Very Sad Day At The Vet Today

[Shazzapug]

I was at my vet today with my foster cat, Henry, when I noticed a stunning greyhound and her handler sitting next to me. I was about to compliment the lady on her dog when she mentioned to another patient that she was in to be euthanised, because she wasn't racing well and GAP were full. She was 2.

The woman was adamant on staying with the dog in her last moments, and I applaud her for that.

RIP Lucy, you were a beautiful girl. I'm so sorry you weren't able to be saved.

Everytime I am at our vet in Bendigo Greyhound people drop greys off for pts cos they arent fast enough...the gutless ones take them in the back door, some come in via the waiting room...they are magnificent, beautiful examples of their breed...I wonder how many of them try and home them with Gap?

[cowanbree]

This is not an issue restricted to Greyhounds. In short there are good and bad dog owners.

I have personally rescued 2 animals from the vet. One was a sheltie I met in the waiting room. Being a sheltie breeder I naturally started chatting to her and she told me she was here to have nuisance (as she called her) pts. I offered to take her but she said I wouldn't want her as she was so demanding and barked all the time. What sheltie wouldn't stuck outside in a kennel all alone. No trouble finding her a great home and they adore her.

Also just last week rehomed a 10yr old cat left to get pts because she wasn't getting on with the new kittens. I find it unbelievable that someone woudl choose kittens over a dearly loved older pet but the vets tell me it happenes all the time.

I don't think banning any industry is going to change things. Instead make the greyhound industry responsible for ensuring that the dogs where possible are rehome and that they campaign how great Greyhounds are as pets

[Kirty]

I find the whole industry appalling - both dog and horse racing. Perhaps if breeders were limited to a certain number of litters per year that might help. But as it stands there are too many dogs being bred and not enough homes for them. Its breaks my heart that these animals are treated like machines - worth nothing unless they are winning or breeding winners. And often then its still not enough. Once they can no longer breed, they are killed. If they break down, they are killed. Its disgusting. Yes, lots of animals are dumped or PTS every year. But if you compared the breed stats and especially the age of the dogs, I think greys would outnumber any other breed.

[sandgrubber]

It's easy to slam the racing industry. Greys often to have large litters . . . unlike horses . . . so the number of castoffs is huge. I think some racing people view a litter as something like a lottery ticket, and it turns my stomach.

On the other hand, I live among families of grey foxes. Most kits don't survive, and the deaths most face are worse than being taken out back with a shotgun, say nothing about going out on the green dream.

You have to give the grey community some credit for breeding largely based on performance . . . by in large they are healthy dogs with good temperaments (maybe not that bright, though).

[Kirty]

Exactly. Healthy dogs with nice temperaments who are then killed at 12-18months of age. What a disgusting waste.

[corrie]

I think it would be beneficial to take the money out of the industry. Sure you can race a greyhound, but you cannot bet on it. It's no longer a commercial sport.

This way we can preserve the athleticism of the breed without involving people who are motivated by things other than the dogs themselves.

Would there be an initial loss of life? Potentially, however, there is currently an ongoing loss of life that will be eternal and a propagation of a disposable mentality.

More lives wil be lost with the ongoing existence of the GH racing industry than without it.

This is how Whippets were raced back in the day. Although I think there was a bit of 'on track' betting between owners.

My view is that there should be no off track betting, no professional trainers and owner/trainers only. Let it be a hobby and once the dogs aren't seen simply as a walking source of money things would change.

I think this would be a positive direction to head in.

[LizT]

This is not an issue restricted to Greyhounds. In short there are good and bad dog owners.

I have personally rescued 2 animals from the vet. One was a sheltie I met in the waiting room. Being a sheltie breeder I naturally started chatting to her and she told me she was here to have nuisance (as she called her) pts. I offered to take her but she said I wouldn't want her as she was so demanding and barked all the time. What sheltie wouldn't stuck outside in a kennel all alone. No trouble finding her a great home and they adore her.

