Italian Greyhound Rescue History
The path to form a national Italian Greyhound Rescue began in 1997, when consistent fundraising dedicated to covering rescue expenses was implemented. At this time, various national humane organizations were beginning serious campaigns to educate the public about breed rescue, and rescue was receiving more and more inquiries to rehome dogs.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of dedicated volunteers, the Italian Greyhound Rescue Foundation was incorporated, and was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in October 2004. Our volunteers have grown from a core of dedicated breeders to a national network of over 500 foster homes and rescue representatives. We routinely vet dogs, rehabilitate problem behaviors, screen potential adopters, hold awareness events, transport animals for specialized care, and raise funds to pay our vet costs. We have a structure in place to support our volunteers and recruit and train new ones. We are very proud of our past and look forward to an even more productive future.
In 1998, IGRF reported 86 dogs had been placed in the previous calendar year. Today, we typically handle between 900 and 1000 dogs annually, and as of 2015 have placed over 8000 dogs since the advent of current record keeping methods.
We run the very popular Biggy Iggy Auction once a year to raise money to support our program. Additionally, local volunteers manage the Iggy 500 fundraising event in Indianapolis, participate in area Care Days, and take part in countless pet festivals and "Meet and Greet" events sponsored by pet stores and humane societies. We also directly offer items for sale through as a continuous fundraising operation.
Our state Rescue Representatives are also instrumental in partnering with animal control facilities and other humane and rescue groups to coordinate pre-adoption home visits, transports, and shelter outreach.
Italian Greyhound Rescue also manages the Canine Recovery Program, an ID tracking program utilizing numbered tags and an hotline where lost and found dogs can be reported at any time of the day or night. All foster dogs that come through our program are assigned a tag and enrolled for their lifetime at no charge to our adopters.
