New Year's Revolution

So, it's here. 2010. Thank goodness.
Personally, I'm glad to have '09 behind me. It was a bumpy year.

In lieu of dwelling on the bumps, I hope to learn from them. And I think the best lesson I can take is 'carpe diem'.

According to Wikipedia, the source for this Latin phrase is Horace, in Odes Book 1 – ‘Dum loquimur, fugerit invida: Aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero’. It's translated as - ‘While we're talking, envious time is fleeing: seize the day, put no trust in the future’.

We’ve all commented on it before - how life can change in the blink of an eye.

Once in a while, we ask ourselves: If this moment, this hour, this day were my last – would I be happy with how I spent it?

Do I tell my husband often enough how much I love him?
Am I doing the best I can in my business?
Do our friends and family know at all times how much they mean?
And our dogs and cat?

‘Seize the day’ – like, every day?? That’s a rather tall order, isn’t it? One I know for certain I’ll fail from time to time...

I’m going to get frustrated at traffic, or feel annoyed by muddy paws, or forget to reach out to a friend when I should. I won’t volunteer at the animal shelter as often as I’d like, and I’ll get ticked off at John for something silly, and I’ll get mad at the fast food joint when they screw up my order (again). I’ll do it tomorrow, I’ll promise.

But if I could succeed, more often than not, to ‘seize the day’… well, that would be quite an accomplishment, wouldn’t it?

So, I’m off to carpe diem.
John and I have our fifth wedding anniversary to celebrate today.
Happy New Year!

In Memoriam

Today I am sharing the story of a terrible event experienced by my friend Lisa and her two greyhounds, Yogi and Maris.

On Sunday, December 27th, Lisa was walking Yogi and Maris in her condo community. Out of nowhere, two loose pit bulls attacked Yogi. Maris then attacked the two dogs to protect him, and a horrible fight ensued.

Lisa and a couple from the neighborhood started kicking and punching the dogs to get them off the greyhounds. In the melee, Yogi got loose and ran to the entrance to Lisa’s condo, and the dogs continued attacking Maris. It took everything Lisa and her neighbors had to separate the dogs. Lisa then rushed Maris and Yogi to the vet. Both of Lisa’s greyhounds died from their injuries.

All of this happened because the two pit bulls were being watched by their owner’s friend while he was out of town, and she let them out of his residence, loose. Animal Control had already received a complaint earlier that morning from a resident reporting the two dogs being loose in the community.

The dogs’ owner is reimbursing Lisa for all costs associated with the attack. Additionally, he is paying her an amount of money that will cover two greyhound adoption fees for when she is ready to adopt again.

Sadly, he also elected to have his two dogs euthanized. Lisa said he told her that he realized it wasn't a question of whether they might attack again, but when.

What a nightmare for all involved.

Lisa gave me permission to share her story, because she wants as many people as possible to know about what happened, and to try to protect their own dogs from such a terrible attack. Lisa suggests that people carry some sort of protection while walking their dogs; however, I believe that there is nothing that would have stopped the two pit bulls in this particular incident.

Please keep Lisa in your thoughts, as she will need strength and peace in the coming days, weeks and months to heal from her devastating loss.

In loving memory of Yogi and Maris.

Manila Moves Toward Legalizing Dog Racing

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/236281/house-oks-greyhound-dog-races

House OKs greyhound dog races
By BEN R. ROSARIO - December 30, 2009, 4:46pm

Betting on greyhound dog races may soon be added as a new form of state-sanctioned gambling in the country.

This after the House of Representatives granted a legislative franchise to the Southeast Asia Greyhound Racing Club Inc. authorizing the firm to operate and maintain a greyhound racetrack in Rizal, Pampanga or Laguna.

Now awaiting approval in the Senate, House Bill 5648 also allows the SAGRC to put up off-track betting stations in any part of the country provided that proper local government licenses and permits are secured. The legislative franchise is for a period of 25 years.

Popular in the United States, Canada, Spain and Mexico, greyhound racing is a sport involving greyhound dogs who race by chasing a lure in the form of an artificial rabbit on the track until they arrive at the finish line.

Although considered a sport in many countries, concern for the welfare of racing dogs has been the object of debates among operators and animal welfare groups.

There is no provision in the legislative franchise that requires proper care for active or retired race animals.

However, Marikina Rep. Del De Guzman, the House Senior Deputy Majority Leader, denied that the measure does not contain provisions guaranteeing animal welfare.

“We asked proponents of the measure to insert provisions that would make sure race dogs are taken cared of,” De Guzman said.

