| Throughout history the Greyhound has been the | | | | also so happens to be the only dog breed to be |
| darling dog breed of royalty and nobility. From the | | | | mentioned by name in the Bible (Proverbs |
| ancient Egyptians, who often mummified and | | | | 30:29-31, King James Version). Ancient Greek and |
| buried favored dogs with their owners; to the | | | | Roman mythology is rife with tales describing |
| English nobility who enacted a law banning so fine | | | | Greyhound-like dogs. |
| a beast from being owned by mere commoners. | | | | It is not unreasonable to speculate that the |
| Even the Bedouin (who as devout Muslims shun | | | | ancient Greeks attained their first specimens (or |
| dogs in general for supposedly being unclean) since | | | | at least its progenitor) from Egyptian merchants. |
| time immemorial have so revered the Greyhound | | | | In Greek mythology their gods were often |
| (or its derivative or ancestor) that not only was | | | | portrayed with Greyhounds. The Romans in turn |
| contact permitted, they even allowed the | | | | probably first stumbled across the these dogs via |
| consumption of game caught by such dogs. | | | | their interaction with the Greeks. However it is |
| Fast forward to today and it is hard to believe | | | | equally possible the Romans got their original |
| that this dog breed once held such an esteemed | | | | hounds from the Celts, seeing as the |
| position. Currently over 100,000 Greyhound dogs | | | | well-regarded Roman authors, Ovid and Arrian |
| are destroyed each year worldwide, as a result | | | | often referred to the Greyhound as a Celt Hound. |
| of the cruel sport of dog racing! | | | | However, whatever the Greyhound's origins, what |
| In times long past a messenger carrying both | | | | is known is that since its earliest affiliation with |
| good news and bad always supplied the good | | | | humans, this dog breed has wowed mankind the |
| news first in order to lessen the effect of the | | | | world over with its speed and agility, most notably |
| bad news and thereby increase his chances of | | | | through the sport of coursing. Hare coursing is an |
| living to see another day (hence the expression: | | | | old sport practiced since the time of the Romans |
| Don't shoot the messenger!) So borrowing from | | | | who probably exported it to Britain when they |
| that tactful approach, this article shall address the | | | | invaded. |
| Greyhound's glorious past first before covering its | | | | Strangely enough it appears that the Romans |
| dismal present: | | | | were much more sporting than their modern |
| This is a dog that stands apart from the other | | | | dog-racing counterparts, with respect to the |
| dog breeds not only for the fact that it happens | | | | welfare of both the dogs and hares involved in |
| to be the speed champion of the dog world but | | | | the coursing event, as amply illustrated by the |
| also because it holds an unparalleled array of | | | | following excerpt written by Roman Flavius |
| records which include: | | | | Arrianus (Arrian) in 124 AD: "The true sportsman |
| 1. The fastest dog in the world across short | | | | does not take out his dogs to destroy the hares, |
| distances: the Greyhound dog can attain speeds in | | | | but for the sake of the course and the contest |
| excess of 40 mph (64km/h) | | | | between the dogs and the hares, and is glad if |
| 2. It has the longest stride of any dog breed | | | | the hare escapes...whoever courses with |
| whilst it is in full flight. One dog is on record of | | | | greyhounds should neither slip them near the hare, |
| having covered a distance of 30 feet (9.14m) in a | | | | nor more than a brace (two) at a time." Simply |
| single leap. The Greyhound's sprint is described as | | | | put, no more than two dogs were to be used in |
| a double flight gait which involves the dog at | | | | the chase and they were not to be released too |
| some point having all of its feet off the ground. | | | | close to the hare! |
| When a dog is sprinting it propels itself first with | | | | The Many-Named Dog |
| its hind legs and then momentarily lands on its | | | | Across the breadth of time this dog has been |
| front feet before cantilevering off those while | | | | designated almost as many names as the number |
| reaching forward with its hind feet (at which point | | | | of years for which the breed has existed (okay...I'll |
| for an instant all four feet are off the ground). | | | | admit that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get |
| This double-flight gait is extremely fast but also | | | | the point). In the English language alone, the |
| very unstable which explains the many injuries | | | | Greyhound has had at least 50 names. |
| that befall racing dogs. The Cheetah which is the | | | | Unsurprisingly there has been considerable debate |
| fastest mammal on earth has a somewhat similar | | | | concerning the meaning of the various names: |
| sprint pattern which also entails the Cheetah's four | | | | 1. Grewhound; the "Grew" portion of the word |
| limbs being fully off the ground at some point. | | | | meaning "Greek." A similar but variant school of |
| The Greyhound however is no match for the | | | | thought postulates that the "Grew" was actually |
| Cheetah which can attain speeds of 70 mph (114 | | | | "Graius" which still means Greek; again these old |
| km/h) and maintain that speed for 3.5 miles! | | | | English names tend to lend credence that the dog |
| Though the Greyhound cannot match the | | | | breed originated elsewhere other than Britain. |
| Cheetah's speed, it obviously is no slow coach | | | | 2. Greyhounds are certainly anything but grey so |
| either and the reason why this dog breed can | | | | it is highly unlikely that the word ever reflected |
| attain such speeds (other than its obvious | | | | the breed's color. Some believe that the "grey" in |
| aerodynamic-enhanced morphological structure | | | | this dog's name was once "grei" which meant |
| and muscle mass) is because it packs so much | | | | beautiful. |
