When Flight Deck, a retired racing greyhound, saw the dog that gave him birth, there was little doubt the mother recognized him. “I think she knew. There was something there,” said Deck’s new owner, Jan Duppstadt of Millsboro, who, with her husband, Dale, has 11 cats and, now that they adopted Deck, four retired greyhounds. “It’s interesting seeing their interaction. She bosses him around, like she definitely knows it’s her kid,” Duppstadt laughed. The couple agreed to the adoption after their friend Sandi Roberts approached them with the idea, following Deck’s retirement. Roberts is president of Greyhound Pet Adoptions of Delaware. When Roberts learned Deck was ready to retire from racing, she called her friend, prefacing their conversation by saying, “I know your inn is full, but ...” Mrs. Duppstadt had to agree. They had reached canine capacity, but after a little thought and reconsideration she and her husband decided they’d like to take Deck, as long as he got along with their cats. He did. On March 2, he became part of their family. “It was an emotional day for me. Last night I said to Dale, ‘Whoever thought when we adopted her, going on three years ago now, that we would have one of her puppies?’ He’s a puppy from her very last litter. She had four litters of six to eight puppies each,” she said, explaining female greyhounds from the best blood lines race first, then are bred. She has found Deck to be the easiest to raise. “He’s very laid back,” she said. The other two are Speedo Tuxedo and Loomis. The family also has a Rough-Coated Wheaten Terrier named Cali. “Greyhounds are wonderful. They don’t bark much and they can be comical. All the dogs really have their own personalities. Each one of them is so different, like little people. The cool thing about them is, they really have a sense of humor. They love to do things to make you laugh, to make you happy. They are really, really neat,” she said, adding Loomis is going to be 9 next month, but still acts like a puppy, giving his owners a distinct look, grabbing toys and running to the middle of the room to prance and wish them a good morning. The adoption success story is one Roberts, as president of Greyhounds Pet Adoptions of Delaware, loves to share. She praised the organization for working to place retired greyhounds in caring homes. “We love these dogs and go above and beyond to do what’s best for them, from the farm to the track to the couch. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of such an amazing network,” she said, recounting how she first heard about Deck. In February, she posted on Facebook about a greyhound named PJ Flight Deck – his full name — who raced in West Virginia. In 2020, she visited the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, a casino and greyhound racing location in Charleston. She was in the state to pick up dogs for Greyhound Pet Adoptions and while there, she placed $2 bets on PJ Flight Deck, even though she knew nothing about the dog and little about greyhound racing. But, she liked his name. It worked out. He won a couple of times. “Aside from putting a little money in my pocket, I took it as a sign that Deck was destined to become a GPAD dog when he retired — maybe even come home with me if the timing was right,” she wrote on the Facebook page. She discovered the dog’s mother was Flight Jacket, adopted a few years ago by the Duppstadts. Roberts became Facebook friends with Deck’s trainer, Mike Taylor, and asked him to tell her when he was finished racing. When she learned that time had come, she hoped he would get a home close to his mother. That’s when she contacted the Duppstadts. “We consider the dogs our clients, not the adopters, so we set them up for success, including foster homes mirroring the house they will be adopted into. I don’t buy that these dogs are rescued. A lot of people have read things and heard things about greyhounds being discarded or mistreated at the track. In all the trips I have made, the dogs are well cared for at the track. Because of that, they come to us ready to be great pets. They don’t act like an abused dog,” she said. GPAD, run by volunteers and with a board of directors, has been in existence about a dozen years and placed almost 500 greyhounds in Delaware. The cost to adopt is $425 and the dogs are spayed or neutered, have any necessary dental work and vaccinations. Anyone interested can see www.gpadelaware.org or attend a Meet & Greet at Petco in Millville from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 25. Those who have adopted will be outside the store with their greyhounds to answer questions. Greyhounds have the ability to run 45 mph and move fast, but as pets they just want somebody to love and feed them, Roberts said. They don’t need a great deal of exercise. Because they are sprinters, they run short distances and are finished, so two, one-mile walks daily is sufficient. They don’t like to be left alone, so are good for those who are retired. “The drawback is, they hunt by sight. They were originally bred to chase jack rabbits. If they see a plastic bag they will run after it, but when they are walking on a leash, they usually are very good leash walkers. They are good car riders. They are very gentle dogs, They don’t bark or shed a lot,” Roberts said. “There is so much ugliness in the world today, but adopting a greyhound brings so much joy. It touches people in a positive way. I love being part of this adoption group. These dogs see into your soul.”