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

Charities & Others Affected by Animal Rights / Anti-Racing Extremists...

In earlier posts, I have commented on several tax-exempt organizations that call themselves charity, but aren't. Charity means, according to the Webster-Merriam dictionary,

1. benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity
2. generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering;   
3. aid given to those in need
4. an institution engaged in relief of the poor
5. public provision for the relief of the needy
6. a gift for public benevolent purposes
7. an institution (as a hospital) founded by such a gift
8. lenient judgment of others

2014 Note from Randall Cannon, DVM 

I truly do not see where such a description applies to Grey2K USA, HSUS, Animal Rights for Florida (ARFF), and Take Your Blinders Off (TYBO).  None of them show goodwill toward & love of humanity. None of them are generous & helpful towards those in need, animal or man. And none of them give aid & relief.  If anything, they are the antithesis of a charity: coldhearted, merciless, and vindictive. They are a viral malignancy on mankind that's posing as a benign growth.

Some associated with these groups are downright bigoted and, probably, somewhat racist. There are references from a former Grey2K director referring to a racing kennel as "Auschwitz". That same director, Karen Zoldan, also commented that "middle class, educated white people do not go to bet on the dogs" and made a reference to "wet dreams" regarding the Skecher's commercial with Mr. Quiggly.

Take Your Blinders Off founder & president, Randall Cannon DVM, seems to have a thing for people of color. He makes numerous references to slavery, slave world, etc.  Tell me, would you want him for your vet? I wouldn't.

Below, you will find a partial listing of charities affected by "activists", the descriptor the radical zealots prefer and that which the media are fond of calling them. That these extremists are willing to attack children's charities speaks volumes about their general lack of ethics & mores. How can anyone attack innocent children.  Click on the link in the name for the news story or more info.

Rockinghorse - forced to cancel an event to raise monies for pediatric cardiac monitors at a greyhound track due to threats from Greyt Exploitations & Grey2K minions. Activists sent a series of aggressive messages to the charity’s staff on social media – including making a vile joke about going to the hospital “to bet" on the children. Several other supporters “liked” the comment.

Greyhound Adoption Group (various) - Lyman High School, which has a Greyhound for its mascot, held "human vs Greyhound" races to benefit Greyhound adoption groups. The event, when it was held, raised several thousand dollars that provided direct care for the dogs. After fielding many hundreds of complaints from Animal Rights Florida (ARFF) and Grey2K, the school cancelled the very popular event, taking THOUSANDS of dollars away from the charities that serve the dogs.

Ronald McDonald House - A greyhound adopter has a greyhound therapy dog. She talked to RMHC and put together a presentation where a racer would run for a local RMHC charity and all earnings would be donated to the kids. When Grey2K found out, the Houses which were interested all received letters from Grey2K that pretty much spelled out litigation, negative press, bully tactics that would be used on RMHC sponsors.

Lions Club, Boise Idaho - Greyhound Rescue of Idaho, a group endorsed by Grey2K USA, sent a "cease & desist" letter to the Boise Host Lions Club concerning the group's 2nd Annual Wiener Dog Races set for May 30 in Boise. There were monetary prizes offered, but the greatest bulk of the "entry fees" went to benefit the Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, the Idaho Eye Bank, Camp Hodia, and Julia Davis Window the the River Project. All worthy charities helping others. The Host Lions Club was forced to cancel the event.

On the other hand, Race for Adoption, which is a consortium of racing folks who donate all the winnings of specific greyhounds to greyhound placement groups. Race for Adoption has raised more than $150,000 for their groups! This is the true meaning of charity and benevolent goodwill.

Greyhound racing folks have raised more than £9,000 for the Rockinghorse Charity (above). Members of the greyhound racing industry raised the monies following the charity being victim to a campaign of abuse on social media by anti-racing, animal rights group, Greyt Exploitations. They have now more than double what they were expecting after members of the greyhound racing industry put out an appeal.  People from all over the greyhound racing world were appalled that the charity had to cancel its event and donations were received from Australia, USA, and Ireland.

Florida Decoupling Fails Again

I tried to get this post out back in April 2015 but just could not wrap my head around it. As with other people, life just got in the way.  Better late than never...

Congratulations from the authors of this blog to the Florida Racing Greyhound community on, yet again, stopping Grey2K, the ASPCA, and HSUS in their efforts to hobble greyhound racing in this state. Good work guys!

"Congratulations to the Florida Greyhound Racing Community, the Florida Greyhound Association, Jack Cory, and the many trainers and owners who worked hard at their jobs and at outreach, and whose livelihoods and families are safe for one more year. Thanks to all my friends who read along and whether by word of mouth or word of telephone, or by word of keypad in social media, helped to state the case of the thousands of Greyhounds, who would be in some peril, had the anti racing flim-flam artists, the casino corporateers, and their political hacks and cronies been given their way. Regards to the senators and reps who held their ground and sided with the working people and the Greyhounds of Florida.

Sadly, the Greyhound Safety Act did not pass, largely because Grey2k and the rest of the phony advocacy and "protection groups" refused to actively support it. Remember that the next time you are asked to donate your hard earned money to one of these hateful, destructive and self-interested scam operations."

Dennis McKeon - April 2015

"The Greyhound Safety Act was a bill that required few changes to help ensure & enhance the safety of racing greyhounds on the tracks in Florida.  The bill required that the electric rail on which the lure runs be insulated to prevent accidental electrocution should a greyhound attempt to jump the rail into the infield. 

As Mr. McKeon states,  this bill was not supported by those purporting to be greyhound lovers. In fact, they actively opposed it.  We need to hammer home that Grey2K was against The Safety Act, therefore any greyhound that dies on the track, its blood is on Grey2K's hands."
Bruce Walters - April 2015


"Once again, the crucial question has yet to be asked or answered. If indeed too many greyhounds are being injured and suffering fatalities on FL racetracks, whose fault is that? Who prepares and maintains the racetracks' surface and the related electronic equipment? For those who are unaware, that is the responsibility of the racetracks themselves. Why are Grey2k and their their franchisers at the ASPCA not throwing the full weight of their support behind the Smith Greyhound Safety Act, which is specifically designed to address those very issues, and to prevent many of those very same injuries, from which they supposedly wish to "protect" the greyhounds?"
Dennis McKeon - April 2015

Congratulations to the people, who worked hard to get the Florida Decoupling bill defeated. 

