Here Comes Sparky!

During our vacation to Florida we visited the local dog track near Sanibel Island.  We've seen Harry run before, but never seen an actual greyhound race.  We won't get into the much heated debate on the pros or cons of greyhound racing but we will say this: it's amazing to watch them run (and a better/faster camera would have been helpful!).

Prior to each race the dogs are lined up for everyone to see.  The board in the back has all sorts of useful information for betters on odds, etc for each race.  About all I could figure out was the "Minutes to Race" and "Results".

Like I said, a faster camera is needed to capture the moment (this was actually taken during a race when the dogs were within 10 feet of us... for about a nano second).

Fast.

And they're off!  

In the foreground you can see "Sparky" (the lure).  As soon as the lure starts moving the announcer says "Heeeere comes Sparky!"  We're wondering what Harry's reaction would be to hearing this again...

Greyhounds are competitive by nature, especially "intact" racers.  The fellow on the far right got bumped and almost ran into the wall.

She said: It was bittersweet to watch the dogs race.  On the one hand, as Andy mentioned, it's clear that they are born to run and are amazing to watch.  On the other, it brought a tear to my eyes to see the atmosphere at the track.  We were among the minority (by quite a lot, I suspect) of people there who were there to watch and cheer on the dogs themselves... most cared little for the animal as long as he/she outran the others in the race.  We spent some time with the local adoption group at their booth (and yes, the adoptable dogs as well), and I was struck by how little these track visitors knew or understood about greyhounds.  Though I know actual abuse is now a rare occurrence in greyhound racing in the United States, the experience reaffirmed that these poor creatures are treated as money-makers as opposed to beloved pets.  At several points during the visit, I wished I could pet Harry and tell him I love him.  He deserves that.  They all deserve that.