Hi all. 7up here. The illusive poll linking lurker. LOL

Maybe I can add to the confusion with a slightly different viewpoint. I have been on GreyTalk for some time. I am not a fan of greyhound racing and I make that very clear. There are others who feel the same way and we have all grown some pretty thick skin as you might well imagine by now.

I want to let you know that even us greyhound owners have been accused of ignorance for our unsavory opinions because we
either:

1. have not been to a race, or
2. have not been to a kennel, or
3. the kennel we visited was not representative of most kennels, or
4. we lie like dogs (no pun intended).

Even if we meet the above criteria, it has been stated that we still cannot form an opinion without actually working in a kennel. I would venture to guess if we did that it would be the wrong kennel, not long enough or if all else fails, back to "we lied".

There have been blatent lies told in the past by actual anti-racing activists (that which we are not) This has created somewhat of a bitter attitude which you have undoubetdly already noticed. This is part of the reason they reacted to you all the way they did. They feel everyone believes only the lies and bases their opinion on that alone. They do not take into account the opinions you form with your own mind and you ability to give each story you hear the amount of weight deserves. They tend to take opinions too personal at times, as many of us do at some time or another

These are a very passionate bunch who have had some pretty hard knocks in the past and are just now beginning to make headway with public opinion. Not an easy thing to do when certain undeniable facts still exist, but that's another story all together.

I am only hoping to give you a little better idea of what is behind all of this hoopla so that you are not left with the uncertainty (or maybe even hurt feelings) that I think you have now. At least that's the way I read it.

Greyhound forums are generally (and understandably) moderated, so we have not always had the opportunity to hash things out with the racing folks, yet they are making a concerted effort to work with adoption and improve things within the industry. Although we have debated the same issues over and over again until blue in the face, we still continue to spend way too much time with each other. Probably because of the one thing we do have in common which, as you all know, can never be talked about enough.... our dogs (or pets, whatever the case may be). So that's why at any given time, you might find a fued going on at GreyTalk and you are more than welcome to join in the fun before the thread gets nixed. We love "new blood". LOL

I also want to say that these really ARE the good people in racing. I don't agree with them and they don't agree with me. I think the term for this is "agree to disagree" although we haven't succesfully managed to do that for any length of time. Maybe one day they will come around. LOL

What matters most to me is that we continue to work towards our common goal which is 100% greyhound adoption. I am sure you have already heard about that so I won't go into it.

By the way, I still want to answer K9soul's question about the racing situation in other countries. This is one of the areas I actually know something about LOL

"Jay" from GreyTalk