Boos & hisses to Grey2K, HSUS, and the ASPCA who actively lobbied to defeat the Greyhound Safety Act, which would have mandated that:

1. The track owners maintain racing surfaces to an industry standard to prevent injuries & death;
2. The electric rail be modified to prevent accidental electrocution of both man & dog;
3. Would prohibit anyone convicted of a felony for animal cruelty, child abuse, aggravated assault or battery from obtaining a license or permit from the Division of Parimutuel Wagering;
4. A safety device to remove lures from the racing surface be installed; and
5. The legislation required that tracks report all injures to greyhound race dogs that occur at the tracks.

Sensible measures to ensure the safety of the dogs. Sensible measures that were lobbied against for a bill that only mandated injury reporting.

Ask yourself, why have Grey2K and other so called "protection and welfare" organizations not supported these sensible changes that would protect the dogs?

Yours in Greyhounds...

HSUS & Grey2K

By Charles Louis Browing

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Grey2K USA are now pushing for the adoption of legislation to ban greyhound racing in Oregon, where the sport hasn’t been active since the closure of Multnomah Greyhound Park in 2004.

House Bill 2765 was heard by the Business and Labor Committee on February 6. The testimony offered by Grey2K spokesman Stephen Kafoury and HSUS official, Scott Beckstead, was typically long on hyperbole and very short on substance. Kafoury made the astonishing claim that Grey2K is “involved in attempting to adopt greyhounds out to the public.”

That will be major news to the many authentic adoption groups that have made greyhound adoption a national success story. They are well aware that Grey2K does not operate a single adoption program, and in fact has exhorted the public not to adopt greyhounds from any organization that works constructively with the greyhound racing community (i.e., the majority of adoption groups nationwide).

As if that weren’t bizarre enough, HSUS spokesman Scott Beckstead introduced what appears to be a new line of attack for that radical group. Beckstead told legislators that greyhound racing shouldn’t be allowed in Oregon because it attracts a “rougher crowd” than horse racing. (He even mentioned the mafia.) Several legislators responded mockingly to this ridiculous claim. Video of the hearing is available online.

Beckstead also misled legislators when he claimed that very few greyhounds are “repurposed into second careers.” It’s not surprising that HSUS would refuse to acknowledge the success of greyhound adoption efforts, with more than 95 percent of all retired greyhounds either going into adoptive homes or returning to the farm as pets or breeders.

When skeptical legislators asked Kafoury why they should even consider this bill when there had been no greyhound racing in the state for over a decade, the Grey2K representative acknowledged that it was merely to “send a signal” that the sport wouldn’t return. “Since there’s no racing at present, there’s no problem with loss of revenue or jobs,” Kafoury said. That’s ironic, since the potential loss of jobs and revenue has never stopped Grey2K from campaigning to abolish greyhound racing.

When Is a “Charity” Not a Charity?

By Dennis McKeon

Having been educated by Dominican Nuns in my earliest youth, I was made quite familiar with the Biblical verse from 1 Corinthians 13:13.....

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

Some people dedicate their lives to performing works of charity. Charity can raise the fallen from the floor of the darkest and most hopeless of places. Charity can liberate the self from destructive self-obsession. Some people, regardless of their circumstances, refuse to accept charity. And some people make a great show of paying lip service to the concept of charity, cloaking themselves in the warm-hued tones and vestments of it, while seeking only to promote a hurtful and mean-spirited agenda.

Contributing to charitable organizations and to those who provide charity is as American as Harley Davidsons and Baconators. Americans, to their eternal credit, are always soft-touches for a good cause, no matter what the state of the economy or their own personal finances.

In contemporary society, it is easy to conflate “tax-exempt” organizations with charitable organizations. The ever more schizophrenic tax codes exacerbate this problem. For example, a lobbying group might be classified as a tax-exempt 501c4…as opposed to an entity that provides hands-on charitable services, which could be classified as a tax-exempt 501c3.

To further muddy the waters, the tax code reads like this, concerning the 501c4 designation:

“501c4s are:

*civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare

*or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular municipality

*and the net earnings of which are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes.”

A non-profit, non-charitable organization can be classified under a definition which also describes an entity whose “earnings are devoted exclusively to charitable…purposes”. Confusing, isn’t it?

Certain tax-exempt, radical, animal rights lobbying groups like PETA and the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), have come under increased scrutiny for their perceived lack of charitable activity and commitment, and for what could be interpreted as insidious implication and self-portrayal as charities. These organizations take in stupendous amounts of money in donations, yet provide little in the way of actual animal welfare, services or animal charity. Instead, they spend much of this money on salaries and perks, self-aggrandizing commercials, luxurious office complexes, and of course, on lawyers and lobbyists. Their true objective is to promote, by increments, “animal rights”, which is an extremist political agenda, not to be confused with traditional animal welfare. There is a vast and crucial difference between the two. The latter concerns the humane treatment and well being of kept animals, while the former, fully implemented, demands the complete extinction of all domestic breeds of all species, and would forbid legal animal ownership for any purpose.

Many smaller and less well-funded animal activist organizations have followed the basic template of these two main players, seemingly doing little to discourage public perception of them as “charities”, when in fact they are nothing of the sort. PETA, perhaps the most infamous of all animal rights groups, has even been listed by the USDA as a “terrorist threat”. (Huffington Post, 3/18/10)

Let’s have a look at the anti-greyhound racing activist group, Grey2k, based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For the 11-plus years they have been in existence, they have provided almost nothing in the way of actual, hands-on Greyhound welfare, while exhorting the public to “help us help the greyhounds”--by donating to them. They take great pains to portray the Racing Greyhound as a pathetic object of pity and the victim of cruel and inhumane enslavement…and themselves as “greyhound emancipators”.

The way they “help the greyhounds”, however, is to spend the public’s donations on almost anything other than materially or physically administering to those greyhounds. Their agenda of outlawing wagering on greyhound racing, moreover, necessitates the destruction of businesses and jobs that involve breeding, raising and caring for greyhounds. In so doing, the greyhounds they are supposedly emancipating are forced into premature retirement from racing, placing tremendous burden and stress on the existing charitable adoption networks and infrastructure, as well as the greyhounds themselves.

At that stage, Grey2k seems to be no longer interested in “helping the greyhounds”. They provide no direct greyhound adoption or welfare services, and never have, despite having begun only recently--perhaps in light of increased public awareness of the true agenda of mentors like PETA and the HSUS--paying any significant lip service to such things. Perhaps they have finally been shamed into acknowledging that real greyhound welfare groups, with whom they compete for donations, actually exist.