Authored by Reps. Ferjenel Biron (Lakas-Kampi, Iloilo), Roman Romulo (Lakas-Kampi, Pasig City) and Eleandro Jesus Madrona (Lakas-Kampi, Romblon), HB 5648 has been approved on third and final reading by the Lower House.

Under the bill, greyhound racing will be supervised by the Games and Amusements Board. Officials and personnel employed by the SAGRC will also have to secure licenses from the GAB.

The franchise holder has been given three years to construct a racetrack and secure all pertinent government permits and licenses before it could operate.

The legislative franchise provides that the grantee must maintain an “orderly, clean and honest greyhound racing” and should guarantee that the computerized and mechanical devices to be used for its operations are working properly.

Just like horse racing, greyhound races may be held on Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays of the year, except Thursdays and Fridays of the Holy Week. Two weekdays may be added by the franchise holder.

Proponents said receipts from the betting corresponding to the fractions of less than P0.10 eliminated from the dividends paid to winning tickets will be set aside and distributed as follows: 50 percent for the GAB; 25 percent to government hospitals where the racetrack is located; and 25 percent for the rehabilitation of drug users.

Boston Herald Article on Raynham Greyhounds Available for Adoption

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1221737

With racing over, tracks, shelters team up to...
Release the hounds
By Ira Kantor - December 29, 2009

Wanted: “forever homes” for some 125 Raynham Park greyhounds put out to pasture by the state’s new dog-racing ban.

And how’s this for a holiday twist? The track’s owners are reaching out to Bay State animal shelters - their former opponents in the heated dog-racing debate - to help the pooches find new digs.

“To them, these dogs were their family so they are treating them that way,” said Raynham Park spokeswoman Amy Lambiaso.

Added Kara Holmquist, the MSPCA’s director of advocacy: “We’re definitely ready and willing and able to make this work. We’ve not been on the same page through this, but I think everyone’s goal ... is to make sure those dogs that are retiring will find that forever home."

Holmquist said several other shelters, including the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, are eager to temporarily house the greyhounds if their owners can’t find big-hearted puppy lovers.

“It’s refreshing to see two sides of this debate set aside their differences and work together to help the dogs,” said Carey Theil of the Somerville-based Grey2K USA.

Dog racing shuts down Friday after 56 percent of voters opted in 2008 to ban the sport. Raynham’s greyhounds ran their last race Saturday.

Some 50 greyhounds have already found new families in New England, Lambiaso said, while hundreds are heading to tracks in Miami, West Virginia and Arkansas.

Greyhound Friends in Hopkinton, which finds homes for about 300 greyhounds a year, has taken in 20 from one Raynham Park trainer in the past month, said Executive Director Louise Coleman.

“We’re glad to take them,” Coleman said. “We’ve always gotten really nice dogs from there.”

Track owners hope to have homes for all remaining canines by the end of February, Lambiaso said.

To learn more about adopting greyhounds contact: “Off Track Pets” at Raynham Park, (508) 824-4071.

ESPN Horse Racing Article: 'Industry can learn from greyhound ban'

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/columns/story?columnist=finley_bill&id=4776621

Industry can learn from greyhound ban
By Bill Finley - December 28, 2009

A dog named Rain Spot crossed the wire first in Saturday's 10th race at Raynham Park, a track that has been around for 69 years, and then it was over. Rain Spot's race is the last dog race that will ever be run in Massachusetts, a state where voters decided the sport was so cruel to its animals that it had to come to an end. With a ban on dog racing in the Bay State about to go into effect Jan. 1, Raynham ran its last-ever card Saturday.

Raynham's closing is not, of course, a horseracing story. It is a cautionary tale for every other animal-related sport that doesn't do nearly enough to protect its competitors while racing and guarantee them safe, dignified retirements after their careers are over. Sadly, horse racing falls into that category.

In a different era, dog racing flourished in Massachusetts. Wonderland, a couple of miles north of Suffolk Downs, was one of the top greyhound tracks in the sport. The Raynham and Taunton tracks were also viable operations with long, proud histories. But dog racing fell into steep decline and by the mid-nineties attendance and handle had reached pitiful levels.

Much of that had to do with some of the same problems facing horse racing: aging fan bases, competition from casinos, crumbling facilities. But what finally killed off dog racing in Massachusetts was the public's aversion to animal cruelty. Attitudes had changed dramatically over the years; mistreating an animal in any way was no longer okay. There's little doubt that animal cruelty issue played a major part over the years in the public turning away from dog racing. Then the voters of Massachusetts had their say in November 2008, passing the Greyhound Protection Act by a 56-44 margin.

