Mirror Mirror.........

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to discuss greyhound adoption efforts with adoption officers from another country.  It was a privilege to convey to them my experience of running local adoption programs and also a National organization for 17 years then top it off with my current views/experience as a regulator.
Watching the first storm of the monsoon season roll through the Valley of the Sun I thought about my discussion with them regarding home visits and how that came about. We hear the term often in greyhound adoption but many may not realize how it came to be.

Years ago a person adopted a couple of greyhounds.  This was back in the day when we tried to move as many as we could; we knew we couldn’t get them all. The group that adopted these greyhounds out happened to be in the neighborhood of the adopter and thought, hey let’s stop in and see how the greyhounds are adapting.  As it turns out the address was bogus and with a little further investigation it was found out that the adopter just acquired the greyhounds so they could sell them for research.

The term “home visit” was from that point on a term that would live forever within the greyhound community. It started out as a way to protect the greyhounds and grew into a tool to help determine the suitability of a home and match the right greyhound for the home.

Over the years the community has grown and done many things to protect the greyhounds, but one item is severely lacking – the checks on ourselves.

We’ve concentrated so much on the greyhounds that we forgot to look in the mirror. We automatically accept an individual with an adopted greyhound as a good person without knowing anything about them. We "know" them from reading about them on the internet or they are our "friends" because they are in some way a part of the greyhound community. Yet they are also convicted rapists or convicted child molesters or have life time sex offender registration. If we had paid just as much attention to ourselves as we do potential adopters these disgusting individuals would have not been able to weasel themselves into our community and use the good will of our community to prop themselves up and solicit praise. Committing serious and heinous crimes against women and children is not the norm and should never be brushed under the carpet in exchange for having adopted a greyhound.

Something to consider - if during a home check it was found out that the adopter was a convicted child molester or someone with lifetime sex offender registration, would you place a greyhound with such an individual, knowing the percentage and likelihood that such types assault animals? If you said no, would you also continue to welcome and condone such individual’s participation in our family friendly community being next to children, women and yes even be near our dogs? Over the years many have found fault with the greyhound racing industry and with some of the individuals involved with it, but do you even think for once a convicted child molester would easily get a license to train greyhounds or operate a kennel having to go thru state background checks and licensing procedures?

It is time the community takes a look in the mirror and gets serious about ourselves the same we do about potential adopters.

Live and in person………

Hope to see some of my fans live and in person today at the Heart of America Greyhound Gathering.

Today’s live blog is titled “Oh No…….Mr. Bill” Must be present to learn about why I have no fear of our future.

Memorial Day 2016

Many gave their lives so that we could live ours. We designate a day to reflect on those brave men and women but let us not reflect one day, let it be every day. Let’s remember what they died for and live our lives each and every day fighting for those who our fallen heros died for. Let us also not forget the families of those who died and fight each and every day to ensure the families of our fallen are protected and taken care of, let us fight each day to ensure the health of our service members are a priority.

Let us respect each and every one of those who the brave died for and work to protect all.

Over the years I’ve spent a great deal of time in the greyhound community, as that time comes to an end in the near future, I’m dedicating myself to helping families who have children that have been molested and will be using all political connections to strengthen laws locally and nationally. A national registry of sex offenders must be exact.

Children are the most precious wealth of our nation. They are the nation’s future and they are who we all need to protect in honor of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our nation as they protected us.

Thank you to all who served our great nation, In the decade I served in the U.S. Navy, I served along side many that I came to consider friends and cannot thank them enough for the commitment they gave our nation.  We can never personally thank those who died for our nation but we can live our lives respecting and protecting that which they died for.

We have the power to live our lives daily showing respect for those who gave all for our country not just by designating a holiday for this purpose but by celebrating and respecting life daily by giving back to our communities, working to protect the less fortunate and ensuring that those who are in need of protection or help are given what they need.

This Memorial Day I pray for not just a day of rememberance but a year that we as a country show our graitude by honoring and remembering the brave by helping and protecting our children and those in need and showing respect for each other. I hope we live not to embarass the memory of our fallen but that we live each and every day honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

TBT - Shipmate

Shipmate

Yesterday was Mother’s Day

Today is just another day.

Every day a mother’s child is a victim of sexual assault. Communities notify their residents when a sexual predator is in the area. National databases do their best to contain information about individuals who are registered sex offenders. Yet there could be a child molester who has lifetime sex offender registration within 50 feet of your child ~ at a family-friendly event, at a church, at a national park. People around you may already know and do not bat an eye as they feel if the pedophile has done their time there is no concern and feel no need to share the information because they feel your children are not at risk. Yet what mother is will knowingly allow their child to stand next to a pedophile, a convicted child molester, a lifetime registered sex offender? What mother would not be mortified to learn that the past of a convicted child molester was kept hush-hush by friends just so the party could go on?

Imagine how wonderful Mother’s Day would be if every mother knew that every child would never be the victim of sexual assault?

"Duh" moment #2 (of many) from the "humane advocate protectors"

Greyhounds Whippets are love……….

Today is the second of what is sure to be a continuing series that shows “humane advocate protectors”, self-proclaimed experts on greyhounds, are in fact not that savvy when it comes to greyhounds.

While stating to be “the largest greyhound protection organization” one would hope anyone making such a declaration would be able to tell the difference between greyhounds and whippets.

Apparently this is not the case. Recently seen on a “humane advocate protectors” social media offering:

It is becoming obvious that the “humane advocate protector” principals of this organization who supposedly have years of experience with greyhounds just aren’t understanding the breed they claim expertise on.

For those interested in seeing how 2 female greyhound weighing 50 pounds and 54 pounds fit on a 35” x 40” dog bed, I offer the following photo:

If “humane advocate protectors” who continue to herald themselves as experts on greyhounds do not even know the difference between a whippet and a greyhound 

(or even a male and female greyhound for that matter), one has to wonder what other “facts” trumpeted by these “humane advocate protectors” are nothing more than fiction.

Another "duh" moment from the ones who claim to know all about greyhounds.......

For years I’ve been preaching that the “humane advocate protectors” can’t be trusted. Well now I offer you proof that while they claim to be "all knowing" about greyhounds, to date, they can’t tell the difference between a male and female greyhound!

Hey “humane advocate protectors” I would be more than happy to offer you some instruction on how to tell the difference between a male greyhound and female greyhound so you don’t look so foolish saying a he is a she in the future!

Guessing the new board members just not bringing the "greyhound" experience they thought they would bring!