It has recently been brought to light, that from 2006-2011, Grey2k received over $2.2 million dollars in donations. Of this, their actual charitable contributions during this period, per their IRS 990 forms, amounted to just over $31K.

That is, for those who are and should be keeping score, just 1.4% of total Grey2k revenues given to actual charities.

Which charities those parsimonious donations specifically supported is unknown. It is known, however, that an officer and a board member of Grey2k each happen to sit on the board of the anti-gambling activist group, Stop Predatory Gambling. The Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation is—oh snap!--a 501c3 tax-exempt, non-profit organization.

If that doesn’t raise an eyebrow, then consider this. Grey2k is fond of condemning the breeding of greyhounds for the purpose of racing, contending that the yearly retiring greyhound population displaces dogs in the general population, who might otherwise find adoptive homes. However, they themselves have diverted, since 2006, well over 2 million dollars that might have been used by real greyhound charities to provide real welfare for the greyhounds Grey2k professes to care so much about. Instead, much of that money is used to pay the salaries of Grey2k’s officers, for lawyers and lobbyist fees, and for endless and shameless self-promotion.

Far from being anything akin to a greyhound charity, Grey2k manages to negatively stereotype and works toward disenfranchising an entire class of working people and their families, whose sole focus in life involves caring for the Racing Greyhound. It works to destroy their businesses, their breeding programs, their careers and their jobs, and if Grey2k is entirely successful, it will eventually destroy the Racing Greyhound. They are still, thanks to their racing heritage and activity, a genetically diverse, athletically adapted, thriving population of dogs, but one whose sole means of support is the revenue generated through racing.

St. Paul describes charity:

“it is not jealous or boastful… it does not rejoice at wrong”

Grey2k describes itself:

“GREY2K USA is the largest greyhound protection organization in the United States. Since our formation, twenty-six dog tracks have closed for live racing all across the country, and the number of states with dog racing has been cut in half.“

St. Paul describes charity:

“if I have not charity, I am nothing…charity is superior to all the virtues”.

Grey2k describes the cornucopia of options the public has been provided with to donate--to them:

*ONE TIME DONATION--make a secure online gift or send a check today…

*PLANNED GIVING--leave a bequest through the Hope Fund…

*MONTHLY GIVING--join the Gracie Club by pledging a monthly donation…

*HONORARY GIFT--give in memory of a loved one or commemorate a special occasion…

*OTHER WAYS TO GIVE--shop or sell online, search the web, or donate a vehicle to help the greyhounds.”

St. Paul describes charity:
“Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful”.

Grey2k describes its agenda:

“Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane, and should be prohibited.”

Please support real providers of real animal charity and welfare—such as your local, no-kill animal shelter, or if you are inclined to help greyhounds, your local Greyhound adoption group. Don’t assume that simply because an organization asking for your money is tax-exempt, that they are providers or supporters of animal welfare or of charitable works--or that they aren’t competing with those who actually perform those charitable works, for your hard-earned, charitable donations.

Grey2K: The Art of Perpetuating a Myth

By Dick Ciampa
December 30, 2012

To perpetuate their myth, Grey2K must dwell on the negative. To achieve maximum emotional impact, they must characterize everything and everyone in greyhound racing as bad. Good things and good people are either dismissed or isolated as exceptions.

To maintain their cash flow from animal lovers, Grey2K must find or invent things to reinforce donor motivation. This means scouring the internet and encouraging people to send them information about any potentially bad situation involving a greyhound. When that material is in short supply, they simply choose something innocuous and recast it as bad.

Grey2K probably never told you that greyhound adoption was started by the greyhound industry in the late 1970’s.

Nor, most likely, did they tell you the racing greyhound is one of the most adopted breeds in the world, because the dogs are gentle, affectionate pets that require little or no housebreaking and learn new things quickly.

There are exceptions of course, aggressive dogs and spooks. These exist in every dog breed including greyhounds, and the behavior is usually genetic in nature and not the result of abuse as Grey2K usually claims.

While Grey2K perpetuates their myth to keep donations coming in, logic and common sense indicate that the greyhound industry does not systematically abuse or neglect its dogs. If it did, the dogs wouldn’t perform well, and they wouldn’t transition so easily into the wonderful pets the majority of adopters joyfully claim them to be. How could these dogs go from being mistreated at the track to great pets virtually overnight? Did they magically transform the day they walked out of the track and into an adoption group? A more likely explanation lies in the care, training and attention racing greyhounds receive from the time they are born.

Did Grey2K tell you that except in Massachusetts, racing had already stopped for independent reasons in the states they nevertheless lobbied, at donor expense, to ban betting on racing?

What has Grey2K actually achieved other than enthusiastically accepting donor contributions in response to very carefully packaged and presented campaigns, donations that have recently funded travel to Florida, Arizona, Iowa, West Virginia, England and Australia.

Grey2K has had good mentors on the subject of perpetuating myths and living off donations. The HSUS, PETA and the ASPCA are their friends. The HSUS has been called one of the worst non-profits in the United States. PETA kills over 95% of the animals they take in. The ASPCA recently agreed pay 9.3 million dollars to settle a racketeering case. In spite of all this, people continue to send donations to these organizations in response to masterfully crafted fundraising appeals.

Grey2K perpetuates their myth by holding the greyhound industry to a standard of 100% perfection. No segment of society does everything right all of the time, and if 100% were what we were all required to achieve then we as individuals and we as a society would always fail.

Does the greyhound racing industry have a small percentage of bad people? As in every other sector, the answer is yes. Grey2K exploits that small percentage to perpetuate their myth by characterizing the exceptions as the norm. These same exceptions are decried nowhere more strongly than within the greyhound industry itself.

Does the church have a certain percentage of bad people? Do the Shriners have a certain percentage of bad people? Do actors have a percentage of bad people? Do Grey2K followers have a certain percentage of bad people? It would be quite safe to assume the answer is yes in all cases.

Why, then, would anyone expect the greyhound industry to be different from every other segment of society?

You are probably reading this because you want to help greyhounds. In that case, instead of donating to a group that gives less than 2% of its revenue directly to greyhounds, please consider donating to your local greyhound adoption group. To find a group near you please visit: http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/directory/list.cfm

Shelters & Donations... Where do they go?