Also just last week rehomed a 10yr old cat left to get pts because she wasn't getting on with the new kittens. I find it unbelievable that someone woudl choose kittens over a dearly loved older pet but the vets tell me it happenes all the time.

I know what you mean cowabree, I had a friend who was kept gundogs, he'd had pointers and curly coated retrievers and took terrific care of them and trained them well. But if the dog turned out to be "no good" (his words) a bullet would be allocated to it. One day while we were camping up at the Murray River he went off fora few hours and came back with a lovely Brittany Spaniel bitch, about 15 months old. The bitch and I spent the next few days bonding and I told him if she didn't work out he was to bring her to Melbourne to me. He promised. I saw him a year later and asked how the bitch was doing, he told me he'd given her a bullet, I paid out on him and told him he'd promised me but he said really, Liz the bitch was stupid and I was doing you a favour. He is a remarkable dog trainer, and his dogs will do whatever he says, to the point of fetching their own dinner bowls at feed time, but I guess he has the mindset of an old day farmer.

[LizT]

Without having been there and actually having a long conversation with this woman, how can any of us judge her for having this dog PTS? How do we know what is happening in her life that would make it impossible for her to do anything but what she did?

Without really knowing the whole story behind Lucy, the Greyhound, no one should really judge. But I do believe the OP is right in her estimation that at least Lucys ending was not a violent or stressful event.

i give the woman full credit for doing what needed to be done tho. the dog may not have been suitable for rehoming and there are worse things than a dignified end. much worse.

I'm judging her, and I have every right to judge her.

The woman used "GAP is full" as an excuse! What a misleading thing to say . Dishonestly trying to present herself as a person that didn't have the option of putting the dog in the program. She is a miserable low-life that doesn't value dogs unless she can make money from them. Disgusting. That's my judgement and I stand by it.

:laugh:

I guess she should have said GAP run at full capacity ...

..or maybe "GAP cannot take this dog, at this time now, and I have run out of options for her"....

..or "I am a miserable low-life that doesn't value dogs unless I can make money from them"....

Who knows. I don't.

If the options had run out it is because she didn't care enough to plan in advance, or is not willing to look after the dog for a few more months. As a Victorian racing participant she would have been informed in writing of what her options are so she could make plans at the appropriate time. She mentioned GAP as an excuse for what she did, and she did it dishonestly. She offered no other excuse. She expected people to accept that excuse, because people generally do not understand how to place a dog in GAP. But now everyone here has been informed of how GAP does work, her dishonesty has been revealed. Don't try to offer excuses for dishonesty even if you do excuse what happened to the dog.

Okay, Greytmate..I'll stand beside you on this as I do see your point. I just hope she wasn't an owner who was going on the sayso of a trainer. That would make her both ignorant and stupid.

[mumof4girls]

I remember when my sister and I were young children we lived across the road from a river. One day we were walking to our spot, we came across a beautiful grayhound with a rblue ribbon across his chest and a glass vile beside him, he was dead. So sad, we never went to that part of the river again :-( so I guess taking them to the vet is a better way than this ...

[m-sass]

Racing Greyhounds IMHO should be dealt with outside of the pet market and it makes things worse when some failed racing dogs get the opportunity to live their post racing life in a pet home and some don't. If what they do is euthanase perfectly good dogs that are not competitive enough for racing, do so where pet owner who love their dogs warts and all don't have to see this tragic waste of life. Vet's I think should do these jobs off site, the average pet owners don't need to see a healthy young dog in a vet waiting room facing death because it can't run fast enough, to the average pet owner, that's not s good enough reason for a dog to PTS and they shouldn't be exposed to the trauma of it.

I blame the vet practice for this, the vet should do it off site or bring the poor dog in through the back door.