It took an organized campaign from animal rights activists to make that happen. But what they had to tell the voters of Massachusetts resonated with the electorate.

They shed light on an industry that had long tolerated kennel owners killing their dogs after their racing days were over. Plenty of grisly stories seemed to come out each year, like the 2002 report that the remains of 3,000 greyhounds were found on the property of a former racetrack security guard in Alabama. The ex-guard said he was sometimes paid $10 to shoot a dog.

Animal rights activists also successfully argued that racing dogs were kept in crammed, stacked cages for as many as 20 hours a day and that hundreds of dogs were seriously injured each year while racing.

Ironically, the greyhound industry has done a commendable job curbing the widespread killing of dogs once they are done racing. The industry teamed with dog lovers and retirement groups in a concerted effort to find homes for as many retired racers as possible. According to the Greyhound Racing Association of America, more than 152,000 greyhounds have been adopted as pets since 1990.

It has been a case of too little too late. There are a few dog tracks left, many of them in Florida. But this is a sport that is bound for extinction.

With the high-profile breakdowns of Eight Belles and Barbaro and repeated reports that have shed light on the sport's drug problems, racing has had its own share of problems with animal rights activists. But no one has talked about banning horse racing and any efforts to do so probably wouldn't get very far. The sport is fortunate that its image is better than dog racing's and that the public has more of a soft spot for man's best friend than it does for horses.

Yet, what has happened in Massachusetts to the dog racing game should be a wakeup call to everyone in horse racing. Does this sport do enough for the horses? The answer is an unequivocal and resounding no. The public sees that, and a public that believes there is even a hint of animal cruelty involved in a sport is not going to support it or be a customer of it.

There are many wonderful people in this sport who care about the animal. There are organizations that have done their part to see to it that horses don't go to slaughter. Any list of the "good guys" has to include The Jockey Club, Suffolk Downs and the New York Racing Association.

But there are also a lot of people out there who just don't get it. There are breeders and owners, very wealthy individuals, who do nothing to support the retirement organizations, most of which are having serious financial problems, all of which routinely solicit these people. There are influential organizations like the American Association of Equine Practitioners that stand in the way of passage of anti-slaughter legislation.

The public is demanding more. This is still a sport where catastrophic injury rates are far too high, where thousands of thoroughbreds go to slaughter every year and where the use of legal drugs is condoned.

This isn't just the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do. When the public turns away from your product, the only thing to do is to fix the product. That's the proper business decision. But horse racing tries to get by with half measures and spin rather than seriously attacking the problems that have turned the public off.

The greyhound industry made the same mistakes. And look where it is now.

Bill Finley is an award-winning racing writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today and Sports Illustrated.

Good Bye, Raynham

On Saturday, December 26, 2009, dog racing ended forever in Massachusetts.

To commemorate this historic day, a well known political cartoonist named O'Mahoney drew this cartoon, which appeared in newspapers across the state.

More coverage of Raynham's last day

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/12/27/gates_close_on_live_racing_at_raynham/

Gates close on live racing at Raynham
Fans, track staff mourn the end of an era, jobs
By Adam J.V. Sell - December 27, 2009

RAYNHAM - Tony Bonaminion held his racing form close to make sure he had the name of each dog ready. Pulling on his headset, he pushed the red button that sounded the familiar bugle call summoning the dogs to their posts. From his rooftop perch, Bonaminion could see the entire track and he needed to - in a 38-second race, look away and the entire field can change.

After 26 years of calling greyhound races, Bonaminion could switch into race-calling mode as easily as he could turn on his headset microphone. But after yesterday’s final day of races at the Raynham Park dog track, Bonaminion was out of a job.

“My career is done today,’’ he said between races at the last active dog track in New England.

Seventy-five years of live dog racing in Massachusetts came to a close yesterday as the former Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park transitions to focusing on simulcast races from other parts of the country.

Patrons and employees, who turned out in massive numbers yesterday, were largely somber.

For Peter Burke, director of racing, the Raynham track had been a family affair for years.

“I’ve been here 28 years, my two daughters work here, their mom works here,’’ he said. Burke started as a lead-out, walking the dogs from the kennel to the starting gates, and worked his way up to being in charge of all racing at the track. But he’s not sure what he’s going to do for work now that the racing has ended.

“It’s not easy. There’s nothing out there,’’ he said.

Behind the tellers’ counter, Karen Roberts looked out on the sea of bettors and remembered when such a large crowd was commonplace.

