“When they first saw each other through the gates, both tails were wagging and they were ready to see each other,” University of Indianapolis Associate Director of Alumni Engagement and University Live Mascot Handler Coran Sigman said when Grady, UIndy’s live mascot reunited with his sister, Misty during UIndy’s Family Weekend on Sept. 18.
Paul Nance, Misty’s owner, said he learned of the dogs’ relationship through greyhound-data.com, a website that tracks the National Greyhound Association racing hounds. Plans to reunite the two had been in development since mid-August, according to Sigman.
Sigman said she and Nance initially picked Sept. 18 for the Nance family’s convenience in the naturally busy time of autumn.
“ … Then Family Weekend dates came out and we’re like, ‘Yeah, it was meant to be,’ and meant to happen on Family Weekend,” Sigman said.
Nance said his family adopting greyhounds is one bright spot that has come out of this year. He said the adoption may not have happened had the COVID-19 pandemic not canceled his family’s vacation plans.
“We saw that the tracks in Florida were shutting down [and] all these wonderful dogs needed a home,” Nance said. “We decided we could add two to our family.”
Sigman said she is thankful to the Nance family for reaching out because greyhounds get separated quite a bit. Sigman said there was no denying that this year threw some loops in the plans, but that family was still at the core of Family Weekend. She said she was excited that Grady got a special moment that weekend.
“[Greyhounds] live together, they grow up together, they’re born and all these things, and then they go all across the country, sometimes even the world,” Sigman said. “So for them [Grady and Misty] to come from two different adoption groups and to both end up in Indy is just pretty special.”
Photos by Jacob Walton
