Fake Dog Protectors Resort to Mob Hysteria & Tactics

By Dennis McKeon

FAKE DOG PROTECTORS RESORT TO MOB HYSTERIA and TACTICS, as the number of Greyhound Adoption Groups who have gone on public record by taking a stand against Amendment 13 nears the century mark.

The animal rights extremist groups, who are attempting to ban greyhound racing in Florida by Constitutional mandate, have gone off the deeper, deep end. Alex Jones and Q-Anon are old news. The anti-racing, anti-greyhound movement has taken their place in American culture and folklore, at the forefront of outlandish promotion of unlikely and inane conspiracy theories.

As 95 Greyhound-specific adoption charities publicly state their opposition to the tyranny of animal rights dementia, and to the patently anti-greyhound legislation that these two-bit tyrants and donation-hustlers have proposed to pervert the Florida Constitution, and to displace thousands of Florida’s Greyhounds, they have resorted to orchestrated personal attacks against the leaders and members of these charitable groups.

This follows on the heels of the now infamous conspiracy theory they put forth, alleging that these Greyhound adoption charities were somehow coerced or paid-off by the “racing industry”, to publicly disavow Amendment 13, and its proposed ban of Greyhound racing in Florida. Coerced, one imagines, by the “threat” of being blackballed-out of spending untold thousands of dollars of their self-generated-monies, to care for and re-home several thousand retiring greyhounds each year.

Just who in the “racing industry” made this threat, exerted this force, or financially seduced these adoption groups is unclear, inasmuch as the majority of Florida’s greyhound racetrack operators would rather their venues become full time casinos--and if you gave them a lie detector test, they’d just as soon be rid of racing.

So the anti-racing mob has resorted to heaping verbal abuse upon 95 Greyhound charities, their leaders and their members, whose only crime, it seems, is in having a future vision for the Greyhound in America. A future that preserves its athletic aptitudes, and honors its athletic heritage and legacy. A future that provides an objective method of selectivity for breeders, based upon actual athletic performance and performance data, observable and/or gleaned from head-to-head athletic competition. A future that will keep the breed on an athletically adaptive curve, and one that will insure a plethora of critical, genetic diversity.

These Greyhound adoption volunteers have performed an adoption miracle for the Greyhounds of America, without any assistance from the fake dog protectors of the “Yes on 13” mob. Today, adoption has become the final career phase for the American Racing Greyhound, thanks to the monumental, charitable and painstaking works of these adoption volunteers and the charities with which they are affiliated. Our US adoption network and culture is the envy of every country where Greyhounds exist for the purpose of racing. They are an iconic phenomenon, and they deserve the heartfelt thanks of every Greyhound-interested person in the world.

What they don’t deserve, is abuse, threats or bullying from the multi-millionaire, animal rights grifters, and the conspiracy-addled, emotional fascists of the Yes on 13 mob.

They also deserve a public apology from the culprits, for trying to advance their diabolically anti-greyhound agenda, by attempting to corrupt, in the public mind, by asinine conspiracy theorizing, their unselfish, charitable and unprecedented greyhound welfare endeavors and achievements.

I would personally like to thank each and every one of these individuals who belong to the 95 Greyhound adoption charities, for having the courage and the compassion to take a stand against the mob tactics of animal rights tyrants, for the present and future welfare of the Greyhound breed, and for epitomizing what it means to truly be “all about the dogs”.

Protect Greyhounds and Greyhound adoption groups from fake dog protectors (and wacky conspiracy theorists).

Vote NO on Florida amendment 13

copyright, 2018

HSUS and Greyhounds

By Dennis McKeon

HSUS prefers killing greyhounds to pensioning them.

"I don't think the humane movement would be quick to condemn the humane destruction of these greyhounds... we would much rather see them humanely destroyed than to see someone attempt to perpetuate them on a farm for retired greyhounds for years and years to come." ... John Hoyt, VP of the Humane Society of the United States... Turnout Magazine, 1983.

Do you get it now Greyhound Nation?

The fake dog protectors are exactly who we thought they were. Their war on Greyhounds continues, as we speak, via proposed Amendment 13 -- which will put 8,000 or more Florida greyhounds at risk, as soon as January 1, 2019. That's just about 10 weeks from today. don't be fooled by activist lies. There is NO phase-out. Greyhound tracks can cease racing operations on New Year's Day. There are no contingencies for these greyhounds, and no appropriations for them, once their racing revenue streams and incomes are shut off. 

Although I have told this story to Greyhound Nation more than once, this is the black and white proof of the Humane Society of the United States' 40-plus year war against the racing Greyhound breed -- which goes on today, via the fake dog protectors of Yes On 13, where they are the prime movers. 

Thanks to Real Greyhound Advocates

Please share and remember...

Protect Greyhounds from fake dog protectors...

Vote NO on 13.

copyright 2018

Before You Vote in Florida...

Ask yourself…

How can…

• greyhounds “confined to crates 23 hours a day” run 45 mph on a track?
• a greyhound die “every three days” when the injury rate in racing is 0.3%?
• “thousands of dogs be thrown away” when the adoption rate for greyhounds is 95%-98%?
• greyhounds be “abused and neglected” when they quickly become wonderful pets in homes?

If this proposed Amendment is focused on greyhound welfare, why does it...

• allow casinos to close tracks on 12/31/18 rather than mandating closure in 2 years as purported?
• commit nothing towards placing 8K-10K greyhounds in homes? 
• place greyhounds in overcrowded, high kill animal shelters?
• ban wagering on live racing yet allows wagering on greyhound races from other states?

Do you know that...

• greyhound racing contributed >$96 million into the Florida State School Trust Fund?
• HSUS, ASPCA, Grey2K and PETA raised over $300 million last year and gave less than 1% to animal rescue groups?
• passage of 13 allows expansion of casinos in FL without voter consent?
• passage of 13 opens the state up to $500 million in lawsuits for inverse condemnation. 

To date, 85 greyhound adoption groups in the US & Canada, comprised of thousands of volunteers who love the breed, support racing. They KNOW the dogs are treated right. 

Amendment 13 is a poor bet for Florida taxpayers & for greyhounds.

If you want to learn more, may I suggest these links.

