Grant Proposal for Greyhound Organization
n/a, 2015
Darlene Izzo, President
3790 8th ave S.E. Naples Fl. 34120
To the American Greyhound Council,
Our organization is in its infancy. In May, 2014, Darlene Izzo founded the 45 MPH Couch Potato, after working with Bay Area Greyhounds of Tampa. Since May, she has found loving homes for 22 retired racers from the Naples/Ft Myers track here in the Naples Area. She is also establishing a much needed connection between these wonderful greyhounds, and the people of our community.
As stated in our brochure, our main mission is to find a home for each dog, with interim
foster care when possible. We want to make sure that every greyhound lands softly onto a couch belonging to loving, responsible people. Through different events and word of mouth, we're reaching as many people as we can. It's surprising how many people have never seen a greyhound up close, and are not aware of what wonderful companions they make.
Our application process is very thorough, to ensure that the dogs find a home that is right for them.
Enclosed, you will find the forms for potential adopters and foster caregivers. There are also some guidelines to be followed by our dedicated volunteers.
On the mission statement page, you will also find our position on the racing industry. Although our main
goal is to find each retiring greyhound a home, we also do support the Naples/Fort Myers Greyhound Track
in Bonita Springs, FL. We work right alongside them to coordinate the transition from the track to a home.
As a group, we hesitate to call the adoption process a "rescue", since we know that they are treated with care at our track, and we don't think they are unhappy or otherwise in danger.
I am respectfully writing to ask for some help in the form of one of your grants. These funds would be used for routine veterinary care, crates, beds, and medicine for our special-needs greyhounds. We are also in desperate need of a new vehicle (van) for transporting the greyhounds to different promotional events, and for bringing them to the vet when they need medical care. The van we currently use does not have an efficient enough air conditioner to cool the dogs. In fact, the whole vehicle itself just died last weekend.
So, obviously that is a critical issue at the moment.
Our area in SW Florida is entering its busy season (Fall, Winter), and our city's population during this time increases significantly. We are planning many events, and hoping to find homes for the dogs at a much greater rate. We just need some financial help to really get this ship sailing! I hope we've included all of the information you require, along with a few photos. Much thanks for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Leonard, on behalf of 45MPH Couch Potato Greyhound Adoptions 45mphcouchpotato.com
*we are also on Facebook, with many pictures of the dogs finding their forever families!