Operations News – May 2024

By now you’ve read about the behind-the-scenes work required before welcoming our Australian beauties. Let me tell you a little about the group we partner with.

Racing 2 Rehome, a unique and entirely volunteer-run nonprofit, was founded in 2017 with a singular vision: to ensure every greyhound finds a loving, responsible, forever home. Led by President Rebecca Miller, Vice President Derarca O’Mahoney and a dedicated team of volunteers, they are the crucial link that prepares these beautiful creatures for their new lives in the States.

Racing 2 Rehome works with greyhounds from local racing trainers. They get young dogs that don’t want to race or need to be faster, dogs a few years older that have finished racing and older females after they have finished having puppies.

After a trip to North America, Rebecca (Bec) thought, “Here we have two greyhound-savvy countries passionate about the breed, yet they find themselves in very different circumstances. One country has a ready-made adoption network and supply of loving homes waiting for greyhounds, and another country has healthy, beautiful dogs desperately in need of additional loving homes.” The idea was born! “A loving home is a loving home, whether in Australia or the U.S. So, the solution was obvious: Let’s just put the two pieces of the puzzle together and create a win-win situation for both dogs and potential owners.”

The first flight occurred on October 24, 2019, with 10 hounds being warmly welcomed by Royal Hounds in Seattle. COVID put a hold on flights until 2022. The Aussie Posse 8 was R2R’s 100th flight.

Our first arrival of Australian hounds happened in January 2023. Racing 2 Rehome oversaw the arrival of 12 greyhounds from Melbourne to Los Angeles. As they say, the rest is history. Oddly enough, Derarca was visiting the greyhound groups in February 2023, where she was photographed with a lovely white and black greyhound named Aura. That very greyhound would later be adopted by yours truly.

We are proud to partner with such a like-minded group, where the welfare of the hounds is always a priority. Here’s to many, many more flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

Nancy Lynberg is Operations Director of Southern Arizona Greyhound Adoption and can be reached at nancy@sagreys.org.