Animal shelters all over are in trouble.  Donations are down and more pets are abandoned in this bad economy. It doesn't matter if they are public service shelters, i.e., the local animal control office or dog pound or if it is a private animal shelter such as your local greyhound adoption group.  Many people think the bulging coffers of the wealthy Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and their buddies at Grey2K USA, might help these suffering shelters...  that they donate some of those hundreds of thousands of dollars to help those out who are in these situations, which are occurring all over the nation.  Uhm...  sorry...  it doesn't happen. .

Courtesy of Rachel Hogue

On a past Sunday in the Waco Tribune-Herald is a letter to the editor from Diana Culp, who claims to be a former director with HSUS.  She refers to “common misconceptions” that national animal groups are “umbrella groups for pet shelters.”  Ms. Culp says they are not and in fact send only one percent of the funds they collect to local pet shelters.

Well, whadda ya know!  Call me surprised!  One would NEVER guess that from the fundraising pitches that are presented on TV! You know the ones of which I speak...  the heart-breaking appeals of sad looking puppies and the photoshopped photos showing "abused" greyhounds, which have yielded a bumper harvest of cash for the animal rights lobbying groups.  With tbese donations, the leadership of Grey2K have taken trips to various places in the world: London, Macau, Vietnam...  (Don't know about you, but I'd like to take a trip to London or Macau, however, all my money goes to providing for the dogs - mine & those waiting for adoption.)  In addition to the trips to exotic lands, the Grey2K leadership also uses those dollars to grease the hands of politicians in an action called "Lobbying" and other similar activities.

Obviously, Grey2K's idea of a perfect world is one in which greyhounds are stripped of their job - racing and the greyhound racing breeders, owners, and adoption folk are without the means to resist the onslaught of Grey2K.  If you are touched by the heart-rending Grey2K ads of "abused" greyhounds, you can write a check to them.  But—rest assured it will be used to fund their junkets to faraway lands and to harass, intimidate and bully the folks who support greyhounds and greyhound racing, either actively or through adoption efforts.  As a result, greyhound pets will be much more difficult and  more expensive.  But—if you want to actually help the animals in their photos, seek out your local greyhound adoption shelter and write them a check.  They are doing the work for which Grey2K wrongly gets credit.


Yours in greyhounds....

Etymology - the Study of Linguistic Change

Now for something a little bit different....

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning has changed over time. Words and their uses have always interested me, especially how words are twisted and turned from one meaning to another.  I believe that the power who be at Grey2K are good, extremely good, at twisting and turning words & their meanings. So...let's go down the rabbit hole together into the madness of Grey2K!

Grey2K USA is fond of excoriating racing people for "exploiting" their dogs. They use the word "exploit" because of its potentially negative connotations.  In fact, they focus on the negatives... always.  Regarding exploitation, however, they focus on the one meaning of the word which is to "use selfishly for one's own ends".  They seem to forget or perhaps they don't realize that the word, "exploit", also has several very positive meanings... Unlike the hate filled group, Grey2K, the racing community chooses to focus on the positives...  after all, life is too full of negativity and those bad feelings, which lead down a dark & lonely path, affect these sensitive & empathetic dogs.

A positive meaning of exploit, when used as a verb, is to further advance & to promote.  For instance,

"The adoption rep exploited the positive traits of the greyhound as a breed to encourage the family to adopt one to add to their family."

Or....

"Greyhounds really know how to exploit their humans by being cute. They can charm a cookie or treat out of anyone."

It can mean, when used as a noun, a striking & notable deed. Here's an example,

"The exploits of the great racing legend, Rural Rube, include setting a new world's record for the 5/16's mile by running the distance in 31 seconds flat. There were those who swear he was almost human. He posed to newsreels and cameras and at a dinner in his honor Rural Rube sat at the head of the table, a napkin tied around his neck. He even bowed to the delight of those present."

So, in looking at the positive, you're damn right I 'exploit' these dogs and I'm proud of it!  They are a great dog and they deserve to have all their positives celebrated by letting the world know of their 'exploits' throughout history!  I will continue to "exploit" them to the benefit of the dogs and the breed.

This little blurb also goes to show who truly advocates for the dogs.  But, you are the ones who need to decide who are the true advocates for the dogs and the breed.  You need to ask yourself, are the advocates  those people who exploit them in a positive manner, extolling the breed's virtues and the dogs exploits, those who show the dogs in the best possible light for what they are, an extraordinary athlete and creature?

OR,  is it those like Grey2K and its minions, who negatively "exploit" them, showing them as objects to be pitied, objects that are abused, to accomplish their political goal, caring naught for what happens to the breed in the long term should that goal be accomplished.  Make no mistake, Grey2K is exploiting these wonderful dogs to "take advantage of an animal, a situation either unethically or unjustly for their own ends."  The end of racing and, ultimately, the end of greyhounds & greyhound ownership.

When making that decision, please don't forget Grey2K's close ties with radical animal rights groups, groups which have called for the "extinction of domestic animals...  one generation and out".  It's a known fact that the President of Grey2K, Christine Dorchak, counts among her friends such noted animal rights radicals, including but not limited to:

Peter Singer, Animal Liberation Front

Peter Singer is of the opinion that "just being a human doesn't give you a right to live."  He supports euthanasia, infanticide, fair allocation of scarce healthcare resources, and embryo experimentation. Euthanasia & infanticide for those who are "severely disabled".  Does that include those children with autism?  What about children with cancer, a disabling illness?  What about children who are blind?  Deaf?

Yet, Peter Singer opposes killing any animal in almost ALL cases the notable exceptions being forms of animal experimentation.  Go figure...

"Should one break in and free the animals? That is illegal, but the obligation to obey the law is not absolute. It was justifiably broken by those who helped runaway slaves in the American South, to mention only one possible parallel."  Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals. Random House. 1975.

"So far as this argument is concerned nonhuman animals and infants and retarded humans are in the same category; and if we use this argument to justify experiments on nonhuman animals we have to ask ourselves whether we are also prepared to allow experiments on human infants and retarded adults; and if we make a distinction between animals and these humans, on what basis can we do it, other than a bare-faced - and morally indefensible - preference for members of our own species?" Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for our Treatment of Animals. Random House. 1975.

John "JP" Goodwin, Animal Liberation Front & HSUS

John "JP" Goodwin is a member of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), who has been hired by HSUS as a "nationally recognized expert" on dog fighting.  It's a lie.  What isn't a lie is Goodwin's association with ALF, an organization that was characterized by J. F. Jarboe, the FBI's Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, during Congression testimony on eco-terrorism in 2002 as, ". . .one of the most active extremist elements in the United States."  Goodwin himself stated "my goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture."

