Northern Lights Greyhound Adoption — Local services in Coon Rapids

I could probably recommend this adoption agency for certain types of people. It would probably work for most people - like ‘Minnesota nice’ people who don’t think to ask questions (let alone the tough ones) and are generally quick to back off or genuflect, especially in communications with someone with any level of perceived authority. Read on to see more elaboration on these vague statements I just made -

Please note: this review would probably be 1 star if I wanted to do ‘business as usual’ but it’s meant to be more like honest feedback and a ‘buyer beware’ type of thing. I view giving 1 star as an attempt to discredit a whole organization and to say there are no upsides to the work done, and that wouldn’t necessarily be a correct move.

• My wife and I were fostering an NLGA greyhound fairly recently.

We fostered the greyhound for several months. At first it was a good experience and a strong symbiotic relationship between us, the dog, and NLGA. My wife and I did eventually develop concerns that we would be caring for the dog indefinitely. We made some light efforts on our own to find him a forever home, and we gained substantial traction and interest from potential owners that we found to be a better fit than ourselves, yet our efforts were shot down fairly aggressively. Fair enough…(?)

I was told that they only adopt out to “perfect situations”. This statement was ridiculous in nature to me, because they never did a home visit when we adopted our first greyhound from them.

We came to find out that general Minnesota greyhound community politics, dogmatism surrounding greyhounds, a seemingly loosely-defined and fickle bureaucratic structure within the community, and senseless and endless goalpost moving, in sum, were contributing to an outcome that we felt was not in the best interest of the foster greyhound. Of course, anyone reading this should feel free take this as one man’s OPINION. Because I suppose it is. BUT, I think we can all agree that any bureaucratic structure is likely to be imperfect. My stance is that it was made far more imperfect than it needed to be; by way of the factors I listed above (dogmatism, politics, and the like).

It left us with a very bad taste in our mouth, and there’s more reasons yet for that, and those reasons delve into themes of potential discrimination, elitism, and political stonewalling - all of which, in sum, led to a dog leading a lesser quality of life than he otherwise could have.

BUT, what I’ve typed so far is all I wish to share about my...

NLGA does amazing work for greyhounds! My family and I have adopted 4 hounds over the years from them and I also have fostered 4 hounds (and counting!). I enjoy their social events, and the greyhound community that I have been able to connect with along the way. They can be inundated with calls/emails/applications and there can be a delay in reply or a waitlist for a hound. They truly want to arrange the right fit for the family and the greyhound, and it’s honestly worth the wait. Also when you adopt a hound, they’ve been vetted, spayed/neutered, up to date on shots, etc.. by (who I believe to be) a top greyhound vet in the state at foley Blvd animal hospital. They’re a wonderful non profit, run by dedicated volunteers. Thanks for helping...

Had a very bad car accident, 8 car pile up on 35w. Brought in my Dusty Boy to make sure he is alright. They are very caring and loving with my boy. He received the best care and will make a full recovery.

Thank you to all the staff for all you have done for my babies over the years. Only place I...