Lottie (aka the brindle rocket or the insinkerator) isn't what you'd call a cat trainable greyhound. Normally if out walking and her ultra sensitive cat radar picks up a feline presence, she'll go nuts until she's dragged away from where her finely tuned cat detection apparatus has decided the cat in question is located. Other times of course she'll just look and wont react at all.
Lotties cat radar is truly something to behold. We can be walking down the street and no cats are in view. Suddenly Lotties ears are standing to full attention and she's detected a cat. We've lost count of the amount of times that we've been sure that there was no cat about, only to find that a cat tucked away under a gate, car, letterbox, hedge or sitting in a window 200 meters up the road. We're still not sure how Lotties nearly fool-proof cat radar works, but trust me on this, it really works.
When we adopted Lottie we were told that she was a cat question mark,or that she may be ok with cats, but then again she may not. It appeared that felines made her anxious. Our elderly cat had passed away so we weren't too worried. Lottie has since lunged, barked at and carried on like a furry nutter at cats more times than we can count. Other times she can be bizarrely uninterested.
As we're cautious sorts and are aware of Lotties generally high levels of nuttiness when it comes to cats. We watch Lottie like a hawk when out walking and keep her on a short lead should her cat radar detect a feline bogey at 3 o'clock.
Bizarrely while out walking Lottie a while back we began to notice that she was fascinated by townhouses at the end of our street. Each time we walked past, Lottie would slow down, staring across the road. She'd even hold off having a pee (even when she was clearly busting) until she was outside these townhouses so she could spend a little more time staring.
Then it dawned on us. There was an elderly (but oh so cute) ginger cat that often sat outside the townhouses and Lottie had developed a cat crush on it.
Now when we walk past Lotties ears perk up, her tail wags and she smiles. she's not interested in lunging, barking or going nuts. Instead, she'll quietly stand and look longingly at the ginger cat (who is of course is blissfully unaware that it has a greyhound admirer). We think its terribly cute.
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Monday 16 March 2015
Spare a thought for Benny
UPDATE: After posting a link to this blog on the Greyhound protection leagues facebook page, they've "invited" me to leave their page. Guess they don't like to hear anything that calls their views into question. What a shame .
UPDATE #2: The Palmerston North Council have confirmed that they will euthanise benny.
Sometimes things just go wrong and spiral out of control.
Take the incredibly sad story of a greyhound called Benny for instance.
Nightrave (who rehome retired racing greyhounds) placed Benny with a family, on trial.
Unfortunately the family's small child left the front gate open on their property and Bennie escaped. This happened not once, not twice, and but three times. Benny was retrieved two of the times he pulled off this escape act.
Nightrave should probably have intervened after the second escape and taken Benny back off the family, whose property and living situation were probably incompatible with owning a greyhound.
Sadly Benny escaped a third time. This time he caught and attacked Quinn, a cat. Quinn's owner rushed Quinn to the vet. While Nightrave covered the vet costs, Quinn sadly died.
Benny's trial owners surrendered Benny to the council, who've since impounded Benny, placing him on death row.
They will probably kill him very soon.
This all came to my attention via the "The greyhound protection league". They're staunch advocates of getting the greyhound racing industry shut down.
Sadly their Facebook post on the issue reads more as a rant against the racing industry, rather than being anything to do with protecting Benny. Both Nightrave and Benny's former trainer had some pretty serious allegations made against them in the post which was so inflammatory that it bordered on being defamatory (If I were Benny's former trainer or Nightrave, I'd probably be phoning my lawyers).
What struck me was not just what was said by the greyhound protection league, but was not said. Nowhere in the posting did the greyhound protection league really focus on Benny's welfare. I find this pretty hypocritical given they're supposedly the greyhound protection league.
The original posting, and some of the comments, contend that Benny's behaviour is a result of his training by the greyhound racing industry who stimulated his prey drive so he'd chase a synthetic lure around the racetrack as fast as possible. Other comments make the point that Benny could be rehabilitated into a safe environment where he would not have access to cats, and that there is no need for him to be killed.
To my mind a number of people have contributed to this sad situation:
The family who unwittingly facilitated this horrible situation by letting Benny escape. These sort of things happen to even the most responsible dog owner, however letting it happen three times stretches the bounds of credibility. Once should have been enough for the family to take action to ensure it didn't happen again.
After the first escape - certainly the second - Nightrave should have taken Benny way. Sadly this didn't happen either.
