Repost from sailingwest - spread the word
May. 4th, 2005 08:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zhieI'm nowhere near CT, and I'm guessing people who are in that area know about this already, but still. We had a half-greyhound once, he was the most awesome dog ever. Okay, onto the news report...
500 Dogs to Die! (posted 5/1/05
http://www.dakinshelter.org
The greyhound track in Plainfield, CT voted on April
26th that they
would discontinue greyhound racing. Unfortunately -
and heartbreakingly
- they've also decided that rescuers have only two
weeks to get the
dogs out, and any dogs remaining at the track on May
14th will be
euthanized. This is a monumental task because there
are at least 500
dogs currently at the track.
These are all young, healthy dogs, 2-4 years of age,
who would make
great family pets. Why is the track doing this?
Greyhound racing is a
business and because the track is no longer
profitable, they're getting
out. To us, dogs are cherished companions. To the
greyhound racing
industry, dogs are expendable commodities to be
disposed of in
whatever way is least expensive and most convenient
when they aren't
making money.
We've committed to saving as many dogs as we possibly
can in the next
two weeks. We'll be working with an experienced
greyhound rescuer who
has been placing retired greyhounds for many years.
She will be going
to the track and bringing us dogs. As soon as we have
more room, we'll
do it again. We will repeat as many times as we can
before May 14th.
After May 14th, there will be no dogs left alive at
the track.
In order to save as many dogs as we can, we are going
to try something
we've
never done before; sending as many as possible out
into foster care by
May 14th. Every time we send a dog into an adoptive
home or a foster
home, we can take another dog off the track. We will
take the fostered
dogs back into the Dakin Animal Shelter for adoption
over the next few
months as spaces open up for them - as long as
they're off the track
by May 14th, they'll be safe.
How can you help?
* Adopt a greyhound They're wonderful dogs -
gentle, quiet,
sweet, and graceful. The ones we'll be getting will be
good companions
with other dogs and with cats. Surprisingly, they're
couch potatoes.
They do need to be in a fenced area or leash walked;
they aren't dogs
to let run loose.
For information on what it's like to take a greyhound
home, visit
<http://www.greyhoundgang.com>
(http://www.greyhoundgang.com/) . To
find out what greys we have available for adoption,
call us at
413-548-9898 or visit our _dog adoption page_
(http://www.dakinshelter.org/dogs.html) .
* Foster a greyhound If we can send greys into
foster care and out
of our Shelter, we can pull more from the track before
May 14. We'll
get them back into the Shelter over the next few
months. We will
provide all their medical care and a crate to make
their transition
easier. You provide your time & love and together we
will give them a
new life! For information on what it's like to take a
greyhound home,
visit <http://www.greyhoundgang.com>
(http://www.greyhoundgang.com/) .
If you can help, or are interested in more
information, contact us at
413-548-9898.
* Donate money. We are going to need extra funds to
help these dogs.
We'll be buying crates and other supplies as well as
paying all their
medical bills.
You can send a check to:
Dakin Animal Shelter, 163 Montague Road,
Leverett MA 01054, or _donate online_
(http://www.dakinshelter.org/support.html) .
Please mark your donation "Save the Greys".
* Donate a large dog crate. We need these to
send with the dogs
going into foster care.
* Spread the word! The more people who know
about this tragedy,
the more help the dogs will get.
Many of you have seen greyhounds in the community -
they're lovely,
gentle dogs. When we started working with greyhounds,
we discovered
that there are a lot of misconceptions about them.
* Greys are not hyper - they're actually couch
potatoes!
* They love to run - for about 5 minutes - in a
safe, fenced area.
* Greys spend most of their day snoozing and
adore soft sleeping
places and all the comforts in life.
* They are actually very good dogs for
apartments or small homes
because of their low activity level.
* They are very clean dogs, and in some ways
are very catlike in
their cleanliness and love of comfort.
* Most greyhounds - including all the ones
we'll be getting - can
live with other dogs and cats, once they've been
introduced, and
actually love living with other animals.
* They rarely bark and shed little.
* In their life on the track, they live in
crates for 22 hours
per day, so most things in the 'real world' are a
surprise to them.
* They've never seen simple things such as:
slippery floors
(wood, tile); stairs; television; windows; cats; dogs
who are not
greyhounds!
* They generally housebreak very easily because
they're
completely crate trained (they aren't housebroken
because they've
never been in
a house, so they have to learn what a house is!).
* They walk very, very politely on leash - they
learn that at the
track.
* Greyhounds are very good companions for homes
with gentle
children because of their own gentle nature. This is a
tragedy of
enormous proportions, and we've decided to throw
everything we've got
into doing as much as we can. It's easy to get
overwhelmed thinking about the scope of the problem -
and do nothing.
