By Nicole McLaughlin
Times Staff Writer

Maggie McCurry knows how important it is to promote the adoption of retired racing greyhounds. Without it, thousands of dogs are killed each year.
In an effort to spread that message across the country and to show how wonderful these dogs really are, the Great Greyhound Goodwill Air Tour is flying high.
On Friday, the tour came to Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The twin-engine plane is traveling cross country this month as part of a national campaign to increase greyhound adoptions. The Partenevia, a small aircraft that carries up to four greyhounds, brings awareness to the fact that the dogs — which are bred solely for racing purposes — often are killed when their competitive days are over.
McCurry, a veteran pilot, became aware of the problem after adopting a greyhound, Lanky Lance, in 1996. She immediately fell in love with him and was moved to do something about the dogs’ plight.
McCurry wondered if there was a way to use her passion for flying to benefit the dogs. She called Retired Racers, a Los Angeles-based greyhound rescue and adoption group, to see if she and her plane could help.
“What could be better than putting together my love of flying with my love of greyhounds?” she asked.
She had her first “passengers” two weeks later, and Wings for Greyhounds was born. The non-profit organization flies greyhounds from racetracks to adoption agencies in the southwestern United States.
“Just because they’re retired, they’re not old,” McCurry explained. “They are young dogs who have ten, eleven or twelve years of pet life ahead of them.”
Although her system was working, McCurry wanted to promote her message on a larger scale.
The six-passenger plane has been traveling since June 30. It is scheduled to visit 25 cities and will log more than 8,000 miles.
The two middle seats of the plane have been removed. The dogs, which usually fall asleep, lie on pillows during the flight.
McCurry, who lives in Sedona, Ariz., does not fly alone. Her husband Mark Pettijohn, a commercial pilot, usually accompanies her.
“The time when the pilot is the busiest is the time when the dogs need the most attention,” McCurry said. “They’re the most nervous. We have somebody who just flies the plane, and the other person just takes care of the dogs.”
Lanky Lance was once in charge of keeping the passengers in line. But McCurry’s greyhound died last month, and the tour is in his memory.
So far, the flight crew has traveled to Florida, Texas and West Virginia, among other locations. The Great Greyhound Goodwill Air Tour is sponsored by PETsMART Charities Inc., the ASPCA, the Ark Trust, the National Greyhound Adoption Program and private donations.
Each day, McCurry picks up two greyhounds in one city and delivers them to an adoption program in another.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said of her journey. “The media has been wonderful because this is really going to result in an uptake in greyhound adoptions, which is the whole point.”
Last Friday, the flight to the Northeast — the plane’s 14th stop — occurred so that McCurry could deliver two greyhounds from the Seabrook (New Hampshire) Race Track to the National Greyhound Adoption Program, based in Upper Holmesburg.
The non-profit organization, at 4800 Wingate St., is the largest independent adoption program in the United States and has placed more than 5,000 dogs since its inception in 1990.
Director David Wolf was on hand at the airport to welcome McCurry. He stressed the importance of greyhound adoption to ensure the dogs’ survival.
“It’s a national problem,” Wolf said. “Greyhounds are raced nationally. The dogs that don’t win die.”
Timmy and Diez are two of the fortunate dogs that eventually will be placed in adoptive homes. When a dog arrives at the National Greyhound Adoption Program, it receives a full medical exam, mandatory vaccinations and a cleansing bath.
According to the organization’s Web site, the average greyhound measures 26 to 29 inches tall at the shoulder, weighs 50 to 80 pounds and has a lifespan of about 12 years.
The adoption process is extensive and takes about two weeks, once an application is received. The application is detailed. The information is used to match the dog lover with a compatible greyhound.
A $260 adoption fee includes medical and transportation fees. The dogs are also spayed or neutered.
Wolf couldn’t say enough good things about the work McCurry does.
“Maggie’s mission is great,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for people all over the United States to learn a little bit more about greyhound rescue and adoption.”
Several greyhound owners and their four-legged friends also were on hand to show their appreciation when McCurry arrived in Northeast Philadelphia.
Merci Riccardi loves the breed so much that she has three of the dogs. All were adopted from Wolf’s program. Hershey Bar, the oldest dog and her favorite, made the trip with Riccardi from Brigantine, N.J.
“I really believe in the adoption process,” she said. “A lot of people want to pick their dogs out, but when they brought him out to me, I thought he was as ugly as blue mud. I would not have picked him out of a crowd, but within twenty minutes, he had my heart forever.”
Riccardi is now the South Jersey volunteer coordinator for the National Greyhound Adoption Program, and couldn’t be happier.
“They’re loving. They’re loyal. They’re intelligent,” she said. “I can’t say enough about the breed.”
For more information about the National Greyhound Adoption Program, call 215-331-7918 or visit www.ngap.org To learn more about the Great Greyhound Goodwill Air Tour, visit www.wingsforgreyhounds.org