500 Greyhounds to be put down - Can you help prevent this??

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500 Greyhounds About To Die- PLEASE CROSS POST!!

 

The greyhound track in Plainfield, CT voted on April 26th that they

would discontinue greyhound racing. Unfortunately - and heartbreakingly

- they've also decided that rescuers have only two weeks to get the dogs

out, and any dogs remaining at the track on May 14th will be euthanized.

This is a monumental task because there are at least 500 dogs currently

at the track. These are all young, healthy dogs, 2-4 years of age, who

would make great family pets.

 

Why is the track doing this? Greyhound racing is a business and because

the track is no longer profitable, they're getting out. To us, dogs are

cherished companions. To the greyhound racing industry, dogs are

expendable commodities to be disposed of in whatever way is least

expensive and most convenient when they aren't making money.

 

We've committed to saving as many dogs as we possibly can in the next

two weeks. We'll be working with an experienced greyhound rescuer who

has been placing retired greyhounds for many years. She will be going to

the track and bringing us dogs. As soon as we have more room, we'll do

it again. We will repeat as many times as we can before May 14th. After

May 14th, there will be no dogs left alive at the track.

 

In order to save as many dogs as we can, we are going to try something

we've never done before; sending as many as possible out into foster

care by May 14th. Every time we send a dog into an adoptive home or a

foster home, we can take another dog off the track. We will take the

fostered dogs back into the Dakin Animal Shelter for adoption over the

next few months as spaces open up for them - as long as they're off the

track by May 14th, they'll be safe.

 

How can you help?

a. Adopt a greyhound They're wonderful dogs - gentle, quiet, sweet,

and graceful. The ones we'll be getting will be good companions with

other dogs and with cats. Surprisingly, they're couch potatoes. They do

need to be in a fenced area or leash walked; they aren't dogs to let run

loose. For information on what it's like to take a greyhound home, visit

www.greyhoundgang.com. To find out what greys we have available for

adoption, call us at 413-548-9898 or visit our dog adoption page.

b.. Foster a greyhound If we can send greys into foster care and out

of our Shelter, we can pull more from the track before May 14. We'll get

them back into the Shelter over the next few months. We will provide all

their medical care and a crate to make their transition easier. You

provide your time & love and together we will give them a new life! For

information on what it's like to take a greyhound home, visit

www.greyhoundgang.com. If you can help, or are interested in more

information, contact us at 413-548-9898.

c.. Donate money. We are going to need extra funds to help these dogs.

We'll be buying crates and other supplies as well as paying all their

medical bills. You can send a check to: Dakin Animal Shelter, 163

Montague Road, Leverett MA 01054, or donate online. Please mark your

donation " Save the Greys " .

d.. Donate a large dog crate. We need these to send with the dogs

going into foster care.

e.. Spread the word! The more people who know about this tragedy, the

more help the dogs will get.

 

Many of you have seen greyhounds in the community - they're lovely,

gentle dogs. When we started working with greyhounds, we discovered that

there are a lot of misconceptions about them.

a.. Greys are not hyper - they're actually couch potatoes!

b.. They love to run - for about 5 minutes - in a safe, fenced area.

c.. Greys spend most of their day snoozing and adore soft sleeping

places and all the comforts in life.

d.. They are actually very good dogs for apartments or small homes

because of their low activity level.

e.. They are very clean dogs, and in some ways are very catlike in

their cleanliness and love of comfort.

f.. Most greyhounds - including all the ones we'll be getting - can

live with other dogs and cats, once they've been introduced, and

actually love living with other animals.

g.. They rarely bark and shed little.

h.. In their life on the track, they live in crates for 22 hours per

day, so most things in the 'real world' are a surprise to them.

i.. They've never seen simple things such as: slippery floors (wood,

tile); stairs; television; windows; cats; dogs who are not greyhounds!

j.. They generally housebreak very easily because they're completely

crate trained (they aren't housebroken because they've never been in a

house, so they have to learn what a house is!).

k.. They walk very, very politely on leash - they learn that at the

track.

l.. Greyhounds are very good companions for homes with gentle children

because of their own gentle nature.

 

This is a tragedy of enormous proportions, and we've decided to throw

everything we've got into doing as much as we can.

 

 

 

" Our nettlesome task is to discover how to organize our strength into

compelling power " ...Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

www.demunity.com

Wear the bracelet: " 1 of 57 Million Americans "

 

 

 

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