News Release
Greyhound Pet Adoption Becomes Independent
Portland Oregon, May 1 2010
Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest
Contact: Janice Jones
President, GPA Northwest
During 2009, our group of dedicated volunteers placed 147
Greyhounds into homes and brought 192 into our program, a great
accomplishment we can all be proud of. We usually have an Annual
Meeting in March to update you on our accomplishments of the past
year and share our plans for the upcoming year. We chose to forgo
the meeting as changes were taking place that would effect our
entire organization. These changes have now surfaced; we wanted to
communicate with you as quickly as possible.
After many years of loyally supporting Greyhound Pets of
America, GPA Northwest began to become disturbed about the
activities of the leadership of the National organization. For
the last year, the GPA Northwest Board of Directors had been closely
monitoring the situation with an increasing concern that our
association with Greyhound Pets of America was becoming a barrier to
our ability to fulfill our mission - to find homes for Greyhounds.
Greyhound pets of America National organization attempted to change
the original mission statement to one which would condone the
abandonment of any Greyhound that wasn't deemed "adoptable".
Greyhound pets of America National wanted to move away from the
center of neutrality, alienating breeders who work with us. National
also condoned non-compliance with IRS regulations on the part of
other chapters - something that puts the tax exemption shared by
many chapters at risk. Lastly, Greyhound pets of America National
condoned non-compliance with IRS regulations on the part of other
chapters - something that puts the tax exemption shared by many
chapters at risk.
So, in the final months of 2009, our Board of Directors, Board of
Trustees and many of our Committee Chairpersons met to discuss the
increasing threat to our chapter and decided to obtain our own tax
exemption to ensure that we could operate on our own if necessary.
This action was being taken by a number of chapters of Greyhound
Pets of America to protect their non-profit status. By the time the
annual meeting of the National organization took place in February,
it was quite clear that the actions of the National leadership were
putting the individual Greyhound pets of America chapter
representatives at risk of legal repercussions. Association with
National Greyhound Pets of America was no longer an asset to our
cause, it was a liability.
After long consideration and a unanimous vote by the Board of
Directors, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, the Committee
Chairpersons and legal counsel, our chapter's resignation was
tendered as a member of Greyhound Pets of America. We are no longer
associated with Greyhound Pets of America. We do maintain excellent
relationships with many groups still affiliated with that
organization and many other independent groups across the country.
Our experience since resigning has been positive. Dog owners,
transporters and other Greyhound adoption groups have all shared
their support for us as an independent group.
What does this mean for our group?
You are already aware of our name change which coincided with a need
for more clarity in our name. Beyond that, the mission of Greyhound
Pet Adoption Northwest remains the same, operations remain the same
and we continue on course. Because we cover a large area and several
area codes, we have obtained our own 800 number which is (800)
767-5139. We also maintain a local telephone number (503)
784-1285.
To ensure we can provide the same level of protection to the
Greyhounds in our program, we have ordered new dog ID tags, which
reflect our name and telephone number changes. All Greyhound's in
our program will be registered in our database with the new tag
number and thereby protected in case lost or found.
We have been working in Oregon and Southern Washington for over 25
years, weathered many difficult times and are now stronger than
ever. Our volunteers are doing amazing work and we continue to
increase our placement of Greyhounds into homes each year.
With a number of track closures on the horizon, 2010 is already
shaping up to be a very busy year for Greyhound adoption - one that
will require all of our resources. Since we need to update our
brochures, business cards, dog tags and other public advertising, we
hope that you will understand our decision to make this year's
Annual Report an email document rather than a printed one. Doing so
will save about $2,000 that can be directly applied to the care of
the Greyhounds in our program. We look forward to a great 2010 with
your support. If you have any questions, please call or email the
Board of Directors.
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About Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest
Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest is a non-profit corporation and tax-exempt
organization. The mission of Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest is to
find responsible, loving homes for Greyhounds and to acquaint the
public with the desirability of Greyhounds as pets. Whenever the
opportunity arises, Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest works to place
dogs that began their lives in Oregon. Greyhound Pet Adoption Northwest is staffed entirely
by unpaid volunteers; all donations and other revenues are dedicated
entirely to supporting its Greyhound adoption program.