Dog Races

[aly]

Originally posted by K9soul
I'm guessing "greysandmoregreys" is one of Cali's friends recruited over here to dispell the stupid myth of mistreated and ill used greyhounds.

Come to think of it the spelling in this sentence looks awfully similar to Cali's

The very first thought that came into my mind was it was way too big of a coincidence that this person joined today.

*edit* Ugh, finally had time to read this whole thread. I just read what they had to say over there on that board. Nasty.

[greysandmoregreys]

We do get attached to the dogs. But do you think it would be best for these people to take the dogs back to the farms to live out there lives or to send them on to homes where there will be two or three other dogs to share a home with?

If I could take each and every one of my dogs home I would but how happy would they be if I had 50 dogs living in my house?

I feel it's best to place them with people that will enjoy them as much as I would and will have the time to give every dog in there home.

It's a great day when I hear from someone that has adopted a dog from me and tell's me how much they love this hound and how it has changed there life.

I had one hound that lives in a Nursing home. Have another hound that watches out for a woman that has seziures and lets her know when she is about to have one and nudges her until she sits down.

I would never have met so many wonderful people who love these dogs just as every bit as much as I did if I didn't allow these dogs to be adopted.

If I could take them all I never would because I know that there would never be enough time in every day to love these dogs like there new adoptive homes do with just a few animals in there homes.

Originally posted by Kfamr
The thing I don't get is... why breed a dog, race it, then when it no longer can race -- get rid of it?

Do people not get attached to these dogs, love these dogs? Why would they want to get rid of them?

It's just like the idiots who breed Pits, fight them, then if they lose they dump them to die if not already dead. I don't think anything could be AS bad as that, but IMO very similar.

I depise people getting "rid" of dogs unless it's for a VERY good reason, such a they aren't capable of taking care of themselves, let alone another life.

[Kfamr]

But WHY keeping breeding these dogs, until theres 50 or so that you own or have to get rid of?

There's so many other breeds and dogs already that need homes that could bring as much, if not more, joy into the lives of these people who have obtained these greyhounds.

I just do not agree with getting a dog and then getting rid of it.... and I don't think i'll ever understand the concept of such so I think we should end it at just that.

[DogLover9501]

I don't want to get into all of this, but...

My dad's best friend Randy and his wife just recently adopted a "retired" greyhound....

He is only 3 years old, has scars and is way underweight, the place told them that he will probably gain 30+ pounds now because he's not racing anymore, meaning he is very underweight.

He is very nervous and shy, they have owned him for 2-3 weeks and Randy just recently was able to pet him.

He doesn't seem like he was treated very well, and was obviously part of someones life for 3 entire years and was just tossed out.

I agree with Micki, Twisterdog, Kay and whoever else who said things along those lines.

[Uabassoon]

The more I read your posts the more I begin to get upset. It seems like you have these greyhounds for your own pleasure and not so much theirs.

Yes, I enjoy the breed very much. I work for a pet sitting agency and have cared for several rescue greyhounds (just giving you some background so you know that I do know and understand this breed. Maybe not as well as you, but I do have some experience with them and love them as a breed).

But I just can't imagine breeding dogs for a sport that is just for your interest. Yes, I know greyhounds love to run, and I enjoy watching them run. That's why running sports such as coursing were made so an owner can bond with their dog and do something their dogs enjoy. Even if you take the best care of your dogs while they are with you I don't agree with your breeding an animal so you can be entertained with it.

This is why I don't support greyhound racings, even if a breeder takes great care of their dog I don't agree in supporting a business that would treat their animals as if they were property.

I do realize that not every greyhound is abused, and I know many of them have happy endings. Many shelter dogs have happy endings, but that doesn't mean a person should breed dogs then go take them there because they can get adopted and have a happy life.

[micki76]

Ironically I met a rescued racer this evening at Petsmart when we went to get Tank a snail. Her name was Daisy and she was sickly thin (still needing to gain 15+ lbs), had a to the bone injury on her right front leg, and had a scary looking old injury to her left shoulder that was never treated and thus the muscle atrophied and so the formerly broken bone healed so that it sticks out. She was scratched and bruised all over. She's been in her foster home for 2 weeks and is adjusting to all the things that she should have been acclimated to as a puppy, such as furniture, mirrors, doorbells, air conditioner noises, etc.

This dog was horribly abused, even if she was never hit.

The husband is the President of Greyhounds Unlimited. I doubt he's lying about the atrocities these animals face. I doubt he's lying about what he deals with EVERY DAY. What he sees on a DAILY BASIS.

