Friday Hound Blogging

Well, here's something you don't see every day, a letter to the editor from one of the overlords, and apparently one who knows how to use a thesaurus too. The impetus for this foray into the public domain appears to be in response to something a state legislator said about the injury rate of racing greyhounds, but let the overlord tell it:

LaFlamme would like us to believe that 19 percent to 38 percent of the racing greyhounds in New Hampshire suffer catastrophic injury while racing. He draws this (erroneous) conclusion not as a matter of empirical knowledge on his part, but because someone told him there were 1,000 to 2,000 greyhounds at the state's race tracks, and because, as a matter of state record, over the course of 2005 there were 372 injuries.

We can only speculate how long the author had been waiting to use the word "empirical" in a sentence. Probably since he saw it on the Word-a-Day calendar back in 1993. Anyway, the point of his argument is that LaFlamme's calculations are way off because there weren't 2000 greyhounds coming through the track, there were 4000. See, this is because it doesn't really matter if they get hurt or not, they have to win, or they get shipped out to another track for another chance to get hurt. But that' s in another state so we don't count that.

Anyway, injury isn't the point, as our intrepid scribe elucidates:

Racing greyhounds are vigorous and relentlessly energetic chasers, and they are selectively bred to be precisely that way. We can't keep them in glass bubbles, and we can't deny them the expression of their innermost and deeply seeded urges and needs — nor should we try. That would be the ultimate cruelty.

And, um...oh, by the way...We get to take advantage of that innermost and deeply seeded urge to make a little dough, right Sassy?

Sassy is young, happy, puppy-like, playful, and very energetic. She is not a typical track greyhound; she is more like a Lab in a greyhound body. If you want a doggie-dog, this is your girl. She is a larger girl, but she thinks she is the size of a Chihuahua. This can be a challenge when she jumps up to greet you. She is very affectionate. She wants to crawl up and lay in your lap. She likes to play tug or fetch and she can play for a long time. For more information about this dog, and other rescued racing greyhounds looking for homes, go here. If you don't know about the plight of racing greyhounds go here.

Special to INOTBB: George, We're told this is an AKC greyhound. Could be Nigel's twin sister, no? What's an elegant lady doing with a bunch or roustabout ex-racers you ask? We're not at liberty to explain, but it has to do with the Witness Protection Plan.