In early December 2011 a client came to me to do work in Florida in March of 2012. I easily put this on my calendar.  A couple of days later that same client called me to say that she was aware there were some greyhound race tracks in Florida and they would be very happy if I wanted to bring a dog back to Chicago in their vehicle. I contacted the greyhound group I volunteer with,  Leaving Tracks out of Atlanta Georgia, to see what they thought of the idea.  They too, were immediately excited and said they would help in any way they could.

I contacted a local greyhound rescue group to see if they would be willing to take the dog into their adoption program if I could get the expenses covered and it would not cost the group additional money. They agreed.

The next step was to find a dog. Leaving Tracks was able to give me the name of a woman who works to get the dogs directly from the track, holding them until rescue groups around the country are able to take them to their respective spots and find homes for them. After several emails with many questions from Marilyn to confirm that I was a trustworthy person and only going to do the right thing for the dog - she agreed.

I began to think of a fundraiser to raise the funds to cover the expenses of bringing the dog north. My client was a huge start with the cost of my flight down to Florida as well as the car ride back all taken care of. Now I had to worry about the other costs that come to groups as part of bringing in any retired racing greyhound....spaying/neutering, blood work to check for any problems, dealing with any other health issues. As we began to brainstorm, a wonderful gift of money came into our group by way of the parents of 2 retired racing greyhounds, Amber Bug and Cleo,  that came through a  Chicago Greyhound Rescue group approximately 3 years prior. This donation was given to help other greyhounds find a good home just like Amber and Cleo. What better way to use the funds then to help a dog from a Florida race track find a new home!

With all the basics covered, now all that is left is to get the word from Marilyn that she had a dog.