Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Hound Blogging

Well, it was bound to happen. Should have expected it we guess. We mean, even the overlords can only take so much, you know? For far too long the conversation about greyhound exploitation racing has been dominated by the animal rights wackos, the latte sippers, the Birkenstock wearers and the Prius drivers. Who was there to speak for the soulless bags of wasted protein who think that sucking your meager existence off the pain and suffering of innocent creatures is a valid career choice for beings that do not belong to the order Pharyngobdella?

Who indeed. Well, Tucson Greyhound Park CEO Tom Taylor, that's who. Tired of ceding the dialogue to people suffering from empathy Mr. Taylor has stepped forward to offer an eloquent defense of his track in particular and his industry in general: 



OK, now we realize at first blush it looks like Mr. Taylor is dissembling when he refuses to let people into his kennel who think greyhounds are not toasters and thus have certain rights accrued to them as living creatures, but that's only because you don't understand the sophisticated, metaphorical elements of his argument. Allow us to unpack the complex elements of his rhetorical construct.

First, the reference to the Taj Mahal has several levels of meaning. Most people think of it as an architectural masterpiece of enduring beauty, representative of the highest artistic and cultural values of the time. Who would find such a structure lacking? Well, at first you might think it would have to be someone without a shred of aesthetic appreciation for anything other than the crumpled face of George Washington on a stained and torn dollar bill, you know, people like Tom Taylor.

But it's not about that at all, self referential as it may be, it's about something much more sophisticated, much more complicated, much more subtle. See, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum. It's a giant tribute to death. Ah, you're saying now, the elegance of Mr Taylor's argument begins to open up before you like a rose, blooming with the dawn. Mr. Taylor is simply telling us that his kennel is a receptacle of death, without the outward elegance.

Which brings us to the Mona Lisa. Again, an artifact generally possessing outward beauty and cultural significance. Outwardly. But once you delve below the surface you discover it's not dogs playing poker or velvet Elvis. OK we could be reaching there as the subtlety of Mr. Taylor's argument surpasses our meager exegetical skills, but you know what? It doesn't matter because we can actually go to Mr.Taylor's track and speak with some of the crowd. After all, if you really want to understand the cultural milieu of animal exploitation you go to the source, right? OK, let's start in the concession area since that's where participants are most likely to gather to share expertise and controlled substances in anticipation of the evening's festivities.

  Oops. Heh heh. Where is everybody? Oh, wait. Silly us. The crowd is out enjoying the races. When you've got something as exciting and enjoyable as watching to see if any dogs will seriously injure or kill themselves to do, who can stay in the snack bar, huh? OK let's head out to the track

Yes, well...um...All right, admittedly the crowd is somewhat light this evening, but we're sure we just caught the track on an off night. What's that you say Bo? That's twice as many people as used to come to your races?


Bo is a confident, friendly, affectionate boy who wants to be friends with everyone he meets; going for walks to greet his “fan club” is one of his favorite things to do. With his brindle color, heart shaped nose and outgoing, friendly personality, he’s irresistibly cute. He is a smart boy who knows “sit”, “down”, “come” and “leave it”; he is willing to learn more for a treat. He will sit and lay down without being asked when he sees someone reaching into the treat jar. He is very affectionate and loves to give kisses and will lean against you for pets. Being an epileptic dog, Bo needs a home that has experience with seizures. Bo also needs a home that is stable, has a consistent routine and very few changes as well as one that can cope with the stresses of having an epileptic dog. He will also need to be more of a homebody dog (i.e. no travelling, large gatherings or meet and greets) as stress and change can trigger seizures. Due to the side effects of his anti-seizure medication, he also needs a home where someone is home often and can let him out every few hours to go potty. Bo would be fine as an only dog or in a home with another dog, as long as his family is able to separate them or restrain the other dog if Bo has a seizure. He also needs to be crated while home alone to prevent injury to himself in case of a seizure. 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.

No comments: