My blog is not only a guilt-free zone, but also a disturbing animal picture-free zone.  Abuse depictions get me upset in a debilitating way rather than moving me to take action. Which doesn’t help any dogs. Or me.

I try to focus on the happy results of rescue rather than on the conditions that may have preceded them. Therefore, all the pictures of greyhounds I’ve previously posted have celebrated the dogs’ post-racing life — for example, this birthday party.

But I’m breaking my rule to share an expose of the conditions at Tucson Greyhound Park that was on TV the other night because of the light it sheds on the pathology of the track’s prime defender.

There are many statements that track CEO Tom Taylor made that boggle the mind — for example that the dogs don’t like to be outside. Well, it could be that if they’ve got nothing but bare concrete to walk on and it’s 100 degrees and there’s no shade they might want to go back in (a sad possibility, given the glimpses the video gives us of the fenced-in area). Lounging on grass under some trees? I think they’d be perfectly happy.

But it was the comparison of greyhounds that are kept cooped up in the dark and muzzled with the Taj Mahal (too much prayer) and the Mona Lisa (kinda small and green, perhaps) that really got to me.  All in the eye of the beholder, right?

That is one weird, delusional creep. (Just so you know, Tom, the Taj Mahal is a palace, not a mosque.)

On the bright side, I  enjoyed seeing the articulate spokeswoman for Grey2K USA, and watching the local reporter ask  questions like, “Would you want your dogs to be treated this way?”

If you’re the rouse-to-action type and want to see the full stealth tape,  you can watch it at the Grey2K USA site that I linked to, above.

Just don’t blame me if it gets you really depressed.

28 thoughts on “The Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa & Greyhound Racing”

  1. Greyhound racing is awful. It just goes to show how “people” can delude themselves into believing whatever suits their conscience. States are starting to ban greyhound racing (states in New England for example). Let’s hope that public opinion puts the sociopath in charge of the Tucson facility out of business soon… very soon.

  2. Greyhound racing must end in Arizona. While Tom Taylor thinks his is of the best tracks, other racing professionals in the business, plus other trainers and kennel operators think its one of the worst. He’s absolutely suffering from delusions of grandeur especially babbling about the Mona Lisa and Taj Mahal.

    This video proves that dogs live in terrible confinement. If you watch the GREY2K USA video, dogs also eat substandard 4D meat that Taylor would never feed his pet. Female dogs are also injected with anabolic steroids even though there’s an ordinance in South Tucson preventing it. Dog suffer horrendous injuries and dogs die.

    Greyhound racing is no better than dog fighting. Dogs suffer and dogs die. With all the Indian gaming casinos nearby, there’s no need for greyhound racing. At a casino, no living creature dies.

    1. Thanks for all you do to stop this terrible so-called sport, Karyn. For those who don’t know, she’s a director at Grey2K USA and has worked ceaselessly to get the track shut down.

  3. What a CEO… Making the Mona Lisa ugly and greyhound racing alright? Tom, do you actually think your audience has no brains?

    If M. Vick needs a PR consultant he knows where to find him.

    1. I think that someone as clueless as this guy thinks everyone is just like him. Hey, he’s probably rich. That makes him right about everything!

      Love the Michael Vick PR consultant comment!

  4. Wow. Just wow. Can this man not hear himself? Clearly he must not think before he opens his mouth. Anyone who thought about this for more than a second would realise how ridiculous he sounds. There are a lot of things I could say right now, none of them polite.

    Thank you for posting about this. I hope it helps raise some more awareness. I just don’t think enough people realise what goes on in these race-tracks. If more people are forced to confront reality, perhaps that is when change will come. But it’s not easy.

    1. When it comes to animal cruelty, this is also a politeness-free zone, although I admit I changed my original references to the owner as a witless asshole. Not my opinion that he is one though.

      I agree. A lot of people don’t have a clue about the conditions that lie behind those exciting few minutes they witness on the track. Not so exciting for the dogs. I guess by getting them in shape the owner means keeping them so inactive that of course they’ll run very, very fast.

        1. Ha! Those who spend any amount of time with me — and especially old friends — know that I’m a major potty mouth; I grew up in Brooklyn! I made a decision not to curse on my blog so as not to put off people who might otherwise be disposed to listen to what I have to say, but it’s an effort. Especially when I’m talking about assholes.

  5. Edie: I have to admit that it was enough for me to read what you wrote in this post to know that I just couldn’t stomach watching the video. I’ve seen way too many of these sickening people and I hate, yes HATE, dog racing or frankly any type of activity that uses animals for profit. *huge sigh*

    1. I completely understand, though I promise it’s not graphically horrible (not that dogs in small cages is not very unpleasant). I just enjoyed the way the guy made such a fool of himself.

