It is with great sadness that I’m writing this.  Today, my family lost one of our companion animals.  Jackson was a former racing greyhound that was surrendered to a rescue group.  My parents found him there and immediately fell head over heels in love with this 80 lb white greyhound.  The feeling was mutual.  Jackson loved my parents.

Greyhound racing.  At the time that my parents decided to adopt former racers (they adopted two), I didn’t know much about what kind of dogs they were.  I had no idea that greyhound racing was popular, or the conditions that the animals are forced to endure.  And to be honest, at that time, I didn’t know much about rescue dogs at all.

Greyhound racing is considered a “sport”.  According to Wikipedia (incidentally, the information on wikipedia is really one sided):

“Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds.  The dogs chase a lure (traditionally an artificial hare or rabbit) on a track until they arrive at the finish line.  The one that arrives first is the winner.  In many countries, greyhound racing is purely amateur and conducted for enjoyment. In other countries (particularly the UK, US, Ireland and Australia), greyhound racing is a popular form of gambling, similar to horse racing. There is some popular concern in the aforementioned countries regarding the well-being of the dogs; the effectiveness of industry efforts to address these concerns is controversial.”

Controversial well-being and effective industry efforts are popular concerns.  Really?  I never stop being amazed at how humans talk about the way we treat animals.  It’s as if no one has the balls to say “We know these dogs are abused and no one is going to stop it from happening – least of all the industry itself”.  And, an industry that uses animals, doesn’t see a sentient being.  They only see profit and loss.

I’m not going to go into all the nasty details about greyhound racing.  I could tell you that over 800,000 greyhounds were whelped from 1986 – 2006.  And that, of those 800+ dogs, over 180,000 were killed even before they ever stepped paw onto a track.  Further, during that period, over 600,000 greyhounds died.

Or I could tell you how on average, a “revolving baseline of 1,000 dogs is required to sustain a mid-sized racetrack“.  One thousand greyhounds people.  That is a lot of greyhounds.  These 1,000 dogs are kept in cages for long periods of time, coming out only to train or walk.  Their sole purpose, to race for man’s pleasure.  They have no lives of their own.  No comforts, no connection with other sentient life.  Their lives dangle on whether or not they win races.  You win, you get to stay alive.  If you stop winning, you are “culled“.

And the dogs who are culled are the lucky ones.  Others, the unlucky ones, are donated or sold to animal testing facilities where they are tested until death.

And lest I forget to not mention it, greyhound racing kills thousands of rabbits and jackrabbits a year.  According to the Humane Society of the United States’ website:

“Greyhound training activities have been known to maim and kill thousands of domestic rabbits and wild jackrabbits every year. (This estimate is based on HSUS investigations into the illegal importation of rabbits as well as the use of animals in training events.) One particular event known as “coursing” involves greyhounds chasing, terrorizing and eventually killing rabbits within fenced enclosures. Some industry representatives argue that this activity enhances the dogs’ racing ability because they’ll develop a “taste for blood.” But greyhounds are sight, not blood, hounds, and their inclination to run is instigated by a moving object, not the scent of blood. The use of live lures is not permitted in at least 16 states, but such laws are difficult to enforce.”

Can someone tell me why a law is hard to enforce?  If I don’t wear my seatbelt, a cop will pull me over and give me a ticket.  If the HSUS knows that the tracks are breaking laws then why doesn’t the authorities?  The idea of animal welfare (or animal activism for that matter) doesn’t really rank high in importance for the majority of our populations.  Too many of us see abuse, hear about abuse and ignore the abuse.  It isn’t enough to know it is happening.  You have to do something about it happening.  If a track is breaking the law, then they should have to answer to the law.  Plain and simple.

Of course, I look for a day when all life is treated with respect, not just the humans.  We must extend our circle of compassion to include the animals and recognize that they too deserve a chance at a happy life.  The greyhound racing industry takes away the basic right to life of the dogs.  They do not get a chance to live out a life filled with love.

Thankfully, Jackson got the chance to know what love is.  He bonded with his family and the other companion animals he lived with.  He was able to run, bask in the sun (which he loved to do), go on walks, play with other dogs, sleep on cushions and be spoiled with tons of toys and treats.  He learned to trust man again after spending two years on the racing circuit.  Jackson brought something special with him when he came into our lives.  He taught my family how wonderful it felt to rescue a dog, and how when you rescue a dog – the dog really rescues you.  Jackson will be missed.

Our Jackson (smiling in back) with his Merlin RIP Sweet Boy ~ 1999 - 2009

We will be absent the remainder of this week while we take the time to grieve and assist my family.

Please take the time to learn more about greyhound racing and what you can do to help by clicking on the links below.

The Humane Society of the United States – Greyhound racing

Greyhound Network News

Greyhound Protection League