Amendment 13 - A Poor Bet for Floridians

Ending Greyhound Racing Could Cost State $500 Million

Greyhound Racing Ban Means $400K Loss to Education

Greyhound Chronicles - Life Behind the Scenes

copyright 2018

TOP 5 THINGS THAT RACING GREYHOUNDS CARE ABOUT, and DON’T CARE ABOUT

By Dennis McKeon

Racing greyhounds care about:


5. RAIN... They don't like it and would rather shut down their natural, bodily, digestive and elimination functions to the point of spontaneous implosion than to take the chance that by going out into the rain, the raindrops might actually erase them, or sections of them, drip by drip, so that they are left with only half a body--- or a reasonable facsimile thereof, with hundreds of see-through perforations.

4. BONES... Most greyhounds love to chew on and gradually ingest bones. The right types of bones are quite good for them, helping to keep teeth and gums clean and healthy, and providing useful nutrition. Even the most meek and unassuming among them, however, can turn into virtual snarling, ferocious, foaming-at-the-mouth honey badgers, defending their bones from kennel mates --- who are all, of course, unable to take their bone away or gobble it up when they are dozing, because the would-be honey badger and her bone, are in her crate - safe as brick houses - as are all the other honey badgers, along with their own bones.

3. WHERE THEY POOP... The vast majority of greyhounds are quite meticulous and choosy about where they leave their solid excretions, and just the right place must be found and secured, for use and reuse. The observant greyhound trainer can usually tell, after getting to know his dogs, who left what donation where, while picking up the yard. Yes, their lives as greyhound servants are just that tragic.

2. SLEEPING... Having achieved world-wide fame as "45 mile-per-hour couch potatoes" within the adoption community, greyhounds who are actively training and racing whether they are world class racers, or lowly grade Ds, are to sleeping what Mozart was to classical music.

1. BEING FIRST... This normally applies to being fed, walked, galloped, given treats, and especially when it comes time to go to the track to race. "Being first" also alludes to and is related to the Greyhound Question for the Ages:

"What is he or she getting that I'm not getting, and desperately want, no matter what it is?"

In the best case scenarios, "being first" also granslates to their performance style when racing. Most greyhounds want to be "first" when it comes to doing just about anything --- other than the dreaded, and in their minds, often fatal nail trimming.

Racing Greyhounds don't care about:

5. WHAT COLOR the WALLS ARE in THEIR KENNEL..  or whether they could use a fresh coat of paint. Greyhounds don't read Better Homes & Gardens.

4. WHETHER YOU HAVE A HEADACHE and/or DIDN'T SLEEP WELL LAST NIGHT... All greyhounds are sworn, by their dams, shortly after they are born to make as much noise as possible, barking, howling and otherwise carrying on in the mornings, when their caretakers first arrive to greet them. They receive extra credit if one or more of their caretakers happens to be slightly hung-over. If any greyhound fails to live up to that oath, they must be DNA tested to prove they aren't the result of a cross with a Basenji somewhere in their background.

3. WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE... Greyhounds are oblivious to human standards of appearance. They don't care what color your hair is, whether it is cut attractively, or whether or not your clothes are fashionable. All they care about, and what they respond to, is whether you care about them. And, the more you do, the more they will give back to you. Except marshmallows. They don't give them back.

2. WEEKENDS and HOLIDAYS... There are no columns or spaces with numbers to mark the days on the Greyhound Calendar. Each day is represented only by a photo of them. With all due respect to Julius Caesar, you are expected to be there or be square, and to cater to their every whim, regardless of what the month, number, name or the occasion of the day happens to be.

1. HOW YOU "FEEL" ABOUT WHAT THEY DO, or HOW THEY LIVE...  Whether you are a cigar-chomping, daily railbird, or a devout apostle of Peter Singer, racing greyhounds couldn't care less whether you approve or disapprove of what they do, as a matter of expressing themselves in a thousands of years old fashion. They don't care about anyone's high-falutin' ideology, or holier-than-thou talking points, or whether watching them perform hurts your feelings or fills you with inspiration. They know exactly who and what they are, and what they live and breathe to do. You don't have to like it, or approve of it. They most certainly do --- every bit as much as they will approve of having become your pet when they retire.

copyright, 2018

A Greyhound Dies Every Three Days on a Florida Track - DEBUNKED

“You only use 10 percent of your brain. Eating carrots improves your eyesight. Vitamin C cures the common cold. Crime in the United States is at an all-time high.

None of those things are true. But the facts don't actually matter: People repeat them so often that you believe them. Welcome to the “illusory truth effect,” a glitch in the human psyche that equates repetition with truth. Marketers and politicians are masters of manipulating this particular cognitive bias---which perhaps you have become more familiar with lately.“ —- from “Want to Make a Lie Seem True? Say it Again. And Again. And Again.” Emily Dreyfuss 2/11/17 Sound familiar? One of the most often repeated phrases of the anti-racing faction in recent years is the deceptive statistic that a greyhound dies every three days on Florida racetracks. Grey2K masterminded this catch phrase after successfully sponsoring a law, which became effective mid-2013, requiring that every death of a greyhound occurring on Florida track grounds be reported to the state. It doesn’t matter if the death was race related, from illness or natural causes - it must be reported. That there was no effort or consideration when proposing this law to include safety measures to reduce injuries and fatalities, is indicative of their agenda. They were interested only in the numbers, not the welfare of the dogs. Five years later, Grey2K uses these reports to evoke shock, pity and anger, in their ongoing crusade to eradicate greyhound racing. From May 31, 2013 through September 30, 2017, there were 438 greyhound fatalities reported by various Florida racetracks. Grey2K has manipulated this raw data into one of the most blatant deceptions in their bag of tricks - “a greyhound dies on a Florida track every three days.” These 438 deaths of Florida greyhounds occurred over 52 months or 4.333 years. This equates to an average of 101 deaths per year. Grey2K’s claim of one death every three days, using the correct mathematical calculation, would equate to 122 per year, not 101 - a 20% overstatement on their part, but then they were never ones to shy away from exaggeration. What they don't tell you, because they don't know, is how many individual dogs were actually in residence at tracks over this 52 month period, or even over a 12 month period. We know that dogs come and go throughout the year, as some retire and others begin their official careers, so the static population at any given time has been estimated at approximately 8,000 dogs. In any given calendar year, the number might actually include as many as 12,000 individual dogs if the annual turnover rate were 50%, or 10,000 at 25%.
To be conservative, using the 8,000 figure and the true average of 101 deaths per year, the mortality rate would be 1.26%. That percentage would drop to 1% or less if the actual number of dogs in residence during a 12 month period were higher.
The 688 participants in a recent online survey circulated to owners of NGA bred pet greyhounds reported 1,506 greyhounds of any age resided in their homes in the year 2017. Of those, there were 21 deaths reported for greyhound pets younger than 6 years of age, or 1.39%.
The survey also asked participants for the overall number of pet greyhounds they’ve ever had in their homes, and how many had died prior to reaching 6 years of age. Out of 3,710 greyhounds reported, 167 died before age 6 - or 4.5%. While the pet survey is anecdotal and not independently verified, there’s no reason to believe the numbers and information reported are not accurate.
While any premature death of a racing greyhound is tragic and heart wrenching, a reasonable conclusion would be that the occurrence of fatalities at race tracks appears to be less than or in line with those occurring in pet greyhounds of similar age and from similar causes.
The larger issue is not the number of deaths or injuries on Florida greyhound tracks, but why and how could they be prevented? The Florida greyhound industry has repeatedly proposed legislation which would mandate that track owners implement strategic safety measures, as well as requiring greyhound handlers to report all racing-related injuries. At every turn, Grey2K and their affiliated legislators have struck down these proposals in favor of bills requiring injury reporting only, with no provision for injury prevention. Clearly the so-called greyhound “protectors” are more interested in maintaining their bank account balance than maintaining safe racing venues.
(c) 2018