“This is like the ’80s,’’ she said, estimating yesterday’s crowd at 4,000 people. Roberts said the track has good attendance when people come to watch broadcasts of the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders Cup horse races, but the final day of dog racing was bigger even than those.

Ken Wagner, who said he had been coming to the track for more than 30 years, compared the last day of live racing to a funeral.

“It’s a terrible thing, not only for the betting, but it’s a social place for seniors. They come here with only twenty bucks, but it’s something to do,’’ he said. Wagner said that he would still visit Raynham for the simulcast races, but that it won’t be the same without live racing.

The biggest transition might be for the racers themselves, though.

Chuck Thomson, head of adoption at the track’s Off-Track Pets facility, said the closing was the “end of an era.’’ Although Thomson’s office was open for only three hours each week, he always had several visitors who came by, with and without their own dogs. And, Thomson insisted, dogs from the track are not “rescued,’’ they’re “adopted.’’

“There’s no rescue, we don’t say rescue. These people adopt them. If they get a home, they’re going to a home,’’ Thomson said.

And starting today, there are lots of dogs that need homes. Louise Coleman, director of Greyhound Friends, said as many as 150 dogs from Raynham will not travel to other racetracks and need to be adopted. The Greyhound Friends kennel in Hopkinton has taken in 50 dogs in the past six weeks, but Coleman said there’s only so much a single organization can do.

“It’s unfortunate that the people are being laid off, but the dogs are being laid off, too. Their job is done. We do the best we can to help them,’’ she said.

Christine Dorchak, president of GREY2K USA, said the national advocacy group will work to make sure all of the dogs go to proper homes.

“Now that [the law] has taken effect, now is the time to focus on the greyhounds and help the greyhounds get their second chance. It’s what we’ve all been working toward for 10 years," she said.

Boston Globe article about the Massachusetts victory

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/12/26/in_massachusetts_a_final_lap_for_greyhounds/

The final lap for greyhounds in Mass.
Voters spoke, so Raynham to end dog racing today
By Eric Moskowitz - December 26, 2009

The greyhounds will bolt from the gate for the last time in Massachusetts today, marking the end of 75 years of live dog racing in the state.

Voters last year elected by a wide margin, 56 percent to 44 percent, to ban the sport effective Jan. 1, 2010. Wonderland held its last race in September. Raynham Park stages its final race tonight. Both will continue to offer simulcasting - enabling patrons to wager on televised dog and horse races conducted elsewhere - at least through July 31, as a result of recently enacted legislation.

The end of racing here is part of a national trend, driven by a mix of animal-rights concerns, waning attendance at dog tracks, and new statutes enacted by legislatures and voters.

“I just thank Massachusetts voters for giving greyhounds a second chance,’’ said Christine A. Dorchak, president of GREY2K USA, a national advocacy organization based in Somerville that grew out of a 2000 effort to ban racing in Massachusetts, which lost by a razor-thin margin. “We have finally reached this wonderful day.’’

The last race at Raynham, previously known as Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park, also marks the end of live dog racing in New England, for now at least.

Live racing has ceased in recent years in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and for now Rhode Island - where its future at Lincoln’s financially strapped Twin River is in limbo - and after today will exist at just 23 tracks in seven states, 13 of them in Florida, according to GREY2K. There were 49 tracks in 15 states when GREY2K began in 2001.

Attention now turns to greyhound adoption and to the financial future of the state’s two dog tracks, whose owners hope to stay in business as slot parlors - a possibility that will be debated on Beacon Hill in the coming months, along with the prospect of full resort-casinos.

In the debate over racing, proponents of the ban deemed the sport cruel, calling attention to the cages where the dogs were kept and the 800 injuries suffered by racing greyhounds in the preceding six years. Racing supporters countered that the dogs were well protected and fed, said only a small percentage of dogs were injured, and called the ballot measure a move to put dogs over people, warning of up to 1,000 layoffs.

George Carney, Raynham’s owner, told the Globe earlier this month that he was laying off about one-third of his 600 part-time and full-time employees with the end of live racing but could sustain the full workforce if slot machines were allowed. At the same time, he and others are also mourning the end of an era.

“The more you think about it, the worse the news gets,’’ he said. “So many people have benefited from the track - it’s a hard pill to swallow but you have to take it and move on.’’

Many of the dogs, maintained by a network of kennels, will move on to race in other states, but several hundred will be looking for new homes. Raynham is working with GREY2K and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center to aid their adoption.

“People who voted to end dog racing should step forward now and take a dog home,’’ Dorchak said. “This is the happy ending we all worked for, and these dogs make wonderful pets."