Greyhounds...OUT!!

[Michelle Sampson]

Nobody likes getting older (unless you're 15 and want to get your driver's license. In Sarasota (where the old would eat the young if they weren't afraid of gaining weight) it's particularly tough. But there's always plastic surgery, hair dye, yoga retreats, all-liquid diet cleanses and dating someone much, much younger than you (Lance, Tom, Bruce and Demi) to help you recapture your youth.

The sports world is also known for its youth-centric nature but as athletes get older there are still several ways they can extend their careers. Golfers can join the Senior Tour (now called the Champions Tour) because apparently even seniors don't want to be called seniors), tennis pros can start playing doubles, and baseball players can become designated hitters or they can take steroids and have their heads grow twice the size of the moon. Most importantly, athletes are usually honored and revered after they retire.

Unfortunately, senior greyhound racers aren't so lucky.

Greyhounds are one of the oldest known breeds of dogs and have long been celebrated for their extraordinary speed. The sleek, majestic pooches are one of the fastest mammals in the world, just behind the cheetah and the gazelle (and way ahead of the tree sloth). These speedy and strong aerodynamic dogs can even reach speeds of up to 45 mph.

Due to this amazing gift of speed, the vast majority of greyhounds are bred for dog racing. The controversial international sport has long sprung debate between its fervent fans and equally ardent opponants who argue that the dog racing industry treats the animals inhumanely..(racing greyhounds are confined to small cages for 20+ hours a day, fed disgusting 4-D meat, shot up with steroids, and are injured or killed while racing).

Unfortunately, many of these fantastic four-legged racers find themselves out of a job in just a few short years. Even the most successful racers have a relatively short lived career that can leave them homeless or euthanized when they start to slow down.

According to the Humane Society, each year tens of thousands of racing greyhounds are killed. Opponents of the sport have long argued that the dog racing industry breeds far more greyhounds than can possibly be used, destroying young dogs who are not fast enough to win and older "retired" pooches. Luckily, today there are hundreds of rescue and adoption programs to help ex-racing greyhounds; locally we have two amazing Greyhound Adoption Organizations; Fast Friends Adoption, and Racing Dog Rescue Project. Fast Friends is a non-profit organization established by the lovely Nancy Coffey whom has worked tirelessly to find suitable homes for the speedy Spots and educate the public on the suitability and availability of greyhounds as pets. Racing Dog Rescue Project is a kindred non-profit organization that similarly works to further this worthy cause.

There is however a light at the end of this really long tunnel. It appears perhaps dog racing has run it's course.

More than half of the nation’s greyhound tracks have closed for lack of business in the past three decades. Four closed last year alone, leaving some states without any live dog racing.

Although profits are down for many companies because of the recession, track owners are fighting to stay alive in the face of competition from casinos, an unsympathetic public uncomfortable with the concept of racing dogs for sport and state legislatures seeking more tax dollars from gambling to fill budget gaps...But most of all, they are battling time itself.

Peace and Pet Love!

[Charmaine Engelsman-Robins]

GREAT article, Michelle, and sadly accurate. Hopefully our kids will never see a greyhound track.