Greyhounds Falling...

Several people contributed to this post: Dick Ciampa, Chris Molnar & others. Many thanks to them.

One of the Animal Rights talking points in trying to destroy professional Greyhound Racing is that dogs are injured & killed in falls on the racetrack. While no one wants to see dogs fall, it happens and it is amazing how resilient they are.

Dick Ciampa did a month long study at Palm Beach Kennel Club. He thought the number of fall at Palm Beach may be more than some other tracks, such as Southland, bcause Palm Beach is the track with the tightest turns. He discovered that there were actually FEWER falls.

Dick Ciampa specifically looked at the month of August 2017. He wanted to see how prevalent falling was in greyhound racing. This is what he found.

Palm Beach Kennel Club – August 2017
Date	Program	#Dogs Fell	Made Next Start	Notes
Aug 01		3	Yes
Aug 02		0
Aug 03		0
Aug 04	A & E	0
Aug 05	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 06	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 07	A & E	0
Aug 08	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 09	A & E	0
Aug 10	A & E	0
Aug 11	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 12	A & E	0
Aug 13	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 14	A & E	2	No	1 dog started 11 days later & hasn't raced since. 1 dog hasn't raced
Aug 15	A & E	1	No	Off for 2 months
Aug 16	A & E	2	Yes
Aug 17	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 18	A & E	0
Aug 19	A & E	0
Aug 20	A & E	0
Aug 21	A & E	0
Aug 22	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 23	A & E	0
Aug 24	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 25	A & E	1	Yes
Aug 26	A & E	2	Yes
Aug 27	A & E	0
Aug 28	A & E	4	Yes
Aug 29	A & E	0
Aug 30	A & E	2	Yes
Aug 31	A & E	1	Yes

There were 585 races with 4,665 individual runs at Palm Beach in August 2017. Twenty-six (26) dogs fell during those 4,665 runs for a 0.55% chance of falling in a race.

Only three (3) of those 26 dogs haven't come back to race. Dick Ciampa counted the dog that made his next start and then hasn't raced since in those 3, which is a 0.064% chance of not racing again.

Twenty-three (23) of those 26 dogs that fell went on to race again with only one requiring a layoff of 2 months before its next start. Twenty-two made their next start a couple of days after falling. That's an 88.5% chance that the dogs will race again after a fall. 

Now, I want to stress: 

Of the dogs that are injured in a fall, 99% are rehabbed & sent into adoption. The majority of career ending injuries are: fractures, sprains, muscle tears and even a fear of racing. Some dogs will get fearful about racing again after a bad fall. 

Shame on anyone for assuming the worst without checking the adoption kennel first. You know what they say about the word ASS-U-ME.

Now then, there are things that can be changed to drastically reduce the chances of falling. I find it rather telling that one of the variables which can be easily fixed is track footing & condition. 



Copyright 2018

Famous Last Words

By Dennis McKeon

"I know their idiosyncrasies… what toys they like, what beds they prefer, the sounds they make…how they're feeling at any given moment. That's a connection you simply can't have with a greyhound you have never even met"

The above quote was offered, several years ago, by a board member of a certain anti-racing lobbying group, referring to his own companion dogs. He made it while arguing that a certain Greyhound owner could not possibly love a Greyhound she had never met.

He was citing a Greyhound she had paid to acquire and to raise, and who would come to live with her once the dog’s racing career (and potential breeding career) was finished.

Now, aside from his statement implying an uncanny ability to see into another’s heart, or to read their mind, it also implies that absent personal contact or knowledge of any dog, one cannot possibly know or truly connect with that dog---or, presumably, with a breed or a population of dogs.

The infamous group he represents, purports to love and care about all Greyhounds, and is one whose agenda and activism is based upon their apparently psychic abilities to intuit the feelings of all Greyhounds, toward their occupation of racing.

Since these people are about as far removed from the lives of those Greyhounds, as you and I are from lives of Geishas in 18th century Japan, I found his statement quite remarkable.

Here we had the spokesperson for a group which has accepted multiple millions in public donations, which portrays itself as the voice of Greyhounds who cannot speak for themselves, admitting that he and his group were complete frauds.

As he explained:

"I know their idiosyncracies…what toys they like, what beds they prefer, the sounds they make…how they're feeling at any given moment. That's a connection you simply can't have with a greyhound you have never even met."

Of course, that is precisely what thousands of Greyhound racing professionals, who care for these dogs 24/7, and who know them intimately, have been trying to tell him and his ilk for decades-- while they portray happy, perfectly content and fulfilled racing Greyhound athletes, as wretched and pathetic objects of pity.

So when you read the press releases, or their begging letters, where they bemoan racing Greyhounds as horribly abused, tragically neglected, pitifully unhappy victims of human ego and avarice--despite their utter disconnection from those woeful creatures--consider the source, and keep this in mind:

“That's a connection you simply can't have with a greyhound you have never even met.”

