For Kokoro

After a sabbatical, time to resurrect something that annoys some.  As if I would lose sleep…

Having spent a bit of time in discourse (giving it a more glorified term than it deserves) with some individuals questioning the death of a dog and defending racing, it just seemed right to say something.

Meet Kokoro.  2 year old brindle.  His first race and the last he knew of this world.  Broke his back.  2 years old.  Euthanized.  Shit.  That did NOT have to happen.

Some of the discussions with some individuals (I am so politically correct…) centered on a dog not well trained.  Really?  As if that can be brushed off so easily?  For God’s sake, this was a 2 year old dog.  Dangerous turns, bad tracks?  To them, bad dog.  This was a 2 year old dog!

Others defending the racing industry fall back on the battle cry of “if racing ends, the breed disappears” or if racing ends only “backyard breeders” will be there to tarnish the breed.

Do they even hear what they say?  Let’s overbreed so we can get a few to win races to line our pockets.  That’s forward thinking.

But then again, the industry is not forward thinking.  Let’s talk about the dogs killed and dumped because they didn’t race well.  Let’s talk about the Ronnie Williamses of the world.  Let’s talk about the dogs dying in haulers.

But we love our dogs and want to preserve a pristine bloodline? 

Utter frauds.  And so sad, because it is the dogs who die.  This breed has been around longer than their family tree.  Canned industry responses no longer stand the test of time.

The industry will die so how about finding a way to rehome some pups. 

But that would mean being bigger than themselves.  Sad, but that won’t happen.

For the tragic deaths of those lost, I hope you sleep well.  Young pups never had a chance.