The demographics on the traveling population in the U.S. describe well-educated, financially secure, responsible people. Exactly the kind of people to get interested in adopting retired greyhounds.
| Average Household Income |
$90,000 |
| Average Number of Business Trips per Year |
13.2 |
| Average Age |
43 |
| Percent of Business Travelers |
83% |
| Percent Professional/Managerial |
68% |
| Percent College Graduates |
50% |
| Percent with Postgraduate Degrees |
27% |
| Average Time Spent in Airport |
93 Minutes |
The offer was too good to pass up, but too much for one adoption group to handle alone. That is when The ASPCA and The Greyhound Project became involved. When Cynthia Cash offered to handle the research and coordination, the project took off. The ASPCA and The Greyhound Project each contributed $2000 to launch the project.
Cynthia located and got bids from the companies that produce the displays for the major airport advertising companies, and we negotiated with five of the major airport advertising companies to provide the same service as that being offered by AK Media. TKO Visual Communications, the production company selected, helped to develop a simple visual display that is intended to grab attention for the dogs. Because a large proportion of the travelers may be "passing through" rather than "going home" when they see the exhibit, we decided that they should all have the 800 referral numbers - the GPA/AGC number and the NGAN number. Both networks refer to adoption groups based on where the individual lives.
Whenever we mentioned the project to any of the greyhound groups, they wanted to know how they could become involved. With the initial funding, we expected to be able to place two displays in the ten most heavily used airport, but with the interest of everyone we talked to, the project rapidly expanded to seventy-nine displays in thirty-eight airport. We even had individuals who wanted to sponsor display as a memorial to special greyhounds. For adoption groups sponsoring displays, we added a line for the name of the group and the local telephone number.
In January, 1998, greyhound adoption exhibits were displayed in these airports:
LaGuardia (2) |
St. Louis (2) |
JFK International (1) |
Houston (2) |
Indianapolis (2) |
Seattle (2) |
Chicago O'Hare (3) |
San Jose (1) |
Chicago Midway (2) |
Louisville (2) |
Atlanta (2) |
Columbus (1) |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (4) |
Orange County (2) |
Denver (2) |
Hartford (2) |
Newark (2) |
Philadelphia (2) |
Boston/Logan (3) |
Pittsburgh (2) |
Miami (2) |
Milwaukee (2) |
Washington National (2) |
Minneapolis (2) |
Washington Dulles (2) |
Palm Beach (2) |
| Salt Lake City (1) |
Westchester County (1) |
Memphis (2) |
South Bend (1) |
Charlotte (2) |
Oakland (1) |
Tampa (2) |
Detroit (3) |
| Phoenix (3) |
San Diego (6) |
Daytona (2) |
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This is only the beginning. There are hundreds of airports all over the country. We want to see greyhounds in all of them.
Updates:
In 2001, The Greyhound Project renewed the campaign with a donation of $10,000 and secured additional donations and grants totaling $23,500 from the ASPCA and PetsMart Charities, resulting in more than 200 new displays, some of which can still be seen at major airports in the United States.
In April 2009, we will launch a professionally produced public service annoucement campaign. The Greyhound Project has committed to match up to $25,000 toward this project, and the more we can raise, the wider distribution we can achieve. Please consider a donation at:
Cal the greyhound has been feeling a bit shy about the personal ad he placed for a long-term commitment, but he's finally agreed to share it on 
