Informed Comments From the Trenches.... # 1

Comment 1
I have spent many years in the trenches, getting retired greyhounds into loving forever homes. I have transported dogs, fostered dogs, done pre-adoption home visits, and have seen what goes on behind the scenes at the track. I have written letters and donated my hard-earned money to organizations that do TRUE greyhound rescue in SPAIN, where the dogs, called Galgos, are indeed horribly abused and neglected.  So any response I give is NOT a knee-jerk reaction. It's based on first-hand experience.

Clifton Gray and charge

I used to be very anti-racing, but after seeing first-hand, I no longer feel that way. The racing personnel I have met have been nothing but respectful and loving toward the dogs. Most of them would cut their arms off with a rusty saw before they'd let their charges come to any harm. True, it was not always this way, but it has changed and it continues to change due to the efforts of those of us who want to see conditions continue to improve. I take issue with Grey2K for the following reasons:

1. Grey2K perpetuates outdated information from a time when tracks were not well-regulated.
2. Grey2K, for shock value, has used pictures of greyhound abuse and neglect that originated outside the United States.
3. Grey2K, for shock value, tries to equate greyhound kennel conditions as the same as those encountered by people interred in German concentration camps during WW2.

If people want to donate to Grey2K, that's their prerogative and I don't mind, as long as they know that Grey2K is nothing more than a political lobbyist group that wants nothing more than to get racing banned.  People need to know that:

1. Grey2K is NOT a 501(c)3, tax exempt charity. Donations to Grey2K are NOT tax deductible. 
2. Grey2K does NOT provide any direct assistance to greyhounds.
3. Grey2K does NOT provide any direct assistance to greyhound placement groups.

If people want to put their money to that purpose, it isn't any of my business.  It IS my business, however, to get the truth about them out there so no one thinks they are donating to something they are not.

It IS my business to do everything I can to make sure every dog is treated well while racing and that they get a good home when they retire. It frightens me to think of the consequences should legal racing  be banned. Shutting down regulated, legal racing will only drive racing and betting on the dogs underground into unregulated "bush racing", which can and does result in terrible neglect and abuse of the dogs.  It may also drive the dogs into the hands of some coyote and other varmint hunters, who may or may not give a whit as to what happens to the dogs. It may even drive the dogs into the hands of disreputable breeders who only want to make money off those who desire to purchase a greyhound puppy.

If Grey2K minions find all of this abuse, why don't they report them to the proper authorities so it can be addressed and the offenders punished?  Why doesn't Grey2K go after PROVEN dog abusers?   I have no answer, but I do believe that anyone who personally knows about ongoing abuse of any animal and that person doesn't report the abuser to the appropriate authorities is just as bad as the person doing the abuse. Especially if they allow the abuse to continue to further a political cause. In my eyes, the enabler is much worse in some aspects.

Comment 2
In order to run with the big dogs - first you gotta takes off the shades and quit drinkin' the spiked koolaid!! They all (Grey2K & minions) keep complaining about race owners making a profit off the dogs, but ya know - they are too!  The only difference is they prey upon people by telling all sorts of pity stories to tug at vulnerable heart strings to get into their wallets, turning over money claiming "donation" when, in fact, it's actually declared as wages or earnings thru IRS. If they were truly in this for the dogs, they wouldn't accept 1 red cent from anyone. They would do this all on their own / out of their own pockets without any type of monetary donation from anyone. Take away their "donations" and they wouldn't exist.

Grey2K 990 Form File With the IRS for 2010

Comment 3
I want to share the wonderful journey I've had thanks to some wonderful racing peeps. 


In 2005, a litter of 10 pups were being raised by Cathie & Bill Lambert in Jacksonville. The litter, out of CM Lil Baby & Jupiter Conch, was 4 girls and 6 boys. Two of the pups were sent to the stud owner. The other 8 were destined to race for B & J Racing in Jacksonville.

Peanut

I preadopted from Follow That Hound a pretty little fawn girl with a dark mask called FTH Buttercup. The rest of the litter were preadopted by the time they started racing.  Peanut raced twice, officially!  I went to Sandy Paws 2007 and brought home the best souvenir ever!  The rest of the litter raced a bit longer, but all of them were off the track before their 3rd birthday. I kept track of the two who went to the stud owner and, when they were finished racing, they were placed with FTH members. Four of the boys live together in Tennessee with four more greyhounds and a Jack Russell.  The rest of the litter live scattered from the east coast to the west coast. 


Preadopting Peanut was one of the most positive experiences I've ever had. I made a lifelong friend in the person who raised her. I gained a huge, extended family of FTH adopters. I learned so many positive things about racing and have a huge respect for what they do on a daily basis. 


Sadly, my little 'Nut became ill in January. On January 31, I set her free.  One of the most difficult things I had to do after that was email Cathie to tell her. I couldn't even call as I knew neither of us would be able to talk. You can't tell me that racing people don't care about their dogs!  They care deeply!  My loss is their loss; one we share.


Comment 4
I've been working in greyhound adoptions since 1996 and the only "broken spirits" I've seen have been in greyhounds & greyhound crosses that were misused by private owners. These dogs were NOT registered with the NGA; they were being used to run on the bush tracks (which are illegal) and also to hunt. Other dogs with broken spirits were bounces from adoptive homes who mistreated them or did not appreciate the dogs for what they are - greyhounds.  

I ask those who claim the abuse, have you ever personally seen how greyhounds are raised or are you just going by the headline grabbing, sensational "reports" published by animal rights groups?  If you have not personally been to a greyhound farm or a greyhound racetrack, you are sadly misinformed. 

As a greyhound owner and a person active in adoption, greyhound racing people have nothing to prove to me. I see them in action, time & time again, with my own eyes. I suggest that you investigate them on your own and decide for yourself, if you have not already done so. Many of us in adoption learned a long, long time ago that Grey2K lies.  They use photographs of abuses that occur overseas; they use old & dated reports from 20 years ago; they really use the pity factor so they get more money in donations and then line their own pockets. You need to check out the $130K+ salaries on their 990 forms filed with the IRS.  Those salaries are paid to Dorchak & Theil, a husband & wife team.  NONE OF THEIR DONATIONS go to help either the dogs or the adoption groups helping to find homes for the hounds.

One of this blog's followers put it into perspective...

"If Grey2K actually cared for the welfare of the dogs, they would not want the tracks to close. My first greyhounds was neglected and abused, and it was not because she was racing on a legal track. She was a coyote hunter, owned by a drug dealer, and left to starve under a collapsed chicken coop with her litter of pups. Two of the five pups were already dead, when she was rescued, and another died shortly thereafter. She had no food and only a shallow pan of scummy water to drink. Should the tracks close, this will be the fate of thousands of greyhounds as sighthound sports are forced to go underground where animal cruelty laws cannot be enforced. Seems to me the "gotcha day" photos that people post of their newly-adopted greyhounds, that the greyhounds look a whole lot more like the second photo than the first.  That should tell you something!"

Here is my sweet girl at the time of her rescue.

And here she is two months after.

Something to think about....  for sure....

Yours in greyhounds....