On Tuesday morning, with Britain still reeling from the thoughts of an animal welfarist, who told national TV audiences that guide dogs should be banned, I received a letter from a ‘Sandra Smith’.

Within the first couple of lines I decided that it was a ‘fit up’ from someone opposed to greyhound racing. The clues were littered all over the place in terms of how cruelly they are treated, killing other dogs, biting off their own tails etc etc. Most of my correspondence from the antis is more personal and just gets binned. But the more I thought about this particular letter, the more I decided to publish it.

So after sending out requests to some of my Facebook Friends to respond to this fantasy, I decided to publish anyway. Sure enough the spit hit the fan with various ‘pro racers’ accusing me of aiding and abetting the ‘nutters’. (They are entitled to think as they see fit – as will I – this is not a popularity contest)

Why publish? Maybe that is a question for the antis.

Because when it comes to greyhound welfare, they attempt to claim the moral high ground. ‘We hate racing, but unlike you, we always put the dogs first’.

Guys – we know you tell lies about figures, how many are put to sleep and how they are hung, drowned and shot. But why extend that to the dogs themselves, primarily their temperament?

In what universe does it help welfare if the public are misguided into thinking greyhounds are psychotic killers?

How can you rattle your tins for donations to ‘rescue’ ex-racers, and then put people off re-homing them? Do you all think like this? It’s just perverse.

Anyway – I think I have made my point. In the meantime, broadcaster and passionate welfarist Julie Collier has volunteered to track down Sandra Smith and uncover any more details of this unfortunate hound.

Finally, here are some of the responses, starting with a man who has personally re-homed hundreds of ex-racers, Kevin Stow.

Ed

I read with interest the letter from S Smith.

If someone has genuinely written this then they should be seeking help and assistance rather than writing to the Greyhound Star.

Firstly anyone who would feel a ‘great deal of relief’ if fit and healthy greyhounds were euthanised, whether humanely or not, clearly has not regularly dealt with a breed that are so wonderful, loving and trusting.

Anyway with regards to the reasons for feeling like this…

I can only assume that the stories that the person has heard were recited from a fairy tale of Hans Christian Anderson proportions and while some may have a basis of truth it is clear that the extremist agenda of certain groups has found a believer.

Fair play to them for ‘rescuing’ a greyhound, but if the dog is really making the person that unhappy then it’d obviously have an impact on the sensitivities of the greyhound and although it is admirable to commit to the greyhound for life and state re love, care, good food etc any owner will tell you that if they are unhappy and stressed that the dog will pick up on that.

Congratulations to the greyhound on biting off part of his tail, an impressive feat in itself and one that in the 2,000 or so greyhounds that I have been aware of is unique.  If the tail was amputated due to the dog breaking it because they were wagging it so much as they were so happy then it would be nowhere near as unique and many greyhound owners could tell similar tales.

Obviously the rehoming group or trainer has to take responsibility if the greyhound did kill a pet dog and while, if true, it is incredibly sad I think it is fair to say that in general there are far more attacks by other breeds on greyhounds than the other way around.

I must admit I nearly choked on my Cornflakes when I read that the person thought they don’t make great pets.  Anyone who knows greyhounds will know that they may be the fastest breed of dog, but they also make a very strong case for being the laziest breed of dog too.

Families are strange things and sometimes find reasons not to visit relations, whether the reasons are genuine or not, but it would be amazing if the greyhound could not be kept separate for a time while they visit and this poor grandparent could see their little grandchildren again.

Anyone who is left exhausted by a greyhound probably needs to see their GP and if they are depressed then they certainly should as mental health issues are taken far more seriously now by many doctors and medical staff.

If the greyhound is still pulling and hard to control then a training group or a behaviourist should be able to teach the person what to do to modify the behaviour.

Having rehomed greyhounds in one bedroom flats and very small houses I would say that there are very few places that are too small for a greyhound to live.

If the letter writer is genuine then they should contact whoever they got the dog from to seek advice or get in touch with any number of greyhound organisations or animal behaviour specialists who I am sure would try to help make their experience far more pleasant for both the person and the dog.

If true this is a very serious matter, but in the words of another S Smith I’m not the only one who believes the promises given are admirable, but unless they take some action the writing’s on the wall and I pray they do the right thing and get help to make their life, but also the life of their greyhound, far better.

