Beautiful Greyhounds

PaulaMackie · 08-30-2010, 02:44 PM

Ava- Thank you! I know what you mean. My foster hasn't a scooby how to work the stairs yet. Getting up is okay with a bit of coaxing, getting back down though..not a chance. Although watching them learn such simple things and getting to know their real personality is such a great experience. I completely agree with you. It is the most rewarding thing!

HarleyHasMyHeart- That is absolutely great that you managed to save those greyhounds and i bet they are very grateful! What a great idea to teach people about greyhounds through schools! Well done!

Ava · 08-31-2010, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarleyHasMyHeart

I know exactly what you are talking about. In high school I used to belong to this club it was Greyheart Youth Group. They would teach us about what happens to the dogs at the track, they would bring the club dogs in and sometimes the dogs that are available for adoption. it was a great club the only problem was that we couldnt promote the club more than just word of mouth because the school board said that it didnt have anything to do with the academics. Which i always thought a lot of the other clubs didnt either but we were just glad that we could have the club. We would go to different meeting spots in front of pet stores and bring the adoptable dogs and raise money for the Greyheart club and just overall provide information to the public about the club and about the beautiful Greyhound breed and what these poor dogs go through on a daily basis. The club was new and only 2 years old when I joined and my last year of high school the Youth Group got 3 Greyhounds from the track adopted out to new homes. It was an amazing experience to know that our little youth group helped 3 beautiful dogs get a second chance to have the best life they could possible have.

That's great. Approaching the public is a wonderful activity for students. Becoming well spoken with strangers is a great job searching skill. Plus saving dogs is great, too.

HFHoneysuga · 08-31-2010, 03:13 PM

I watched a documentary when I was younger on the dog racing industry, it was a very sad thing to behold. Part of it was on a police investigation into a "sanctuary" for post racing greyhounds. Well behind the place there was reported a "pit" where the greyhounds were buried after euthanasia. Sure enough when they took to digging around they found a few hundred corpses and a few hundred more collars with the racing tags still on them, most of the skulls either had bullet holes in them or were crushed, it was horrific.

It also showed a rescue that saved GHs from places like that but it was so over crowded that the dogs had to stay in 4x2ft kennels all day until they got a few hours to run around because there weren't enough volunteers and donations to provide for more space and exercise. It showed the kennels stacked 4 high and 5 long against walls full of dogs.

Needless to say it was a very depressing thing to watch. But as I have read the care of GH's has improved over the years and places like these are the exception rather than the rule and it makes me hopeful that in years to come it continues to improve.

Dakota · 01-25-2011, 07:50 PM

I know this is old but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
I think the GH racing industry gets bashed a lot because of all the organizations looking only at the "bad apples" and like other people have said "taking the bad and blowing it up for all to see" instead of looking for the good. There are going to be bad apples in all walks of life but that doesn't mean that just because one or a few people do things wrong, that all people involved must do it wrong also. Heck you wouldn't say that having children was bad just because some people abuse their children right? its the same with GH racing. Just because some people abuse their dogs or focus on the profit from racing ( which I assume is like sled dog racing where it takes wayyyyyy more money to get to the race than could ever be offered in a purse) and let their dogs take a back seat in priority, doesn't mean ALL GH racers do the same. I know that there are people out there who do it for the fun and the love of the dogs rather than winning. Its not fair though to ignore those people and just throw a blanket statement out that all GH racing is bad.
I've seen the same thing A LOT in the sport of sled dog racing. A lot of the time the people sitting in judgment have never even seen a sled dog race in person and have heard one PETA story about the Iditarod and they go loco over it and make websites about how cruel sled dog racing is and some have even picketed out at races with signs saying how cruel the sport was and how everybody should go home and not support this horrible sport. If they just would take the time to actually say "Hey I wonder what this sport is REALLY all about....." and ask mushers or people in the know then they most likely would have a different opinion. I'm not saying they SHOULD have a different opinion but an opinion based on one story or judment usually doesn't get you very far.
Sorry for straying off topic and when I say "you" or "people" I'm talking about the average Joe Q Public, not people here on the forum.