Bear broke his left toe

Bear broke his left front toe on Saturday. He was playing in the backyard with his brothers and sisters and probably did it then. You know how puppies are.
Bear is home and he is doing well. We now have to take him out on the leash in the backyard to potty and for walks. No running for awhile pup. It was tough when we got home cause our others where so glad to see him.
So, I had to hold on tight on the leash and Lincoln and Suzy where out doing crazy zoomies in the yard, I was holding Bear back cause of course he wanted to join and Milky, she was more interested in chewing on some green grass.
The rest of the evening, Bear has been chewing on rawhide. He loves this so this kept him occupied. They all got some rawhide and it was actually quiet for a bit.

Here are some pictures of Bear.

Happy Birthday Suzy

Happy Birthday Suzy. We are going to have a great day today in celebration of your special day.We love you sweetie.

Greyhound racing contributes almost $272 million in taxes

Greyhound racetracks employed almost 15,000 people and paid almost $272 million in taxes in 2006 according to an annual report released by the American Greyhound Track Operators Association (AGTOA). The annual payroll of these tracks was more than $194 million and they spent nearly $357 million on goods and services.

In addition to live Greyhound racing, most tracks offer simulcast wagering on Greyhounds, horses, and in some cases, on jai-alai. Greyhound racing fans bet more than $660 million on simulcast horse races. Some tracks now have card rooms and slot machines. These additional gaming activities have generated millions of dollars of additional revenue for cities, counties and states.

The personnel who own and work for racing kennels and the approximately 800 Greyhound-breeding farms in 31 states also contribute to local economies through taxes and their operations. It is estimated that breeding farms invest more than $150 million in land, buildings and equipment, and purchase goods and services representing $96 million each year.

“While this economic contribution to the states where we do business is substantial, our sport could not exist were it not for our Greyhound athletes,” said Richard Winning, president of AGTOA. “We have a special responsibility to ensure Greyhounds are well cared for from the time they are born until they retire.”

Through the American Greyhound Council (AGC), a joint effort of track operators and Greyhound breeders and trainers, the industry funded a number of programs designed to care for the welfare of racing Greyhounds. Since its inception, the AGC has spent more than $7 million on Greyhound welfare programs. These programs include:

Sponsoring a canine bone cancer study;
Publishing Care of the Racing and Retired Greyhound;
Updating the International Greyhound Research Database;
Co-sponsoring a Greyhound safety and track surface maintenance symposium;
Sponsoring veterinarian education programs;
Maintaining a Web-based hot line to monitor disease outbreaks;
Inspecting breeding farms to ensure Greyhound welfare standards are met.

The industry contributed more than $1.4 million to support Greyhound adoption activities. This included providing grants to independent adoption groups; funding and promoting on-site track-sponsored programs; providing education to Greyhound pet owners; sponsoring a study to improve the adoption process; and funding an 800 number to facilitate Greyhound adoption.

Track management and employees also believe in giving back to their communities. In addition to volunteering their time, these tracks contributed nearly $6.2 million to hundreds of non-profit organizations.

Social Network

Found a great new site. Check it out here

Happy Labor Day

Have a great Labor Day. Be safe what ever your plans are.

AGC responds to Boston Globe story

The following is forwarded on behalf of Gary Guccione, Communications Coordinator, American Greyhound Council, in response to a recent column written by Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson. The column, which was syndicated and published in other newspapers, drew an egregiously unfair parallel between Michael Vick’s crimes and the legal, regulated sport of Greyhound racing. Boston Globe story.

Dear Editor:

It is disturbing that Michael Vick’s misguided participation in illegal and inhumane dog fighting has become a pretext for attacking responsible, legal animal use industries.

Boston Globe writer Derrick Z. Jackson’s recent column comparing Greyhound racing to illegal dog fighting was completely lacking in fairness or balance, and grossly unfair to the Greyhound racing community. It read more like radical propaganda than thoughtful commentary.

The legal and highly regulated Greyhound racing industry takes its responsibilities seriously, as animal stewards as well as taxpaying employers. Greyhound racetracks employed almost 15,000 people and paid almost $272 million in taxes in 2006, according to an annual report released earlier this week by the American Greyhound Track Operators Association (AGTOA). The annual payroll of these tracks was more than $194 million; spent nearly $357 million on goods and services.

Through the American Greyhound Council (AGC), Greyhound track operators, breeders and trainers have invested more than $7 million in recent years on Greyhound health and welfare programs ranging from breeding farm inspections to canine bone cancer research, veterinary symposia and web-based Greyhound health resources. The industry spends over $1.4 million annually to support Greyhound adoption activities.

It is in the Greyhound welfare area that Derrick Jackson’s column was most egregiously unfair. Intentionally or not, Jackson apparently allowed himself to be used as a tool by the Greyhound Protection League (GPL), an extreme organization that has become famous for its hysterical condemnation of Greyhound racing without regard to the facts.

The vast majority of people in Greyhound racing are in the business because they love Greyhounds and are fully committed to responsible animal care. In the rare cases where industry members are found guilty of serious animal welfare violations, they are banned from the sport for life, and other industry members are prohibited from doing business with them. Few other fields, including journalism, deal with ethical violations so harshly.

Fortunately, groups like GPL are becoming increasingly marginalized, as mainstream animal welfare groups recognize the benefits of cooperation with the racing community for the benefit of the Greyhounds. The American Greyhound Council and individual tracks across the U.S. work side by side with hundreds of adoption groups around the country to find loving homes for retired Greyhounds.

Thanks to these joint efforts, more than 90 percent of all registered Greyhounds are either adopted or returned to the farm as pets or breeders when they retire. That’s a success story your readers will never hear from GPL or Mr. Jackson.

Sincerely, Gary Guccione

Lunar Eclipse

The moon glows orange during the lunar eclipse early Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007 seen next to the TransAmerican Pyramid in San Francisco. The moon's surface darkened as the earth's shadow moved across it to create a partial eclipse from just before 1:51am (PST) with the total eclipse visible one hour later.