Truer words were never spoken.

copyright, 2016

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED on the WAY to NOVEMBER

By Dennis McKeon

Greyhound Nation is becoming woke. The Greyhound world community is slowly but surely turning its focus from discussions of the size, color and shape of their pet’s digestive output, to the state of Florida, and the political machinations of national, extremist animal rights groups, who wish to turn Florida’s estimated 8-10,000 Racing Greyhounds into fuzzy-wuzzy outlaws—in a manner of speaking.

These outside agitators and fund-raising juggernauts, who masquerade as “dog protectors”, have managed to somehow convince a significant portion of Florida’s political class, that a proposed statewide prohibition on state-regulated, pari-mutuel greyhound racing, is a question of Constitutional importance, and should become an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida.

So come November, voters will be asked whether or not Rover and Clover’s sanction to race in Florida, yea or nay, belongs up there with broader philosophical and constitutional matters such as:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

And that Rover and Clover’s future should be decided by voters who routinely mistake them for deer, egged on by fanatical, animal rights ideologues and propagandists, whose lack of practical, first-person knowledge or experience with greyhounds and their lives within racing, is exceeded only by their lack of ethics, and lack of veracity in their knee-jerk, talking-point, scripted opposition to Greyhound racing.

But a funny thing happened on the way to November. Something that the multi-million dollar, national animal rights fund-raising juggernauts hadn’t quite anticipated.

Thousands of Florida’s greyhound adopters, greyhound adoption providers, and greyhound adopters all over the USA, and in nearby Canada, began to question and to take exception to the mischaracterization of their loving and beloved, retired Greyhound pets, as abused and traumatized victims of institutional and systemic cruelty.

Social media lit up like a galaxy of tote-boards, with the testimonials of retired greyhound adopters and adoption providers, who realize that their beautifully-tempered, splendidly-behaved, loving and lovable adoptees, could not possibly have re-adapted as pets, and manifested so magnificently, by the hundreds of thousands, had they actually been the “victims” that those who are light years removed from their everyday lives in racing, pretend that they are.

Facebook groups and Political Action Committees were formed, to debunk the propaganda of these outside agitators, and to preserve the safe-space in Florida that Greyhounds have earned, rather than casting their fate to the unknown, by disenfranchising them via Constitutional mandate.

A local Florida artist, who was seeking truth, as artists are inclined to do, began to make real-time videos of Florida’s greyhounds, in their kennels all around the state, and in their moments of preparation, play and repose. He saw nothing but happy, healthy, personable, well-adjusted and well-cared for dogs. He shared these videos on his Greyhound Chronicles and Paint the Trail Facebook pages, so that the public could get a first-person look, behind-the-scenes, at how the greyhounds feel about their lives within racing. The public’s response was overwhelmingly positive. And the fake dog protectors? Not so much.

What is especially remarkable and noteworthy, is that these individuals, grassroots groups, committees and PACs were not sponsored, sanctioned or requested by the “greyhound racing industry”, or the National Greyhound Association, or the Florida Greyhound Association.

They are an entirely organic phenomenon, comprised mainly of retired greyhound adopters, and adoption providers, who have come to understand the crucial role that organized, state-regulated racing plays, not only for having united them with their cherished greyhound pets in the first place, but in preserving the Greyhound’s critical, thousands-of-year-old genetic diversity, athletic heritage, and their current and future well-being.

Protect Greyhounds
Vote NO on 13

copyright, 2018

Anti-Racing Fanatics Activities Against Greyhounds

By Dennis McKeon 

ANTI-RACERS DON'T WANT TO SHARE SPACE WITH RETIRED RACING GREYHOUND SERVICE DOGS

PROTECTING GREYHOUNDS 
.

Karl & Hero @ Hob Nob

FROM the FAKE GREYHOUND PROTECTORS---VOTE NO on 13.

For those of you who missed it, it is important for you to know that the anti-racing contingent at the recent Seminole County Hob Nob, tried to have the retired racing greyhounds who were there, removed from the premises.
.
These particular retired racing greyhounds, just so happened to be specially trained Service Dogs, who are trained, among other things, to be of service and comfort to our armed forces Veterans..

Those Veterans are the brave men and women who have put their lives on the line, so that even the most ignorant, greyhound-averse, propaganda-spreading ideologues, are able to have a say-so in a concept as foreign to them as the welfare of an entire population of greyhounds.
.
Fortunately, security at the event realized that removing those retired racing greyhound Service Dogs would have been a violation of law, and they declined to do so.
.
Apparently, these beautifully-mannered and noble greyhounds, were attracting quite a bit more attention, and their perfect deportment was flying in the face of the "greyhound racing is cruel and abusive" propaganda that the anti-racers were hoping to promote. So, like spoiled little children, they threw a tantrum, rather than embracing and welcoming these magnificent greyhounds they claim to be "protecting".
.
Protect Greyhounds...Vote No on 13

Copyright 2018

The Humane Case for Greyhound Racing

By Dennis McKeon

I just finished listening to a broadcast from Florida, where a lobbyist for greyhound racing debated the “issues” with a lobbyist from an anti-racing group. To spare you the tedium of listening to it yourself, it was pretty much a win for the anti-racing lobbyist, as I heard it.

Not that the pro-racing side didn’t make valuable points. The lobbyist was well prepared with the financial, wagering and tax revenue data, which supported his point of view, that greyhound racing is far from a dying sport, and still makes significant contributions to Florida’s economy and tax coffers.

Predictably, the anti-racing lobbyist fairly ignored those facts, and went straight for the heartstrings, making the usual, spurious, counter-intuitive and inexperienced claims of cruel and inhumane confinement and handling, dietary insufficiency, and unnecessary exposure to injury, while implying that the use of illegal and performance-enhancing drugs is more than a rare and, almost always, anomalous occurrence.

Sadly, the pro-racing lobbyist made few convincing rebuttals to much of that, and had he been able. was not given a great deal of time to make them,

What was noteworthy, was that the anti-racing lobbyist admitted that today, “most greyhounds ARE adopted” after their racing careers have ended, and he waxed, near rhapsodically, about what superb pets they make.

Now that admission is quite revealing. And that is because canines either make great pets, or not so great pets---or unmanageable pets---for a number of reasons. There is a both a nature and a nurture component to the making of a great pet. There are inputs and feedback regarding both nature and nurture.

