The Process
Adopting From NSGA
The first step in responsible dog ownership
Prior to making the decision to adopt a greyhound, we suggest that potential adopters attend a meet and greet or join in a fun run or a walk. This provides the opportunity to spend time with retired racers and their owners, and to find out more about the breed and about our association.
Once the decision is made to move forward with adopting, the next step is to complete and submit an APPLICATION. There is no administration fee charged to apply, and the application is not a contract nor in any way does it obligate you to adopt a dog.
Within a few days of submitting the application, an NSGA adoption representative will contact you to arrange a PHONE INTERVIEW. During this interview, we will try to get a more detailed picture of your family and lifestyle.
A racing greyhound usually retires between 2 to 5 years of age and the majority of the greyhounds we have available will be within this age range. While awaiting adoption, our greyhounds are in experienced foster homes. Fostering provides us with greater insight into the personality of each greyhound and how they interact with children, other dogs and cats.
Once your home visit is completed, your adoption representative will arrange for you to meet greyhounds that are good matches for your lifestyle.
Our non-refundable adoption fee as of July 1, 2020 is $600.00. As this fee does not cover the actual costs incurred, NSGA fund-raises throughout the year.
Prior to adoption all NSGA greyhounds are examined by a local veterinarian. All dogs are spayed/neutered, have their teeth and ears cleaned as deemed necessary by the veterinarian, and have their nails trimmed. Their vaccinations (both rabies and 4-way vaccines) are brought up-to-date as necessary, and they are de-wormed and treated for other parasites such as fleas and ticks.
The greyhounds go home with a martingale collar and leash combo, a tag collar with an NSGA ID tag, and a plastic turnout muzzle.
Our adoption representatives will provide you with on-going telephone support as you settle in your new family member. However, if for any reason you find you are unable to keep your greyhound, you do agree to return him/her to NSGA for rehoming.
Why Adopt from Us?
There are other options available to add a greyhound to your family home, so why adopt from a group like Northern Sky Greyhounds? There are many hidden costs in bringing a retired racer into your home, including required medical procedures and transportation.
The chart below summarizes the low/high estimates of veterinary costs.
Cost Comparison
| Low | High | |
| Neuter/spay | $400.00 | $800.00 |
| Teeth clean/polish | $450.00 | $1200.00 |
| Flea & tick medication | $20.00 | $50.00 |
| Vaccination | $50.00 | $80.00 |
| Rabies shot | $25.00 | $40.00 |
| Wormer | $60.00 | $200.00 |
| Bordatella | $15.00 | $25.00 |
| Total | $1020.00 | $2395.00 |
There may also be additional costs for medical care required by special needs dogs such as acupuncture or chiropractic treatments, special food/diet, glucosamine or other supplements.
You would also need to consider the cost of transporting the greyhounds from the United States. Traveling by car, consider the the cost of gasoline and accommodations to travel to West Virginia, where the nearest racetracks are located. You could fly your greyhound home but would need to consider the cost of the return flight for you, the charge for an accompanied pet and the cost of a plastic airline crate. Either by land or air, transport would likely add at least $500 to your total cost.
Why work with an adoption group? Our adoption fee is $650. You do the math.