Friday, July 25, 2008

Friday Hound Blogging

Man, it's got to be tough to be a business person today. Imagine you're the head of GM, or Ford, or Wachovia. You stay up nights wondering if your company will survive. You wrack your brain looking for ways to attract customers.

And those are legitimate businesses. Now imagine you're an overlord in charge of exploiting innocent animals in a barely disguised attempt to separate the elderly from their social security checks. Further imagine that, due to your third grade education, "wracking your brain" pretty much goes up in smoke after trying to remember where you put your shoes.

You see the overlords' dilemma.

The market is a harsh mistress though, and she makes no accounting for those who...how to say this politely...are lacking in business acumen and or personal hygiene skills. As a result:

The Woodlands Racetrack will close on August 23 because of financial woes, General Manager Jayme LaRocca said. "We just kept thinking that the customers had gotten lost again and would make it back eventually, but this time it looks like they're really gone."

Howard Grace, president of Kansas Racing LLC, which owns The Woodlands, decided to close the track because of legislation passed in the spring of 2007 that required it to part with too much of its revenue. "You got the power company wanting revenue, the water company, employees want revenue. Where's my revenue?" Grace said. "I got trailer payments you know."

Now, normally this would be the end of the story, but as we all know there is another constituency affected by this tragedy, the dogs. And also as we all know, the overlords' first concern is and always has been, their units...er...animals. So what have they come up with to make sure their beloved dogs do not suffer?

The Wyandotte County track estimates 900 dogs are affected. The plan is to move the dogs to other tracks or adopt them out, but greyhound rescue teams worry that's not realistic with so many dogs in question. "The dogs are overbred so that they can get the one fast dog," Cher Oliver with Kansas City REGAP said. Oliver is afraid a lot of the dogs will be euthanized.

Hmmm...well, that wouldn't have been our first choice. What do you have to say about that Mr. LaRocca? "If we have to keep them here for awhile, we'll keep them here but we're going to do everything we can to make sure that no one's paying attention when they're taken care of. Wait, that didn't come out right."

Woodlands denied that and so does the State Racing and Gaming Commission. State officers locked down the kennels, saying they will monitor what happens to the dogs. "You'll know exactly how many dogs we kill...er...we...umm...'retire,'" said a track official.

Yeah. We hear you. Hate to think what would happen to the dogs if the overlords really didn't care so much for them, huh Absolut?

Absolut is very laid back and easygoing. His family says he is a “perfect gentleman”. He has a curious side. He likes to see when visitors come in the house and then goes back to sleep. He is very affectionate. He will lean into you very hard for attention. He will also place his head in your lap and look up at you for pets. He is a happy boy who wags his tail often. He will take the toys out of the toy basket, one at a time, and then his foster mom puts them back. He likes to run and play in the yard. He likes to greet people while on the walk. Absolut would do well in a working family home with well-mannered children. He is good with other dogs of any size and would probably be fine as an only dog.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.

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