The “nature” aspect includes things like genetics, diversity, bloodlines, temperament, disposition, conformation, and how those things either may enhance or inhibit the greyhound’s ability to function and perform its job. In the case of the greyhounds most of us know, that would be chasing a mechanical lure around an oval shaped race track.

“Nurture” involves inputs and feedback, as they relate to performance of that function, and then, to selectivity when the breeder is choosing which individuals are to be bred.

The greyhounds’ “inputs”, in addition to the previously mentioned aspects of “nature”, are things such as environment, raising, handling, diet, and training. These all enhance or detract from the greyhound’s ability to function, and either limit or expand his capacity to function at a certain level.

The “feedbacks”, which are used to improve and perfect the inputs, are the results of actual, head-to-head racing competition. These competitions allow breeders and trainers to see, in no uncertain terms, whether the inputs they applied were appropriate, and when and where they may be improved upon or changed. They also enable breeders to make informed decisions about which individual greyhounds and greyhound families, are on the cutting edge of adaptation to the function of racing.

Now each and every greyhound is the embodiment---the sum total---of all these inputs and feedbacks, from nature to nurture, from the whelping box to the starting box. If they indeed do make such great pets, then it can only be a result of all these things---because of them, and not in spite of them. That is how canines work.

So we have a population of dogs who were never bred with the intention of being pets, or anything other than performing athletes, who have become a literal pet phenomenon.

And we have a ringleader of the anti-racing movement endorsing them as wonderful pets, while tacitly implying that none of these things we have discussed here, all these things that make up the individual greyhound---nature, nurture, inputs, feedback and function---have any bearing on that, whatsoever.

Accordingly, we must then infer that it is cruel and inhumane treatment, and widespread “abuse” of these greyhounds, which has made them the unprecedented success they have become as companions in retirement, the world over.

You decide.

copyright, 2017

Trying To Reason with Hurricane Season

By Dennis McKeon

This is the time of year that I usually begin to check the Weather Underground “severe weather” reports. I don’t like hurricanes. They knock over trees. I like trees. Just not on, nor through the roof of the house.

So my first of many yearly excursions to that estimable web page, brought to mind the hurricane of 2017, called Irma. It posed a clear and present danger to the state of Florida (among others). There was a great deal of concern not only for the residents of Florida, but for the estimated 8-10,000 actively racing greyhounds who live and race there.

In hindsight, it is interesting to note, that the same people who call themselves “greyhound protectors”, and who are politically active today, in attempting to ban greyhound racing in Florida, thereby disenfranchising many of those 8-10,000 greyhounds, had an equally curious strategy, then, to “protect” those greyhounds.

As Florida residents undertook a mass exodus of their state, gridlocking highways and emptying gas stations up and down the isthmus, the self-styled experts behind today’s “Committee to Protect Dogs”, were demanding that the greyhounds of Florida join the insanity.

Insisting that the kennels at the various racetracks were not built well enough to withstand the force of a Category 4 hurricane, they were trumpeting all over the media, that Florida’s racing greyhounds should be evacuated, 10-12 at a time, if need be, to who knows where. And that it was the height of unconcern for Florida's racing professionals not to do so at once.

24 Hrs Post Irma

Naturally, people who actually understand and know how to care for large colonies of greyhounds, were virtually dumbstruck by the pure absurdity of such an impracticable and dangerous suggestion, which, when amplified incessantly by the media, became a more of a taunt.

Fortunately, Florida’s greyhound racing professionals did not panic, and as greyhound racing professionals always have done, they chose to ride out the storm, and to stay in the kennels with their greyhounds. Because that’s what real greyhound protectors do. They place the greyhounds first. Not their agenda, and not their personal safety.

And not a single greyhound, nor their attendant trainers or kennel owners in the state of Florida, was harmed by the considerable rage of Hurricane Irma---despite the dire warnings and taunts of those self-styled experts, who are now the braintrust of ‘The Committee To Protect Dogs”.

Courtesy of the Committee to Protect Dogs. this year’s brainstorm of “greyhound protection”, for those of you who aren’t aware, is to ban greyhound racing in Florida, via a Constitutional Amendment, to be voted on by the public. Demonstrating once again, that “fake greyhound protectors”, should be feared more by greyhounds, than Armageddon hurricanes. Or by the prospect of thousands of Florida’s greyhounds having to be re-homed by independent adoption groups, without any contingency plan built into the proposed legislation.

Meanwhile, the “greyhound protectors”, or the Committee to Protect Dogs, or whatever counter-intuitive name they are calling themselves by then, will ride off into the sunset, as they always have, without a care or concern in the world for any of that.

Just like Hurricane Irma did.

copyright, 2018

(with acknowledgment to Jimmy Buffet)

POPULAR GREYHOUND MYTHOLOGY---THE TOP TEN POPULAR GREYHOUND MYTHS, EXPOSED, EXPLAINED, AND DEBUNKED

By Dennis McKeon

Having been a participant in various greyhound-related discussion venues on social media, for almost as long as it has been ongoing, I’ve come to a conclusion...  Nothing has been more problematic for the new or would-be greyhound adopter, than the litany of disinformation and greyhound mythology that exists within the popular culture. Greyhound mythology permeates all forms of media, and particularly, social media.

The counter-intuitive and false narratives that abound throughout greyhound-related social and mainstream media, have become an impediment to the adopter’s capacity to understand, intuit and to cope with a plethora of perfectly normal and manageable greyhound behaviors. Perhaps even more unfortunately, this mythology has become an inhibition to understanding, embracing and advocating for the essence of the greyhound breed itself, as a unique, high-functioning, genetically-diverse, yet especially vulnerable population.

So in the spirit of debunking the many fallacies and myths about greyhounds (myths that have been popularized by those who are as far removed from the everyday lives of those greyhounds, as you and I are from everyday life in the halls of Camelot), I’ve decided to compile a Top Ten list of greyhound myths that are likely to confuse adopters. So let’s get started--critical thinking caps placed on heads, turned to “activate”.

MYTH # 10 - “GREYHOUNDS ARE THE ONLY BREED MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE”

While this is a very romantic, alluring notion, thanks to a liberal translation by good ol’ King James, it simply isn’t the case. Now, there were long-limbed, aerodynamic sight hounds in the Middle East that may have lain at Pharaoh’s feet, and which would have been the inspiration for their inclusion in the Bible story--but they weren’t Greyhounds.

