"I am so very grateful for the 11 years I had with him"

Why, you ask? Well, it was Jake. He was actually a lurcher, but I didn't know enough at the time to really care one way or another. And, he was amazing. Jake came to live with me at the age of 3 after having lived in a cement kennel without a name for three years. His "owner" would chain him and his littermates to an ATV to condition them for underground racing. When the owner was arrested, his dogs came to an adoption group and were placed. That adoption group, while no longer in existence, was very anti-race. That was my indoctrination to greyhound racing and adoption.

I am a reformed AR person. There may even be a G2K flyer lurking somewhere in my house. But I watched, I listened, I met industry people and I educated myself. I saw the blood, sweat and tears that people pour into these amazing animals. There is no glamour in working the tireless hours in a kennel, pouring into a dog that is so well socialized that vet visits are a breeze, so that they get off a hauler, tail wagging, looking for the party. This industry, these people are the safe haven for these dogs. They are the reason that I have more of them in my house than is probably adviseable.

Do we believe that racing will stop if it becomes illegal? Most definitely not. Then the real worrying will begin, as underground racing becomes more prominant and more dogs live like Jake lived the first three years of his life. Will the activists be the boots on the ground when that happens? I think not, I think the people who have seen the dogs through hurricanes and nuture and protect them every day and make them the incredible dogs that they are will be the ones who will choose to step up and pick up the pieces. So, yes, I am a reformed AR'er, a treehugger in many respects, but on this issue I stand with the United States racing community, for they are the ones truly advocating for the dogs. So I stand for Jake. I am so very grateful for the 11 years I had with him, but I will not stand by and watch us create an environment where there are more nameless, faceless dogs living in cement kennels, without the regulation and protection that the racing industry in the US affords.

Jennifer Castlen

Comments

"As a person who helps connect humans and Greyhounds..."

As the President and Founder of Forever Home Greyhound Adoptions, as well as having 13 of my own Greys, I feel like it's important to weigh in with my views as not only a Grey mom, but as a person who helps connect humans and Greyhounds, every day for over 20 years now. With all the allegations and controversy surrounding the Greyhound racing industry lately, I feel like it's high time that more of us on the adoption side of the road make our thoughts and feelings known. Having been in the adoption world for well over 20 years now, I think I have seen and heard just about everything, and I am here to tell the world that all the anti-racing slandering of the industry is shameful, hurtful, and untrue. Most of the AR mouthpieces that spout toxic lies the loudest, have probably never ever seen the inside of a racing kennel, and maybe never even witnessed a Greyhound race. Well, I HAVE, and I can truthfully say, that most kennels are cleaner than some people's homes, a

"She was not 'culled' like a puppy farm inmate"

It's about the dogs! It's been not quite four years since I became a "Crazy Greyhound Lady," retired racers have that effect on a large number of their adopters. NGA greyhounds have amazing careers as athletes and then are fortunate to have an adoption rate of over 95% when those careers are over. Now it's time for all of us who appreciate all that goes into the breeding, training, and care to stand up and defend racing against the endless lies put out by profit-driven extremists. My husband and I have adopted two retired racers and volunteer extensively with our adoption group, including traveling to the track to pick up new retirees and doing home visits to help match prospective adopters with dogs. We had the oh-so-common experience of mutual love at first sight when we met each of our hounds. Coming up with a testimonial should have been an very easy task. Instead I struggled with draft after draft, they all fell short. One day I realized that it was not

"And one year later we visit the first time a racetrack."

My Story: so sorry my English is not perfect I hope you understand me?! I am from Germany and in 2002 I met my first greyhound. He was from the last closed racetrack in Italy and was in a shelter in Germany. His name was Teseo (Teseo della Capitale). The beginning of a very deep love to greyhounds. But Teseo was so sad an scared and unlucky ... now we know he was unlucky with us. He was the first time alone ....He missed other greyhounds. But eight weeks later we adopted Zama (Teresas Hope). A female from the same track. And Teseo was so happy! He changed in a lucky and wonderful boy. At first we hate everything about racetracks. We heard from rescue groups so terrible things about this. This was a very bad area and all people are bad. But we met other greyhound owners in our town and we talked about everything ... and about the racetrack too. They told us so much other stories about the dogs and the people and we changed our opinion. And one year later we visit the f

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