Josey, a racing greyhound, broke one of her toes when she was a little more than 2 years old.
Instead of taking her to a veterinarian, her owner decided the dog wouldn't be able to race anymore - or bring in any money - and wanted to have her put down.
Josey would have joined the thousands of racing greyhounds killed each year through mistreatment or euthanasia, according to the Greyhound Protection League, had it not been for REGAP - Retired Greyhounds as Pets.
Now, the 57-pound reddish animal has a new owner, her own backyard and a striped carpet bed the family calls "Tiger."
"She's not so timid anymore," owner Patti Myers said.
Myers adopted the dog through the program in June.
"Before, when you'd give her something to play with, she'd grab it and look at you," the Swartz Creek resident said. "She didn't know she was allowed to play for a long time."
Ten students from Fred Barton's American Thought and Language class were introduced to Josey and four other rescued greyhounds and their owners Wednesday night.
Barton said his class is working on a greyhound rescue project.
"We are also appealing to advocacy issues, how they will be approached and how citizens can be advocates for animal rights, or any rights for that matter," he said.
Lenka Perron, co-founder of the adoption organization, spoke to students about how they could help fight greyhound abuse. She asked how many people knew about greyhounds before joining the course and only one student raised his hand.
"We have a lot more education to do," Perron said. "So how can you guys help us get the word out?"
Perron asked the students to research the 15 states where greyhound racing is legal, find out whether there were any politicians who received donations from tracks, find famous people who would support the cause, contact schools to educate children and apply for grants.
The racing life of a greyhound is roughly three years, but few last that long, she said. Minor injuries can end a dog's career, Perron said.
The adoption organization, which openly opposes racing, is one of about 200 protection groups in the United States. The organization has been around for eight years and has matched 907 dogs with new owners.
Advertising freshman Crystal Eddins said she didn't really know what she was getting into when she joined the class.
But now, she and the rest of the class will spend the rest of the semester helping Perron and the adoption organization.
"I know they breed a whole bunch of them and only a few get chosen to race," Eddins said. "The ones who get chosen - after they get slow - they get killed."
Karen McKnight Casey, director of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement at MSU, said the program was beneficial to students and to the adoption organization.
"This project certainly puts public life in America in a different light from what we usually think of as service," she said.
"The students are able to see how business ventures and policies associated with them may appear OK or fun and profitable on the surface, but the industry and regulations around it can be detrimental to innocent animals."