Modern investigations into the canine genome and DNA, have shown us that Greyhounds, aside from their canine connection to wolves, are unrelated to the ancient Saharan breeds, like the Saluki and the Afghan Hound.

Greyhounds, genetically, are the foundation breed of a “clade” or family of canines, that includes the Saint Bernard, Belgian Malinois, Irish Setter, and Whippet, among others, originating within the sphere of Celtic culture and influence. The greyhounds we know today, are almost certainly descended from the dogs of the Celts, a culture which flourished in central Europe, from Austria, to northern Spain, to the British Isles, from 1200 BC to the time of the Roman conquests. See Martin Roper’s excellent article, entitled “Everything You Know Is Wrong”, which expands upon these relatively recent revelations.

MYTH # 9 - “GREYHOUNDS WEAR MUZZLES BECAUSE THEY ARE VICIOUS AND/ --OR OF UNRELIABLE TEMPERAMENT”

This myth was promoted and popularized by political activists who were working to outlaw the coursing of live jackrabbits by greyhounds or other sight hounds. In the 1980s, this was a well-orchestrated movement that received quite a bit of media attention, and was even successful in some locales. Unfortunately, the greyhound and his reputation were casualties of the attendant, activist propaganda. It mischaracterized the greyhound as having been “trained to kill” and made “bloodthirsty”, through performance of what had been its original and traditional function in America, as a controller of crop-destructive vermin. The unwitting public, naturally, assumed that greyhounds could not, therefore, be trustworthy pets.

At the time, many greyhounds were briefly exposed to the coursing of live game, before being exposed to training for formal competition chasing artificial lures. None of this had any effect upon the greyhound’s nature, temperament or disposition, and they were then, as they are now, good-natured dogs, who are ordinarily quite biddable and easy to handle and manage. They wear muzzles to prevent mouthing or nipping injuries when at play--or when socializing with one another in large groups, where minor disputes might otherwise escalate into major ones.

MYTH # 8 - “GREYHOUNDS ARE NATURALLY LAZY”

We all know the popular stereotype of the greyhound as a “45 mile-per-hour couch potato”. Unfortunately, due to the insidious nature of the popular mythology, this has become a self-fulfilling prophecy for many retired greyhounds.

Canines, as a species, have been widely observed, whether in domestication or in the wild, to sleep anywhere from 12-16 hours a day. This is perfectly normal behavior for a canine, and particularly when they are actively training for, or competing in any running sport, as greyhounds do. Greyhounds don’t develop and maintain their rippling, bulging, powerful muscles by being kept in state of suspended animation. When training and competing, they lead very busy and active lives, and thrive on the attention and activity—as well as the downtime.

Any dog, greyhound or otherwise, can become lethargic, lazy and/or even depressed, without adequate mental and physical stimulation and sensory engagement. I’m afraid that far too many “45 mile-per-hour couch potatoes” are being “made”, nowadays, for they are certainly not born into being static sofa adornments.

Greyhounds thrive on activity, like walking, galloping, swimming, or even training for sports, such as lure coursing, flyball or agility competition. While not every adopter has the inclination or ability to participate in organized, amateur competitions with their greyhounds, most adopters can and should provide at least a fair amount of healthful recreation and exercise for their pet greyhounds, if only to begin and nurture the bonding process. It should go without mentioning, that a reasonably fit and active greyhound will be healthier, and experience a better quality of life, than an entirely out-of-shape, sedentary one.

MYTH # 7 - “MY SHY GREYHOUND MUST HAVE BEEN ABUSED”

As time goes by, we seem to learn more and more about how many facets of ourselves, our personalities, and our nature, are often somewhat a matter of inheritance, or of genetic predisposition. Greyhound breeders have long known that things like disposition, temperament, and other aspects of greyhound nature, are highly heritable, and greatly influenced by a greyhound’s own ancestry.  Likewise, breeders of dogs whose main “job” is to be a cute, friendly and loving companion, or a family pet, realize these same things. Just as greyhound breeders do, they select their breeding stock with the intent of either amplifying the most desirable aspects of the breed’s nature, or modifying the less desirable ones. The difference being, of course, the greyhounds aren’t bred to be companions or pets. Greyhounds are bred to perform a function.

There have been many painfully shy and reactive greyhounds who were never abused, but who excelled at their function, and who went on to produce greyhounds who were just as excellent and influential as they were--and just as shy--sometimes, even more so. “Like tends to beget like”—Chapter 1, Verse 1, in the breeder’s manual, concerning any domesticated animal.

It is not necessary for a greyhound to possess an outgoing, gregarious nature in order to be a superior performance dog, or a prolific producer. In fact, that never even enters the equation for a breeder of performance greyhounds. Highly accomplished, productive, and hugely influential greyhounds, like Westy Whizzer, Unruly and Representation, to mention only a few, were known to have been unusually shy and withdrawn individuals. Yet it is almost impossible, today, to find an American greyhound pedigree in which they and their descendants do not figure prominently, or in which they have not had significant input and impact.

So there are some strains and families of greyhounds who tend toward being “hot-blooded”, skittish and/or mercurially reactive, and to a greater or lesser degree, shy, introverted, and sometimes, even withdrawn. While greyhounds of this sort eventually become accustomed to their human familiars, and will behave quite normally among them, they can become extremely upset and fearful when faced with a change of venue, where they are confronted with often intimidating novelties at every turn, including strange humans.  Such is the case for many of these types, going from the kennel to the adoptive environment. They require structure and punctuality to their routine, and patience on the part of their new owners, when introducing them to strange people, objects, environments and situations. They will eventually bond with their new human(s), as long as they are not repeatedly confronted with a sensory or stress overload-- and expected to cope with that all at once.

MYTH # 6 - “GREYHOUNDS ARE ‘FORCED’ TO RUN”

Greyhounds are bred to run, and to run at exceptionally high rates of speed. This desire and need to run, and the love of running, is etched on their DNA. They have, after all, been bred to run and compete with one another for thousands of years. Speed has always excited man, and it isn’t too hard to envision even ancient, tribal societies, designing competitions among their game-coursing dogs, to test their speed, agility and mettle.

Since the 18th century, greyhounds have been bred to compete in formal coursing competitions. In the early part of the 20th century, the focus of greyhound breeders gradually changed from coursing, to the breeding of greyhounds who were willing and able to chase a motorized, artificial lure around an oval-shaped track. In either case, breeding greyhounds who possessed the desire and ability to run and compete with one another was paramount in the minds of breeders.

