Saturday, October 08, 2005
And the rain continues in Dewey
Well it’s another rainy day today. Not sure if we are going to do the beach walk at 8:30, might wait to see if the weather clears. But the vendor tents and the firehall are open from 10-5 and we are planning on being there!
The GT party at the Lighthouse last night was fun. Well until the DJ had the manager kick us out because it’s a “dance club”. Uhm ok… Anyway most people went back to the PMS house and continued the party there.
Well, off to drink my DD coffee and try and get rid of this horrible sore throat I woke up with.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Here comes the rain!
Well at 3:15 it started to rain. Nothing heavy just a light drizzle, but none the less its making things a little damp.
I Did just get back from photos with Paw Prints Photograpy, they are going to be great! Then went by to get a commemorative photo but didn’t see the photographer outside, probably due to the weather.
Time for dinner then some rest before the GreyTalk gettogether at the Ligthhouse. Hopefully it will stop raining by then. Dogs are tired from all the walking and running around. Cody is like the energizer bunny, he’s always up for a walk or trip, but my senior girl Pretty is not doing bad and is keeping up, but I think it’s going to be an early night to bed for her.
Live from Dewey Beach!
My hounds and I arrived yesterday at 2pm. We made good time down here is just under 5 hours. I took the hounds for a walk on the beach, I dropped of the ramp for the “when I get older” presentation and also stayed for the presentation and then headed back to the hotel. I (as well as the hounds) was exhausted at that point and we crashed for a few hours and then ended up staying in for the night.
Weather right now (Friday 10am) is overcast with some gusty wind. Forecast is for rain. We just came back from the beach walk at 8:30am which actually was nice and cool with the wind. Dogs are zonked out and I’m enjoying some DD coffee planning out the rest of the day!
Stay tuned more to come!
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Plainfield Track Updates
Since the announcement from Plainfield Greyhound Park that it will cease all live racing on 5/14 the racing community along with the adoption community has been feverishly working on plans to move all the hounds out of the kennels. The kennels were told that they have until 5/21 to move an estimated 800 hounds!
I’ve started this post in hopes to keep everyone updated and on the same page. I will try and update it daily if needed.
*NOTE: If you have seen an email from the Dakin Animal shelter (I refuse to provide a link to them) about the Plainfield dogs being in danger of being euthanized, it is FALSE! It is not even remotely true due to the fact that CT has laws preventing the euthanasia of healthy greyhounds.
Update as of 5/23 @ 8am:
All the Greyhounds have found places to go!
PLAINFIELD, Conn.—The dozens of greyhounds displaced when the Plainfield dog track abruptly shut down earlier this month now have new homes, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Saturday.
As of Friday, there were 203 dogs still at the track. About half will be adopted as pets and the rest are moving to other race tracks, the governor said. All of the dogs are expected to leave Plainfield by the end of the month.
“Public concern over the plight of the dogs at the track has been extraordinary and played a big role in helping to resolve this issue in a positive way,” she said.
In all, nearly 350 dogs will be adopted as pets, the governor said.
The track announced last month it was closing to make way for a domed auto race track. Since then, officials say they have been deluged with requests to adopt the dogs. At the time there were about 1,200 dogs at the track, which officially shut down May 14 after three decades of operation.
Rell says the state Agriculture Department of division of Special Revenue will continue to monitor the situation to make sure the dogs are treated properly. The governor praised the cooperation of the track officials during the transition and thanked pet owners who came forward to adopt a greyhound.
“As a dog owner myself, I have been concerned about the welfare of these gracious animals,” Rell said.
The governor expressed her concerns to track owners earlier this month in a letter that sought their promise the dogs would be cared for until homes could be found.
Some of the adopted greyhounds have found homes out of state. A Pittsburgh-based adoption group, for example, is finding homes for 11 of the dogs.
“Usually, we get them when they are retiring. This is totally unprecedented,” said David Anderson of Steel City Greyhounds. “Greyhounds are wonderful pets. When they retire, they really take it seriously. You don’t need a lot of space for them. They call them the 45-mile-an-hour couch potato."