Why would ANYONE continue to breed animals KNOWING they’ll just turn them over rescuers in the end? WHY?
It’s all about the almighty dollar.

SICK.

Here's a pic of Daisy from their website:

[Amber]

Originally posted by aly
That reminds me of a show I saw on animal planet about a woman who rescues retired greyhounds. She talked about the extensive process of introducing the dogs to different textured floors, grass, carpet, everything! It is quite an extensive process when a dog has been raised in a kennel. I have had a few fosters myself who were scared of the world because of growing up in similar circumstances. It is almost a full time job to try to socialize them to the world when they are past their critical socialization period.

I seen this too. I would never go to one. ever.

[greysandmoregreys]

Quoted from Greyhound Unlimited web page
"We take a neutral stand on greyhound racing"

How could anyone take a neutral stance on greyhound racing with all the atrosities that he told you?

Makes me wonder?

Also quoted from there web site where you got the picture:
"Daisy's foster mom tells us:

Daisy came to us from the Forney Road Animal Shelter in Dallas. She had been found wandering loose and a kind soul picked her up and brought her to the shelter."

Now where does it say anywhere that this was a race greyhound? It talks nothing about ear tattos which an NGA registered greyhound would have.

Mickey you stated that it was a retired racer and there you were wrong.

For anyone else that would like to take a look at the whole story about Daisy you can click here:


How can you even be sure that this was a race greyhound? Could have been someone breeding greyhounds for pets, or an
AKC hound, or a coursing dog.Daisy's whole story

[greysandmoregreys]

Do you not think that these dogs enjoy running? Do you not think these dog enjoy what they do?

Go to a greyhound kennel on race day and take a look you will have a whole different outlook on things then.

These dog LOVE, let me say that again LOVE what they do!!

For my own pleasure? Do you not own your own pets for your own pleasure as well as theres?

If you say that the only reason that you own a pet if solely for there own pleasure and that you get nothing out of it then you shouldn't be an animal owner. Just that plain and simple/

As I said before and I will say again. If you don't agree with it that's fine. Heck my own mother doesn't agree with it but if it's going to be done best to be done right.

So with what your saying that there should be no pure bed dogs. No dogs bred unless you plan on keeping every dog that you bring into this world.

We would be missing out on a great number of breeds if this were true. We would be left with greyhounds, the only dog mentioned in the Bible, and what maybe a mastiff?

Originally posted by Uabassoon
The more I read your posts the more I begin to get upset. It seems like you have these greyhounds for your own pleasure and not so much theirs.

Yes, I enjoy the breed very much. I work for a pet sitting agency and have cared for several rescue greyhounds (just giving you some background so you know that I do know and understand this breed. Maybe not as well as you, but I do have some experience with them and love them as a breed).

But I just can't imagine breeding dogs for a sport that is just for your interest. Yes, I know greyhounds love to run, and I enjoy watching them run. That's why running sports such as coursing were made so an owner can bond with their dog and do something their dogs enjoy. Even if you take the best care of your dogs while they are with you I don't agree with your breeding an animal so you can be entertained with it.

This is why I don't support greyhound racings, even if a breeder takes great care of their dog I don't agree in supporting a business that would treat their animals as if they were property.

I do realize that not every greyhound is abused, and I know many of them have happy endings. Many shelter dogs have happy endings, but that doesn't mean a person should breed dogs then go take them there because they can get adopted and have a happy life.

[DogLover9501]

Originally posted by greysandmoregreys
Also quoted from there web site where you got the picture:
"Daisy's foster mom tells us:

Daisy came to us from the Forney Road Animal Shelter in Dallas. She had been found wandering loose and a kind soul picked her up and brought her to the shelter."

Now where does it say anywhere that this was a race greyhound? It talks nothing about ear tattos which an NGA registered greyhound would have.

Mickey you stated that it was a retired racer and there you were wrong.

For anyone else that would like to take a look at the whole story about Daisy you can click here:


How can you even be sure that this was a race greyhound? Could have been someone breeding greyhounds for pets, or an
AKC hound, or a coursing dog.Daisy's whole story

I don't think it stated that she was a retired racer because isn't the entire rescue for retired racers??

[greysandmoregreys]

NOPE, most if not ALL, greyhound adoption groups and rescue groups will take in any greyhound weather that be a retired racer or a greyhound that is in a shelter with ear tattoes or not.

Several groups will also take in lurchers which for those of you that don't know what a lurcher is they are a cross between a greyhound and another breed of dog. Could be a deerhound, or a coonhound.