Today, our modern greyhounds are so steeped in the genetics of their high-functioning ancestors, they are virtually born knowing how to chase, and with the desire to compete while chasing. They don’t have to be taught any of that. It comes as naturally to them as barking does to a terrier. The job of a professional breeder or trainer is to provide ample opportunity for the young and developing greyhound, to hone and sharpen his natural-born skills. As with any other athlete, repetition is the key to the ultimate refinement of one’s innate abilities. Practice makes perfect.

There is simply no way to poke, prod or otherwise “force” a greyhound to chase after a prey effigy, if that greyhound doesn’t want to do so. He runs on his own, and makes the decision to participate in or carry on with the chase all by himself. The vast and overwhelming majority of greyhounds are more than willing and eager, but very occasionally, one will emerge who lacks the desire to partake of the chase. He either takes no part in the chase, or quits the chase soon after it begins. It’s as simple as that. No one can, nor would they be so inclined as to try and “force” them. How could you? At that point, it’s out of your hands, and entirely up to the greyhound. Incidentally, the sofas of America and nearby Canada are literally teeming with young greyhounds who didn’t quite have the skills to successfully compete, or were simply not inclined to do so.

MYTH # 5 - “GREYHOUNDS LACK ‘SOCIALIZATION’ ”

I doubt that there is any population of dogs, who are more well-schooled in canine social graces, or more fluent in canine body language, stress signaling, and comprehension of such things. The reason for this is simple. Greyhounds are kept with their dams for much longer than most puppies, and their “pack” remains intact, even after they are separated from their dams--usually at about 14-16 weeks, sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes later--depending upon how much their dam can tolerate. She teaches them pack manners and deportment, as well as monitoring their interactions with one another.

Later on, when serious training begins, the litter will be introduced to a larger pack or colony, where their early social training will stand them in good stead, as they integrate with the others in the pack/colony. It is critically important to their success, for greyhounds to co-exist within that pack or colony, peacefully and without stress. Managed properly, they do this splendidly, precisely because they are so well-socialized, perceptive, and fluent in communicating with one another.  As adoptees in retirement, when greyhounds experience difficulties with strange dogs, it is often because those dogs lack the refinement of social skills, and the fluency in canine communication that the greyhound already possesses--and is used to encountering in other greyhounds.

Greyhounds, raised to be performing athletes, are handled at very early stages. It is imperative that a greyhound be amenable to and comfortable with being groomed or checked for injury, and mannerly when on lead, if the trainer is to maintain any type of efficiency and order in the kennel. Or when taken to perform, that the greyhound is accepting of inspection and handling by relative strangers.

What greyhounds lack, and what is sometimes confused with “socialization”, is habituation—that is, habituation to strange environments and less structured or unstructured lifestyles. Greyhounds are highly socialized creatures of habit. Fortunately, they have the intelligence and adaptability to adjust to a radical life change, well beyond their formative stages, provided their humans are correctly informed, prepared, patient, empathetic, and willing to meet them halfway.

MYTH # 4 - “MY GREYHOUND MUST HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED, BECAUSE HE DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO PLAY WITH TOYS”

From the moment they learn to walk, greyhounds spend their lives playing with one another. They run themselves ragged, frolicking, chasing one another, wrestling and play-fighting. They get into all sorts of mischief, and can quickly exhaust their human familiars with their boundless energy, competing with one another for attention and affection.

Greyhounds are creatures of the chase. Their favored “play” consists of chasing and catching things that appear to run away from them. So, when the adopter presents the greyhound with an inanimate object that he is expected to play with, often the greyhound shows no interest in it. This, of course, if we understand what motivates greyhounds, is entirely predictable. Now, if the adopter were to make a simple “lure pole”, which is only an old broomstick with a stuffed animal or rag attached to one end by a short rope--the greyhound would be jumping out of his skin to chase, catch, and play with it, as the person extended the lure pole and walked briskly away from the dog, in long circles.

Still and all, most breeders and some trainers do provide their greyhounds with inanimate “toys”, which are sometimes shredded to bits in nanoseconds, or in tugs-of-war, or flung around in an attempt to entice them to try and escape. or simply forgotten about and ignored.

Inanimate objects, with the exception of the sofa, are not always of much interest to greyhounds. They like to chase things that are in motion. For a greyhound, they are not a critical life value of which they are cruelly deprived. Greyhounds get ample opportunity, every day, to play with one another, or to play at chasing a lure. For them, it’s all fun and games.

It should also be mentioned that there is no medically recognized malady such as “Stair Deprivation Syndrome”, afflicting greyhounds to the extent that there is any loss in the quality of their lives. They are simply unfamiliar with stairs, and they require time and practice to learn to negotiate staircases. Greyhounds who reside in single story homes are not known to suffer any ill effects from having been deprived of stairs.

Likewise, veterinary medicine does not recognize “Glass Door Deficiency” as a mitigating factor to the greyhounds’ ultimate happiness and contentment. Greyhounds encounter glass doors all the time in their pre-adoption environs, and they are not the only breed or animal that sometimes fails to recognize that a glass door is between them and wherever they are headed. Glass doors can be illuminated for animals by simply affixing some duct tape, in an X-pattern, to the glass itself.

MYTH # 3 - “GREYHOUNDS ARE FED CONTAMINATED MEAT”

The beef which greyhounds and many rare and priceless zoo carnivores are fed, and which is processed into commercial dog food, is beef that is deemed “not fit for human consumption”. Greyhounds, as we know, are not human, and if a foodstuff is determined to be unfit for human consumption, that does not imply or mean that it isn’t perfectly fit for canine (or other animal) consumption. The beef greyhounds are fed, is most often sourced from non-productive or aged dairy cows, from cows who have met with misadventure or injury, or from cows who are dying of natural, incurable causes. Exactly the sort of animals most predators prey upon, left to their own devices. Despite what you may have read or heard, there is no American food inspection department or bureau that grades meat by letters and/or numbers.

Per the fact-checkers at Snopes…

”…in the USA meat is not graded on a scale represented by letters, so one would never see crates of meat labeled Grade D (or any other letter grade).

