Why are Greyhounds the fastest dogs on Earth?
A greyhound explodes off the starting line, legs pumping, ears pinned flat, chasing a mechanical rabbit around the track. In just three strides, she's already faster than you can sprint. By the time she hits full speed — seventy kilometers per hour — she's moving faster than a car in a neighborhood street. How does she do it? The answer is written into every inch of her body, from her nose to the tip of her tail.
Start with the engine: the heart and lungs. A greyhound's heart is enormous for her size — about the size of a grapefruit, much bigger than most dogs her weight. It pumps oxygen-rich blood like a fire hose. Her lungs are huge too, filling her deep chest. Every breath she takes floods her muscles with fuel. It's like having a V8 engine in a sports car — more power than the frame seems built to hold.
