Friday Hound Blogging

Frequent reader(s) of this blog know the slow unraveling of days and the soft whisper of deflating hope...erm...we mean know that Florida is the epicenter of  heartless exploitation of living creatures for profit as home to 13 of the remaining 22 greyhound death camps in the United States. Recently the state legislature commissioned a study of the entire gambling infrastructure in the state with an eye towards coming up with a comprehensive set of policies for all aspects of the gaming industry.

As far as the overlords are concerned, a critical part of that policy would have to do with decoupling which simply means the state would say, "race or not, we don't care." Now, you might think this would be cause for great celebration amongst the overlords as they finally get the yoke of government regulation and interference in the exercise of their free market rights removed. Yeah, well no. Really. No. Seriously.

OK flash forward to now and the state is holding hearings to let people who will be affected by these policies come and have a say. Let's listen in, shall we?

One speaker, Randolph Goodman, stated that he supported the decoupling of racing and casino licenses in order to expose the financial weakness of greyhound tracks, which rely on subsidies for purses and operating expenses, he said. “There is no demand for greyhound racing any more,” Goodman said. “If you decouple, you will see.”

Oh now that's a little harsh, Mr. Goodman don't you think? We mean think of all the benefits that accrue to the state from greyhound racing. Why just recently a study was done that analyzed racing contributions. As the author's wrote:

Greyhound racing is a “dying sport” that has been hemorrhaging revenue for years, according to a study of commissioned by the Florida Legislature.

See? When you...oh wait, that's not the quote we were looking for. Just a second...ah...over...yeah, here it is:

The first 307-page report, released last week, gave an overview of all aspects of the state’s gaming industry, but painted a particularly bleak picture for facilities that offer greyhound racing. “Handle,” or the total amount wagered, has plummeted over the past two decades. “Total handle for the 13 facilities that ran greyhound racing fell from $933.8 million in [fiscal year] 1990 to $265.4 million in [fiscal year] 2012, a decline of 67 percent,” the report read.

Oops. That's not it either. OK, look we'll have to get back to you on that. Did you have a comment Michele Lazarow, Hallandale Beach city commissioner?

"Being housed in a small cage for 20-23 hours a day is a life that no one should have to endure. "Do you allow your dog to be treated that way?...It seems that forcing a business to race is not practical. It's time to move away from this archaic thinking into the 21st Century."

Now, Ms. Lazarow, it's not the purpose of this hearing to get into the treatment of the dogs. Besides, since they represent such a great investment of time and money, and since their thought of as practically members of the family, their care and comfort is first rate. Just ask Ron Williams, or Ursulla O'Donnell, or Ritt and Steinmann. And no, Ms. Lazarow neither are we going to discuss greyhound doping, or transportation issues. You are out of order.

Hey Darla, we bet you're thinking it's not just Ms. Lazarow that's "out of order" huh?

Meet Sweet Darla is available for adoption! She has just turned 9 years old, brindle in color and as sweet as can be. She's great with kids, cats and is a real lover. She's friendly, healthy and waiting for a new home (and couch) to call her own. She's living with 2 other greyhounds in her foster home and loves them to death but would like her own couch and yard to call her own. She likes attention, as any dog does--probably a more quiet household would be Darla's choice. Could Darla be the doggie for you and your family? 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.