Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack is Closing

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack is closing. There are a lot of false e-mails circulating saying, 400, 500, 900! dogs will be put down if people don't jump and do whatever. Well, it's not true. My understanding is that Wisconsin is 100% committed to adoption and the dogs will be safe. Some will race other places, some will be bred, some will move into adoption programs. Other tracks are also closing soon, so more e-mails will be coming around. Know that its fair to say that those dogs will be taken care of as well.

Below is the official response of GPA National to the closing of Dairyland.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack Closing
An e-mail has been circulating recently with some figures and statements that to the best of our knowledge contain outright bogus or misleading information about the closing of Dairyland.This is the information I can share with you all regarding this tracks closure from our volunteers heavily involved in assisting these greyhounds:
1) Currently the number of dogs at Dairyland (DGP) is unknown. A State official indicated they would have a list ready in 2 weeks. 900 was the number given in a recent newspaper article, but we anticipate that number is high and the realistic number is somewhere between 300-500 dogs.
2) There is confirmation from the track veterinarian, who is a State of Wisconsin employee, that no dogs will be left behind. The facility will stay open as long as it takes to find adoption groups for all the dogs that are left at DGP.
3) Hauls are being organized to move the pet dogs out of the track prior to the closing to relieve some of the burden. This is going smoothly. Racers can't be moved until January 1st, since racing will continue until Dec. 31st. A haul going east through Ohio is scheduled to leave Dec. 5th. Another haul is leaving for Canada around the same time. Both of these hauls are going to groups that are approved to accept dogs by the State of Wisconsin.
4) All of the regional adoption groups are all ready in communication with each other and are strategizing how to move the dogs and increase adoptions. Its a good team and confidence is high in their abilities to get the job done. The groups are from WI, IL, MI, MN, IN, OH and IA (the neighboring states), but we anticipate support from well behind that perimeter.

Rory Goree
President
Greyhound Pets of America - National

What is your new adoptive greyhound thinking?

I have seen this passed around the greyhound community in multiple places many times. I thought I'd share it here as well, in case anyone missed it. It's great advice for any new adopter, and some old ones who missed the memo :)


This is an excerpt from a 1998 seminar given by Kathleen Gilley. It bears remembering.

"What is your new adoptive greyhound thinking?

This breed has never been asked to do anything for itself, make any decisions or answer any questions. It has been waited on, paw and tail. The only prohibition in a racing Greyhound's life is not to get into a fight----------------or eat certain stuff in the turn out pen.

Let us review a little. From weaning until you go away for schooling, at probably a year and a half, you eat, grow and run around with your siblings. When you go away to begin your racing career, you get your own "apartment," in a large housing development. No one is allowed in your bed but you, and when you are in there, no one can touch you,
without plenty of warning.

Someone hears a vehicle drive up, or the kennel door being unlocked. The light switches are flipped on. The loud mouths in residence, and there always are some, begin to bark or howl. You are wide awake by the time the human opens your door to turn you out. A Greyhound has
never been touched while he was asleep.

You eat when you are fed, usually on a strict schedule. No one asks if you are hungry or what you want to eat. You are never told not to eat any food within your reach. No one ever touches your bowl while you are eating. You are not to be disturbed because it is important
you clean your plate.

You are not asked if you have to "go outside." You are placed in a turn out pen and it isn't long before you get the idea of what you are supposed to do while you are out there. Unless you really get out of hand, you may chase, rough house and put your feet on everyone and every thing else. The only humans you know are the "waiters" who feed you, and the "restroom attendants" who turn you out to go to the bathroom. Respect people? Surely you jest.

No one comes into or goes out of your kennel without your knowledge. You are all seeing; all knowing. There are no surprises, day in and day out. The only thing it is ever hoped you will do is win, place or show, and that you don't have much control over. It is in your blood, it is in your heart, it is in your fate-- or it is not.

And when it is not, then suddenly you are expected to be a civilized person in a fur coat. But people don't realize you may not even speak English. Some of you don't even know your names, because you didn't need to. You were not asked or told to do anything as an individual; you were always part of the "condo association"; the sorority or fraternity and everyone did everything together, as a group or pack. The only time you did anything as an individual is when you schooled or raced, and even then, You Were Not Alone.

Suddenly, he is expected to behave himself in places he's never been taught how to act. He is expected to take responsibility for saying when he needs to go outside, to come when he is called, not to get on some or all of the furniture, and to not eat food off counters and tables. He is dropped in a world that is not his, and totally without warning, at that.

Almost everything he does is wrong. Suddenly he is a minority. Now he is just a pet. He is unemployed, in a place where people expect him to know the rules and the schedule, even when there aren't any. (How many times have you heard someone say, "He won't tell me when he has to go out." What kind of schedule is that?) Have you heard the joke about the dog who says, "My name is No-No Bad Dog. What's yours?" To me that is not even funny. All the protective barriers are gone. There is no more warning before something happens. There is no more
strength in numbers. He wakes up with a monster human face two inches from his. (With some people's breath, this could scare Godzilla.) Why should he not, believe that this "someone," who has crept up on him, isn't going to eat him for lunch? (I really do have to ask you ladies to consider how you would react if someone you barely knew crawled up on you while you were asleep?) No, I will not ask for any male input.

