Rescuing Racers in the Pacific
Greyhound advocates sprint to save displaced dogs after a racetrack in Guam closes.
By
Wendy Bedwell-Wilson
A retired racing Greyhound, Louie lives like a canine king, sharing a home with a loving family in central California. He sleeps on his own comfy bed, and occasionally the faily's down-filled couch, cozy and warm iwth his own fleece blankets. His toy box overflows iwth plush squeaky toys, and he dines on the best food his owner, Susan Netboy of Penn Valley, can find.
But life wasn't always so easy for Louie.
Just over a year ago, this Greyhound lived in the dense jungles of Guam, an unincorporated 212-square-mile U.S. Territory in the western Pacific Ocean, where he scavenged for food, slept unsheltered on wet ground and suffered from wounds inflicted by stray dogs. The gentle, docile dog, along iwth hundreds of other Greyhounds, found himself homeless adn lost after the dog racetrack, Guam Greyhound Inc. (GGH) closed.
Racing halted
The story of these Greyhound began in 1977, when GGH opened for business. The facility served as a visitor attraction and entertainment venue in Tamuning, contributing millions of dollars to the island's goverment in taxes and fees.
Over time the track lost money, and on Nov. 26, 2008, GGH shut its doors, leaving hundreds of Greyhounds homeless.
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