For All The Dog Lovers Out There...

... I saw this gorgeous picture and just had to post it! How cute are those dogs? Check out the little greyhound on the right. How sweet!!!

The Greyhound Vs. The Economy

This week, a petition featuring 45,000 signatures was submitted in Massachusetts to oppose the Raynham-Taunton and Wonderland Greyhound Parks. They only needed 11,099 signatures, but the residents and campaigners felt that strongly about it that the number far exceeded that. Despite the fact that the signature target was reached, the tracks remain open because of a forthcoming vote. Should the vote sway towards closing the track then there is a pending lawsuit in the works that stipulates the economy as a reason to override the petition.

It is argued that the closure of the track will put more people out of work in a bleak economy and people should override animals. If the campaign was unfounded then fair enough. This would stand as an argument if the dogs were treated humanely. However, George Carney has failed to even mention the greyhounds in relation to the petition. Instead, he chose to respond with a tirade that ended with: "You don't want people to lose their jobs in an already terrible economy, do you? Do you want to be responsible for that?"

Shifting the blame onto those wanting a more humane system is thoroughly beyond reproach. As a response, I received an email with this:

What I would want to ask each voter in Massachusetts is: Would you want your dog to be kenneled, lying on shredded newspaper, and muzzled for some or all of 22 hours a day, possibly drugged, forced to run when someone else wants her to run, denied veterinary treatment as it's cost-prohibitive, and then "discarded" when she wasn't fast enough? Forget about the broken bones, cardiac arrest and paralysis. Forget the killing of thousands of dogs who were never fast enough to make it to the track. Forget the mass graves full of dogs and the dogs found, injured or dead, with their ears cut off (that's where their tattoos are). Do you think it is right to force your dog to race because you want her to race? Because you might profit?

It is a difficult situation, but the inhumane treatment of greyhounds cannot continue. A line has to be drawn somewhere.

The Slaughter Of Dogs In Serbia

I received an email today about the attrocities occuring in Serbia at the moment - the local governments are slaughtering stray dogs for the sake of cleanliness rather than finding them homes. Although this doesn't directly concern greyhounds, I just wanted to spread the word because they really shouldn't be able to do this.

The petition intro says it best:

For the past few years, during the month of July, Serbian city of Novi Sad has been becoming one of the most popular destinations for music festival
lovers across the Globe. International music greats such as Prodigy, Billy
Idol, Lauren Hill, to name a few, have been performing for the thousands of
youth from across the globe, during the 4 days every July.

However what has been happening behind the public eye is a mass slaughter of
innocent stray dogs, all in the sake of so called Cleanliness for the city
of Novi sad, which has been organised by the city's mayor Ms Maja Gojkovic,
who in attempt to impress the festival goers with the city, committed this
dog massacre.

The stray dogs have been picked up by vans and taken to so called buildings
for the city's cleanliness and killed by having injections of detergent
injected straight to their hearts or the alternative way by being buried
alive.The same situation is in whole Serbia!!!This is an appeal to the UN&EU for help.

Please sign the petition. It can be found at this link.

Another Molly Pic...

I just found this old picture and just had to share it - how cute is she?!

House Training And The Greyhound

I was reading through my blog entries a couple of days ago and realised that I hadn't actually posted any helpful advice for people that have undergone the process of greyhound adoption in a while. As the greyhound industry and news has been so busy in recents weeks, that has taken precedence. However, it's gone a little suiet for a couple of days so I thought I'd update you on how to train your greyhound after greyhound adoption!

I wrote an article for publication on this very subject a week or so ago so I thought that it might come in handy for some of you with a greyhound addition to the family, either old or new! It can be found at the following link:How To Train A Greyhound To Be A Family Pet.

I'll be writing more articles like this and the links will be put up in the sidebar so you can always pop in for helpful hints and tips!

In Memory Of Jessie

It would be fair to say that I get upset when I write various posts on here quite regularly, but having to write this one has left me more upset than most.

It was with a heavy heart and a good many tears over the past couple of days that I went around to my mother-in-law's house this morning. It was to be the last time I'd ever see Jessie, a gorgeous black labrador cross with paws the size of bulldozers and a huge personality to match. She was around 15 years old and hadn't been well for weeks.

When I say she hadn't been well, she hadn't been ill but she hadn't been Jessie either. She was quieter and more sedate in her old age. However, over the weekend the lump on her side had seemed to get bigger as the weight just seemed to fall off her body and her bones began to stick out. She was also struggling to get around with her back legs giving way more and more often.

Jessie was 18 months old when she was rescued by my husband back in 1995. She had been very badly treated by her previous owners and was at a rescue on a local farm. Bam Bam, as she was comically known back then, didn't want to say hello. Instead, she tried to drag herself and the person holding the lead back up the drive. Kieren fell in love with her straight away and took her home. After being hastily renamed, Jessie soon settled in and became the heart of the family. She always kept the other two dogs, Sophie and Roxy, in line and they will no doubt miss her tremendously as we all will. In fact, she kept us all in line with her demands for fuss, food and walkies!

Sadly, this morning was her last morning with us but she'll always live on in our hearts. At least now she'll be in a better place.

We'll miss you Jessie. Rest in peace sweetheart. Love always xxx