[Nomilynn]

I think the difference is at THIS particular board, the members here see taking in an animal as a lifelong commitment. Not our life, but theirs.

I do not have a dog at present, but I have in the past. The thought of keeping them just long enough to use them for ANY reason other than companionship makes me sick. I have two cats. The are now 2 and 3 years old. Did I get rid of them when they stopped looking like a kitten and hand them off to an adult cat rescue? No. And I wouldn't. They are my babies. How dare anyone take in any animal and then cast them off after a couple years. How do you think it would feel to a little kid if his or her parents adopted him out after he stopped fitting into cute little kid clothing, for example? Probably like a piece of crap.

Dogs can't reason like we do, and it's shameful that people who take in a greyhound somehow think it's ok to keep taking them in because they will eventually adopt them out to good homes. These animals love us UNCONDITIONALLY and it is absolutley wrong to get an animal knowing full well it won't be kept in the only home it's known for longer than a couple years.

And really, this is not the first time that Cali has recruited people from another board and used the other boards to talk crap about Pet Talk. Which is pretty disgusting in itself. I've been a member here for about 2 years. These are the most caring, loving, generous, giving, sensitive people I've ever met and they have helped me personally on a tremendous level. These people are my friends, and I respect them. I have little respect for people who come to this board for the soul purpose of calling them ignorant or uneducated.

So, if I'm wrong for having respect for people who take in an animal for LIFE, who care enough for their well being to offer an animal the stability, long term love and devotion it DESERVES then I'm perfectly happy being wrong.

[cloverfdx]

A racing kennel will NEVER keep dogs until they find a home.

You have not met friends of mine then, the dogs they cannot rehome are ALWAYS kept on as companions, along with the ones they do NOT try to rehome because they cannot part with them.

[Kfamr]

Gosh, I'm sick of this person talking to us as if we know NOTHING about dogs.

So with what your saying that there should be no pure bed dogs. No dogs bred unless you plan on keeping every dog that you bring into this world.

NO She DID NOT say that or even mention of it. Responsible Pure-Bred breeders don't keep their animals for years, now do they?

Personally, I treat my dogs as if they are my children. I do not have human children as of now, but my dogs are treated just as I would treat them, if not better.

IMO, what people do to these greyhounds (breed them, race them, dump them) would be like me having a child, raising it, and then giving it to someone else after I've taken it through soccer practice or something.


No one here is denying that greyhounds like to run, but do you honestly think it's the right thing to do to keep getting animals and then giving them off after they can no longer race, as if it were a piece of property?

It's like selling an old 1999 Chevorlet because you wanted a brand new 2005.

Originally posted by Nomilynn
And really, this is not the first time that Cali has recruited people from another board and used the other boards to talk crap about Pet Talk. Which is pretty disgusting in itself. I've been a member here for about 2 years. These are the most caring, loving, generous, giving, sensitive people I've ever met and they have helped me personally on a tremendous level. These people are my friends, and I respect them. I have little respect for people who come to this board for the soul purpose of calling them ignorant or uneducated.

Exactly!

Another person and I were talking about this last night.
She's talked so much crap about PT, then she goes and whines that she doesn't get many replies to her threads. WELL.. this is why most of the time people ignore her threads. No matter what we say to her, we're always wrong and she's always right, and nothing we say ever sinks in. And then eventually she goes and grabs one of her other board which she's "been a member of far longer than Pet Talk" which in reality this one was only joined a few days before PT was joined.

I've been on PT for almost 4 years. I've gained SO many friends - online and in real life - and the people here have shown me there is actual hope that there are GOOD people out there! I've never been to another board that i've been so pleased as I have with PT.

If PT wasn't such a great place.. I wouldn't have driven to Ohio TWICE this year to visit with them, nor would I be flying to Utah this Thanksgiving to spend time with one of my best PT friends.

Even after being on other boards the same amount of time as PT, i've never felt the same way as I do with Pet Talk.

[GraciesMommy]

I haven't responded since starting this thread only to say that I didn't mean to start anything by it..once I started reading some of the responses.


Let me say this...in my ignorance I did not realize this was such a controversial subject...I only polled it because they were talking about it at work and it made me think it was a good poll to add..
I had no idea it would be such a heated topic. I apologize for my ignorance in asking it in the first place. I certainly did not mean for it to get out of hand.

I am new to pet forums (one month old) and I just wanted to contribute and get to know some people with the same interests as me....their furbabies/kids...I love this place and sure hope no one holds any hard feelings because of my mistake of starting this poll.

~big hugs