Pilots and Paws Peeps, Get Ready to Fly Some Greyhounds

I dated a girl that adopted ex-racing greyhounds. They made really good pets but the males were just about impossible to house break.

She had one dog that had won 60 races in Mexico. That dog was more successful in racing than I was....:sigh::sigh:
 
We have a retired racing greyhound (25 races won). Frankly I think that this vote was well intentioned but misguided and am sorry to see that the industry will be shutting down in Florida as this is expected to spell the end of greyhound racing in the country, which may also result in an end to access to greyhounds in general. My local group is already asking for more people to volunteer as fosters as we're expecting a flood of dogs to occur.
 
As a dog lover, I’m happy to see this pass but I wonder, are they wanting to do the same with horses?
 
Groundpounder said:
What is so wrong with Greyhound racing?
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No different than horse racing. Fatal injuries in both. Horses and dogs both penned up except for "work." Guess more dog sympathizers than horse folks. And don't even get me started on the dog show circuit!
 
old cfi said:
No different than horse racing. Fatal injuries in both. Horses and dogs both penned up except for "work." Guess more dog sympathizers than horse folks. And don't even get me started on the dog show circuit!
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Much of the opposition to dog racing stems from euthanasia of non-performing dogs. Also, dogs have litters while horses have single births and this results in a surplus of dogs, many of which were destroyed in the past.

Adoption programs in recent years have largely mitigated this issue, but that's probably not well known and the public has a lot of distaste for dog racing stemming from piles of dead animals in years past.
 
isn't it just one-lap NASCAR.....for dogs.....?
 
I am a little worried about this due to the poor wording in the amendment. This could be construed to cover things like weight pull, dock diving, and other dog activities that are fun for the dogs and owners alike but could be construed as sport.

And as we have found in aviation, the notion of "compensation" can be easily bastardized.

I get that the greyhound racing world has some problems, but this amendment is garbage.
 
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old cfi said:
No different than horse racing. Fatal injuries in both. Horses and dogs both penned up except for "work." Guess more dog sympathizers than horse folks. And don't even get me started on the dog show circuit!
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Dog shows are fun!
 
Ken Ibold said:
I am a little worried about this due to the poor wording in the amendment. This could be construed to cover things like weight pull, dock diving, and other dog activities that are fun for the dogs and owners alike but could be construed as sport.

And as we have found in aviation, the notion of "compensation" can be easily bastardized.

I get that the greyhound racing world has some problems, but this amendment is garbage.
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I read the actual text and it was tied pretty firmly to gambling operations. Theoretically, you could still race dogs if there were no betting involved.

Prohibition on racing of and wagering on greyhounds or other dogs.—The humane treatment of animals is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. After December 31, 2020, a person authorized to conduct gaming or pari-mutuel operations may not race greyhounds or any member of the Canis Familiaris subspecies in connection with any wager for money or any other thing of value in this state, and persons in this state may not wager money or any other thing of value on the outcome of a live dog race occurring in this state.​

If you're not a person authorized to conduct gaming or pari-mutuel operations, race all the dogs you want, or compete them in any other way.
 
Half Fast said:
Much of the opposition to dog racing stems from euthanasia of non-performing dogs. Also, dogs have litters while horses have single births and this results in a surplus of dogs, many of which were destroyed in the past.

Adoption programs in recent years have largely mitigated this issue, but that's probably not well known and the public has a lot of distaste for dog racing stemming from piles of dead animals in years past.
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I know very little about the past about greyhound racing. I'm sure there are some people who are still doing it wrong.

My local greyhound rescue group (who we got ours from) is very upset over this decision. My friends who are "in the know" about the conditions in Florida are also upset about it. From everything I've heard, the conditions for racing dogs these days are much, much better. Our group gets dogs that are retired at all age groups. We get ones who are still essentially puppies and didn't perform, and we get ones like ours who was 5 years old and won 25 races before retiring.

When I saw the arguments against, most of them made me laugh. "In a cage for 20-23 hours a day." Well, greyhounds sleep about 20-23 hours a day. Seriously. They're known as "the 40 MPH couch potato." They run for a few minutes, get all the energy out, then sleep for a week. The opposite of a rottweiler or the like that will bounce around all the time "PLAY! PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!"

Muzzles? Yeah, because they're fragile. They're built like race cars not like trucks. Their skin is extremely thin, their bones are weak. Our dog broke his foot because he stepped in a hole wrong walking around our yard. He wasn't even bouncing around or running, he was just walking. We don't muzzle ours but we were told to muzzle them in groups together because otherwise they'll tend to nip at eachother and may hurt eachother unintentionally.

Talking to the leaders in our group, their words are "The dogs are treated like kings." At least from the people we've gotten them from. The people who raced them follow up and are happy to see them going to good homes. Yes, they have to adapt to life in a house, but ours certainly had no issues with that.

And running? They're bred to run. It's what they love to do. You put a bunch of them together in a group and watch them run, it really is fun to watch.