| hemoglobin in its blood. Those elevated levels of | | | | 3. Great Hound; another school of thought |
| hemoglobin ensure the transfer of more oxygen | | | | speculates that this hound was once known as |
| to the tissues which also bestows the Greyhound | | | | the Greathound (the name evidently reflecting the |
| dog's blood with a sludge-like quality (thick blood). | | | | dog's exalted status in gentrified society) but as |
| If the human heart were to attempt pumping | | | | time progressed the term somehow mutated into |
| such a thick mixture of blood it would most likely | | | | "greyhound." |
| go into failure. | | | | The few examples above are a minuscule |
| 3. This dog breed boasts the longest documented | | | | sampling of the various names the Greyhound has |
| history of any dog breed. Ancient drawings and | | | | been called at one time or another during history |
| records place them as a distinctive breed over | | | | in some variation of the English language. |
| 6000 years ago. | | | | The Harsh Unforgiving World Of Dog Racing |
| 4. The Greyhound is the most expensive dog | | | | It truly is hard to imagine how so exalted a dog |
| breed; it is not unusual for champion racing | | | | breed could end up where it is today--slaughtered |
| Greyhounds to command a price tag in excess of | | | | in the thousands each year. This is all the more |
| $70,000! | | | | shocking when one considers that at some point |
| 5. The Greyhound dog is the one breed that has | | | | in Greyhound dog history it was a crime |
| been most favored by royalty and the | | | | punishable by death to kill one (during the reign of |
| aristocracy throughout all of dog history. In fact | | | | King Canute). However currently each year |
| so much so was this dog breed viewed as the | | | | thousands upon thousands of these hounds are |
| epitome of canine excellence that a law was | | | | destroyed, a good number before they've even |
| passed in England in 1014--part of the Forest | | | | attained the tender age of 2 years! |
| Laws--which categorically forbade commoners to | | | | The reason for this mass slaughter can be |
| own such a dog! Those persons other than nobility | | | | defined in 3 words: Greyhound Dog Racing! Every |
| who were permitted to own a Greyhound, such | | | | year the dog racing industry breeds several |
| as Freemen, could only do so, so long as the dog | | | | thousand dogs, far more than the number that |
| was deliberately maimed if they lived within 10 | | | | get to compete. The reason for this over |
| miles of a royal forest. | | | | breeding--ambitious hound breeders looking for |
| Interestingly enough, royal households used to | | | | that elusive but ever so lucrative champion dog |
| employ select dog-mutilators whose job was to | | | | racer! The dogs that don't make the cut are |
| rove around the countryside ensuring that nobody | | | | typically destroyed or in some cases actually |
| not born of noble birth or titled by the king was in | | | | subjected to a fate worse than death! |
| illegal possession of them that was not lamed! | | | | The dog racing industry certainly pulls no punches |
| However, as the acreage of the great forests | | | | with respect to the maltreatment of animals. |
| dwindled, and with the rising importance of | | | | Since the inception of modern dog racing around |
| agricultural and domestic livestock food sources, | | | | the 1920s, the Greyhound (and affiliated industry |
| the function of the Greyhound dog declined | | | | animals that act as live bait) has suffered |
| correspondingly! Even so the Greyhound still | | | | unimaginable cruelty; in this industry there is no |
| remained the favorite dog of the landed gentry | | | | reprieve or second chance and the vast majority |
| especially as the popularity of hare coursing grew. | | | | of dogs never get to live anywhere near their |
| By the 1800s hare coursing had become a | | | | expected life expectancy! Instead most dogs are |
| favored pastime of the upper classes in England. | | | | befallen by anyone of the following fates: |
| Origins & History | | | | 1. Killed; |
| The Greyhound dog is evidently a breed of | | | | 2. Experimented upon as a laboratory animal; the |
| antiquity stretching back thousands of years. | | | | Greyhound's superb physiology makes it a prime |
| There are several references from many ancient | | | | lab candidate for cardiovascular research; |
| cultures citing the this dog breed throughout | | | | 3. Shipped abroad to countries such as China |
| history. Although many dog books note them as | | | | where animal cruelty laws are extremely lax (to |
| having originated in Britain this is very unlikely. It | | | | say the least); and let's not forget that dogs |
| would be more accurate to concede that this dog | | | | often end up on the dinner table there; and |
| breed in its modern form most closely resembles | | | | 4. Used as food fodder in commercial dog feed |
| the dog that was selectively gene-trait refined | | | | (euthanized pets are commonly recycled as |
| according to English standards. | | | | commercial dog chow). |
| Historical data tends to suggest that the | | | | A very small percentage of lucky dogs eventually |
| Greyhound evolved from early Sighthounds that | | | | make the transition from Shelters/Rescue Home, |
| existed in ancient Egypt. Paintings, decorations, | | | | to permanent adoption! One need only conduct a |
| and other artifacts from early Egyptian culture | | | | cursory search through online Greyhound |
| celebrate a dog very similar in appearance to the | | | | Adoption centers to see just how bad the |
| Greyhound. Indeed several pharaohs are known | | | | problem really is. And perhaps the most tragic |
| to have owned Greyhound-looking dogs. Some of | | | | aspect of this tragedy is that this dog breed truly |
| the pharaohs included: Cleopatra (yes the | | | | is a sweet-tempered and loving dog that some |
| seductive femme fatale), Tutankhamen, Queen | | | | have described as the "speediest couch potato! |
| Hatshepsut, to name but a few. The Greyhound | | | | |