In case you don't know, Goodwin is a convicted criminal with a long history of arrests & convictions.  In the 1990's, Goodwin was arrested and convicted for being the ringleader of a crew that vandalized fur retailers in multiple states. Animal People News profiled Goodwin in 2000, noting that he “gleefully announced a string of Animal Liberation Front mink releases and arsons against furriers and fur farms,” while acting as a “spokesman” for the terrorist group.  He was once again a "spokesman" in February 1997 after a Petaluma, California, slaughterhouse arson, and in March 1997, Goodwin truly shocked the public with his comments about an arson at a farmer’s feed co-op in Utah. Goodwin stated "We're ecstatic." when asked about a fire that caused almost $1 million in damage and could easily have killed a family sleeping on the premises.  Deseret News (Utah), Mar. 11, 1997

Bruce Friedrich (PeTA) & Peter Singer

With the exception of Ingrid Newkirk of the PeTA killing machine, Peter Singer & JP Goodwin are the most well known, radical animal rights activists who call themselves "friends" of Dorchak.  Other lesser well known individuals include:

Bruce Friedrich, Farm Sanctuary
Grace & Michael Markarian (HSUS),
Kim Bartlett (Animal People Inc),
Paul Shapiro (HSUS), and
Sara Amundson (Humane Society Legislative Fund).

Think about it...

Yours in greyhounds...

Support, Evaluate & Ensure

In this post, we shall examine the effectiveness of the Grey2K BOD & Executive Members in several more points which have been previously mentioned.

Item #3 - A non-profit Board of Directors needs to "Support and evaluate the chief executive. The board should ensure that the chief executive has the moral and professional support he or she needs to further the goals of the organization."

Well, the Grey2K USA Board of Directors does support the leadership, the husband & wife team of Theil & Dorchak. I'm guessing that they better support them or be kicked out of their honorary positions! There is every indication that Christine Dorchak holds the Sword of Damocles over her Board of Directors. Either that or she's maintaining a vise like grip on their cojones.

Behind Bars....

As to whether the BOD actually evaluates the leadership of Dorchak & Theil...  it's doubtful...  If a good board was to evaluate the leadership, I'm wondering what they would say about the organization's President doing jail time back in her PeTA days... Yes...  I did not stutter... Christine Dorchak did jail time.

By now, people should know that Christine Dorchak was one of the PeTA protesters at the New England Aquarium, protesting the fact that the Aquarium had fish on their menu.  However, I'm guessing most people do NOT know that Dorchak was arrested for protesting at the Macy's at Downtown Crossing in Boston.

Here's part of an article from 1998 about an arrest that was only 4 years after a certain individual's battle back from the brink of death and a 2 year struggle to regain health.

Five fur protesters in chains arrested at Macy's
Boston Globe, City Edition - Boston, Mass.
Author: Daniel Vasquez, Globe Staff
Date: Dec 21, 1998

"Every Sunday, a small group of protesters exercise their First Amendment rights and gather in front of Macy's at Downtown Crossing. Their mission: to dissuade shoppers from buying mink coats and fox hides. But yesterday, members of the group allegedly lay down and blocked the store's doors, and five protesters were arrested... Steven William Baer, of Northborough, Heather Joy Lacapria and Chris Michael Devoncourt, both of East Boston, and Christine Anne Dorchak and Sandi Beth Okun, both of Boston, were charged with blocking a public entrance and disturbing the peace, according to police..."

Then, there is item #4...  The non-profit Board of Directors is supposed to "Ensure effective planning. Boards must actively participate in an overall planning process and assist in implementing and monitoring the plan's goals."

Monitor, and strengthen programs and services. The board's responsibility is to determine which programs are consistent with the organization's mission and monitor their effectiveness.

Let's revisit the mission statement of Grey2K, which was somewhat recently changed.

"GREY2K USA is the largest greyhound protection organization in the United States. As a non-profit 501(c)4 organization, we work to pass stronger greyhound protection laws and to end the cruelty of dog racing on both national and international levels. We also promote the rescue, rehoming and adoption of greyhounds across the globe." 

So now, they pay lip service to adoption. Yep... that's the section that has been somewhat recently added, :promote the rescue, rehoming and adoption of greyhounds..."  If their behavior in Massachusetts was any such example of "rescue, rehome, and adoption of greyhounds", they are in desperate need of education! Their plan in MA was not a good example of "effective planning".  In fact, it was the worst planning possible.

According to the Patriot Ledger, it was estimated that nearly 1,000 greyhounds were in need of a place to go when the MA ban on wagering took effect. (Contrary to what is stated by Grey2K, it is still LEGAL to race in Massachusetts.  The end result of the Question 3 ballot measure was to ban WAGERING, not dog racing.) Grey2K did not help those displaced dogs.  It was only through the efforts of the late greyhound advocate, Linda Jensen, that all the dogs found places to go. Linda was devoted to the care and welfare of retired Greyhounds and was recognized as the 2010 Greyhound Adoption person of the year by the American Greyhound Council. She was the driving force behind Racing Owners Assisting Racers, Inc. (ROAR) which served as a safety net to assure that every dog gets into a retirement (pet) home.  Linda Jensen was one of those vile & evil greyhound racing folks.  She had been involved in greyhound racing for 25 years or so at the time of her unexpected passing.

Even staunch Grey2K supporters like Louise Coleman, have questioned the planning behind the MA effort. In an article in the Revere Journal, Coleman said that the measure might not have had a lot of foresight – especially when it came to providing for the consequences of removing a long-time industry from the state.

“The whole question seemed to me to be, when the referendum was passed, it wasn’t brought to peoples’ attention that just because you stop racing doesn’t mean you don’t have more dogs,” she said. “There was no provision for the care of the dogs that are left afterward…In the abstract, people think there’s no more racing, but in reality there’s all these dogs and whose going to take care of them? It’s especially hard for us.”

Coleman also has concerns about the fate of the breed,

“The adoption movement has created a real demand for these dogs and people want them. The worst-case scenario is that the puppy mills would take them over. Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of planning in this process.”

With all of this lack of planning, it does not seem like the Grey2K Board of Directors is doing its job - ensuring effective planning.

Anyway, with regard to the Grey2K efforts on rehoming hounds.  It sounds like a conflict of interest to me...end dog racing, and you essentially end retired greyhound adoption. You hand the breed over to AKC hobby breeders and, perhaps, to large scale commercial breeders. It is more of the Grey2K's and PeTA's advocacy by extinction as espoused by Dorchak's mentor - Ingrid Newkirk. Such compassion.

