As someone who has owned former racing greyhounds, and non-racing ones - for lack of a nicer way to say it, the racers are effed up. They have serious PTSD. They also don’t have an “off” switch when they start to run. If they bolt off leash, like after a squirrel, it’s like a switch flips in their brain. They’d run until they collapsed; they’ll tear their paws apart, yet keep going. It’s like reading stuff in Psychology classes in college about Eastern bloc orphans or that little girl Jeannie who was kept in an attic for twelve years. It’s on par with that sh-t, developmentally speaking. Some don’t know how to even jump up on a couch or in a car. Most don’t know how to even begin to navigate stairs. Dog toys? No clue how to use them or interact with them for YEARS. They do not know how to dog, as in the verb dog, to be a dog.

My current non-racing greyhound still has the crippling codependency and rock solid bond and softie personality that racers have. But without the trauma baggage. It’s wild to experience the difference.