Update as of 5/3 @6pm:
Plainfield Greyhound Park to Place All Greyhounds Affected by 2005 Temporary Closure
Track welcomes the assistance of adoption groups and people who wish to adopt greyhoundsPLAINFIELD, CT (May 3, 2005)—Karen Keelan, executive vice president of Plainfield Greyhound Park in Plainfield, CT, said today that the track is committing available resources to ensure that greyhounds displaced by the decision to cease greyhound racing as of May 14 for the remainder of 2005 will be sent to another track to race; be returned to the farm or owner, whether for breeding purposes or placement in a local adoption program; or placed in homes as pets in accordance with the wishes of the greyhound owners.
“Greyhound welfare is our first priority and we will keep the kennel area open until the greyhounds are suitably placed,” Keelan said.
The track will apply for racing dates in 2006 and is committed to a live racing season in 2006. Throughout the remainder of 2005 and 2006, Plainfield Greyhound Park will continue to offer wagering on races from other tracks via simulcast seven days a week.
The track, the National Greyhound Association (NGA) and the racing kennels are in the process of identifying which greyhounds need adoptive homes and are working with local and national adoption organizations to place them. Some greyhounds will transfer to other greyhound tracks to continue their racing careers.
Plainfield Greyhound Park welcomes help from adoption organizations across the country and from individuals who wish to adopt a greyhound. A special toll-free number has been set up to place these dogs in homes as pets. People interested in adopting a greyhound should call 1-888-267-1099. In addition, people can visit http://www.greyhoundpets.org to learn more about adoption of these wonderful animals.
“I’ve worked with Karen Keelan and Plainfield Greyhound Park over the years, and know how deeply she cares about the welfare of greyhounds,” said Rory Goree, president of Greyhound Pets of America, the largest independent greyhound adoption organization in the United States. “I’m very confident these greyhounds will be treated well. Greyhound Pets of America and other adoption organizations will work with Karen to help find homes for any of the greyhounds available for adoption.”
Goree said that greyhounds continue to gain popularity as pets because of their unique attributes. They are very affectionate animals and most are good with children and other pets
Update as of 5/3 @ 2pm:
- Gary Gucione has said that Plainfield will be putting out a press release tonight and that they will be appointing someone as a point person for groups to work with who can take dogs into their programs.
Update as of 5/2 @ 9pm:
- Greyhounds will be housed for and taken care of until placement can be obtained, hopefully this can be done in a timely fashion.
- They would like to move the hounds in about 8 weeks after they close (5/14). But there is NO DEADLINE.
- Hauling and vet services will be available to the groups that need it. Vet services would need to be reimbursed to the track to assist more dogs get vetted. Hauling expenses need not be reimbursed.
- GPA and many other fine adoption groups will be asked to take as many dogs as possible.
- Adoption volunteers that have been cleared will be profiling greyhounds to fit what the groups can handle.
- If anyones group can take dogs they can email Penny @ Shoreline and she will put you in touch with the proper people.
Update as of 4/29 @ 1:20pm:
- The State of CT is now working with the NGA and AGTOA in coming up with a plan.
Update as of 4/29 12pm:
- GPA has offered use of a hauler and other assistance.
- Still waiting to hear on the results of the CT DOSR meeting.
Update as of 4/28 9pm:
- Taz Meadow Racing who has a booking at Plainfield and will be moving his kennel to Hinsdale Greyhound Park.
- 75 graded racers are headed to Shoreline.
- Penny Zwart of Shorelines Pups Without Partners is working with Taz Meadows & HMS kennels at Plainfield and approximately 10 adoption groups.
Update as of 4/28 5pm:
- The CT Division of Special Revenue held a meeting today to put some plans in place to help with the dogs.
- Many groups have already been contacted by Plainfield Pets and the racing kennels.
- Other kennels have stepped forward and offered to help take some hounds.
- Owners are individually working with adoption groups to place their hounds.
Adoption groups that are confirmed to have offered to help (in no particular order):
- Greyhound Rescue & Rehab
- REGAP of CT
- Connecticut Greyhound Adoptions (CT GPA)
- WAG (We Adopt Greyhounds, Inc.)
