THEIL BLOG SIGNALS FRUSTRATION AT ADOPTION SUCCESS
Judging by his Valentine’s Day blog post, Grey2K co-founder Carey Theil isn’t feeling the love when it comes to the remarkable success of the mainstream greyhound adoption movement. His hostility is not surprising, considering that Grey2K can’t take any of the credit for that success.
In his blog, Theil attacks greyhound community members for preferring to work with moderate adoption organizations that take a cooperative, constructive approach. He calls this a “wrongheaded attempt to stop people from adopting greyhounds.”
Stop people from adopting greyhounds?? Between funding track-based adoption programs and donating to independent adoption organizations, greyhound racing spends more than $1 million a year to facilitate and promote greyhound adoption.
Contrast that with Grey2K, which spends its time and money launching political attacks, lobbying politicians and organizing pointless media stunts like the recent “boycott” of Skechers, the athletic shoe company, because its Super Bowl ad showed racing greyhounds.
Ironically, the Grey2K “Boycott Skechers” campaign may have done the organization more harm than good. The Grey2K message was rejected at every level—the Mr. Quiggly ad wasn’t pulled from the Super Bowl schedule, as Grey2K demanded. People didn’t stop buying Skechers shoes, as Grey2K had hoped. In many designated “protest” locations, not a single Grey2K supporter showed up. But a few TV cameras showed up here and there, and that’s what matters to Carey and his wife, Christine Dorchak.
And what did all that hype accomplish for greyhounds? Absolutely nothing. While Grey2K was hamming it up for the cameras, hundreds of greyhound industry members and adoption volunteers were doing what they do every day—finding great homes for retired racers. And doing a darn good job of it.
Is there still room for improvement? You bet. We won’t rest until we achieve our goal of 100 percent placement of all retired greyhounds suitable for adoption. And we’ll reach that goal in spite of Grey2K. No wonder Carey is so frustrated.
Commentary by Gary Guccione, AGC Communications Coordinator