My Love Affair With Greyhounds

By Glenda Taylor

This book is dedicated to Christine A. Dorchak and Grey2K USA Worldwide for their accomplishments: freeing greyhounds from the racing industry, and closing race tracks.

It is also a shout out to the thousands of volunteers around the globe who rescued, fostered, or adopted these gentle dogs that were caged, muzzled, raced, starved, drugged, injured, and often killed. Abuse of which the racing industry was fully aware, but never acknowledged, and appeared not to care. Spread the word, donate, support the efforts of this organization that works to abolish greyhound racing, and enlighten the public that greyhounds are treasures to be protected, not creatures to be used, abused, and disposed of by a callous industry once the dogs fail to win races.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glenda Taylor
• Release date: Apr 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393971443

Book preview

MY LOVE AFFAIR

WITH

GREYHOUNDS

––––––––

Glenda Taylor

This Book Is Dedicated To

Christine Ann Dorchak

President & General Counsel

GREY2K USA Worldwide

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Above: Christine with Gina Relaxing at Home

Christine Dorchak is President and General Counsel of GREY2K USA Worldwide, a national, non-profit greyhound protection organization. Their mission is to educate the public about the cruelty of greyhound racing and their goal is to end dog racing nationwide.

Christine, who is bilingual in Spanish and French, graduated from Boston University in 1990 with a BS in Journalism. Her plan was to pursue her dream of becoming a foreign correspondent, but fate intervened when Christine met with an accident by a train on the neighborhood tracks. Kelsey, her one-year-old Black Russian Terrier, pulled Christine slightly away from the tracks which avoided a head-on collision and saved her life.

After a four-year struggle to regain her health, her close brush with death behind her, Christine realized, Life is not about making money or acquiring material possessions, it’s about doing something good. Every day is precious. I survived for a reason.

As a way of thanking Kelsey for saving her life, Christine would dedicate the rest of her life to helping dogs.

In 2001, Christine co-founded GREY2K USA Worldwide, a small but ambitious non-profit headquartered just outside of Boston. Appalled at the conditions most dogs endured at the racetracks and the unusually high number of deaths at these facilities, Christine educated herself so she could be more effective in combating these abuses. Graduating from law school in 2005, Christine used her knowledge to help craft legislation and ballot questions for upcoming elections and educate lawmakers and the public about the cruelty and corruption of dog racing.

In 2005, Christine earned a law degree from the New England School of Law. She specializes in pari-mutuel law and has drafted laws to successfully prohibit dog racing in several states and countries.

Pari-mutuel wagering denotes a betting system in which gamblers are betting against each other. More than eighty percent of the pari-mutuel handle or amount bet is returned to the bettors in the form of winnings. The remainder is dispersed to the host track, to the state’s racing commission as the statutory take out and to winning kennel operators in the form of purses. Dog racing is so unpopular now that every host state is losing money on the activity because the cost of regulation exceeds revenues generated. But thanks to subsidies and state tax breaks, this Depression Era invention has been protected from normal market pressures. Christine is trying to change this by exposing this dying industry, repealing the subsidies and shutting down these cruel and wasteful operations wherever they exist.

I met Christine at a party to celebrate the end of dog racing in my state of Arizona in 2016. I was immediately impressed by her love and concern for racing greyhounds, and her determination to close down racetracks and abolish the cruel sport of greyhound racing. That year, Christine had fulfilled her goal of closing down Tucson Greyhound Park. All greyhound volunteers, over the moon elated at the news, shed tears of joy.

Thank You, Christine Dorchak.

Champion Of Greyhounds.

We Love You!

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Copyright © 2019 Glenda Taylor

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Racing Away From The Track

Six

Seven

Stories From The Kennel

Eight

I N T E R L O P E R

Fond Fostering Memories

Nine

Doggie Proofing

Ten

Cat Testing

Eleven

Tragedy

Twelve

Beading Divas To The Rescue

Thirteen

Raced Rescued Adopted Adored

Arizona Mornings

Fourteen

Adopt A Black Greyhound?

Fifteen

My Greyhound Family

Sixteen

Grey2k USA Worldwide

Living Conditions For Racing Greyhounds

Meet The Greyhounds’ Best Friends

Seventeen

Eighteen

Full Circle?

Nineteen

Acknowledgements

About the Author

ONE

My love affair with Greyhounds began in the summer of 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona. My fur companion at that time was a large grey and black striped tabby cat named Monster. We were a contented twosome with no thought of expanding the pack.

It was early evening when I arrived home from work. The blistering Phoenix heat was retreating and Monster was settled comfortably on his favorite tree branch in the backyard, eyes tracking anything with wings that zoomed or floated within his radius. I was busy fixing dinner when the telephone rang. Hello.

Good evening, Miss Taylor. I’m calling on behalf of a greyhound rescue group in California. We are driving to Arizona next week hauling six adoptable dogs. Would you be interested in adopting a former racing greyhound? She’s a real darling, three years old, a beautiful fawn coat, and very sweet.

What?

Before I could gather my thoughts, the woman continued.

Greyhounds are gentle, affectionate creatures, but the racing industry has turned them into money-making machines. Once they no longer bring home the winning purse, they are ...she paused, disposable. We try to find as many homes as possible for these gorgeous, sensitive dogs. They really need human champions in their corner. Can you help the cause by adopting one of our hounds?

Could I? I had lost my Great Dane two years earlier in a tragic accident. Was my heart ready to embrace, nurture and love another dog? Oh that my heartstrings were as disciplined as my purse strings. I could always walk away from what was professed to be a great deal, but when it came to animals, my heart was in charge. I felt my hesitation begin to soften. How much will it cost to adopt one of your dogs?

Nothing. Locating good homes for our dogs is all we require.

Nothing. That grabbed my attention: a definite plus considering I lived paycheck to paycheck. I have a cat, I said. How would the greyhound get along with my cat?

She’s cat friendly, said the woman. She’s been living with a cat in foster for more than three months with no problems. She really is a very gentle, sweet-natured hound. We will be in Phoenix next Wednesday and I could bring her over to meet you. What time would be good for you?

At this point, my reluctance about adopting another dog had thumbed an Uber and was heading south to Tucson.

Well, I get home around 6:00 p.m. So, let’s say, 6:30?

Splendid. And your address is... yes, got it. Okay, see you then.

She hung up. I dropped down onto the couch, shaking my head, bemused. I didn’t ask her name, the name of the rescue group, and, more importantly, how she got my number. Why did she think I might be interested in adopting a dog, especially a breed I had never seen and knew little about?

But I was intrigued. Perhaps Monster might like to have a buddy. My heart urged me on; you need to do this. Give this homeless greyhound a new start with someone who will love her. I surrendered to its call. But wait, I had forgotten to ask the lady the name of the dog.

I worked as a mediation program manager, a position that kept me constantly busy, so the following Wednesday arrived quickly. I left work promptly at 5:00 p.m., a rarity for me but, after all, I was about to interview a potential new roommate.

Driving north on the I-17 freeway, I wondered about the dog’s name. Did she know her name? What if I didn’t like her name? How long would it take for her to recognize a new name? I decided that for the greyhound to adjust to a new home environment and a drastic change in climate would be more than enough for any dog. I had no need to add stress by changing her name. Satisfied with my decision, I relaxed and continued driving north. When the name Molly whispered through the back of my mind, I remembered thinking, Mm, that would be good, but I was so busy changing lanes