On the Seventh Day of Christmas... Bella and Grace

The family unit is one of the strongest forces that exists. Perhaps humans are overly sentimental beings, but people seem to go to the ends of the earth to take care of their family and to keep their loved ones together. That sentiment is what reunited two sister Greyhounds, Bella and Grace, in their “forever home” in Connecticut.

This is the story of owners that adopted their first Greyhound, Bella, from a small New Jersey shelter. After spending a few weeks teaching Bella to climb the stairs and jump up on the couches and beds, the owners felt as though she had always been a part of their family. Bella's temperament was sweet and she adjusted easily to her owner’s work routines.

When they became curious about Bella's racing life they took to the internet (data for a Greyhound’s racing career can be found at Greyhound-Data). Armed with her racing name, tattoo number and state, the adopters were able to locate her stats (a few third place finishes to her credit) and found the name of her trainer. Following a few more evenings with the IPad, they learned that the trainer had a great reputation for the way she raised her dogs. The adopters emailed the trainer and told her how much they loved Bella. The trainer replied immediately, saying that she loved to hear about her dogs after they left the track.

When their research revealed that other Greys from Bellas's litter were still racing, including a sister, they began to consider the idea of a second dog. The trainer assured them that she would let them know when retirement was near and would do what she could to help reunite Bella and her sister.

Although the logistics got a little complicated when retirement came for Bella’s sister, she eventually arrived in Connecticut in late May of 2012. Although they had discussed names before ever laying eyes on her (Silda, her racing name, just didn't seem to be a keeper), they settled on Grace.

Upon seeing Grace for the first time, it was clear that her trip from the track had not been easy. She was very thin and had lost much of her hair. She also had sores on her legs and was understandably shy and very nervous. They took Grace home to meet her sister and the two had their reunion in the front yard. The adopters do not describe the reunion as a melodramatic moment, but say that it was clear by the way that Grace allowed Bella to go nose to nose with her and sniff her without a fuss, that they were glad to be reunited.

Bella was able to teach Grace everything she needed to know in record time, including the navigation of the stairs. And if having one Greyhound guarantees some head turning from other people, having two is definitely cause for conversation; especially at the dog park.

The two Greyhounds love to chase the ball across the fenced in park. They share their toys, provide company for each other while their owners are at work, and provide the adopters with an endless supply of love. Grace remains a little leaner than Bella and has become the overseer of the pair. She doesn't let Bella stray very far and seems to keep her especially close as they fly around the park. She has retained a little of her shyness and keeps a watchful eye as her sister goes from person to person to say hello.

On the rare occasion when Bella goes out for a walk without her, Grace will remain standing at the door until Bella returns, no matter how long it takes. Grace's coat has filled in and her sores are long healed. The owners are coming to appreciate that Greys from the same litter have a unique connection and interact with each other differently than they would interact with other Greyhounds. The two sisters are flourishing together and the adopters get extra satisfaction from knowing that they were able to reunite two family members that may have otherwise never seen each other again.

Although they had never heard of "chipping" when they arranged Grace's adoption, they instinctively knew that if having one Greyhound was so wonderful, then having two would be even better. They tell me, “who knows, maybe a third Greyhound is somewhere in our future.”