In order to protect the public from foodborne illnesses, meat products (a group which includes beef, pork, lamb, and veal) sold in the U.S. are inspected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to ensure that they meet U.S. food safety standards for safety, wholesomeness, and accuracy in labeling in accordance with the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). However, the FSIS does not "grade" meat as part of the standard inspection process: inspection is strictly a pass/fail system, and meat products either pass or are rejected as unfit. There is no such thing as "Grade D but edible" or "pet food only" grades of meat”.

Canines are known carrion eaters and can handle a much higher bacteria load in their diet than we humans can. Their digestive systems are a marvel of adaptation and efficiency. For example, pet dogs have been well known to bury or hide their fresh meat bones for periods of time that render them foul and putrid smelling—or what we would likely term “rotten”--and then, to find, chew and ingest them, days or even weeks later, to no ill effect.

In my career as a greyhound trainer, I never encountered a greyhound with chronic digestive issues. Such an affliction would render any greyhound unable to perform and compete. Nevertheless, we read every day, on social media’s greyhound related pages, of adopted greyhounds who have chronic diarrhea, and who are fed all manner of extremely expensive custom, “designer” kibbles, none of which seem to rectify the problem. The only greyhounds I have ever known who suffer chronic intestinal catharses are pet greyhounds--who are not fed the beef with which greyhounds are raised, grown and maintained, prior to and during their performance careers.

Greyhound breeders and trainers have had hundreds of years to experiment with various diets, and to judge, via objective performance results, which foodstuffs yield the best results, and maintain the greyhounds in the absolute best health and condition, with uncomplicated digestion and elimination habits. They all seem to agree, in the intensely competitive performance marketplace, that the much-maligned, lean, red, minced beef viscera, deemed “not fit for human consumption” is the best choice as a staple food.

The trendy and popular BARF (bones and raw foods) diet, which many breeders and owners of pet and performance/working dogs of other breeds have lionized and swear by, is simply an improvisation upon the basic greyhound diet. “Raw feeding” has proven to be a panacea for many retired greyhounds who have simply not been able to adjust to or cope with an all kibble diet. Raw feeding is what greyhounds have been used to all their lives, and for countless generations of greyhounds that preceded them--which has resulted in a breed that is quite well adapted to this sort of diet.

Given the hundreds of processed pet food recalls that we see each year, the traditional greyhound basic diet of meat, meal, water, stewed vegetables and various other additives, begins to make even more sense for greyhounds who are experiencing significant difficulties adjusting to what for them, is an abnormal (and unappealing) diet of pure kibble.

MYTH # 2 - “GREYHOUNDS ARE CONFINED TO THEIR CAGES FOR 23 HOURS A DAY”

To begin with, performing greyhounds in the USA, are bedded down in compartments called “crates”, not cages. These crates are no different, other than being larger (by mandate) than most of the crates you can purchase at your local pet emporium. They are identified on the boxes they come in as “crates”, and many adopters use them with great success when they are away from the home, or sleeping.

A crate is the greyhound’s “safe space”, where he cannot be disturbed by the others in the colony, but can still see and hear them and his human caretakers. The open air design allows the greyhound to remain cool in the hot weather, and warm in the cold weather, as kennels are climate-controlled. This open-air design also allows his trainers to maintain visual contact with him, so that they can always see what he is doing, and tell immediately if something is amiss with him, or troubling him.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, the more pertinent question is…  “For how many hours of ‘awake time’ each day, are greyhounds confined to their crates?”

The answer to the question is, about 2-4 hours per day, on average, depending upon what the individual greyhound is scheduled to do that day.

As we have already discussed, greyhounds are world-renown, world-class sleepers, who require significant downtime, often as much as 16 hours a day of sleep, to replenish the enormous amounts of energy they expend while training and performing.

Greyhounds lead very busy and active lives as performing athletes. They are usually turned out in large groups, to play, socialize and to take care of nature’s calls, 4-6 times per day, for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Their everyday routine might also involve significant time spent training, galloping, walking, swimming, performing, and/or being groomed, massaged, checked for injuries--and even taking whirlpool baths. There are few dull moments.

Again, simple common sense tells us that greyhounds don’t develop and maintain their impressive, dense musculature by spending their awake-time laying around, hangin’ out, playing video games, and eating Doritos.

MYTH #1 - “GREYHOUND BREEDERS ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN BREEDING FOR SPEED, SPEED AND MORE SPEED”

If only it were that easy. While speed is a necessary attribute for any successful greyhound who competes in running sports, it is far from the only necessary attribute. Greyhound breeders wrack their brains trying to come up with just the right combination of bloodline, traits, aptitudes and attributes between a prospective sire and dam that they would prefer be passed on to the prospective offspring.

Perhaps the most important attribute a greyhound can possess, maybe even more than pure speed or pace, is what we refer to as “heart”. It’s what sportswriters and pundits call an “intangible”. Heart, in the case of a greyhound, is an all-consuming desire and will to lead the pack in the chase, despite any adversity he/she may encounter. A greyhound who possess brilliant pace or speed, will not succeed in a big way, if he or she does not also possess a great deal of “heart” and desire to lead the pack. 

Likewise, a greyhound who can flash incredible speed, will not be very successful if he/she does not also have sufficient stamina to “stay the course”, for however long the event takes. Having a great degree of natural athleticism is also a requisite for any greyhound to become a successful competitor, in whatever greyhound sport they do participate.

A greyhound who lacks the nerve and courage to hold his line in the chaos of the pack, when turning at high speeds, will never amount to much of a competitor. Similarly, that also applies to a greyhound who lacks the aptitude and skill to weave his/her way through congestion to lead the pack. 

So we can see that the breeder has many things to consider, besides speed, when planning a mating. He not only wants to breed greyhounds who are fast and agile, but who are also smart, brave and tenacious chasers, and who possess the character of the classic greyhound.

All of the above are some of the very reasons greyhounds make such fascinating and unique pets. These desirable aptitudes and attributes, these intangibles, are part of the makeup of all greyhounds, to a greater or lesser degree. A greyhound doesn’t need to have been a world-class competitor to be a fine example of traditional and classical greyhound temperament and disposition. There are many common, blue-collar competitors who give every last measure of their ability, each and every time they are asked to perform.

When they become your pet, they will display those same sterling attributes and qualities, as your life-long, dedicated companion or family member, giving you every last measure of their love and devotion.

And that is why they are so well loved themselves, the world over.


copyright, 2018