Twin River suspends Greyhound racing!

[Griswald]

See this Projo article on the recent suspension of Greyhound racing at Twin River.

I don't have time to get into it right now, but I will come out and say that I'm a huge greyhound supporter. The racing industry is an example of how ignorant, careless, and sometimes cruel our society can be. I've rescued two former racing greyhounds, and they have been the best pets I've ever had. They are more mellow than any other breed of dog I have encountered, they love attention, and contrary to popular belief, they do not need a lot of exercise. They are known as "50 mile per hour couch potatoes."

I don't understand how people could say that the racing dogs are treated well. The dogs are kept in crates stacked on top of each other, and if they're lucky they can lie on shredded newspaper. On the track, they succumb to injuries from racing and from fighting each other due to the aggressive nature of the racing. When their careers are over (most last 3-5 years on the track, MAX), the owner is asked whether he or she wants to put the dog up for adoption, or euthanize it. That's great. We'll breed fast dogs to race each other so ignorant people can waste money betting on them (all while NOT making enough revenue to warrant it in the first place), then when the dogs are no longer in their racing prime we'll just kill them - even though they have at least another 8 years of good living left. If the dogs' lives are spared, then we'll send them to an already-overwhelmed adoption/rescue facility, where they will remain in a crate but at least will get some more personal, caring attention - and hopefully someone will come adopt them to a permanent home.

The whole thing drives me nuts - especially the shallow people who keep bringing up the loss of jobs that occurs when a track closes. This was a big issue in Mass last year when the state voted to end racing on the ballot. I'm sorry, but why should I care about a job that promotes and perpetuates poor treatment of dogs? I'm not an animal rights activist or anything. I've just grown up with dogs, and more recently come to love greyhounds - to the point where I want to increase awareness about them so that more of them can get adopted/rescued. Worrying about the jobs of the people who work at the tracks is like showing concern for the owner of a slave plantation (I'm using a historical analogy obviously). And you can't compare the loss of a human job, with the loss of a dog's life.

I just wish that more people knew about the benefits of rescuing a dog - whether from a kennel/pound, or from a greyhound adoption place. Everyone wins - a dog gets a loving home, and the owner gets a healthy, happy dog, for the cost of a few bags of dog food. I'm not saying that everyone in this country is cruel and supports mistreatment of animals. But I think most people are ignorant about the facts of dog racing, or they just don't want to know what really goes on. Same thing goes for puppy mills.

I started off by saying I wasn't going to get into this in depth, but I guess I couldn't help myself. I'll probably be writing a letter to the president of the RI Greyhound Owners Assoc., as well as letters to the Projo and the local senators, encouraging the end of greyhound racing in this state, and highlighting the importance of finding a home for the dogs who no longer race. Thanks for reading....

I'll include a link to Greyhound Friends, the adoption place where we got our female, Holly: Greyhound Friends They're always looking for volunteers, donations of food, blankets, and money, and they have a lot of amazing dogs ready to be adopted.

[numonex]

Well said. Twin River doesnt need dog racing.

[numonex]

Is it me or is the state against Twin River?? The dogs are a 9Million liability bottom line. The goofs at the general assembly push through legislation requiring a chapter 11 place to keep losing tons of money.

Now the court system slaps them in the face requiring them to hand over documents and cooperate with the entity causing them to bleed money!

Is it me or is Twin River the next big thing in the long list that this state will ultimately throw away??