Hmmm....  I just thought of something...  I wonder if Grey2K's opposition to crating dogs ("confined to cages for 20+ hours a day") is a direct result of Ms. Dorchak's jail time?

Anthropomorphism at its finest?


Yours in greyhounds....

Politicians & Their Associates...

Candy Beck:

"I have been involved in greyhound adoption since 1997 and have run my own adoption group since 2003, I also own an actively racing greyhound. My greyhound races in Florida at Orange Park Kennel Club in Jacksonville. I am licensed with the State of Florida and have paid a license fee to the State of Florida.

It appears that Senator Maria Sachs of Florida has swallowed the Grey2K party line - hook, line and sinker as she parroted all the talking points of Grey2K. I would have hoped that someone such as the Senator would have done a bit of research and looked at both sides of the issue before aligning herself with a group such as Grey2K, and against the interests of those in her state who make a living, pay taxes and contribute to the coffers of the State of Florida.

Just a couple of facts about Grey2K

1. Grey2K is known for distorting the facts. On Nov. 6,2000, the Boston Herald called Grey2K's campaign to ban greyhound racing in Massachusetts "...a ruthless campaign of deceit, distortion and defamation of character".

2. Grey2K provides NO direct services to greyhounds. Grey2K's 2008 IRS 990 return reveals that the organization spends nothing-zero-on direct services to benefit greyhounds or adoption. Instead, 53% of its budget goes to lobbying. (www.guidestar.org)

It is my hope that Florida does not lose live greyhound racing due to the misinformation and lies of those whose agenda is not about the greyhounds, but about lining their own pockets. Thanks to racing, greyhounds are well adjusted and social animals. They are wonderful dogs that are treasured by adopters all over the United States due to their breeding, careful raising, and racing... not in spite of it.

Please folks, do some homework.  Do not swallow the whole Grey2K line - hook, line and sinker. Save the racing greyhound from Grey2K!"

Addendum From Grey2K Lies

Make no mistake folks, Senator Sachs, who is running for re-election in 2012, is an animal rights activist.  There cannot be any other reason for her actions, her joining ranks with Grey2K USA and their radical agenda, which is based upon Christine Dorchak's association with radicals such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Humane Society of the US (HSUS), and Ingrid Newkirk of PeTA!

Index List of Animal Liberation Front's "Saints - Hall of Fame" files. Please note Christine Dorchak in purple.

Senator Sachs, in addition to falling for the "kool-aid" of Grey2K, has also accepted money and an endorsement from them, as have many other politicians.  You have to ask yourself...  WHO are they representing?  Are they representing you? Or, are they representing the 2% who would do away with our ownership of  and interactions with animals?

You have to ask yourself, do you really want politicians in office who associate and support a woman closely affiliated with a domestic terrorist group - ALF???  Here's what the FBI has to say about ALF...

http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/the-threat-of-eco-terrorism/

So, who are these politicians who are lauded by Grey2K and their minions???  Here are a couple...

Florida
Representative Dana Young
Senator Maria Sachs
Senator Don Gaetz

Rep Vic Williams & Karen Zoldan

Representative Joe Abruzzo

Arizona
Representative Nancy Young Wright
Representative Vic Williams

Iowa
Representative Mary Mascher

Pennsylvania
Senator Stewart Greenleaf

In the image at right, Rep. Vic Williams of Arizona is accepting a Grey2K USA award for his support of Grey2K USA rather than for his support of the good people of Arizona. Many of the good people of Arizona lost their livelihoods because of Rep. Williams support of Grey2K.

Karen Zoldan, the presenter, is known for making very offensive remarks such as, "Middle class, educated, white people don't go to bet on the dogs. That is Skechers or the TGP's (Tucson Greyhound Park) wet dream."

And, "If you drive by where the dogs are kept, it looks like Auschwitz..."

If I were a politician, I sure wouldn't want to be seen with a person who makes remarks like that!

When will GREY2K USA tell the world exactly what the involvement of its President/Treasure/General Counsel (yes the wife of the husband and wife dictatorship team of GREY2K USA holds all three titles) with ALF might be?

The public has a right to know who they are working with and what other organizations they “the leadership team” of GREY2K USA have ties with! What is wrong with a little transparency of an organization that relies on the public for its finances and salaries?

Birds of a feather flock together and perhaps if one bird in the flock is deemed to be what the FBI labeled a “threat to our society” then other birds of the flock probably have similar ideas and beliefs.  That includes those running for public office.

Yours in greyhounds...

PeTA & Grey2K USA... Bosom Buddies

On 14 Jun 2012, the Huffington Post Canada published a piece by Douglas Anthony Cooper titled, PETA: Fighting for Its Right to Kill.  As you may or may not know, according to reports submitted to the State of Virginia, PeTA kills about 97% of the animals that it takes in as an "ethical shelter", what PeTA prefers to call, euphemistically, "A Shelter of Last Resort." In reality, PeTA's headquarters is according to government records filed by Newkirk and Nachminovitch -- an astonishingly efficient killing facility.

Back in 1998, during the days of her very visible PeTA activities, Dorchak protested at the New England Aquarium, because the Aquarium had fish on the menu for its restaurant. As a card carrying member of PeTA, Dorchak & her husband, Carey Thiel, firmly believe in the PeTA mission statement, which is

"Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment." 

This statement includes all animals...  from  slugs & mollusks to all mammals, excluding human beings as PeTA has no problem defending and endorsing violence. To quote Bruce Friedrich, a former PeTA Vice President, from a speech at the 2001 Animal Rights Conference,

"...of course we're going to be, as a movement, blowing things up and smashing windows... I think it's a great way to bring about animal liberation... I think it would be a great thing if, you know, all these fast food outlets and these slaughterhouses and these laboratories and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow."

So, you're probably asking by now, what does PeTA & Hsus have to do with Grey2K?

As shown above, Christine Dorchak and PeTA's Ingrid Newkirk are buddies. Dorchak looks up to Newkirk as her mentor. Dorchak & her husband, Carey Thiel, push the agenda of HSUS, PeTA & Stop Predatory Gambling under the guise of trying to abolish the "cruelty of Greyhound racing" on anyone who will listen, even if they have sell their souls to the devil to do so.

