So you're now the proud owner of a wonderful Greyhound.  You suddenly don't think all those crazy greyhound people who dress their dogs up in coats and carry a walletful of pictures around are so weird.  You have started looking for fancy collars for your hound and can whip out a wallet size picture from your brag book as fast as the best Greyhound owner.   And now that you have been bitten by the "Greyhound Bug", you have become like the honeymooners who suddenly try to marry off all their single friends so they can be happy too.  But instead of pairing up your girlfriends with your new husbands male friends, you think every household isn't complete unless it has at least one Greyhound.  You want to help more Greyhounds find their way into homes but you're not sure where to start.  Or maybe you have a limited amount of time and want to do something but can't commit hours and hours to the Greyhound Adoption efforts.  

Well, never fear!  There are many ways you can help spread the word, promote greyhounds as pets, assist your Adoption Group, and make a difference.  No matter how much or little time you have, how big or small your budget, there are tons of things you can do to help.   Here is a list of just a few of ideas and suggestions.  You can use them, modify them, or do something else all together.  The important thing is that you do something.  If every person in the United States who owns a Greyhound got one other person to adopt a greyhound think of how many less dogs would need homes.  Boggles the mind, doesn't it?   Often times people think that money is the best way to help your chosen cause.  And monetary donations are most certainly always welcome.  However, sometimes other donations, gifts of time or expertise are much more valuable to your Adoption Group. 

Check to see if your group has a "Wish List".  See if you can donate something that your group really needs.   Volunteer to drive dogs to the vets, or help with meet-n-greets.  Find out when your group's next batch of dogs is coming in and offer to help bathe them and clean them up.  Or buy one of the foster dogs a fancy collar (or donate one of your gently used ones) so they will look nicer when people see them.  Other ways you can help your adoption group is to find out what type of food they are buying and check for coupons and send them to your group.  Better yet, use the coupon yourself to buy a bag of food and donate it. 

On a larger scale, you could ask your local pet, grocery, hardware, or feed store if you can put a donation bin by the door to collect items for the adoption group.  Decorate a nice cardboard box with pictures and a brief description of what your about and then collect the items periodically and give them to your adoption group to use.   For Christmas or Valentines Day you could approach a local pet store merchant and ask for permission to place a "Giving Tree" in their store.  Once you have permission, get a tree and hang ornaments (hearts for valentines day) with pictures of various adoptable or adopted hounds.  Tell a little bit about the dog on the back side and end it with: "My Christmas/Valentines Day Wish is- 1 bag of Pro Plan Lamb and Rice food, or 1 6 foot nylon leash."  Have gift tags available by the tree and have people put the items under the tree.  This is a lot of fun and a win-win situation for both the store and the Adoption Group.

And on Halloween, why not bake some Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, or buy a box of doggie treats to pass out to visiting K-9 trick-or-treaters.  You can even bag a couple of them up in a baggie and attach a Greyhound Group business card to it to help promote Greyhound Adoption. 
 

If you have an artsy-crafty streak in you, consider making some type of item that you could donate to your Adoption Groups picnic auction, Christmas Bazaar, or other fundraiser. The items don't even have to be Greyhound related (gasp)!  Items that you could make that are hot sellers are fancy collars, coats, hats, notecards, and toys.  Patterns can be found on the
internet or at many craft stores.   Not so artistically inclined?  How about printing up some business cards to carry around when you walk your dogs.  If someone stops to ask you about the dogs you could hand them a card with contact numbers for your Adoption Group on it.  There is even a site on the net (www.vistaprint.com) that prints cards for free, you only pay shipping.  Other handy places to have cards is in your car and at your office.  When folks see pictures of your hound on your desk, or read the Greyhound bumper sticker on your car, they can ask about them and you will have a card handy with information on Greyhound Adoption.   They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so how about plastering greyhound pictures all over the place.  Use greyhound address labels on your outgoing mail, Greyhound themed notecards are beautiful and made for every occasion,  and greyhound stationary can catch the eye and have folks taking a second look.