Sunday, January 23, 2011

Greyhounds

In the early afternoon, I took a long walk through the park near my house. My path crossed with a man who was walking two beautiful greyhounds. They were both rescue dogs, one light brown male and one light gray female, ages 6 and 4 respectively. The eyes on the dogs looked human-like. The male walked with a limp, due to an injured foot pad. The owner told me the dog already had five surgeries and one broken ankle. We got to talking about the basic inhumanity of dog racing. He commented that even though the racing itself doesn't generate much revenue, the tracks have other forms of gambling that are profitable. The dogs have short lives as race dogs, and if not adopted they are killed. Thousands die each year.


To me, the dogs look fragile with their long, spindly legs. However, they are quite strong and can live 10-13 years with reasonable care. Interestingly, while I often see people running with other breeds of dogs, I've yet to see an owner and a greyhound out for a jog together.

How many tracks exist in each state?

Alabama—3 tracks
Arkansas—1 track
Arizona—2 tracks
Rhode Island—1 track
Texas—2 tracks
Florida—13 tracks
West Virginia—2 tracks
Iowa—2 tracks
Wisconsin—1 track

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/greyhound_racing/facts/greyhound_racing_facts.html

http://www.greyhoundfriendsnj.org/info/index

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