Pets’ Place: Greyhounds Baeley and Wyst Take It Easy
The rescued ex-racers are enjoying lives of leisure in a beautiful hillside home in Los Angeles
With their long legs and sleek physiques, greyhounds are built for speed. But once retired, lounging is a top priority, and they tend to be low-maintenance pets. Greyhounds Wyst and Baeley live in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, adjacent to Griffith Park, one of the largest urban parks in the U.S.
Both were adopted from GreySave Greyhound Adoption, which takes in former racing and otherwise unwanted greyhounds, typically from racing kennels and live racing tracks, and adopts them into homes in the L.A. area. Baeley, the larger of the two dogs, raced for more than four years in Arizona, where greyhound racing is now illegal, before suffering a career-ending broken leg. Wyst raced in Mexico until she was about 2 years old.
Both were adopted from GreySave Greyhound Adoption, which takes in former racing and otherwise unwanted greyhounds, typically from racing kennels and live racing tracks, and adopts them into homes in the L.A. area. Baeley, the larger of the two dogs, raced for more than four years in Arizona, where greyhound racing is now illegal, before suffering a career-ending broken leg. Wyst raced in Mexico until she was about 2 years old.
Meet Baeley: Typical of ex-racers, Baeley is sweet, kind and gentle, with a “noble personality,” Carden says. “He’s not super cuddly, but a great leaner, which in the greyhound community is called a ‘greyhound hug.’ ” He loves car rides and visiting new places. Because greyhounds have thin skin and short hair, Carden often uses coats on the dogs in chilly weather, though sometimes just a handmade wool neck cozy will do.
Meet Wyst: A bit more anxious and people-shy than her buddy Baeley, Wyst is not fond of anything with wheels, including strollers, roller skates and bicycles. But at home, “she’s the biggest cuddle bug of all,” Carden says. Sweet and affectionate, she loves belly rubs and cuddling. Wyst is rarely without a toy and takes them from room to room. Her current favorite is Pink Piggy.
Ultimate couch potatoes: Despite their reputation for speed, greyhounds love nothing more than lounging, which Carden says is “their No. 1 activity.” They would sleep 18 hours a day if they could, she says, calling them “45-mph couch potatoes.”
To protect her beautiful furniture from all that power lounging, Carden has slipcovered her sofas and chairs in easy-to-wash brushed cotton denim. In the winter, she puts a faux fur throw on the sofa cushions in case the hounds track in mud. She uses pillows with a lot of pattern, texture and color to help hide dirt.
To protect her beautiful furniture from all that power lounging, Carden has slipcovered her sofas and chairs in easy-to-wash brushed cotton denim. In the winter, she puts a faux fur throw on the sofa cushions in case the hounds track in mud. She uses pillows with a lot of pattern, texture and color to help hide dirt.
Was that a squirrel? Greyhounds who raced tend to have a high prey drive, as they were trained to chase a lure on the track. During retirement, this can result in an obsession with chasing small animals, including squirrels. Wyst and Baeley don’t have high prey drives, Carden says, and can get their fill of squirrel activity looking out the window, which faces Griffith Park. “We live in a park with squirrels! They couldn’t care less,” she says.
Comfy beds: Greyhounds are large dogs without much fat or hair, so dog beds and cushy sleeping places are important, Carden says. Here, Baeley snoozes under a horse painting that has special significance for Carden, who grew up in Colorado around horses but hadn’t done much riding. After getting the painting at an antique shop and hanging it in the dining room, she decided to take dressage lessons at the L.A. Equestrian Center. “That painting put me in touch with a lifelong desire. I love it as much today as I did when I first saw it,” she says.
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Pets at a Glance
Pets: Wyst and Baeley, greyhounds
Ages: 4½ years and 9½ years, respectively
Location: Los Feliz area of Los Angeles
Owners: Lisa Carden and Steeg Haskell
“Greyhounds are bred for basically two things: athleticism and temperament,” owner Lisa Carden says. “They want to breed champions who win races, but they also want gentle, sweet dogs who will be easy to work with should they get injured on the track or in training.” Carden is a media advertising sales executive who works primarily from home. When she’s not out meeting clients, the dogs are usually just a few feet away in her home office.