[corrie]

Racing Greyhounds IMHO should be dealt with outside of the pet market and it makes things worse when some failed racing dogs get the opportunity to live their post racing life in a pet home and some don't. If what they do is euthanase perfectly good dogs that are not competitive enough for racing, do so where pet owner who love their dogs warts and all don't have to see this tragic waste of life. Vet's I think should do these jobs off site, the average pet owners don't need to see a healthy young dog in a vet waiting room facing death because it can't run fast enough, to the average pet owner, that's not s good enough reason for a dog to PTS and they shouldn't be exposed to the trauma of it.

I blame the vet practice for this, the vet should do it off site or bring the poor dog in through the back door.

How is hiding the problem ever going to improve anything?

[Kirty]

Exactly! Perhaps if more people made a fuss about it, something would be done! What is that saying? Bad things happen when good people do nothing.

[Guest lavendergirl]

It is always upsetting for others to witness a dog being brought in to be PTS - for whatever reason. I am sure the vet staff find it upsetting also.

[HazyWal]

Exactly! Perhaps if more people made a fuss about it, something would be done! What is that saying? Bad things happen when good people do nothing.

I am a good person and I dont do nothing.

[m-sass]

Racing Greyhounds IMHO should be dealt with outside of the pet market and it makes things worse when some failed racing dogs get the opportunity to live their post racing life in a pet home and some don't. If what they do is euthanase perfectly good dogs that are not competitive enough for racing, do so where pet owner who love their dogs warts and all don't have to see this tragic waste of life. Vet's I think should do these jobs off site, the average pet owners don't need to see a healthy young dog in a vet waiting room facing death because it can't run fast enough, to the average pet owner, that's not s good enough reason for a dog to PTS and they shouldn't be exposed to the trauma of it.

I blame the vet practice for this, the vet should do it off site or bring the poor dog in through the back door.

How is hiding the problem ever going to improve anything?

Racing Greyhounds are a tool of trade with too much revenue involved for anything to be done in reality IMHO. What I am pointing out is that it's a different side of the fence to the pet market and it should stay that way.

[corrie]

Racing Greyhounds IMHO should be dealt with outside of the pet market and it makes things worse when some failed racing dogs get the opportunity to live their post racing life in a pet home and some don't. If what they do is euthanase perfectly good dogs that are not competitive enough for racing, do so where pet owner who love their dogs warts and all don't have to see this tragic waste of life. Vet's I think should do these jobs off site, the average pet owners don't need to see a healthy young dog in a vet waiting room facing death because it can't run fast enough, to the average pet owner, that's not s good enough reason for a dog to PTS and they shouldn't be exposed to the trauma of it.

I blame the vet practice for this, the vet should do it off site or bring the poor dog in through the back door.

How is hiding the problem ever going to improve anything?

Racing Greyhounds are a tool of trade with too much revenue involved for anything to be done in reality IMHO. What I am pointing out is that it's a different side of the fence to the pet market and it should stay that way.

Why hide it though?

[Crisovar]

Racing Greyhounds IMHO should be dealt with outside of the pet market and it makes things worse when some failed racing dogs get the opportunity to live their post racing life in a pet home and some don't. If what they do is euthanase perfectly good dogs that are not competitive enough for racing, do so where pet owner who love their dogs warts and all don't have to see this tragic waste of life. Vet's I think should do these jobs off site, the average pet owners don't need to see a healthy young dog in a vet waiting room facing death because it can't run fast enough, to the average pet owner, that's not s good enough reason for a dog to PTS and they shouldn't be exposed to the trauma of it.

I blame the vet practice for this, the vet should do it off site or bring the poor dog in through the back door.

Pet Owners bring healthy pets in to be PTS every day too, are you suggesting that we sweep all this under the carpet and protect those that find it hard to deal with.

Chances are if you frequent Vet Clinics then you will witness something gut wrenchingly sad.

Accident victims being rushed in, elderly much loved companions making their final trip all very sad and often confronting situations.

[BJean]

Without having been there and actually having a long conversation with this woman, how can any of us judge her for having this dog PTS? How do we know what is happening in her life that would make it impossible for her to do anything but what she did?

