Adoption can bring a happier lifestyle for greyhounds.

Craig Pierce is the author of “A Greyhound’s Tale: Running for Glory, Walking for Home,” which is one of his books in the “American Dog” series.

Pierce, a Genoa resident, was at Borders, 2520 Sycamore Road, on Saturday with his own greyhound, Honey, to discuss a brief background on greyhounds, including the rough times many face as racing dogs.

“When not racing, greyhounds spend majority of their day in metal boxes lying on newspapers, only being allowed out four short times a day,” he said.

Poor living conditions cause some to break their teeth because they only have the metal bars as chew toys.

Pierce said that there are a lot of happy endings for these dogs, who are usually retired at the age of three.

“Once a greyhound is no longer able to race and is retired, many are adopted from people all over the world,” he said.

Pierce adopted Honey, who had raced for almost three years before retiring in October.

Honey had been in over 70 races in Iowa and Florida before she retired.

He said the transition from racing to a quiet lifestyle can be hard for the dogs at first.

“Greyhounds are used to running most of their time and then find themselves in a simpler lifestyle, which can be hard to adjust to,” Pierce said.

He also read “A Greyhound’s Tale” to an audience that consisted of local DeKalb residents of all ages.

This book, and others from the “American Dog” series, are geared toward children.

“These books are a great way to help a child learn, and can even show dogs as role models by the position they can play in people’s lives,” he said.

Pierce and Honey visit several schools around the area to help spread the word that his books preach in hopes of enhancing children’s education, he said.