National Greyhound Adoption Program

I adopted two greyhounds from NGAP and have used their kennel several times. I boarded my dogs for a week over the holidays and was shocked by the condition they were in when I picked them up. Both dogs had lost weight, and had explosive diarrhea and vomiting. I ended up taking them both to an emergency vet within 24 hours of getting one and took the other within 36 hours. They needed antibiotics, fluid, and one was admitted. Needless to say the vet cost a fortune and was only partially covered by pet insurance. I spoke with the kennel manager and Mr. Wolf, neither of whom believed me about their condition and told be to bring them back so they could examine them. I declined and asked for my boarding fees to be refunded to offset the expense of the vet. They said I should have brought the dogs to their clinic – really? They had the dogs in their care when this happened, the office was closed when the dogs needed to be seen, and I did not want to put dogs that sick in my car.
They refused to refund my money so I am stuck with paying for the awful kennel and the vet bills. Not to mention the cost of having my rugs cleaned… It also took 3 requests to get my records from the vet clinic to submit to insurance. In addition, my dog who is super anxious was covered in new scabs. I can imagine that when he was anxious and moving around he would bang himself up, but it would have been nice to know before I got there. I called almost every day to see how they were and I was told they were fine. Obviously not. It broke my heart to see my dogs in that shape and I feel totally betrayed that it happened at a greyhound rescue.

The facility is great. Very clean. They are doing great things for these dogs. However…
Back in May, we had a terrible experience at NGAP because of the adoption coordinator. She was rude, unprofessional, and has us wondering if we even want to move forward with an adoption.
After spending a few months walking the dogs, we decided to pursue an adoption, so we set up an appointment to come meet some of the dogs in the profile room. After we made the appointment with the coordinator, we encountered a hiccup on the settlement of the house we we were in the process of purchasing. This was not something we shared with her, since it was personal. Instead of cancelling the appointment, we decided to keep the appointment to find out more information about the adoption process and spend some time with the greyhounds without their leashes and muzzles.
During the entire meeting, she was unprofessional, abrasive, and generally disinterested in our appointment. She projected an attitude that our presence was an inconvenience while she fielded personal phone calls and chatted with other NGAP staff.
After spending about a half hour with the dogs, she asked us about a deposit. We told her we thought it would be best to wait since we had some things that we needed to smooth out. She immediately became nasty with us by raising her voice and telling us she would NOT show another dog without a deposit. We understood and told her we did not expect her to do so. She continued her adversarial rant which caused us to walk out on her.
The coordinator was specifically upset that according to her, we «wasted her time.» That comment was especially insulting as we are very serious about adopting. It was also our understanding that as the adoption coordinator this was exactly the type of appointment she is responsible for scheduling and performing. Instead of becoming irate, she should have appreciated our caution in an effort to prevent a failed adoption.
After leaving NGAP, we decided that we would not be returning. Instead, we did our research and found another adoption program worth our time. Rather than going back to NGAP which is extremely convenient for us, we chose to drive an hour away multiple times. Our adoption process did not fail at NGAP because of our settlement issues, but rather because we had a terrible experience with personnel. Such a shame, one of those dogs could’ve had a great life ahead.

These people are doing a great thing don’t get me wrong, but they do need a reality check. In order to adopt out all of these dogs there should be some kind of customer service experience. Instead they are very rude. They agreed to let me adopt a hound I fell in love with at first sight. I couldn’t take her home for a few weeks due to some necessary home renovations. When I went to visit her in the mean time I walked in and no one was to be found (even though it was legal visiting hours). After I found someone they said I could grab a leash and walk her around. As I was taking her from her crate the adoption coordinator yelled at me and made me leave without visiting my dog. She said that I could not be in the kennel and I could not see the dog with no real explanation. I was very upset by this but I had to try again the next chance I could. The next time I went to visit a different woman yelled at me for coming in through the front door. She said I was to use the side door only which was locked and I had to wait at least 10 minutes for someone to notice me there and let me into the same place the front door lets you into. Very strange.
I used their vet as they know the breed very well. Or so I thought. My dog was not eating breakfast and her stomach made loud sounds in the morning. The vet told me her lack of interest was due to her smelling my breakfast and wanting that more than her kibble. I took her to another vet who explained an acid problem Which was easily fixed by a new feeding schedule. Then to top off the vet visit their prices more than doubled for the same vaccines as the year before. I paid 80 $ the first year I had my dog and 210 $ the next year for the same shots and the vet to tell me she wants my breakfast more. There was no notice given about these prices which was not fair at all.
Long story short: greyhounds are awesome dogs and this is a place to get them in the Philly area.