- GPA of Virginia
- Make Peace with Animals
- Nittany Greyhounds
- Grateful Greyhounds
- Linda Ann Greyhounds
- Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada
- Pups Without Partners
- The Maritime Greyhound Adoption Program
- Greyhound Options
Adoption groups that normally receive or have received hounds from Plainfield in the past:
- Greyhound Friends of New Jersey
- Greyhound Rescue Adoption Team (GReAT)
- Greyhound Angel Adoptions (New Jersey)
- GPAC in Nova Scotia
- Seabrook REGAP
Other adoption groups to potentially contact:
- Greyhound Pets of America
* List of chapters to contact
- Greyhound Welfare
- GPA NOVA
- Maine Greyhound Placement Service
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Plainfield Track Closing
It was announced today that due to the recent zoning approval for the building of a NASCAR race track all live racing will cease on May 14th. Once the new racetrack structure is rebuilt live racing will return on a seasonal basis in 2006.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
The Roots of Greyhound Adoption
I do a lot of research on the greyhounds and I came across this article (one of many) that was published in 1996 (yeah I’ve been digging) by a woman named Joan Dillon. Joan became involved in Adoption in 1982 and I believe started a REGAP group in Massachusetts.
I find the public perception of our wonderful hounds ~25 years ago baffling. Lucky for us a few people had the foresight and iniative to work toward educating the public of their suitabilty as wonderful pets.
Muzzle Safety
Below is a post from a friend. Her and her husband are not novice owners and have 9 greyhounds at home, some 5 years or more. They are very responsible and greyhound saavy but it just goes to show you that all it takes is a split second for something to happen, even for the most experienced owner.
I know that when many of you received your greyhound you were given their track muzzle. You were probably also told that it should be used when you have a pack (2 or more) greyhounds playing unleashed in an enclosed area. And yup, I’ve seen the horror on many peoples faces as if to say “i’m not going to put that on my doggie.” Look at it this way, our greyhounds are professional athletes just like a football player, hockey player, baseball etc… Whenever those people step out on to the field to ‘play’ they wear protective gear to prevent injuries. A greyhound is no different, their protective gear is their muzzle. Sure they are retired now, but they can be just as competitve as when they were running professionally.
So please be careful and ask yourself is it more cruel for your hound to wear a piece of plastic for 30 minutes or have them recover from lacerations for the next 3 months.
And more importantly never leave them unsupervised!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
NGA vs. AKC Greyhounds
I’m often asked what the difference is between an retired racer (NGA) and a show bred (AKC) greyhound or I’ll hear that the racing greyhounds are not ‘real’ greyhounds at all because they are bred to race. As I’ve done a lot of reading and researching on this subject it really comes down to the individual hounds genetics whether or not it meets the AKC breed standards. Just because a dog was AKC bred doesn’t necessarily mean they will conform to breed standards and will be able to be shown. Conversely the same holds true for NGA hounds and there are quite a few that do meet AKC standards. There have actually been a few cross over hounds (registered with both the NGA and then the AKC) who have finished their racing career and then went on to win a Best In Show at an AKC event.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Greyhounds running for charity
From the Omaha World-Herald:
Dogs take bite from boy’s bills
BY JULIE ANDERSON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERCOUNCIL BLUFFS - Five-year-old Cole Jipsen of rural Griswold, Iowa, doesn’t just have people pulling for him in his fight against leukemia.
He has two dogs - prize-winning greyhounds, to be exact - running for him.
The owners of two kennels that race at Bluffs Run Greyhound Park have donated the dogs to Cole and his family to help raise money to cover the cost of his medical care.
Under the agreement, the family owns the dogs and will receive half of all purse money the two dogs win during their careers at Bluffs Run. The Bryon Legg and Plum Creek Kennels will continue to maintain the dogs.
Bryon Legg of Bryon Legg Kennel said donating a dog was the kennel owners’ way of helping the family.
“The purse money at Bluffs Run for the Iowa-bred dogs is real good, so this is an opportunity to help that family,” he said.
David Robinette of Plum Creek Kennel said he and Legg decided on the donation not only to raise money for Cole but also to draw attention to his plight and encourage others to help.
Robinette said the dogs have been good to him.
“It’s the least I can do to help a family out that has had a little bit tougher luck than I’ve had,” he said.