Even though Dorchak and Grey2K are on record as "greyhound advocates", they do nothing for the dogs.  They don't even financially support those who work directly with the dogs, as shown on their IRS 990 forms.  Dorchak has learned well from her mentor, Ingrid Newkirk, President of PeTA. We have to wonder how well has she learned...

Dorchak's mentor, Ingrid Newkirk, stated at a press conference following the 2005 arrest of two employees, Hinkle & Cook, in North Carolina"PETA believes euthanasia is the kindest gift to a dog or cat..."  Newkirk has personally stated that she's killed "thousands" of pets at the PeTA facility.2

Those words are echoed in the words voiced by a President of a greyhound "rescue" that has been  promoted by GREY2K USA. I’m taking interest in this particular “promotion” because the group is lead by an individual, who advocated killing American greyhounds rather than letting them continue to live  by racing in Juarez or any other foreign country. By the way, don't you just love the hypocrisy spouted?  When they, the AR's, advocate euthanasia, it is a “GIFT”, but if anyone euthanizes an animal, it is labeled as "killing"?

"Keep American greyhounds in America! If you cannot find homes in the States, then give them a gift, even if that gift is euthanasia because that is better than sending them to the harsh reality of Juarez or any other foreign country." 1

So, which individual, which leader of which group wanted to kill greyhounds?  None other than David Wolf, President of The National Greyhound Adoption Program (NGAP).  The same David Wolf who houses greyhounds in NGA style crates at his adoption facility. The same David Wolf who stated if greyhound racing in Florida shut down that he would take something like 8,000 displaced greyhounds. Now we all know what he intends for those dogs, should it ever come to pass.  Could it possibly be "The Gift"?

And with whom does Christine Dorchak, President of Grey2K USA, hang out with?  Ingrid Newkirk of PeTA and David Wolf of NGAP. One has to wonder how much of their killing instinct has rubbed off on her.

We don't know if, during her PeTA days, Christine Dorchak killed adoptable pets the way Newkirk has.  However, it is known that when racing in New England shut down, Grey2K walked away. Grey2K had no plan on how to assimilate the hundreds of greyhounds that were retired when the New England tracks, such as those in Massachusetts, closed. Their usual comment was "the local adoption groups will take care of that"....

Ask yourself, if they were truly serious about caring about the dogs, would they not also include an avenue to assist the dogs and the adoption groups handling those dogs, when the tracks closed down? Would they not include in their legislation money for spays/neuters, dental, and other medical work, perhaps? No, instead, they patted themselves on the back and gave themselves high-fives about how they did "good" by closing down tracks and abandoned the greyhounds.  They just walked away...

Financial records show that for many years, HSUS and other AR organizations, have been the major money and power fueling Grey2K. In fact, while Grey2K is the rhetorical face of anti-racing advocacy, its benefactors pull strings behind the scenes. During 2009 (as in all years), virtually all of Grey2K’s $347,000 revenue went directly or indirectly into anti-racing lobby efforts, with $89,000 lining the personal pockets of Dorchak and Theil in salary and benefits. The bottom line remains steady: Greyhounds themselves get lost in all but the rhetoric as these political entities posture, looking pretty.

Knowing HSUS is a driving force behind Grey2K, let us not forget what the past HSUS President John Hoyt said in an interview with Turnout Magazine,

"I don’t think the humane movement would be quick to condemn the humane destruction of these greyhounds … we would 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."

Another 'animal advocate' wanting to destroy the dogs. 


How many times can these people LIE about wanting to help the dogs?  How many times can they LIE about "saving" greyhounds, when it is apparent by their words that they COULD NOT CARE LESS about the dogs other than  using them, or (in their words) EXPLOITING them to achieve their end goal - the destruction of the dogs! 

That end goal is shown time & time again in their words above that call for the dogs to be KILLED.

We all have one incredible thing in common – the ability to choose. The tragedy that inflicts many confrontations, when it comes to greyhound welfare, is that we all have made choices that may not be the same as what others have chosen. No one, especially the greyhounds, wins when lies and misinformation are tactics used to defeat those of different choices!

Yours in greyhounds....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Greyhound Update, a Newsletter from the National Greyhound Adoption Program, Winter 2005 Edition
2. New Yorker Magazine; "The Extremist: The Woman Behind the Most Successful Radical Group in America" by Michael Specter; April 14, 2002; 

US Dept of Ag Changes to Animal Welfare Act

The USDA APHIS has proposed changes to the regulations surrounding the definition of a 'retail pet store'. These changes will destroy responsible breeders, if passed, chances are that with few exceptions, most AKC greyhound breeders will be unable to comply with them and they will stop breeding. Then, if Grey2K USA is successful in abolishing greyhound racing, there will be few, if any, NGA bred greyhounds because most of those breeders will stop breeding. I ask you...

What will happen to the Greyhound breed?

Litter of AKC Greyhound Pups

It does not take a giant leap of the imagination to realize that our beloved breed, Greyhounds, will become extinct here in the United States.

Make no mistake, the proposed APHIS rule is heavily influenced by the Humane Society of the US (HSUS). Remember, the long term goal of HSUS is to outlaw all breeding of companion animals and to abolish all legitimate uses of those animals.

The proposed new USDA/APHIS rule and PUPS law would prevent most animals from being raised in a home and family setting. The Animal Welfare Act limits licensed breeders to only commercial/laboratory style settings.

Allow farmers, breeders, show competitors, hatcheries, working/service animal producers, shelters and rescues to choose any humane method that works for them, their animals and their goals.

 Please oppose PUPS legislation and the APHIS-2011-0003-0001 proposed rule, "Animal Welfare; Retail Pet Stores and Licensing Exemptions."

Everyone, who is involved with animals as companions, pets, working animals, etc., needs to send a note to the USDA APHIS.

We have talked to USDA officials and they tell us that form letters will count as ONE comment, not one comment per letter. They are not interested in a vote count -- they want thoughtful comments from breeders and purchasers of puppies.

The USDA has also stated that they cannot enforce this. This response drives me more than a little crazy. First, this country should not pass laws OR regulations that cannot be enforced but make criminals out of thousands of people. Second, it WILL be enforced sporadically -- every time a neighbor gets mad at a breeder, a puppy owner has a complaint, or an animal rights fanatics decides to pretend to be a puppy buyer to gather evidence against breeders. (And believe me, this happens.)

These are new regulations, not legislation. It is IMPERATIVE that everyone make a comment. To have any influence, people have to comment on the official site here:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0003-0001

These changes are a freekin' nightmare and they will destroy responsible breeders. If this is passed, the reality is that the only breeder from whom puppies will be available are those breeders like the Hunte Corporation.

