA-OC/GLA headquartered in La Habra Heights. We are currently working on other local events for the first two weeks of August. We will be attending our new three-day Home Remodeling & Decorating Show at the Anaheim Convention Center in September. Please give us a call at (949) 552-1373 as events will be listed on the voice mail for the current week. Remember, we are always pleased to have anyone come out to participate. Don’t wait to be asked… just grab your greys and join the fun.

Editor: Joy Moss

E-Mail to GreytJoy@msn.com

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