"This girl walked into my apartment like she owned it."

I have two experiences to share with you. This here is Imark Carol, now called Willow. She raced at the Daytona, Florida track. I adopted her about 15 months ago. She retired and was in a foster home for only a few days before I adopted her. This picture was taken in the first week that she was at my house, so basically right after her racing career ended. As you can see, she came to me as a grinning, happy, well adjusted, physically fit dog who loved her toys, running in the yard and her humans. (She was grinning in this picture because she had just got done running full speed in my yard... doing what she LOVED... and chasing after a ball.) She did not come to me as an abused, scared dog afraid to interact with the world around her. You can tell she was well taken care of. She is actually my second hound. Truth be told there was once a time when I used to be anti-racing before I got my first hound. I assumed (for no real reason other then what I read in the media) that these poor dogs needed a home far away from racing. What I quickly realized was these dogs were the most well adjusted dogs I have interacted with in 38 years, so there HAD to be an explanation for that. I came to realize that the greyhound community, the trainers, the farms, etc., love these dogs just as much as I do and I have them to thank for my two amazing hounds, Willow (Imark Carol) and Liberty (Kelsos Tarabroch).

This is my second story to share with the group. Meet Liberty, formerly known as Kelsos Tarabroch. The first two pictures are when she first came to me after retiring. She did not race in Florida, but she was just down the road at the Birmingham. When I adopted Liberty in January 2015, I admit it... I was NOT pro racing. I named her Liberty because in my mind I had liberated her from the track life. I had no reason to have this opinion other than I just read about the media's opinions; therefore, it became my opinion by default. This girl walked into my apartment like she owned it. She was full of sass and confidence, certainly not behaviors you would expect to see from a dog who was neglected by the racing industry. She was happy to engage with the world, other humans, other dogs and children. I started to wonder if my opinion of racing could be wrong. I mean here I had this beautiful, healthy, happy hound who felt like she ruled the world. Was it possible the racing industry helped shape her into the wonderful, full of life pet that she was, or was she forced to run? Fast forward 3.5 years I can tell with absolute certainty that Liberty cannot be forced to do anything. LOL. That girl dances to the beat of her own drum... always has, always will. If there was any doubt in my mind about the racing industry, it was put to rest about a year after adopting her. I took her to a pet expo in Indianapolis where they had a company there demonstrating a lure on a sand track. All of the sudden I felt the leash in my hand moving rapidly. I looked down and there stood Liberty quivering from head to toe with excitement, teeth chattering, eyes fixed on the lure. It was clear my girl wanted a go at it. I registered her to try it out and next thing I knew a crowd was gathering to watch my greyhound run. They wanted to wanted to see this regal animal in action. And then snap...the lure started and I let go of Liberty! She ran and ran and ran... living out her glory days all while liberating me of any negative notions I had about racing. In that moment where my Lib was doing what she loved, the crowd cheering her on and me standing there in awe will be forever in my heart. I finally got it. I finally knew the truth. The racing industry gave Liberty the opportunity to do what she loved most.


Julie Reynolds