Obviously animal welfare is important to me, but I think this measure was misguided although I'm sure most of the people who voted for it thought they were doing it for the benefit of the dogs.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I know very little about the past about greyhound racing. I'm sure there are some people who are still doing it wrong.

My local greyhound rescue group (who we got ours from) is very upset over this decision. My friends who are "in the know" about the conditions in Florida are also upset about it. From everything I've heard, the conditions for racing dogs these days are much, much better. Our group gets dogs that are retired at all age groups. We get ones who are still essentially puppies and didn't perform, and we get ones like ours who was 5 years old and won 25 races before retiring.

When I saw the arguments against, most of them made me laugh. "In a cage for 20-23 hours a day." Well, greyhounds sleep about 20-23 hours a day. Seriously. They're known as "the 40 MPH couch potato." They run for a few minutes, get all the energy out, then sleep for a week. The opposite of a rottweiler or the like that will bounce around all the time "PLAY! PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!"

Muzzles? Yeah, because they're fragile. They're built like race cars not like trucks. Their skin is extremely thin, their bones are weak. Our dog broke his foot because he stepped in a hole wrong walking around our yard. He wasn't even bouncing around or running, he was just walking. We don't muzzle ours but we were told to muzzle them in groups together because otherwise they'll tend to nip at eachother and may hurt eachother unintentionally.

Talking to the leaders in our group, their words are "The dogs are treated like kings." At least from the people we've gotten them from. The people who raced them follow up and are happy to see them going to good homes. Yes, they have to adapt to life in a house, but ours certainly had no issues with that.

And running? They're bred to run. It's what they love to do. You put a bunch of them together in a group and watch them run, it really is fun to watch.

Obviously animal welfare is important to me, but I think this measure was misguided although I'm sure most of the people who voted for it thought they were doing it for the benefit of the dogs.
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Yep, absolutely true now days. Agree completely. My wife and I voted against this one, and we're both animal lovers.

But most of the public doesn't know that, and they believe the animals are still mistreated as they were in the past, and that's why they voted the way they did. One more example of why we shouldn't let everyone vote.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
And running? They're bred to run. It's what they love to do. You put a bunch of them together in a group and watch them run, it really is fun to watch.
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Like the sled dogs in Alaska. They have to be caged or tied because they will run and run and run and run.... If the driver falls off the sled, that is when the real races start....
 
Half Fast said:
But most of the public doesn't know that, and they believe the animals are still mistreated as they were in the past, and that's why they voted the way they did. One more example of why we shouldn't let everyone vote.
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I think perhaps a better point would be the importance of educating yourself on the issues on the ballot beyond the advertising rhetoric.

Zeldman said:
Like the sled dogs in Alaska. They have to be caged or tied because they will run and run and run and run.... If the driver falls off the sled, that is when the real races start....
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I've heard that. I also have no issues with dog sled racing, again if done correctly and the dogs are properly cared for. I'm sure there are people who do it wrong.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
And running? They're bred to run. It's what they love to do. You put a bunch of them together in a group and watch them run, it really is fun to watch.
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Yeah, it might even be fun to have them race! Oh, wait....
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I think perhaps a better point would be the importance of educating yourself on the issues on the ballot beyond the advertising rhetoric.
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Maybe making people pass a quiz before handing them a ballot.....
 
Ted DuPuis said:
And running? They're bred to run. It's what they love to do. You put a bunch of them together in a group and watch them run, it really is fun to watch.
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Half Fast said:
Yeah, it might even be fun to have them race! Oh, wait....
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And it might make it more fun if we put money on which one comes in first....
 
Zeldman said:
I dated a girl that adopted ex-racing greyhounds. They made really good pets but the males were just about impossible to house break.

She had one dog that had won 60 races in Mexico. That dog was more successful in racing than I was....:sigh::sigh:
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My wife and I have 3 rescued racing greyhounds... they are awesome pets... quiet, calm, and worthy of their tagline "45 mph couch potatoes". Most all of them come house broken as they lived their lives on the track 23 hours a day in a crate.
 
My vet who specialized for a while at treating race dogs and retirees always said they were very different than other dogs and they were easy to kill with normal anesthesia and meds...he always has one or two for pets hanging around his place and they seem like they seem all super friendly and gentle
 
Warlock said:
he always has one or two for pets hanging around his place and they seem like they seem all super friendly and gentle
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That was a lot of why we adopted one. Great with kids, very tolerant. And it's a lot of fun to watch him run full speed.
 
It's alot easier to adopt a greyhound than a racehorse. Most yards won't accommodate them. Finally the Thoroughbred Assoc started funding retirement places for these horses years ago. Unfortunately their numbers are large and they eat more than dogs so all do not find that green pasture. Thousands of these animals were put on a one-way ride to the killers or sent overseas for the same fate. They also make great pleasure horses in retirement and like the dogs bring happiness to their new owners.

With the horse population in FL, I was surprised to see this bill pass. Sure It's written for dog racing but what's next? Gonna be interesting.
 
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