The greyhound protection league's rabid post on their Facebook page was neither helpful nor I suspect was it factually informed. It appears that the cat owner, who raised the issue with them, has provided all of the information; not all of it was accurate and it does not appear to have been checked. There are a number of significant errors which have been pointed out by commenters. This does their credibility no good at all and has just inflamed an already heated debate where many other people are posting without any thought on the consequences of their words to poor Benny and other greyhounds.
Unsuprisingly, Quinn's owner is very upset. Losing a much loved pet is heartbreaking. To lose a pet in such a violent way must be nothing short of horrific. Quinn's owner blames the racing industry and had made some pretty strong comments about the greyhound breed. She wants Benny to be put down and is convinced this is the only possible outcome.
Grieving is never easy and anger is a natural stage of the grieving process. I can only hope that in the future, she looks back at her comments with horror and realises that any breed of dog could have done the exact same thing, given the right opportunity.
Making matters worse, Quinn's owner has said that she is training to be either a vet or a vet-nurse. Given her comments about greyhounds, I'd have some pretty big concerns with taking my hounds to any practice she was employed at.
She has also said in posts that she wants to go the media with her story. The NZ media, always on the hunt for a big story, would love nothing better than to cover this given the recent live baiting scandals in Australia. Sadly by going to the media, she will place the lives of hundreds of innocent greyhounds in danger should the perception of them being violent dogs take hold with the public. Based on her comments, it is probably fair to assume she is an animal lover yet sadly her grief has probably clouded judgement to the point that she isn't thinking much about the long term consequences of her words and actions.
Benny on the other hand was doing exactly what many different dog breeds (or even cats) do in the wild, he was hunting. Its not a pleasant thing, but it is the truth. This is hardly limited to greyhounds, or indeed dogs.
Quinn, like most other cats, had probably in his lifetime also hunted and possibly killed animals. Even the most responsible cat owners who fit bells and don't let their cats out at night can't completely prevent it from happening.
Amidst the finger pointing and blaming the greyhound protection league have been doing, they need to remember that a dog sits on death row. There's been little discussion on how Benny could be best helped, and how Quinn's owner can best be supported through her grief, although both issues have been commented on. This is what needs to happen.
Sadly one thing is abundantly clear. It doesn't matter who is right nor who is wrong. Quinn, a much loved cat has died. Nothing will bring him back. Now a greyhound who just needed a safe and loving home but was let down through a series of errors will also die. Sadly we can't do much for Quinn besides offering his owner our sympathies.
Shouldn't we spare a thought for Benny? Should he really have to die?
UPDATE #2: The Palmerston North Council have confirmed that they will euthanise benny.
Sometimes things just go wrong and spiral out of control.
Take the incredibly sad story of a greyhound called Benny for instance.
Nightrave (who rehome retired racing greyhounds) placed Benny with a family, on trial.
Unfortunately the family's small child left the front gate open on their property and Bennie escaped. This happened not once, not twice, and but three times. Benny was retrieved two of the times he pulled off this escape act.
Nightrave should probably have intervened after the second escape and taken Benny back off the family, whose property and living situation were probably incompatible with owning a greyhound.
Sadly Benny escaped a third time. This time he caught and attacked Quinn, a cat. Quinn's owner rushed Quinn to the vet. While Nightrave covered the vet costs, Quinn sadly died.
Benny's trial owners surrendered Benny to the council, who've since impounded Benny, placing him on death row.
They will probably kill him very soon.
This all came to my attention via the "The greyhound protection league". They're staunch advocates of getting the greyhound racing industry shut down.
Sadly their Facebook post on the issue reads more as a rant against the racing industry, rather than being anything to do with protecting Benny. Both Nightrave and Benny's former trainer had some pretty serious allegations made against them in the post which was so inflammatory that it bordered on being defamatory (If I were Benny's former trainer or Nightrave, I'd probably be phoning my lawyers).
What struck me was not just what was said by the greyhound protection league, but was not said. Nowhere in the posting did the greyhound protection league really focus on Benny's welfare. I find this pretty hypocritical given they're supposedly the greyhound protection league.
The original posting, and some of the comments, contend that Benny's behaviour is a result of his training by the greyhound racing industry who stimulated his prey drive so he'd chase a synthetic lure around the racetrack as fast as possible. Other comments make the point that Benny could be rehabilitated into a safe environment where he would not have access to cats, and that there is no need for him to be killed.
To my mind a number of people have contributed to this sad situation:
The family who unwittingly facilitated this horrible situation by letting Benny escape. These sort of things happen to even the most responsible dog owner, however letting it happen three times stretches the bounds of credibility. Once should have been enough for the family to take action to ensure it didn't happen again.
