My first adopted Greyhounds had run at the Multnomah Greyhound Track outside Portland, OR. I had never been to a track, but several years earlier, I had lived in Seattle when that track closed. I’d read the horror stories that some Greyhound RESCUE groups use to get the public engaged ... I wanted to RESCUE a Greyhound ... and I did ... or so I thought. I prepared my home for a dog that needed to be rescued, but “Alice the Goon” (my beloved Inger) didn’t need rescuing. She LOVED people, and had no nefarious interest in my cats. She was so ... wonderfully easy. WTF?
Her adoption group had been closely aligned with the track and even housed hounds there until foster or forever homes were found. The next year they held an adoption publicity event at the track. Adopted hounds were invited to come and parade around the track ... could "bite" at Rusty, the lure, at the end. Inger was in heaven. She was so happy to be back at the track. We stayed in the stands for some races .... she went BONKERS! She pled, “Omg, let me out there! I WANT TO RACE!” and watched races start to finish. I was shocked, amazed, and curious .... I needed to know more. Five Greyhounds (and 17 years later), I know TONS more. The dogs don’t need to be rescued from racing; they just need homes once their careers have ended. Was there a time when racing Greyhounds were not treated well? Probably in SOME kennels, but poor treatment does not produce champions. Modern racing Greyhounds are superstar athletes that get massages after races and only the best diets. They are doted on by trainers and handlers, and expect such adoration from future adopters. Their handling by trainers and learned routines from track life actually facilitate their transition into extraordinarily easy adoptees or "rescues" as some like to call them.
Sadly, an easy way to turn future adoptees into RESCUES would be to end Greyhound racing. Disproportionate numbers of hounds would need to be rehomed ....and the jobs — livelihood — of trainers and kennel workers would also be eliminated ... Don’t accept the melodrama of G2K or other such groups at face value ... are their accusations true of Greyhound racing TODAY? Not in my experience of the past 17years.
Jennifer Vookles
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