That’s deep, SS!
Yes and no. She's a lurcher; a non pedigreed Greyhound likely mixed with some other breeds for hunting purposes. In Ireland and the UK(and prolly other places in Europe as well), the 'traveling community' use these hounds for betting and hunting(think 'Snatch). They often take very poor care of the hounds that aren't aggressive enough or aren't winning enough, often ditching them in the streets or woods or outright killing them(often by hanging or a shovel as bullets here aren't cheap). I found a fair few discarded lurchers, greyhound, and other dogs about the estates I worked on as a forester in Ireland(and have spent years doing volunteer work for Greyhound and lurcher rescues). That one I found in the woods, digging in to some discarded waste near a roadside. She came right up to me. She now lives with a friend of mine who loves her dearly, and she's easily one of my favorite hounds I've ever rescued. There are literally thousands of these dogs roaming the woods and streets in Ireland. Many are dead before I find them. Some in such a horrific condition, I won't discuss it here.
She looked more like this when we got here(albeit much dirtier and haggard, and slightly thinner):
And she now looks more like this:
Everyone sort of has their niche in life. Mine is forestry and Greyhound/Lurcher rescue(though I will help any dog I see that needs it). I just can't abide dog abuse. We, as Humans, are responsible for them being dogs in the first place, having bred them from Wolves. I feel we are their wardens, and we have a responsibility to them. There is nothing in this life more loyal than a dog. I try to earn that loyalty, instead of take it for granted.
Yes and no. She's a lurcher; a non pedigreed Greyhound likely mixed with some other breeds for hunting purposes. In Ireland and the UK(and prolly other places in Europe as well), the 'traveling community' use these hounds for betting and hunting(think 'Snatch). They often take very poor care of the hounds that aren't aggressive enough or aren't winning enough, often ditching them in the streets or woods or outright killing them(often by hanging or a shovel as bullets here aren't cheap). I found a fair few discarded lurchers, greyhound, and other dogs about the estates I worked on as a forester in Ireland(and have spent years doing volunteer work for Greyhound and lurcher rescues). That one I found in the woods, digging in to some discarded waste near a roadside. She came right up to me. She now lives with a friend of mine who loves her dearly, and she's easily one of my favorite hounds I've ever rescued. There are literally thousands of these dogs roaming the woods and streets in Ireland. Many are dead before I find them. Some in such a horrific condition, I won't discuss it here.
She looked more like this when we got here(albeit much dirtier and haggard, and slightly thinner):
And she now looks more like this:
Everyone sort of has their niche in life. Mine is forestry and Greyhound/Lurcher rescue(though I will help any dog I see that needs it). I just can't abide dog abuse. We, as Humans, are responsible for them being dogs in the first place, having bred them from Wolves. I feel we are their wardens, and we have a responsibility to them. There is nothing in this life more loyal than a dog. I try to earn that loyalty, instead of take it for granted.
No. Just run 40:1 or 32:1.
I just try and do what I can to help the dogs now. All we can do is try. SOrry for the rant.
This makes me want to just hug my boys and thank God for bringing them to me! Thank you for all you do!Good on ya, Man.
I spent the last two decades working off and on with the Greyhound rescues, both in the states and Ireland. I have seen a lot of crazy stuff on both ends of the equation, deeply drenched in the mad politics of it all, and have some insane stories. But the hardest thing I've done is I had worked in a Lurcher and Greyhound rescue for 18 months straight full time, living in a trailer next to the kennels, and working a ridiculous amount of hours. I saw their plight from start to finish in a country crawling with Greyhounds. At one point Ireland was the largest breeder of Greyhounds in the world. It is brutal, heart wrenching work. We lost a lot of dogs. We saw a lot of abuse. There were dogs that would stick their noses into the corner and just hunker there, terrified. We had one that would scream if you got near her. Some with their ears removed, or middles of them cut out or drenched in acid, to hide the registered racing tattoos. And so many times we'd arrive at a site where someone reported a Greyhound only to find them dead or dying of their abuse, and then have to bring the police in with the knowledge there was little they could do besides report - it wouldn't even make local news. Crimes here upon hounds rarely ends in prosecution unless mass graves or mass abuse is found and easily documented. Often times they would have brain damage due to being beaten and need to be put down. We've had some beaten so bad with a shovel they couldn't see or walk. I've dragged more than one out of a dumpster nearly dead. And that is just the tip. I'd share more, but it would merely be for my therapy. No one needs or wants to hear it
