My personal opinion regarding racing greyhoundsI have been around horse and dog trainers and breeders, vets and animal shelters. I have been an Animal Control Officer - yes, "the dog catcher". I have enforced animal cruelty laws. Here is what I have learned. There are people who are in the animal business because they love animals as much or more than they love their children. They treasure their animals and cater to their every need, be they pets or high dollar show competitors (and sometimes both). They couldn't imagine doing anything else. There are people who are in the animal business because they don't know anything else, because they thought it would be a quick way to turn a buck (HAHAHA), because the animals can't gripe if you cut corners on their care, and a myriad of other, sometimes even darker, reasons. Here is something else I have learned. Whether it is a greyhound who races, an Arabian horse who competes in trail rides, or a pony who teaches the next generation to ride NO ANIMAL will do it's best and compete and perform at his or her highest level when they are unhappy and unwell. An animal that feels good, who loves their trainer and the people around them, who loves thier work is the animal the wins the race, wins the trophy, and gives every ounce of heart in the effort to win. You cannot fake that with a million dollars or a ton of secret torture. Yes, there are people in the animal industry that should not be allowed to share their life with a cockroach, let alone a finely tuned animal athlete. But if they treat their animals badly, in return, their animals perform poorly. If the person is trying to make a living at it - they will not do well at all. In the end, they will probably leave the business of their own volition. Meanwhile, the people in that business who do care about animals know exactly who the bad eggs are and do their best to sideline them as they do no one any good, not the animals, not the business. The thing to condemn is not the business, but the bad people within the business. And, honey, there are bad people in every business, from used car dealers to Wall Street. And good people, too. Speaking specifically of greyhound racing - I would like you to consider that of all the dogs bred for specific purposes, the greyhound is one of the healthiest breeds of dog in existance. Why? Well you may not like to hear it - but because a greyhound who cannot run because he has hip dysplaysia or eye disease is either put down, or sterilized and placed in a pet home, without exception. If a greyhound has a physical flaw or mental defect, it will show up very soon once they have begun training, if not before. If a greyhound can't race and make money for whatever reason - s/he is taken out of the gene pool. No other breed has that sort of guarentee. And no other breed can boast the excellent general health that greyhounds enjoy today. Face it - we have racing to thank for the wonderful, healthy, loving hounds that grace our lives. Stop greyhound racing and within two or three generations you will have greyhounds rife with hip dysplasia, dispositional problems, skin problems, and who knows what else as they are bred just for fancy, or conformation, or just because "I wanted the kids to see where puppies come from". Last, but hardly least - greyhounds love to race. If they don't have a love for it, they do not do well and are retired from the track early. Every greyhound I have had lived to run and any time I had more than one, they all wanted to be the dog in the front of the pack, the first one to the prize. These animals did not come to be used for racing because they hated it and wanted to lay around all day. They are the product of generations bred to do what they love, and they love what they do. Stopping racing would be almost as much a cruelty to the dogs as it would be to the people who depend on it for a living. Just my opinion, and don't send me flaming emails unless you, as I have, have given up eating meat and wearing leather and spent years of your life sacrificing your own comfort so that you could do animal rescue or working in the greyhound industry. (Come to think of it, even if you have, don't bother.)
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