Today I'm taking literary license and writing about a retired racer who recently passed away. This isn't a plug about the horrors of the greyhound racing industry, or a story about how great greyhounds are as pets. I've had 7 dogs as pets over the years and each of them was wonderful in their own way. I don't pick favorites, but sometimes there is a special someone, animal or human, who passes through your life and makes you a better person. This is a tribute to a special dog named Amos.
Most greyhounds you see today were originally bred for racing. When racing greyhounds are about 18 months old they are entered into maiden races with other young greyhounds. They have 3-4 chances to win, place, or show to go on to racing. If they don't win, place, or show, the lucky ones are rescued and adopted as pets. When we adopted Amos he was just shy of his third birthday so I like to think he may have had 1 season of racing.
I've always admired greyhounds for their natural athletic ability as runners. They love to run even in retirement; however if you ever saw Amos' running style you'd wonder how he ever made it on the track. For a greyhound he had a gawky running style that didn't look anything like the profile of the dog you see in the greyhound bus logo. His lack of efficient running form was made up by his joy in the moment. I've never seen a dog happier about something as simple as a beautiful day and a new squeaky toy. It was not an uncommon sight to see Amos on a walk, tail and head held high, carrying a huge stuffed animal in his mouth. He did have some residual instincts from the track though. There was the incident of the dumb squirrel in the backyard that he caught when it ran around the base of the tree rather than up the tree. Amos had a stunned look on his face as though to say, "Now what?" The only thing better than any of this was a ride in the car. He never sat down in the car, and the entire time he seemed amazed to move so fast and so effortlessly. For Amos it was all about being with the people and things he loved.
Dogs naturally live in packs and within the pack is the alpha dog, or the leader. When we adopted Amos we also adopted Schultz, another wonderful greyhound, who thought he was the alpha dog and Amos let him believe that. We also fostered a few greyhounds who were waiting to be adopted. Schultz would always posture around the new foster dog to send the message, "I'm the boss." Amos would eventually get around to the new dog, they'd sniff and everyone would be fine. That's not to say that Amos ignored the other dogs. They were all good buds and he learned a few tricks from some of the foster dogs that he never forgot, like be sure to stick your nose through the kibble to the bottom of the bowl to make sure there isn't something better down there. Every now and again Schultz would over step his bounds and Amos would let him know who was who. They never really played together, but they enjoyed each others company. On the last night that Schultz was alive, Amos stayed by his side to let him know he wasn't alone. Amos was also very kind and caring to my other greyhounds in times of need, Ford as he declined from kidney failure and Bailey as she recovered from her injuries this past summer.
Ultimately it was old age that ended Amos' life. When the quality of life wasn't there anymore it was a difficult decision, but we both knew. I hope I was able to give back to him as much as he gave to me. In the marathon of life he taught me these lessons:
- Celebrate the things that make you happy.
- There is always something you can learn from someone else.
- If someone needs a helping hand and you can help, then do it.
- You don't always have to lead the charge to be the leader.
