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By Celeste Busk for Chicago Sun-Times

Dog lovers take note: Hundreds of greyhounds need homes now! The demand for greyhound adoptions has skyrocketed after the Dec. 31 closing of Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.

Closing was attributed to declining revenues in 2009. In late December, the park’s kennels housed about 490 dogs, down from approximately 800 dogs in August, said Bill Apgar, general manager of the Wisconsin racetrack.

“The State of Wisconsin gives us three choices . The dogs can go with their owners, they can go to another track, or they can be adopted.”

“Right now we’ve had a fantastic response from rescue groups and just from individual people who want to adopt one of the dogs,” said Apgar. “Our adoption center has a lot of hardworking people who make sure that these dogs are properly placed and our adoption center will stay open until all of the dogs have been placed. So, if people want to adopt, just give us a call or visit our Web site.”

Meanwhile, greyhound adoption and rescue groups in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan are joining forces to temporarily house the greyhounds in kennels or foster homes while they search for people to adopt the dogs.

Rescue groups, such as Greyhounds Only based in Carol Stream, also are in need of volunteers as well as donations — money, dog food, dog crates, veterinarian assistance and help in transporting the dogs.

Greyhounds are gentle dogs and are not high-strung, despite their racing history, animal experts say. They spend most of their time sleeping, though they do have spurts of energy. Greyhounds range in size from 40 to 65 pounds and can run as fast as 45 miles an hour. The breed often is referred to as “site dogs,” which means that they have a tendency to fix on a distant object, take off toward it and never come back. Greyhound owners are encouraged to keep dogs on leashes when outside or under close watch when unleashed in a fenced yard or other enclosure such as a dog park.

“Contrary to popular belief, greyhounds are couch potatoes and like to sleep,” said Linda Hay, a board member for Greyhounds Only, the rescue group that serves the Chicago area and southeastern Wisconsin. Greyhounds Only (www.greyhoundsonly.com) is one of the Chicago area’s top greyhound groups and has adopted out nearly 1,400 dogs since they opened 15 years ago. In 2009, the group found homes for 298 greyhounds.

Hay and her significant other, Jack Needham, live in Bucktown and have adopted three greyhounds — Raleigh, G.T. and Bonnie.

“Greyhounds are gentle, very quiet, affectionate and they’re not barkers, so they’re not good as watch dogs,” Hay said. “Greyhounds also are the kind of dog that doesn’t need a lot of exercise. They’re not a high-energy breed.”

Before the Dairyland Greyhound Park closing, Hay said that many greyhounds coming from race tracks are put up for adoption because of injuries and they can’t race anymore. “Two of my dogs had broken legs. That’s why they were retired ,” Hay said.

As for the racetrack closing, Hay said Greyhounds Only takes a neutral stand on racing. “Nevertheless, now it’s important to raise awareness that these dogs need a home. They make lovely additions to a family,” Hay said.

At press time Greyhounds Only had more than 40 dogs from the racetrack up for adoption. One of the greyhounds is Zippy, a 4-year-old female. Zippy’s racing name was Zippo Dipper and she won eight of the 79 races that she competed in.

“Zippy is a kind of dainty little girl. She’s quiet and laid-back,” said Steve Anderson, kennel manager for Greyhounds Only. “Zippy had great leash manners and prefers to be by your side.”

Meanwhile, Anderson says the dogs are getting adopted quickly. “We have a great response,” Anderson said.

Another group actively placing dogs from the track is the Greyhound Pets of America-Wisconsin. The group serves the entire state of Wisconsin and parts of northern Illinois.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response from people wanting to help,” said Ellen Paulus, president of the GPAW. “In November and December our group has taken in roughly 50 dogs from Dairyland. Nearly all of those greyhounds have been placed in homes.

“We’re working as fast as we can to place these dogs without sacrificing normal protocol. In late December we had 80 applications. It’s going to take the rest of January to plow through the applications and get more dogs placed.”