500 Dogs to Die! (posted 5/1/05
http://www.dakinshelter.org
The greyhound track in Plainfield, CT voted on April
26th that they
would discontinue greyhound racing. Unfortunately -
and heartbreakingly
- they've also decided that rescuers have only two
weeks to get the
dogs out, and any dogs remaining at the track on May
14th will be
euthanized. This is a monumental task because there
are at least 500
dogs currently at the track.
These are all young, healthy dogs, 2-4 years of age,
who would make
great family pets. Why is the track doing this?
Greyhound racing is a
business and because the track is no longer
profitable, they're getting
out. To us, dogs are cherished companions. To the
greyhound racing
industry, dogs are expendable commodities to be
disposed of in
whatever way is least expensive and most convenient
when they aren't
making money.
We've committed to saving as many dogs as we possibly
can in the next
two weeks. We'll be working with an experienced
greyhound rescuer who
has been placing retired greyhounds for many years.
She will be going
to the track and bringing us dogs. As soon as we have
more room, we'll
do it again. We will repeat as many times as we can
before May 14th.
After May 14th, there will be no dogs left alive at
the track.
In order to save as many dogs as we can, we are going
to try something
we've
never done before; sending as many as possible out
into foster care by
May 14th. Every time we send a dog into an adoptive
home or a foster
home, we can take another dog off the track. We will
take the fostered
dogs back into the Dakin Animal Shelter for adoption
over the next few
months as spaces open up for them - as long as
they're off the track
by May 14th, they'll be safe.
How can you help?
* Adopt a greyhound They're wonderful dogs -
gentle, quiet,
sweet, and graceful. The ones we'll be getting will be
good companions
with other dogs and with cats. Surprisingly, they're
couch potatoes.
They do need to be in a fenced area or leash walked;
they aren't dogs
to let run loose.
For information on what it's like to take a greyhound
home, visit
<http://www.greyhoundgang.com>
(http://www.greyhoundgang.com/) . To
find out what greys we have available for adoption,
call us at
413-548-9898 or visit our _dog adoption page_
(http://www.dakinshelter.org/dogs.html) .
* Foster a greyhound If we can send greys into
foster care and out
of our Shelter, we can pull more from the track before
May 14. We'll
get them back into the Shelter over the next few
months. We will
provide all their medical care and a crate to make
their transition
easier. You provide your time & love and together we
will give them a
new life! For information on what it's like to take a
greyhound home,
visit <http://www.greyhoundgang.com>
(http://www.greyhoundgang.com/) .
If you can help, or are interested in more
information, contact us at
413-548-9898.
* Donate money. We are going to need extra funds to
help these dogs.
We'll be buying crates and other supplies as well as
paying all their
medical bills.
You can send a check to:
Dakin Animal Shelter, 163 Montague Road,
Leverett MA 01054, or _donate online_
(http://www.dakinshelter.org/support.html) .
Please mark your donation "Save the Greys".
* Donate a large dog crate. We need these to
send with the dogs
going into foster care.
* Spread the word! The more people who know
about this tragedy,
the more help the dogs will get.
Many of you have seen greyhounds in the community -
they're lovely,
gentle dogs. When we started working with greyhounds,
we discovered
that there are a lot of misconceptions about them.
* Greys are not hyper - they're actually couch
potatoes!
* They love to run - for about 5 minutes - in a
safe, fenced area.
* Greys spend most of their day snoozing and
adore soft sleeping
places and all the comforts in life.
* They are actually very good dogs for
apartments or small homes
because of their low activity level.
* They are very clean dogs, and in some ways
are very catlike in
their cleanliness and love of comfort.
* Most greyhounds - including all the ones
we'll be getting - can
live with other dogs and cats, once they've been
introduced, and
actually love living with other animals.
* They rarely bark and shed little.
* In their life on the track, they live in
crates for 22 hours
per day, so most things in the 'real world' are a
surprise to them.
* They've never seen simple things such as:
slippery floors
(wood, tile); stairs; television; windows; cats; dogs
who are not
greyhounds!
* They generally housebreak very easily because
they're
completely crate trained (they aren't housebroken
because they've
never been in
a house, so they have to learn what a house is!).
* They walk very, very politely on leash - they
learn that at the
track.
* Greyhounds are very good companions for homes
with gentle
children because of their own gentle nature. This is a
tragedy of
enormous proportions, and we've decided to throw
everything we've got
into doing as much as we can. It's easy to get
overwhelmed thinking about the scope of the problem -
and do nothing.