The kennel owners, who are friends, have small-town connections with the Jipsens. All live in rural Griswold, and Cole’s grandfather is a neighbor of Legg’s. Also involved is Mike Muhlbauer of Griswold, a friend and partner of Legg’s.
Kevin Jipsen, Cole’s father, said the family is grateful to everyone who cares about their son.
“They’ll never know how much we appreciate the help everyone has given us,” he said.
Cole was diagnosed Nov. 8 after his mother, Amber, noticed something wasn’t right. He currently is in remission. He just finished his third round of chemotherapy and has two rounds to go.
“It was a shocker, that’s for sure,” said Kevin Jipsen, who farms part-time and works as Griswold’s water superintendent. Cole has two younger brothers, ages 3 and 1.
The hardest thing for Cole is that he hasn’t been able to get outside to play, his dad said. Cole can’t go to preschool or play much with other children because of his weakened immune system.
“That upsets him,” Jipsen said.
Legg said each kennel chose its top pup to run for Cole. Greyhounds typically have a career of about four years.
Speedy Blue of the Legg Kennel has won his first two races and collected a total of $2,420 since November. Jipsen’s Dream, from Plum Creek Kennel, has won his first race and brought home $1,914 this year.
Rory DeSantiago, Bluffs Run’s racing director, said people associated with the track often take up collections to help colleagues with needs. But this is the first time he has heard of anyone donating dogs.
Link to article: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1642&u_sid=1320643
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Kudos to Race For Adoption
From the NGA Daily news:
Race for adoption
A unique, new program called Race For Adoption raised $54,485 for retired Greyhound placement programs in less than six months in 2004. Figures released to the Greyhound Association of America this week indicated that critical funding to three adoption programs, two in the Florida panhandle area and the other in Connecticut, were generated.
Race For Adoption involves purses earned by active racing Greyhounds being donated to the program by their owners. Funding was also derived through donations in the form of shares for these designated runners. Seven Greyhounds currently racing at Wheeling (WV), Derby Lane (FL), Jacksonville (FL) and Southland (AR) are the Race For Adoption contingent. Five of the participating runners have been donated by a single owner, Larry Birnbaum.
Greyhound Racing Association of America (GRA) has become involved with the Race For Adoption group in an effort to promote and dramatically expand the program.
“ This visionary group of just a few individuals have shown us all what is possible,” said Kip Keefer, President of GRA. “ It’s time for everyone to follow this magnificent example and get on board with this program. With a single dog from each kennel racing for adoption the potential proceeds that can be generated for Greyhound placement is astounding.”
The GRA plans to seek the participation of Greyhound and kennel owners to volunteer 50 percent of a designated Greyhound’s purses. Major Greyhound tracks will also be approached seeking help in enlisting the participation of all contract kennels and Greyhound owners. Proceeds derived from the program could potentially lead to far greater funding of existing programs, formation of new chapters and transportation and logistical support.
Keefer and the GRA believe that the program is the key to realizing a desire held by everyone involved in the modern day racing industry and adoption community, 100% placement.
“ It’s been said that the progress of Greyhound adoption, through the collective efforts of so many dedicated people, is perhaps the greatest success story in modern animal welfare. With wide ranging participation in Race For Adoption, the final, conclusive chapter could be written.”
Link to article: http://www.networksplus.net/nga/ads/2005/jan/25gra.htm
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Finding Your Greyhounds History
Since these questions come up often I’ve put together this post outlining the tattoos and how to use them to find a hounds racing name along with using that information to obtain further data on the hounds pedigree and racing history.
Retired racing greyhounds have ear tattoos that identify their litter number and birth date.
The LEFT ear contains a 5 digit number that is assigned to the litter at birth. All pups in a particular litter will have the same number.
The RIGHT ear contains either a 2 or 3 digit number followed by a letter. The numbers represent the month and year the hound was born in. The first 1 or 2 numbers identify the month and the last number identifies the year. The letter signifies the order in which they were tattooed.
Examples:
110C - 11=Nov, 0=2000, C= 3rd pup tattooed
42A - 4=April, 2=2002, A=1st pup tattooed
Now that the tattoos have some meaning we can find out their racing name in one of two ways.
