Greyhound racing is nearing the finish line in Wisconsin.
Dairyland Greyhound Park, in Kenosha — the last operating track in the state – announced Tuesday it will close its doors after racing ends Dec. 31.
Dairyland was one of five Wisconsin tracks that opened after a 1987 amendment to the state constitution allowed for a state-run lottery and legalized parimutuel betting. The others closed earlier, unable to compete with the state’s tribal casino offerings that began to emerge in the 1990s.
According to the Kenosha News, the 19-year-old track has lost $17 million over the last seven years.
Dairyland has remained in operation in recent years with the hope that the Menominee Nation wins federal and state approval to develop a $1 billion casino complex on the site. The tribe is now in litigation to overturn a January denial of the project.
Closing the track will put about 180 people out of work, and, track officials say, leave the 900 dogs that race at the facility in need of homes.
If you’re interest in adopting, here’s how to find a greyhound rescue near you.
If you want to know about the history of pack hounds, as well as their breeding, training, and what happens to them when they are retired, check out the blog Full Cry.
I come from Appalachian fox chasing stock. My maternal grandfather still keeps a small pack of Walker foxhounds, and my paternal grandfather kept a pack of Walkers and Triggs.
Fox chasing is a bit different from fox hunting, though. In the Appalachians, hounds are run at night, and no horse or red jacket is to be seen. A bonfire is built, and the chasers listen to the foxhounds as they run the foxes.
No one would kill a red fox. Their pelts aren’t worth it these days.
And the red fox is not as common in this part of the world as the gray. The gray is not a popular animal for fox-chasers, simply because the gray will climb a tree to avoid the dogs, which ends the chase rather quickly.
That is why the dogs are trained to go for red foxes only.
I’m by no means an expert on pack hounds, so if you want to know more about them, check out Full Cry.
For those cold or rainy days wanted to offer a free gift of Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog Coloring Page & Frankie Word Search Puzzle! Just visit our store page for the links. Be sure to print out the coloring page on 8.5 x 14 legal size paper.
Also running a special holiday sale on Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog Activity book. Normally retails for $11.95 but for a limited time they are only $8.00 each! If you wish to order two or more, just email me for shipping cost.
Feel free to share the free items and sale with your friends!!
Read about him
For those of you who don’t know what a lurcher is, it is a sight hound/non-sight hound cross.
A similar cross is a long dog, which is a cross between two sight hound breeds.
Sight hounds are impractical where I live. You can’t hunt deer with dogs here, and rabbits and hares don’t hang out in open fields, mainly because there are no open fields. (And the only hare species that lives here prefers stands of taller timber at higher elevations.)
That’s why you hear about coonhounds, bear hounds, foxhounds, and beagles in West Virginia.
The only sight hound you are going to find are greyhounds. And greyhounds are involved in a wonderful West Virginia political scandal. (I hope I’m not living in West Virginia when I have to vote for person to take Senator Byrd’s seat, let’s just say that!)
