Friday Hound Blogging

In the great pantheon of overlords there is one to whom even the overlords look whenever a wrong needs to be made right, whenever injustice rears its Hydra-like head, whenever they need someone who can spell.

That someone is Gary Guccione whom regular readers of this blog have had the privilege of meeting before. Now for those of you who may have stumbled on this blog after entering "cleavage" in your search engine, Mr. Guccione is the Communications Coordinator of the American Greyhound Exploitation Council which means, not only can he type, but he owns his own dictionary!

Mr. G is the industry's go to guy whenever anyone in the general citizenry has the temerity to imply that just because his industry leeches its meager existence off the backs of innocent animals they destroys or otherwise discards those animals like yesterday's newspaper when they can no longer win the puny purses created by the two dollar bets of under-educated social security recipients, it is not the canine equivalent of the cush job of getting paid not to think or ask questions, and to keep repeating the same old discredited talking points over and over as if you really believed them yourself.

Which is pretty much Guccione's job description.

Anyway, the latest intrusion of reality into overlord world has prompted a sniffy post from Mr. Guccione to the Livingston Daily which had the unmitigated gall to run a story about some folks who rescue racing greyhounds.

We always welcome coverage of greyhound adoption, but we are disappointed to see misinformation like that contained in your Aug. 19 story about a local couple that adopted a retired greyhound ("Couple putting dogs on track to happiness.")

And by "misinformation" we mean stuff we don't want people with even the tiniest scrap of humanity to know about.

Common sense tells us that greyhounds must receive the best care and treatment in order to perform at their peak. Their crates must be large enough for them to sit, stand, turn around and lie down comfortably. Their diet must be nutritious and satisfying. They must be turned out for fresh air and exercise periodically throughout the day.

Right. Common sense does tell us that, which makes it even more strange when it doesn't happen.

Whether on the farm or at the track, kennel operators are expected to comply with these standards.

Of course we also expect them to be able to tie their own shoes, but that hasn't turned out so well either.

The best proof of the good care that greyhounds receive is the dogs themselves.

Yeah. That's something we can all agree on, right Spanky?

Spanky is a quick learner and eager to please. He is a happy, outgoing, and friendly dog. He is playful and calms easily. His trainers believe he will make a great house pet. He loves to play in the snow. He’s a happy dog whose tail wags often. He’s very friendly. He wants to be with you but he’s not clingy. He loves to run and play. He loves to go in the granddaughter’s bedrooms and wake them up with kisses in the morning. He will roll over and want his tummy scratched. He is a Second Chance at Life Dog from the Coldwater Prison Program. Spanky would do well in a working family home with well-mannered children, 6 and up. He is good with other dogs 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.

And if you 'd like to know more about the good work the Second Chance at Life program is doing for the dogs, and the prisoners, go here.