I chose the bottom image because it shows how the dogs are given what they need in their little bedrooms (which are actually quite big). Some prefer a few layers of carpet, some prefer to nest in shredded paper. Most also have pillows and/or stuffies. Kathi figures out what makes them happy and then gives it to them. You’ll see how high the shredded paper is in the adjoining kennel. Greyhounds sleep 18 hours a day (Ivy might be closer to 20 hours a day) — they’re happy to have their own space to sleep. They get to go outside plenty, and they potty and cut up with each other maybe five minutes, and then they’re stretched out in the sand — or at the gate waiting to go back inside.

Kathi had a new girl, who’d arrived the day before. She was up front, and she got special attention since she was still getting the hang of everything, but she was already doing okay.

Another dog was a ‘spook’ (afraid of everything, some dogs are just like that), and Kathi had worked with her a lot to make her happy. The doggie loves to run, and once she realized getting into the hauler meant she gets to race, she’s now happy about dragging the humans to the hauler so she can get in, but she wasn’t happy about it the first time. (The kennels are close to the track, but the dogs get to ride in an air-conditioned truck back and forth). I spent some time with her, and she was painfully shy, but still a happy girl. And that’s the point here — unhappy dogs aren’t going to be good racers. Happy dogs are. Kathi keeps them happy.

Also, a word about the muzzles. The dogs don’t mind them, and they keep the dogs safe. While we were there, one of the males kept trying to mount another, and the mountee wasn’t at *all* happy about it. They had a few skirmishes, nothing major, just establishing the pecking order, but one of them could’ve been injured without the muzzles. I saw seventy-something dogs being cycled in and out of the turnout pen, and that was the only issue. I was mega-impressed. The dogs are great with each other.

They can breathe through the muzzle, even drink water with them on. No problem. I’ve seen other people’s videos, and when the dogs realize they’re getting the racing muzzle, they go batshit crazy, so excited they’re going to get to race.

A few dogs were up front, so they could be monitored due to small injuries — not being raced until they’re fully healed. The track has vets on retainer, so it doesn’t cost to call the vet to see about a dog if there’s even a hint of a problem. There’s no, “Oh, we can’t afford the vet bill,” — he’s on retainer, and he comes when called without any extra charges. All dogs are seen regularly, no matter what. For some injuries, dogs go home with Kathi at night. She has two whippets who come to work with her, so it’s no big deal to take a greyhound home who needs special attention or care. These dogs are professional athletes who race at the top of their game, and stuff happens when you push your limits. And it isn’t the trainers pushing their limits — it’s the dogs.

I know there’s a lot more that I didn’t get to see — I’d have loved to have been able to spend a whole day, so we could follow them to the track and see that part, but I had to get back for author stuff. And there are lots of videos out there of massages in doggie jacuzzi tubs the day after a race. I’ve also seen other videos of the massive full body massage/rubdowns the dogs get before and after races.

And finally, a funny picture. I was playing with the boys when more girls were put into the turnout pen beside us, and the boys went, “HELLO!”

If you happen to live in Florida, please, please vote NO on amendment 13. If it passes and greyhound racing is outlawed, thousands of greyhounds are going to have to be rehomed, all at once. This amendment is about betting laws, not about the dogs, but they’re saying it’s about the dogs and telling lies about their living conditions. If they really cared about the racing doggies, they’d let them race.

Ivy came to us a spoiled diva and I knew she hadn’t been abused. My trip to the kennels showed me what I already knew — she could so easily love us because she’d already had people in her life who cared about her and made sure she had everything she wanted and needed.