  6. Edie
    Your comments are well written and really gets the message out that greyhound racing is a cruel blood sport and fools like Tom Taylor are part of the problem. However, there is another “guilty” group: our legislators, city government and the Arizona Department of Racing. They allow abuse, neglect, violations of the law and death of Greyhounds to continue. If we were to list all the news articles about TGP over the last 5 years–it would staggering. Most decent people disagree with the treatment of Greyhounds. In addition to sympathizing with the plight of Greyhounds, people have to become activist to demand a stop to this abusse of the dogs and continuing violations. Enough is Enough–time to get active!

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Jerry. Any suggestions about what we Arizonans can do are welcome. I would love to see the Tucson track close down.

  7. I couldn’t get the video to play for me but I really don’t need it to image the kind of hypocritical statements an asshole like this would make; I’ve seen them too often. Some people will never see more than dollar signs when they look at animals and anything that detracts from profit (like basic humane care) is frivolous to them. I really don’t see any difference between sports like this and bullfighting. Except that in bullfighting they don’t deny that the bull is the one that pays in the end.

    1. Can I “Like” what Kevin said? Completely agree with him. I think this guy is under the delusion that he can control the message. Unfortunately for him, images speak louder than words. Absolutely appalling. I once cared for a Greyhound and it forever made me want one. They are amazingly bright, sweet and gentle dogs and I detest how people use them and abuse them.

      1. Mel, someone has been on Facebook too much lately ;-).

        I am told by friends who have had the misfortune to deal with him before that Tom Taylor is usually completely arrogant. Here he is also a bit arrogant but his attempt to control the message is just so weird that I can’t help but hope he — and the entire track — will be fired soon.

  8. Thank you for this blogpost.

    Readers’ comments clearly show that Tom Taylor’s statements do not in any way deflect public opinion away from the real issue revealed in GREY2K USA’s investigative video and KOLD-TV’s report: greyhounds cruelly, inhumanely confined in darkness day after day, week after week while muzzled in small stacked cages.

    Add in a diet of diseased meat, add injections of steroids to females every couple of weeks to suppress estrus, and add racing injuries, and you have the existence the Tuscon Greyhound Park greyhounds endure.

    1. You’re absolutely right, Caryn. Tom Taylor’s statements just make it clear that anyone who can defend the conditions of the track greyhounds has a serious disconnect with reality.

      Thanks for stopping by.

  9. greyhound racing is awful. As are horse racing, circuses, marine parks and other activities that use animals for the amusement and entertainment of humans. what happens to greyhounds after they lose their usefulness is even worse 🙁

    1. You’re so right. Sadly, ill treatment after their “jobs” are done is a common denominator with many of the animals you mention, especially race horses that are not champions and therefore not under public scrutiny.

  10. One good thing comes out of this post–I think the reporter and the news show did a terrific job. It’s excellent that many people in the Tucson area are going to learn about something in their own back yard that they may not have thought about before. Please keep us posted if you hear of any community response.

    Unfortunately there will always be people willing to exploit others out of greed–mistreated racing greyhounds, children in sweatshops, migrant workers, circus animals.

    It’s important to shine a light on injustice–thank you, Edie.

    1. I agree, Pamela — they did an excellent job. It was truly a balanced story. Neither the Grey2K USA spokeswoman nor the reporter did anything but present the facts in a calm fashion (as opposed to yelling, as I would have been tempted to do, “Shut the f%^& up you inhumane idiot.”) I hope the people who go to the track watch the nightly news, because lack of attendance — it’s pretty low as it is — will deal the final blow to the business. Or at least hasten it. It’s just a question of time until the greyhound racing is banned.

      And yes, inhumanity and cruelty to animals will always be around. We can at least hope it will stop being considered a sport.

  11. What I don’t understand is why the dogs wear muzzles when they are in the cages. Dogs naturally lick themselves and nibble the odd itchy spot. When animals can’t engage in natural behaviors it really gets me nuts.

    BTW “assholery”? Good one!! 🙂

    1. I asked a friend about the muzzles because I was confused too. She said that it’s so they don’t bite the handlers as soon as they open the cages. That makes sense. If I was a greyhound confined for that long I would try to bite their faces off.

      Re: Assholery: Thank you. If I’m going to allow myself to curse, I try to be creative about it.

      1. Actually, the dogs have muzzles on because the handlers or trainers are too damn lazy to put the muzzles on or take the muzzlesoff when they let the dogs out to do their business for a few minutes. When all the dogs are let out at the same time in a small space they have pent up energy. Their skin is thin. Their could be a nip or two. Rather than put on their muzzles when outside in a pack and take off their muzzles when cages, the lazy S.O.B.s just leave the muzzles on. Greyhounds are not known to bite their handlers or people for that matter.

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