First of all quite a lot of the story seems fabricated in my opinion.
I have a greyhound at home with me who is aggressive and has sleep startle. I bred this dog reared him but unfortunately he received head trauma as a 10 month old playing whilst playing with his siblings (something all of us do whilst rearing pups).
I took him to the vets and they said he had uveitis related to trauma. This was a local vet who wanted to remove the eye so I decided to go and see a ophthalmologist. After tests were done it was confirmed he would keep the eye with limited vision. After this He became very aggressive not towards people he knew but strangers so we have had to change our way of living.
He gets on with his siblings but would kill any other moving animal. He would lunge at people walking towards him and will not let anyone in the house. So now all doors are locked and if we have visitors he is put away. If we pass someone on the street we move to the other side. Had He been rehomed to someone I would feel there pain, but any decent rehoming centre would surely have picked up on this and offered lifetime backup.
(If Mrs Smith’s dog exists) I think with him being partially sighted this has contributed to his aggression maybe also a fear factor of not having perfect eyesight
Dogs like this are few and far between in my opinion. In 30 years of being around them I have never come across one like mine , that’s not saying  there will be others. There are dogs who prefer their own company but trainers usually already know that and will let the rehoming centres know.
Greyhound make absolutely wonderful pets the dog I have explained is in the minority.
Kate Rollinson
As a fosterer of both greyhounds and non sighthounds as well as adopting both – it should go without saying that each dog has unique characters and needs.
Personally I would never adopt a dog straight from kennels. They are hard to assess without having had a homelife experience.
If they’ve been fostered or in a home environment before then the likelihood is theyve been assesed and can be matched to the correct home. IMO its a case of adopter be aware (and this applies to all dogs)..all dogs have the capacity to not want interaction with others – most of the issues described by the poster, had the dog been in rescue in foster first, these could have been worked on.
If its as described I would question keeping the dog as it sounds like a really bad match.
Michelle J
I’ll relate one story that I was told by an anti racing lady that I met at a dog show. 
She didn’t know who I was but when I stroked the muzzled dog she had on the lead she told me that the dog was in the care of Greyhound Rescue West of England, she explained that the dog had suffered a ‘typical trap injury’ and had been taken back to the kennel to await the man with the shot gun.
She pointed to the ‘typical trap injury’ which was one of those sickle shaped scars on his haunch, the ones they get from being nipped by their peers in the rearing paddocks.  I explained to her that what she was saying is not what happens, she insisted that it was.  I said that men with shotguns don’t visit kennels to dispatch unwanted greyhounds and that if the dog was that badly injured then the track vet would have put him to sleep there and then.
She then got quite irate and told me that she’s a volunteer with GRWofE and so she knows what she’s talking about.  I told her that I was a volunteer for the RGT and I own racing greyhounds so it was probably safe to say that I knew a good deal more about it then her.   Then she replied with something that just summed it up.
She said  ‘Well OK, I don’t know what actually happened but what I told you makes sense’  And there you have it.  Someone who claims to know all about racing admits that she didn’t know what had happened and just made up a story that suited her personal prejudices.
I also fell into conversation with a middle aged couple when I was out for a walk in Shropshire with one of our retired dogs.  The lady said that she thought that greyhounds had a terrible life.  I explained that what she was thinking was something that is largely in the distant past.  I told her about the GT about the GBGB, with force for welfare and good practice and all the other things that are going on currently.  She then said something quite interesting.  She said that she hadn’t seen or heard anything bad about greyhound welfare and what she was thinking was a result of urban myths.
I could write reams on urban myths or even blatant dishonesty and lies about racing but I won’t bore you, needless to say there are plenty.
Now coming on to the dog that is owned by S Smith.  The claim that the dog had been eating it’s own tail doesn’t really hold water.  That sounds far more like ‘happy tail’, the injury that can be caused to the end of the the tail by excessive wagging.
Sometimes the dog will lick or generally fiddle with the injury the same way they do with other injuries or wound sites.  As for the dog’s behaviour, there are some dogs that require a far more greyhound savvy owner than S Smith and that dog sounds like one.
What I find so troubling about the attitude of the letter writer is that greyhounds as pets have been written off by someone who believes the stories and hasn’t done any investigation of his or her own and because they have been given completely the wrong sort of dog.   Hardly the expert view is it?

Jane Conway

and finally some thoughts from Facebook. . .

I’ve known 1 aggressive one – AKC bred though. Overly protective of his owner. I’ve known 1 that was the highest prey dog I’ve ever seen in my life. That greyhound was literally not right in the head. Like wouldn’t have left him alone w kids sort of crazy. Made my current high prey dog look like a mouse. So that’s 2 in 16yrs

 

If it’s truly vicious she should be seeking help from a dog trainer not writing letters about it. Unless she thinks the letters will help?

 

Did she address the letter to the dog as well???

 

If she has the dog why not go back to where she got it? Or if its a dog she has rehomed then why rehome a vicious dog?

 

Has she not sought advice from where she got the dog from?

 

It is pure ? plain and simple!
Hmm, ‘S. Smith’…..nope, sounds genuine to me…..?? Not.
Handled greyhounds over 50 years,never came across a aggressive one myself…have a uncle who did have a dog with a temper. Very experienced handler himself. Kept plenty open class. Bought a expensive dog. In the morning the dogs mood changed,couldn’t get near him. Dog growling and snarling. What he had to do was make noose, through a tube, same as the dog wardens. This allowed him to secure and muzzle the dog. Dog settled, and turned out okay.
I’ve had a few aggressive greyhounds that would snarl and snap and want to attack strangers because they were cranky buggers and didn’t like strangers coming near them at home.. but they were fine on a lead and muzzle and let people pat them in public. But never had a greyhound that would be aggressive on purpose towards me… it says a lot about this woman that the dog would want to terrorise her.. she must be an evil piece of work.
T.Baker, R.James, J.Freilich….joking aside,it seems to me that the lady isn’t suitable,or capable,of having a strong-willed dog. I’ve come across dog’s that you had to keep an eye on…but none as bad as described.
Biggest load of bull I’ve ever read!