2020 pet magazine

Page 62 2020 PET MAGAZINE LINCOLN DAILY NEWS JANUARY 23, 2020 All across the country Greyhound racing tracks are being closed down by public mandate, and the result is that there are thousands of former racers that are being offered up for adoption. In spring 2004 I was introduced to Greyhounds for the first time when a friend showed us his adopted Grey. After having had a lifetime of dogs, I immediately fell in love with the breed, and arranged to be introduced to two male Greyhounds that were available from the now defunct organization Peoria Greyhound Rescue. My eyes popped out of my head when I laid eyes on the two huge, passive male dogs in the kitchen of the house where we met. Their heads were above my waist (Originally called “Great Hounds” because of their size, they were really great dogs to pet because you didn’t have to bend over). They greeted us with hugs and kisses. Brought in from a racetrack in Kansas, they came with muzzles with their track names painted on: Bansche and Easy Money. Bansche was the most beautiful brown/red brindle four-year-old and Easy Money was a gorgeous, stately, black six-year-old tuxedo front. About seven seconds after we met, I said I would take both of them. The adoption fee was $200 each, complete with shots, neutering and they had their teeth cleaned. Easy Money we learned had been a track champion, earning huge amounts of money for his owners over his five-year racing career. He had been treated much differently from Bansche who ran a total of two races with descriptions like “Ran the whole race the wrong direction on the track,” “Dead last,” and “Tripped three of the other dogs.” Bansche was retired early because they decided he was a total loser. When we arrived home, I renamed them “Dante” and “Falco.” Because of his champion status, praises and rewards had been lavished on Dante, resulting in an aggressive alpha-dog attitude. Dante seemed to belong to himself rather than to us, and over the next few weeks this aggression showed itself when he attacked and injured Falco, and began to show aggression to my wife and daughter. With great heartbreak, we decided we couldn’t keep this beautiful dog, and sent him back to Peoria Greyhound Rescue. Rescuing racing Greyhounds “ Continued