First, the most definitive way of finding out your hounds racing name is to call the National Greyhound Association (NGA) at 785-263-4660 with the tattoo numbers and they can look up your hounds info in a matter of minutes. The NGA is open weekdays from 7-5 CST. When you call just tell them you are looking for the racing name of a hound and they will ask you for the tattoo numbers. They can even work with partial tattoo numbers if they are not 100% clear.
The second way is to use the web site Greyhound-Data ( http://greyhound-data.com ) to search for their information.
Using this link: http://greyhound-data.com/earmark.htm (or by choosing Tattoo off the menu from the main web site) a search page will appear giving you search options; right ear, left ear, gender, color, birth year, land. The database usually only contains LEFT EAR tattoo data for US hounds so that is the only tattoo criteria that should be used when searching. You may try limiting the results by gender, color, birth year or land but to yield the the most results just use the LEFT EAR number.
You should be presented with all the hounds matching that tattoo number. In many cases this will be the whole litter but the database isn’t always 100% complete. Sometimes two litters will be displayed, but with different birth years so look out for that.
Now if you know part of their racing name or if your hound is a unique color in the litter (like the only white hound in a litter of brindles) you can easily figure out which hound is yours. But if there are multiple options you will still have to call the NGA as described above to get accurate information.
Once you have the hounds racing name you can use these various methods to find your hounds heritage and racing history.
1. Check Greyhound-Data for their pedigree and race information. Greyhound-Data doesn’t always have all of the race information but it’s at least a good place to start.
2. Sign up and register at Rosnet ( http://rosnet2000.com ). At Rosnet you can also find race results (only for certain tracks, may be more or less than what Greyhound-Data has) and if you are lucky race replays from certain tracks.
3. Do a simple Google search. Enter in the racing name of your greyhound within quotes followed by the word greyhound after it. (For example: “One Fast Doggie” greyhound) You will be surprised what might come up. Many tracks don’t report their results to Rosnet but instead use Trackinfo ( http://trackinfo.com ). A Google search will usually turn up those results (and usually only if the dog placed 1, 2 or 3). Many times the links are old and broken and the pages are not able to be retrieved any more but you are able to view Googles cache by clicking the Cached link at the end of the summary.
4. If you know the track they raced at you can always check the tracks website, sometimes they keep historic info available. This is not always the case as track web sites can vary greatly.
5. The last source you can use is Greybase. Greybase has all the race results for all tracks and even more detailed information like owners, trainers and kennels. There is a $15 fee for the detailed information but it’s well worth it if you want to know everything about your couch potato. To request info send an email to .
Monday, January 03, 2005
Happy new year!
Ok, so I’m a couple of days late, but give me a break ok?
We, myself and the hounds, had a nice quiet New Years Eve and celebrated by eating shrimp and snoozing on the couch. You can figure out who did what.
My foster got his cast off on Friday and is now sporting a soft cast & splint. He’s still getting around on 3 legs but will use the broken one for support and an occasional step. He goes back in for a check up & x-rays in two weeks and if it’s healed enough they will remove the cast & splint. If not he’ll be wearing it for another two weeks after that. He is really a good boy and is coming out of his shell more each day, no doubt he is learning from watching Cody… but I’m not sure if that is good or bad. 
Monday, December 20, 2004
About me
In case you are new here and don’t know much about me and how I got involved in greyhound adoption here is the quick long-winded run down.
A couple of years ago I was renting a house where I was not allowed to have any pets. I had been wanting a dog for many years so I thought I could volunteer for a local rescue or shelter to get my fix as well as helping out some less than fortunate dogs. So after doing a quick search on the ASPCA web site for organizations in my area the first thing to be listed was Greyhound Rescue & Rehab and was located right down the road from me. Interesting I thought, I had not known much about the breed except they were the fastest dogs and the many misconceptions about the breed, but I always thought they were a gorgeous animal. I also had not realized there was a overwhelming need to find these dogs home after their racing careers were over. I had grown up in RI and had seen many Lincoln Park race replays late at night on TV but never heard anything about adoption for the pups. I guess I alwlays figured the owners kept the dogs as pets when they were ready to retire, little did I know but that was all about to change.