After the first escape - certainly the second - Nightrave should have taken Benny way. Sadly this didn't happen either.
The greyhound protection league's rabid post on their Facebook page was neither helpful nor I suspect was it factually informed. It appears that the cat owner, who raised the issue with them, has provided all of the information; not all of it was accurate and it does not appear to have been checked. There are a number of significant errors which have been pointed out by commenters. This does their credibility no good at all and has just inflamed an already heated debate where many other people are posting without any thought on the consequences of their words to poor Benny and other greyhounds.
Unsuprisingly, Quinn's owner is very upset. Losing a much loved pet is heartbreaking. To lose a pet in such a violent way must be nothing short of horrific. Quinn's owner blames the racing industry and had made some pretty strong comments about the greyhound breed. She wants Benny to be put down and is convinced this is the only possible outcome.
Grieving is never easy and anger is a natural stage of the grieving process. I can only hope that in the future, she looks back at her comments with horror and realises that any breed of dog could have done the exact same thing, given the right opportunity.
Making matters worse, Quinn's owner has said that she is training to be either a vet or a vet-nurse. Given her comments about greyhounds, I'd have some pretty big concerns with taking my hounds to any practice she was employed at.
She has also said in posts that she wants to go the media with her story. The NZ media, always on the hunt for a big story, would love nothing better than to cover this given the recent live baiting scandals in Australia. Sadly by going to the media, she will place the lives of hundreds of innocent greyhounds in danger should the perception of them being violent dogs take hold with the public. Based on her comments, it is probably fair to assume she is an animal lover yet sadly her grief has probably clouded judgement to the point that she isn't thinking much about the long term consequences of her words and actions.
Benny on the other hand was doing exactly what many different dog breeds (or even cats) do in the wild, he was hunting. Its not a pleasant thing, but it is the truth. This is hardly limited to greyhounds, or indeed dogs.
Quinn, like most other cats, had probably in his lifetime also hunted and possibly killed animals. Even the most responsible cat owners who fit bells and don't let their cats out at night can't completely prevent it from happening.
Amidst the finger pointing and blaming the greyhound protection league have been doing, they need to remember that a dog sits on death row. There's been little discussion on how Benny could be best helped, and how Quinn's owner can best be supported through her grief, although both issues have been commented on. This is what needs to happen.
Sadly one thing is abundantly clear. It doesn't matter who is right nor who is wrong. Quinn, a much loved cat has died. Nothing will bring him back. Now a greyhound who just needed a safe and loving home but was let down through a series of errors will also die. Sadly we can't do much for Quinn besides offering his owner our sympathies.
Shouldn't we spare a thought for Benny? Should he really have to die?
Monday 9 March 2015
Well how about that!
Events over the last week had seen many greyhound owners and animal lovers everywhere in a state of panic as the UKs daily mail published a story stating that hundreds of greyhounds were to be euthanised over the next few weeks.
Animal welfare agencies were contacted and many discussions were had. Many (myself included) were dreading the sad news that the hounds had met their end.
What a difference a few days can make.
There's been a heap of discussion and feedback and it turns out that the daily mail story may not have been entirely accurate.
Animal welfare agencies were contacted and many discussions were had. Many (myself included) were dreading the sad news that the hounds had met their end.
What a difference a few days can make.
There's been a heap of discussion and feedback and it turns out that the daily mail story may not have been entirely accurate.
It turns out that the figure of more than 70 trainers being banned may have been exaggerated as the reality is that Queensland have banned 5 trainers and New South Wales has suspended
about 13 trainers. Ohter comments were that Greyhound Victoria seem to be bending over backwards not to take action against
the trainers; they and have allowed the owners of the
dogs to continue to race their hounds if they sign a statment saying
that they knew nothing of the live baiting.
It also appears that many of the dogs belonging to trainers under investigation have largely been placed under their wives names. The dogs of the trainers still being investigated are being held by the RSPCA but the goof news is that Australian greyhound charities in effected states report that they have been surprised by the increased level of potential fosterers coming forward as well (thank goodness!).
This said, there are still some points I raised in my earlier blog that need to be addressed. Sponsors who walked away from sponsoring the racing industry after benefiting from it for years need to take some responsibility and start funding greyhound welfare
Equally important, Australian broadcaster, ABC whose show, 4 corners exposed the live baiting scandal need to maintain a watching brief to ensure that the welfare of the dogs is maintained. Its simply responsible journalism.