Hmmm...  no pets or pets from the Hunt Corp?  That's one helluva decision that I hope I never have to make.

Yours in greyhounds....

By Dennis McKeon

BREAKING NEWS!!!...Greyhound Racing Now Legal in Forty Nine of Fifty States

I was just funnin’. It’s not really a newsflash. It’s simply a fact. Greyhound racing is legal in 49 out of 50 states here in the good ol’ USA.

Those of us who have been following the war on Greyhound Racing, which has been waged by various groups of fanatical animal rights extremists for nigh on 5 decades now, might not actually realize that. Despite what greyhound racing’s most hyperbolic and bellicose antagonists, such as Grey2K, tout in their well-rehearsed and contrived talking points and press releases.

While they would have us believe that greyhound racing is a felonious activity in most states, true to form, they have deliberately obfuscated the fact that greyhound racing is perfectly legal in every state of the Union but one. What they neglect to tell you, where there are laws that might imply to the casual reader that greyhound racing is indeed against the law, 

is that it is WAGERING on greyhound races that has actually been made into a criminal activity, everywhere racing is supposedly banned.

Most of these states never sponsored greyhound racing in the first place. The “bans” on wagering on it were instigated mainly at the behest of the well-heeled horse-racing lobby, long before Grey2k even existed. The horsey-set generally prefers to have a monopoly on sponsoring events where the money gambled comprises their earnings.

This brings to light an interesting and crucial difference between reality and the garden-variety propaganda of Grey2k and their co-activist, co-radical drum-beaters and pot-stirrers.

Grey2k and their sugar-raddies at the HSUS (the uber-extremist and deceptively named Humane Society of the US, which has nothing at all to do with your local humane society) like to tug at the public heart strings by implying that they “help the greyhounds”. According to Grey2k, the best way you, concerned citizen, can help these greyhounds, is to go to their websites and give them money. Little of this money, if any, however, will be used for hands-on welfare of those greyhounds who they are supposed to be helping. Au contraire. Grey2k is not a humane society, a shelter, or a greyhound adoption group. They are a political lobbying group.

Political lobbyists, to refesh our memories, are the people from whom even the most wiggly and waggly politicians will slip and slime their way through a metaphorical sewer pipe to distance themselves in the public’s eyes.

Billboards, All Links Go To Grey2K USA

The latest fund-raising chakra-eruption to have emerged from the oh-so-concerned-for-the-greyhounds meditations of Grey2k, is to help the greyhounds by having the donation givers pay for billboards which will advertise the Grey2k website.

You read it right---billboards. Billboards which will direct you toward the donation-extraction interface of the Grey2k website. Now how clever is that?

No, these billboards will not be edible by greyhounds, they will not be designed to shelter greyhounds, and the greyhounds will not be able to play "keep-away" with them.

So, in a most “Rube Goldberg”, convoluted but self-perpetuating fashion, this is how Grey2k intends to once again “help the greyhounds” with your money. As a point of information, Rube Goldberg was the guy who made all those amazingly complex contraptions you see in old movies, which perform very simple tasks. Those of us who remember the Ideal board game of Mouse Trap, can truly appreciate the ingeniousness of this latest ploy by Grey2k to “help the greyhounds”---it’s so much more fun than simply making a donation to a real greyhound adoption group. And, I'd venture a guess, so much more profitable, long term, for Grey2k.

Lest you think I am being too hard on them, I’d like to see them take it a step further. We all know how cruel and abusive greyhound racing is purported to be by these always open-handed but seldom open-minded, self-described greyhound advocacy groups like Grey2k.

They are utterly convinced of this, despite having no empirical experience whatsoever in greyhound racing. They refuse to even consider trying to achieve any consensus-building with Greyhound Racing, which might be of benefit to all parties. They have always, and without reservation, engaged and promoted their brand of slash-and-burn advocacy---greyhound racing must be destroyed. That is a matter of historical fact. It’s either their way or the highway---and while you’re out there on that highway, please keep an eye out for our Grey2k billboards, and send us some money.

So, for the sake of critical thinking, let’s take them at their word. They want to protect greyhounds from the injury risks that racing exposes them to. Roger that. They want to protect them from the alleged abuses that a career as a racing greyhound supposedly imposes upon them. Got it.

NOTRA-LGRA, courtesy of All About Greyhounds

Now let’s also ask them where they stand on the multitude of greyhounds and other breeds of dogs who are actively engaged in amateur racing, as well as open field and lure coursing.

These greyhounds also compete in risky and competitive racing, whether against one another or against the time clock. They are all subject to and occasionally suffer the very same injuries as racing greyhounds. As a matter of fact, many of the dogs that compete in these events are retired racing greyhounds.

Are these dogs somehow unworthy of the same concern and protections from injury and potential abuse as racing greyhounds? Why are Grey2k and their supporters not “helping” them? Why is State-regulated greyhound racing so much more heinous and unacceptable an activity than is amateur, non-State regulated racing and coursing?

Why do they choose to persecute and vilify greyhound racing professionals employed in racing with Pari-mutuel wagering, but not greyhound racing and coursing amateurs and hobbyists, where there is no wagering?

Should not genuine greyhound advocates also take up the cause of greyhounds who are subjected to the same training and racing, athletically induced stresses and hazards as those greyhounds involved in professional racing?

Where is the outrage?

Where is the concern?

Where is the heart-rending, hand-wringing, billboard-erecting sympathy for these dogs?

A perusal of the Board Members of an activist organization called Stop Predatory Gambling, reveals to us that one Carey Theil, Executive Director of Grey2k USA, also happens to sit on that Board of Stop Predatory Gambling.

My, my, my…what a coincidence!

Then, lo and behold, when we skip over to the Grey2k website, we see none other than the Reverend Tom Grey, who is listed as a Grey2k Board Member, and also as the Field Director and spokesperson for Stop Predatory Gambling.

Eureka!

Yet another astonishing coincidence! I’ll be right back, I’m just going out to buy a few lottery tickets. This simply must be my lucky day.

Reminder to self—send Rev. Grey and Mr. Theil an email and ask them what they suppose the odds might be against something like that.


Comment By Grey2K Lies


Remember...  Carey Theil continually states, "Grey2K USA has no position on gambling."  Yeah... right...  I was born at night, but not last night!  When pigs fly...


Yours in greyhounds...