Without really knowing the whole story behind Lucy, the Greyhound, no one should really judge. But I do believe the OP is right in her estimation that at least Lucys ending was not a violent or stressful event.

i give the woman full credit for doing what needed to be done tho. the dog may not have been suitable for rehoming and there are worse things than a dignified end. much worse.

I'm judging her, and I have every right to judge her.

The woman used "GAP is full" as an excuse! What a misleading thing to say . Dishonestly trying to present herself as a person that didn't have the option of putting the dog in the program. She is a miserable low-life that doesn't value dogs unless she can make money from them. Disgusting. That's my judgement and I stand by it.

:laugh:

I guess she should have said GAP run at full capacity ...

..or maybe "GAP cannot take this dog, at this time now, and I have run out of options for her"....

..or "I am a miserable low-life that doesn't value dogs unless I can make money from them"....

Who knows. I don't.

If the options had run out it is because she didn't care enough to plan in advance, or is not willing to look after the dog for a few more months. As a Victorian racing participant she would have been informed in writing of what her options are so she could make plans at the appropriate time. She mentioned GAP as an excuse for what she did, and she did it dishonestly. She offered no other excuse. She expected people to accept that excuse, because people generally do not understand how to place a dog in GAP. But now everyone here has been informed of how GAP does work, her dishonesty has been revealed. Don't try to offer excuses for dishonesty even if you do excuse what happened to the dog.

No not really, just your version.

In your own online world your version would be absolute,

but the OP account, is about a person and their dog - not you.

And unless you know that person's circumstance

your supposition is just that.

[Guest donatella]

I remember when my sister and I were young children we lived across the road from a river. One day we were walking to our spot, we came across a beautiful grayhound with a rblue ribbon across his chest and a glass vile beside him, he was dead. So sad, we never went to that part of the river again :-( so I guess taking them to the vet is a better way than this ...

:(

[helen]

This is not an issue restricted to Greyhounds. In short there are good and bad dog owners.

I have personally rescued 2 animals from the vet. One was a sheltie I met in the waiting room. Being a sheltie breeder I naturally started chatting to her and she told me she was here to have nuisance (as she called her) pts. I offered to take her but she said I wouldn't want her as she was so demanding and barked all the time. What sheltie wouldn't stuck outside in a kennel all alone. No trouble finding her a great home and they adore her.

Also just last week rehomed a 10yr old cat left to get pts because she wasn't getting on with the new kittens. I find it unbelievable that someone woudl choose kittens over a dearly loved older pet but the vets tell me it happenes all the time.

I know what you mean cowabree, I had a friend who was kept gundogs, he'd had pointers and curly coated retrievers and took terrific care of them and trained them well. But if the dog turned out to be "no good" (his words) a bullet would be allocated to it. One day while we were camping up at the Murray River he went off fora few hours and came back with a lovely Brittany Spaniel bitch, about 15 months old. The bitch and I spent the next few days bonding and I told him if she didn't work out he was to bring her to Melbourne to me. He promised. I saw him a year later and asked how the bitch was doing, he told me he'd given her a bullet, I paid out on him and told him he'd promised me but he said really, Liz the bitch was stupid and I was doing you a favour. He is a remarkable dog trainer, and his dogs will do whatever he says, to the point of fetching their own dinner bowls at feed time, but I guess he has the mindset of an old day farmer.

I know he is a friend, my I think if he was that good a trainer he would have done 2 things, firstly realised he needed to change his training for the Brittany, (usually it is not the dog that is stupid), and No 2 he would have realised that Brittanys are not necessarily going to have any maturity at that age and to persist - we have all heard that saying about if you dog makes a mess inside, get a newspaper, roll it up and hit yourself on the head.

ETA - This is why I am reluctant to sell to hunters. I even had a quote done from a tradie, and the girl talked about her relative who would give a dog the bullet if it didn't retrieve something - I didn't even bring dogs into the conversation, she did.

Edited February 25, 2012 by helen