Friday Hound Blogging

Well, it hasn't been such a great week for the overlords. Here is America the last remaining track in Arizona got "decoupled," which is overlord talk for "Crap, we're going to have to get real jobs now." Over in England the overlords put up a last ditch effort to save a track (which had been closed since 2008) from becoming homes for people and they lost while another track was being dismantled.

So we imagine the overlords are taking a step back, you know reassessing. It's almost like if good news was an umbrella, the overlords would be running around naked in a monsoon. Got to give one pause, right Paschal Taggart? Sort of makes you want to reevaluate your career decisions, huh?

Paschal Taggart the businessman who is still revered in Ireland for revolutionizing its greyhound industry, has submitted plans to Merton Council for a spectacular, brand new £30 million greyhound track at Wimbledon.

Yeah, well that is a toughie Mr. Taggart. Like the song says though, you got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em if your going to...wait, what?

Taggart believes the scheme, if successful will “herald a fantastic new era for greyhound racing in Britain”. It centres around a four-tier stadium containing plush hospitality suites, restaurants and concourse bars – accessible by escalators and lifts – with a capacity for 6,000 patrons.

Hospitality suites? 6000 patrons? Sounds a bit much for two dollar bets, doesn't it Mr. Taggart? Of course you are "revered" for turning around greyhound racing in Ireland, so maybe you know something we don't. By the way, how's that turnaround going anyway? 

The Irish Greyhound Board has released figures from the first nine months of the year which show a 11% per cent drop in attendance at the country’s nationwide stadia...

Oh. Um...well, that was 2008, the turnaround must have started in 2009 right?

Greyhound racing crowds fell sharply by over 20% last year...

OK, attendance was down in 2008 followed by even more down in 2009. Oh wait, we missed by a year. Attendance in 2010 increased by 3%.  OK, so a two year decline of 31% followed by a "turnaround" of 3%. Perhaps their definition of "turnaround" is different from ours. Think that's possible Sparky?

 Sparky is getting more outgoing. He is a very sweet boy. He can be shy at first but warms up to his surroundings quickly. He loves to be petted. He is very playful for a nine year old. Sparky will make a wonderful pet. Sparky would do best in a home with at least one other dog since he is used to being around other dogs. He would do best in a home with someone who can show him a lot of attention since he loves to be petted. He would do well in a home with or without children. 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.