It also appears that many of the dogs belonging to trainers under investigation have largely been placed under their wives names. The dogs of the trainers still being investigated are being held by the RSPCA but the goof news is that Australian greyhound charities in effected states report that they have been surprised by the increased level of potential fosterers coming forward as well (thank goodness!).
This said, there are still some points I raised in my earlier blog that need to be addressed. Sponsors who walked away from sponsoring the racing industry after benefiting from it for years need to take some responsibility and start funding greyhound welfare
Equally important, Australian broadcaster, ABC whose show, 4 corners exposed the live baiting scandal need to maintain a watching brief to ensure that the welfare of the dogs is maintained. Its simply responsible journalism.
Sunday 8 March 2015
Hundreds of Greyhounds to be euthanised over the next few weeks
I'd previously blogged about the likely fallout from the greyhound live baiting scandal that's been tearing the Australian greyhound racing scene apart over the last few weeks.
In previous blogs I'd speculated that the scandal would see its innocent victims continue to suffer long after the issue had faded from public attention. Now the UK's daily mail is reporting that hundreds of "blooded" greyhounds are going to be euthanised as trainers banned from racing can no longer afford to keep them.
According to the daily mail "More than 70 trainers and owners have been banned across Australia, including some of the industry's biggest names, and upwards of 600 dogs are believed to have been taken out of racing or pre-training"
I could smugly say "told you so", but the reality is that I'm equal parts sickened and saddened as the insanity spirals out of control and hundreds of these beautiful animals will soon be killed.
Sponsors such as AFL star Jonathan Brown, The McGrath Foundation, and Macro Meats Gourmet Game co. have all pulled out from sponsoring greyhound racing in Australia. Ceasing to support greyhound racing might seem like a prudent PR move, but surely it'd be a thousand times smarter if they took the money they'd previously put into the racing industry and re-directed it into welfare such as rehabilitating and re-homing the hounds who'd been "blooded" so they're pet friendly.
Simply put, the reality is that supporting greyhound racing needs to be replaced with supporting greyhound welfare.
Then there's the divisiveness that's spread across social media, and online forums all of which are abuzz with people weighing in with their own opinions about the evils of the industry. Regardless of the many differing opinions, there's one fundamental reality that anyone with a good conscience cannot ignore. These poor animals need our help.
Now is not the time for pointless debate and finger pointing, now is the time for everyone to set aside their differences and to help find a long term solution before hundreds of these innocent hounds are killed.
So what can you do to help?
There's 4 simple things that can make a huge:
1) DONATE money to Australian greyhound rescue agencies - this will give the agencies some much needed breathing space in which they may be able to get more hounds re-homed. There are a bunch of greyhound rescue agencies in Australia that'll happily take a credit card number/paypal and other forms of payments. Check out:
http://www.gapnsw.org.au/home/
http://www.friendsofthehound.org.au/
http://www.greyhoundsaspets.com.au/
http://gap.grv.org.au/
2) LOBBY the sponsors who've ceased supporting greyhound racing to throw their support into greyhound welfare and rehabilitation. If they wont listen stop buying their products. Making money from greyhound racing is one thing, but turning their backs on these dogs when they need help more than ever strikes me as being both hypocritical and disgusting. From a PR standpoint, getting involved with supporting greyhound welfare should be a total win-win for anyone who'd previously supported the Australian greyhound racing industry. Admitting fault is one thing, but following it up with positive action that can make such a huge difference in the lives of so many innocent dogs can only translate into positive publicity.
The McGrath foundation can be reached at
54 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065
PO Box 471, St Leonards, NSW 1590
Phone: (02) 8962 6100
Fax: (02) 9958 0140
Macro Meats is reachable via
Macro Meats
51-53 Lavinia Street,
Athol Park,
South Australia
Australia 5012
P.O. Box 222
Kilkenny,
South Australia
Australia 5009
Telephone:
+61 8 8341 2533
Facsimile:
+61 8 8341 0345
sales@macromeats.com
I don't have the contact details for Jonathan Brown, but I am sure that if enough people contact his former club via their website (http://www.lions.com.au/) he'll be bound to do something
If you get a chance, contact ABC Australia's CEO and ask why they have been so quiet after they broke the news. Running a story like this has huge consequences. The ABC network needs to step up as a responsible broadcaster and at the very least document what is happening. The ABC's 4 corner programme can be reached at their website.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/
3) ADOPT. I know this sounds cliched, but greyhounds make amazing pets. As a greyhound owner I am admittedly totally biased, but they really are awesome. If you live in Australia, and are thinking about rescuing a dog (or know someone who is thinking of rescuing a dog), you could do a lot worse than adopting a greyhound. Don't take my word for it, check out this video I made a while back where greyhound owners talk about owning a greyhound.