Now he is left alone, for the first time in his life, in a strange place, with no idea of what will happen or how long it will be before someone comes to him again. If he is not crated, he may go though walls, windows or over fences, desperately seeking something familiar, something with which to reconnect his life. If he does get free, he will find the familiarity, within himself: the adrenaline high, the wind in his ears, the blood pulsing and racing though his heart once again--until he crashes into a car.

Often, the first contact with his new family is punishment, something he's never had before, something he doesn't understand now, especially in the middle of the rest of the chaos. And worst of all, what are the most common human reactions to misbehavior? We live in a violent society, where the answer to any irritation is a slap, punch, kick, whip, or rub your nose in it. Under these circumstances, sometimes I think any successful adoption is a miracle.

He is, in effect, expected to have all the manners of at least a six- year old child. But, how many of you would leave an unfamiliar six- year old human alone and loose in your home for hours at a time and not expect to find who knows what when you got back? Consider that if you did, you could be brought up on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Yet, people do this to Greyhounds and this is often the reason for so many returns.

How many dogs have been returned because they did not know how to tell the adopter when they had to go out? How many for jumping on people, getting on furniture, counter surfing, separation anxiety, or defensive actions due to being startled or hurt (aka growling or biting)? So, let's understand: Sometimes it is the dog's "fault" he cannot fit in. He is not equipped with the social skills of a six- year old human. But you can help him." from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get. How EMPTY my life would be!

Kiowa Sweet Trey

Kiowa Sweet Trey, son of Oswald Cobblepot, half-brother to our Berry White (Kiowa Gal Berry), passed away last week. I won't even try to summarize his life and career, as others already have done better than I could. One such post is below.


http://www.blocksporthounds.com/martin/2009/07/kiowa-sweet-trey.html


His lineage on greyhound-data: http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?z=1x2DEy&d=kiowa+sweet+trey


Kiowa Sweet Trey
7 Jan 2000 - 15 July 2009

A greyhound in the White House?

The country is a buzz. Obama has won and promised his girls a "puppy" by the spring. Well, one has allergies, so their breeds are limited. Also, Obama has expressed interest in rescuing a dog. As you can imagine, there is now much discussion in the greyhound community about the possibility of a greyhound in the White House and what that would do/cause?

I think there would be positive and negative effects. I must also say that it is a bigger deal because of them getting the dog post election. To be frank, I doubt they will adopt a greyhound. There are too many political connotations and too many people that would be pissed off by it and trying to read something into it. Is he pro-racing, anti-racing, or does he even give a crap? I just think it would be too political. I do have some worry that people who do not need and should not have greyhounds would end up with them in a sort of 101 Dalmations sort of situation. There may be some cases of that, but the fact that many if not most groups require home visits, a lot of that would be prevented with the exception of direct from the track adoptions an such. On a positive note, there would be increased awareness of the breed and how great they are as pets, as well as the plight of many former racers and the like. I could go on more, but I won't. This is a sticky subject. I am torn as to which I would prefer, yes or no...

I would like to wih the Obama's the best in their dog choice. Please rescue. Purebred or mutt does not matter, but NO DESIGNER BREEDS. I just cannot support that at all.

Greyhound Racing banned in Mass.

So, yesterday, the voters of Massachusetts passed a ban on greyhound racing. There are two tracks in that state that will be affected over the next two years. One of the tracks is not currently open and only runs seasonally. The anti-racing people are very excited and hope to move more states to a ban on greyhound racing. I am not anti-racing. I believe that the racing is not the problem. Yes, accidents happen. Dogs are injured and some die on the track or from injuries sustained on the track. It is true. BUT, that is not the problem in my opinion. I am more worried about what happens when their career is over and how they are treated off the track. I think the answer is not to ban racing, but to regulate it more. Make the tracks safer. Hold people responsible for the care of the dogs during their careers and make sure NO greyhound is needlessly put down when their career is over. More oversight.

What would happen to the breed if there were no more racing? How long before there were no more greyhounds that needed to be rescued (or very few at least)? I'm sure there would always be coyote hounds, but what about all the others? What about the breed in general? Would the just become just some other dog breed, because right now I think they are pretty damn special? I pose those questions to the anti-racing people out there. YES, some people are bad. YES, bad things happen to some dogs, BUT many owners are honest, caring, and trustworthy. I have met many owners through Greytalk that do a fantastic job taking care of their hounds throughout their careers and afterward. I like to hope they are the rule rather than the exception.

My three hounds come from varied race backgrounds. Without these race backgrounds, I would not have these wonderful creatures. I am sorry some dogs suffer on the track, and wish that did not happen. I want all greyhounds to have their own couch, BUT I don't think that ending racing is the way to make that happen. Some people will always find a way to do bad things, and through this industry, some accomplish that, BUT I believe racing can be better, safer, and lead to those couches....

.... let's see what the courts say. I'm sure there will be a challenge, since many people stand to lose jobs...