We would like to update everyone on the current status of Maine Greyhound Placement Service. MGPS is not closed but taking time to look at several options for moving forward. At this time, we do not have Greyhounds available for adoption.

MGPS normally has NGA retired racing Greyhounds but it has become harder to have them come to Maine as more and more tracks close and fewer are being bred. There are many other options that the board is discussing from a smaller number of NGA retired racers, retired racing Irish Greyhounds to perhaps Galgos/Podencos from Spain. Dogs flown in from another country have an increase in expense due to the flights in particular. Currently the cost is up to $2,000 per dog which would basically cause a trickle down of increasing adoption donations with the combination of increased need for fundraising. We have to see if this is both fiscally responsible as a non-profit and also if this expense can be maintained long term. A benefit is that the dog being flown in from either Ireland or Spain would already have their spay or neuter done so they would be able to go into homes sooner.

Both the MGPS property and buildings are large and take more money to maintain due to inflation and rising costs. We are discussing the cost effectiveness of continuing to use the kennel building, moving or building a smaller building or changing to a foster home model—all options are still being discussed. These are just some of the concerns and considerations that the board is working through at this time. MGPS is not soliciting donations at this time and have stopped the automatic 12 x 12 donations as we know that people like to donate to direct care of the Greyhounds. Any donations that do come to MGPS during the time needed to make a decision on our new process, may be used for the day-to-day costs needed to maintain the buildings and property. We will post updates as soon as we have more information.

MGPS has also had a change of the board with the retirement of our President, Mary Towle. She has had many different roles through the years starting with being a Co-Founder, Treasurer, taking all the adoption calls, direct Greyhound care to President. MGPS would not have been possible without Mary. Let’s all thank her for her role in MGPS’s success and wish her a happy retirement.

For any adoption interest, please call the main number at 626-2893 or text Dawn at 557-3166. While we currently do not have Greyhounds at the kennel, we do have Greyhounds that are brought back to MGPS that need new forever homes. We would like to have a list of people interested in adoption to be able to move them to their new homes as quickly as possible.

Dawn had problems with the old phone and when getting a newer phone, all the contacts transferred but the texts/voicemails were lost. If anyone is still waiting for a response, please text/call again to 207-557-3166.

Thank you so much for all your support for MGPS through the years and your love of Greyhounds!

The Board members of MGPS:
Dawn Curtis, Vice President
Sheila Axell, Treasurer
Mandy Grant, Secretary
Sue Sprague

Please submit your photos and stories of your greyhounds to greyhoundexpressnews@gmail.com to be published in The Greyhound Express.