4) WRITE letters to your local newspaper. As long as this issue is kept alive and the public remained informed, a positive outcome remains a possibility. Feel free to re-share this blog and to comment too. Every little bit counts.
In previous blogs I'd speculated that the scandal would see its innocent victims continue to suffer long after the issue had faded from public attention. Now the UK's daily mail is reporting that hundreds of "blooded" greyhounds are going to be euthanised as trainers banned from racing can no longer afford to keep them.
According to the daily mail "More than 70 trainers and owners have been banned across Australia, including some of the industry's biggest names, and upwards of 600 dogs are believed to have been taken out of racing or pre-training"
I could smugly say "told you so", but the reality is that I'm equal parts sickened and saddened as the insanity spirals out of control and hundreds of these beautiful animals will soon be killed.
Sponsors such as AFL star Jonathan Brown, The McGrath Foundation, and Macro Meats Gourmet Game co. have all pulled out from sponsoring greyhound racing in Australia. Ceasing to support greyhound racing might seem like a prudent PR move, but surely it'd be a thousand times smarter if they took the money they'd previously put into the racing industry and re-directed it into welfare such as rehabilitating and re-homing the hounds who'd been "blooded" so they're pet friendly.
Simply put, the reality is that supporting greyhound racing needs to be replaced with supporting greyhound welfare.
Then there's the divisiveness that's spread across social media, and online forums all of which are abuzz with people weighing in with their own opinions about the evils of the industry. Regardless of the many differing opinions, there's one fundamental reality that anyone with a good conscience cannot ignore. These poor animals need our help.
Now is not the time for pointless debate and finger pointing, now is the time for everyone to set aside their differences and to help find a long term solution before hundreds of these innocent hounds are killed.
So what can you do to help?
There's 4 simple things that can make a huge:
1) DONATE money to Australian greyhound rescue agencies - this will give the agencies some much needed breathing space in which they may be able to get more hounds re-homed. There are a bunch of greyhound rescue agencies in Australia that'll happily take a credit card number/paypal and other forms of payments. Check out:
http://www.gapnsw.org.au/home/
http://www.friendsofthehound.org.au/
http://www.greyhoundsaspets.com.au/
http://gap.grv.org.au/
2) LOBBY the sponsors who've ceased supporting greyhound racing to throw their support into greyhound welfare and rehabilitation. If they wont listen stop buying their products. Making money from greyhound racing is one thing, but turning their backs on these dogs when they need help more than ever strikes me as being both hypocritical and disgusting. From a PR standpoint, getting involved with supporting greyhound welfare should be a total win-win for anyone who'd previously supported the Australian greyhound racing industry. Admitting fault is one thing, but following it up with positive action that can make such a huge difference in the lives of so many innocent dogs can only translate into positive publicity.
The McGrath foundation can be reached at
54 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065
PO Box 471, St Leonards, NSW 1590
Phone: (02) 8962 6100
Fax: (02) 9958 0140
Macro Meats is reachable via
Macro Meats
51-53 Lavinia Street,
Athol Park,
South Australia
Australia 5012
P.O. Box 222
Kilkenny,
South Australia
Australia 5009
Telephone:
+61 8 8341 2533
Facsimile:
+61 8 8341 0345
sales@macromeats.com
I don't have the contact details for Jonathan Brown, but I am sure that if enough people contact his former club via their website (http://www.lions.com.au/) he'll be bound to do something
If you get a chance, contact ABC Australia's CEO and ask why they have been so quiet after they broke the news. Running a story like this has huge consequences. The ABC network needs to step up as a responsible broadcaster and at the very least document what is happening. The ABC's 4 corner programme can be reached at their website.
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/
3) ADOPT. I know this sounds cliched, but greyhounds make amazing pets. As a greyhound owner I am admittedly totally biased, but they really are awesome. If you live in Australia, and are thinking about rescuing a dog (or know someone who is thinking of rescuing a dog), you could do a lot worse than adopting a greyhound. Don't take my word for it, check out this video I made a while back where greyhound owners talk about owning a greyhound.
4) WRITE letters to your local newspaper. As long as this issue is kept alive and the public remained informed, a positive outcome remains a possibility. Feel free to re-share this blog and to comment too. Every little bit counts.
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