The founders of a dog-treat company turn their love for greyhounds into positive action by promoting the adoption of former racing dogs. By Ashley G. Williams

Kate Gebhart (second from left) and Mim Drake (second from right) join their "barkery" workers and other volunteers at a recent event to introduce people to the wonderful pet qualities of ex-racing greyhounds.

In 1999, Kate Gebhart saw a documentary on Animal Planet about the "horrific conditions former racing greyhounds face." Shortly thereafter, she and Mim Drake adopted Sadie, an 18-month old former racing dog from a Florida racing track. They later adopted Missie, a former racer from Mexico.

"After adopting our first greyhound, we wanted to spread the word about the experience and in so doing encourage others to adopt," Gebhart said.

Sadie also inspired Drake to fulfill her lifelong dream of starting her own busines: Out of love for rescued racing greyhounds came the idea for Bark Stix (Point Richmond, Calif.), and a mission to provide an alternative healthy treat for dogs. An integral part of the company, Sadie and taste-tester Missie come to work with partners Gebhart and Drake every day.

The partners contribute 5 percent of company profits to the Greyhound Welfare Foundation (Penn Valley, Calif.), a nonprofit, all-volunteer rescue and adoption agency for ex-racing greyhounds. "We attend outreach events throughout the San Francisco Bay area with our two greyhounds to meet the public and educate them about this wonderful breed and the joys of adopting a rescued ex-racing greyhound," Gebhart said.

Both also volunteer with Greyhound Friends for Life (Lafayette, Calif.), an anti-racing organization that promotes adoptions in the San Francisco Bay area and North California. "We take all dogs in need and board them at private facilities - all volunteer, strictly [on] donations, depend[ing] 100 percent on the public," Gebhart said.

"They have hearts as big as the outdoors," said Barbara Judson, a volunteer with Greyhound Friends for Life. "Without volunteers doing meet-and-greets and giving donations, we couldn't do what we do."

In addition to donating countless volunteer hours, Gebhart and Drake donate adoption kits for new "parents" of greyhounds. The two came up with the idea for the kits to provide new owners with a slew of items from shampoo to Bark Stix products.

"They're wonderful people and very giving - calling to see if I need more Bark Stix," said Lita Nemeth, adoption coordinator for Greyhound Friends for Life.

Two of the company's three employees also are very involved with ex-racing greyhound rescue and adoption. "We seek out potential employees who care about deeply about animals," Gebhart said. "This is not a prerequisite, but the compassion that potential employees show for critters in need is a huge plus to us. We have found that those who have empathy for animals tend to have a work ethic that impacts Bark Stix.

"We love what we do and, in the long run, we think we have the ability to make a significant and positive difference to people and animals as well."

52    pet age | NOVEMBER 2005