I adopted my greyhound through NGAP 4 years ago and couldn’t be happier. To those who question the «we pick the dog for you» method, I can tell you that they picked the perfect dog for me. I’m fairly confident that if left to my own devices, I couldn’t have done as good of a job finding a dog that matched me and my lifestyle as well as the one they picked for me does. She’s the sweetest, best behaved dog ever and I really can’t complain about NGAP’s process on the front end at all.
I also get all of my dog’s routine vet care done at NGAP. The care is good and the prices are extremely reasonable. I’ve boarded her there once and had no problems. Again, reasonable prices.
I docked one star because many of the people who work there are quite brusque. I butted heads a bit with Bobbie, the adoption coordinator, after my dog turned out not to be cat friendly– I don’t blame them for this, of course they can’t foresee how a dog will act when it’s outside of the adoption, but the way she handled it did upset me further. All in all, though, these are dedicated people doing great work.

i did get my deposit back, after almost a month. it apparently got lost in the mail. i’m going to go ahead and give NGAP the benefit of the doubt on that one.
i wish it ended there. i REALLY do. NGAP is doing good work, saving the breed that i love, but the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.
i eventually got fed up waiting for the check, so drove up there to get it. i brought my hound Calvin (adopted from Greyhound Angels Adoption, which i guess is NGAP’s main «competitor»). the adoption coordinator, after giving me the check, fawned over him for a bit and then began bad mouthing GAA at length. i was taken aback and really bothered by it. that evening i wrote the adoption coordinator an email and told her i thought her behavior was unprofessional and bit tasteless. this back and forth continued for a while until i just let it go.
bottom line: the first time i walked into NGAP, i wandered around for a good five minutes before i even could find someone to talk to. i adopted from GAA because i walked in there and was immediately made to feel part of the family. GAA has a large network of close knit supporters that NGAP doesn’t have (that i’ve ever seen). NGAP should take note.

My family and I are really impressed with NGAP. Their facilities are spacious and in good shape, all staff members we met were friendly, helpful and really know their dogs. We love the dog walking program and the great dog run space. Both are wonderful ways to spend time with greyhounds and, as we did, meet one special greyhound to adopt. Bobbie, the adoption coordinator, was very helpful and shared a lot of information; perfect for first time dog owners like us. NGAP even boarded, at no charge, the dog we chose while we were away on a preplanned vacation. I really feel they are all about doing the best for their dogs. We plan to board our dog with them when we go on vacations. We trust them and their rates are reasonable.
Our adoption through NGAP was a very positive experience.

The Pro’s:
–They do great work on behalf of greyhounds
–Very affordable clinic
–Excellent boarding facilities
–Friendly and helpful staff
The CON:
The owner. Mr. Wolf likes to hang out in the clinic area and give advice, make judgements on situations and insert himself where he is not qualified nor where he belongs.
Feel free to message me regarding the details.

I LOVE NGAP. We adopted our first grey about 5 months ago. They were friendly, easy to work with and we brought home our dog 2 weeks after our initial application. They have been a great resource as our pup adjusts to home life. Their facility is clean, modern and they are truly experts on greyhounds’ unique requirements. I recommend their clinic and store to all of my canine loving friends! Greyhounds are awesome pets!