EN: future for Greyhounds USA

[Greyhound-Forum]

Future for Greyhounds
We recently inadvertently caused a bit of controversy by purchasing a young racing prospect at the NGA auction, as a stud for our farm. He had a lackluster showing during the two stakes races before the auction so I likely would have trouble finding a track trainer to take him with the limited track space now in the US. If I did find a trainer to take him it would have been at one of the lesser tracks where he would struggle to even return his investment. The owner that sold him made far more money than had I not bid on him. So why the controversy?

It's time we faced the reality facing greyhounds in the United States today. We are losing Florida in six months and will lose Southland in 2022. We did not create the racing greyhound of today. It was created by generations of dedicated racing breeders and trainers over the last 100 years. It doesn't belong to us to spitefully let die just because the tracks are closing. If we all love the greyhound as we say we do, not just for the money they earn us but for the dog itself, then we owe it to ourselves and future generations to do all we can to preserve it. It is inevitable that the greyhound will change. How much it changes will be up to us. If we strive to retain the superior intelligence, athleticism, beauty and temperament of the racing greyhound, we can maintain these great dogs for future generations.

We all fervently hope that something magical will happen, that the Woodlands will open back up or that the legal battles against Amendment 13 in Florida will bear fruit. We have to have a plan B if things continue as they have been. Plan B can't just be to roll over and die, and it doesn't have to be.

So let's knock of the BS and the backbiting shall we? If we selfishly hoard the last of the greyhounds until the last of the tracks close, and hand the last generation of racers to adoption to be spayed and neutered, the American greyhound will be lost to history. A handful of lucky adopters will be the last to experience the joy of owning one of these amazing dogs, with the exception of the few we can import from race friendly countries. With the costs involved, there is no way we can import enough to satisfy the demand. Hopeful adopters are on waiting lists here already. What right do we have to deprive future generations from having one of these amazing dogs.

I hope that more current breeders will join the handful of us that already has and open their minds to the possibility, of raising top quality puppies for sale to the public, as amateur competitors and companions. The numbers of our pups that have become fantastic service dogs, agility dogs and obedience competitors is proof of the amazing diversity of these dogs. Breeding these incredible dogs does not make you a pariah, it makes you a hero, working to preserve something priceless.
Cashel Farm Greyhounds/FB