Friday, October 17, 2008

Friday Hound Blogging

People have accused us of being less than sympathetic to the overlords. They think we have been unfair in our portrayal of people who, perhaps because they have the intelligence of a paper weight, the compassion of a scorpion and the scruples of a jackal have chosen to live out their tiny lives by taking advantage of the enormous hearts of the oldest breed of dog there is.

People, people people. Where would you get an idea like that?

We here in the marbled halls of IM Central pride ourselves on being as fair and balanced as Fox News, so with that in mind this week we bring you the pensive stylings of one Dave Bergmeier Editor and Publisher of the Abilene Reflector Chronicle Telegraph Press Gazette Times Tribune News Journal Post Dispatch.
Abilene has its welcome mat out for what is the annual fall festivities for the National Greyhound Association. The greyhound industry remains one of the important roots in agriculture and allows Dickinson County to have an added asset in its economic arsenal.
Now, to be fair, it should be pointed out that Abilene's "economic arsenal" consists of three bars, a Seven Eleven and, if you want to drive to Solomon, a Krogers that's only about ten years old.
The greyhound industry faces tight economic times, much of which is affiliated with an ever-elusive entertainment dollar. Turn the calendar back to the early 1990s and Kansas had tracks in Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. and there appeared to be positive synergy for developing a track in Pittsburg. Pittsburg has never really been able to develop a track. Meanwhile, Wichita and Kansas City remained open until closing earlier this year -- most notable KCK’s The Woodlands, which ceased operating in late August.
Yes. Tracks often remain open until they close and it's that kind of economic acumen that has kept Abilene in the front ranks of towns that have streetlights.
The greyhound industry and its leadership in Kansas and at the NGA has been proactive... telling its positive story to those who are willing to listen.
Right. Trouble is, the "positive" part of the story only takes about eight seconds. The rest of the week is usually taken up with explaining why dogs are brutally murdered, left to starve, or sold illegally for medical research.
Abilene and Dickinson County, as well as the NGA members from across the country who return every fall and spring, have every right to be proud of the association and its members. The economic impact is well known and documented.
Well, if by "proud" you mean we wish we'd never heard of these guys. On the bright side there is that "economic impact." Why, parking meter revenues go up 20 to 30 percent.
The greyhound industry has evolved into sophistication with the latest in production techniques, much like cattle and swine breeders.
We really don't have to add anything to that do we? Pretty much say it all about how the dogs are thought of.
Members of the greyhound industry serve as advocates for animal welfare.
Right. Just like swine farmers advocate for the welfare of their pigs and cattle farmers advocate for the welfare of their beef. Hey Remy, how about giving us an oink. No? How about a moo?

Remy is affectionate and loving. He follows you around and puts his head on your lap. Remy needs a family that has someone that is at home most of the day and he would do best with another dog in the home. He would do well with well-mannered children, 10 and up. He can be vocal when left alone, so would do best in a single family home. 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.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh boy....where do I begin?
Dave Bergmeier? (Did that name evolve from the first cattle round up in the 1850"s and the first BBQ around campfire?)
We all know Abilene was one of the first "cow towns" of the West...and I suppose that really did mean something more than 150 years ago...perhaps it kept people alive then, but with more than 4,000 "hangers on" in Abilene in 2008, only the "bums" who lift leads and shotguns seem to sit it out ,now, and just maybe it's the bars that keep them there.
You got a Seelye Mansion and a dead president's memorabilia, and the NGA in the Fall. Did Dave, or any other "dead weight", even think about starting something intelligent, and useful and lucrative not to mention, progressive? I am talking solar, wind and manure.
Is it because it is just so "easy" to overbreed and overkill? Or is it because all of you sitting around for "winning tickets", just like the smell of injured dogs and their howls.

Anonymous said...

I read in the Birmingham News, about a year ago, that John Parker wanted to bring up the "good things" in Greyhound Racing...does this mean he understands that Greyhound Racing is "bad"? If this is so, why won't he do something about it if he loves all these Greyhounds so much?
He said something about all the wonderful work of the "adoption agencies", but , I am sure he realizes that there would be no need for any of them if the dogs didn't need to be "rescued". Could this mean that John Parker is truly not "neutral" at all, particularly when he had a monthly letter talking about keeping those dogs "lean" and also keeping two defibrillators on hand? (I mean, why on earth would you NEED two defibrillators? That is more than an overseas flight with hundreds of passengers!)
Perhaps, once again, we see that the "neutrals" are not "neutrals" at all. They are merely driven by the whipped up frenzy of money-making, innocent, half starved dogs, with no alarm or care for their injuries or futures, as long as recognition, business and "employment" hits the gates.
Come on John Parker. Since last word, you are still the "Chairman of the SEG Adoptions"? Is this not a "conflict of interest"? And when you found out about all those mass executions in Alabama, what did you do to investigate?

Anonymous said...

Well, what can you expect from a state that labels Greyhounds as cattle(livestock) and can be used and killed as such?
Could someone loan Dave Bergmeier (is that German like in 1940?) a dictionary, since maybe the residents don't have one or couldn't care less, and look up what a cow looks like and then look up what a pig looks like, and then, finally, a dog? If they can concentrate, real hard, maybe they can tie hound to Greyhound, and just maybe, they could bulldoze that place down and start anew. You know, it's like "evolving from scratch" and getting the bad taste out of your mouth. Now, that's not to say there aren't good people there in Abilene. But are they educated? Caring? Ambitious? Intellectually motivated? Hey..maybe even just a little curious? Well hell...if Dave Bergmeier runs the "newspaper" and it actually sells, and his biggest "thrill" is for the abusive, tortuous tracks, all bets are off. However, for a dusty, abandoned , watering hole, it might attract Stephen King. Then again, with its "reputation", particularly in the Fall, maybe not. Personally, a welcome mat for me is one that gets the dirt off my feet., not one that makes me feel unclean and transfers it. It's called cruelty to dogs and anyone pretending it is anything else should be returned to their original country to brew beer. Now this, I'll travel for!

Anonymous said...

It is always so sad to see people hurting animals to make a living. Maybe with Obama, he will force these same people to get more education....Dave included.

Anonymous said...

Kansas is not "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" when the treatment of Greyhounds is from the dark ages.
If I were from Kansas, I would be highly embarassed to be associated with a state so backwards and cruel when it comes to these miserable racetracks.
Time to put your thinking caps on, Kansas. It is 2008 and you have a lot of wind to put you on the map without intentional cruelty. The wind not only could make you rich, and provide jobs, but it would get you respect, nationwide. I can guarantee only the small-minded goes there for racing. Why don't you challenge yourselves, instead of the poor dogs? Could it possibly be because you are all lazy? And perhaps you throw all your negatives to a mute "thing".
Grow up.

Anonymous said...

What can Americans be doing with their lives when they waste them away in dungeon-like atmospheres? Pick up a computer! Pick up the news! Race-track racing is LONG-GONE! Closings are EVERYWHERE! You are making yourselves all losers by still fighting for this kind of gambling when the young want card tables, and fast machines.
When you wake up and see the light, that's when your lives will truly begin.
Leave the dogs alone. They never did anything to you.

Anonymous said...

It is more than time to acknowledge the end of dog racing. Furthermore, with the financial strain of just buying food and gas, not to even mention, rent and cars, there is nobody in America wanting this junk. The only people pushing for it are the owners, breeders, leasers and kennel washers. How about you all go back to school.
No matter what, this subject has been long dead.