Opinion: Remember the thousands of euthanized dogs

I am somewhat perplexed as to why the Times would publish an upbeat story about a racing greyhound going on to his "sweet hereafter" as a stud dog while at the same time acknowledging that some 20,000 less fortunate greyhounds will go to their deaths this year.

A review of Dominator's life in "retirement" did not bring a smile to my face, as the article surely intended. Rather, all I could think of were the thousands of greyhound puppies that will continue to be added to the racing system year after year. Unfortunately, most of those dogs will not be winners and will be discarded in order to make room for those who, like Dominator, will bring in the money. Already overburdened greyhound adoption groups will do their best to find homes for them, but will not be able to place them all.

What will happen to the rest? They will get to go to the real "greyhound heaven."
-- Janet Skinner, Tampa Bay coordinator, Greyhound Protection League, Palm Harbor

Consider other side of greyhound racing

Re: From the fast lane to greyhound heaven, July 2.

In response to the article about the award-winning stud greyhound Dominator, owned by Don Ryan of Kansas, I agree that, yes, Dominator appears to have a very good life in retirement.

Admirably the story did mention that approximately 20,000 greyhounds are euthanized each year. But let's examine that number. Is there any good reason to euthanize animals that have been overbred because of the greed of humans? No, there is not. As the "superior beings" on this Earth, we are its caretakers, and caretakers of the animals that we have bred. We are not here to kill things that are not convenient.

The fault lies with both the industry and the public. As long as there is a demand for gambling, no matter that the demand thankfully is decreasing, this slaughter of hapless greyhounds will continue. Please think: How can it be "fun" to gamble once one is aware of the pathetic end of so many beautiful creatures -- euthanasia, or worse!

I am very involved in greyhound rescue and am mesmerized by the breed. It is a never-ending and emotionally breaking job, but the rewards are great when the hounds are placed in loving homes.

I implore you to explore the "other side" of greyhound racing with a non-biased mind. You will be surprised at what you will learn and can pass on for the education of the public. We rescue groups would love to be out of work because all retired racers have homes!
-- Carol Chilton, Tampa

Too many disposable dogs

Re: From the fast lane to greyhound heaven.

As one who has spent six years of her life dedicated to the placement of retired racing greyhounds as pets, I was totally offended by Bill Duryea's interview with Don Ryan, owner of Ryan Farms in Abilene, Kan.

The article mentioned that approximately 20,000 greyhounds are euthanized in this country every year. Now that Dominator is able to produce so many pups, Ryan and the race industry are putting more greyhound puppies on this Earth to add to that number.

We work daily with the waste product of this industry, living breathing creatures who have no future unless they are lucky enough to find a rescue group that has the space and finances to assure them a life that would otherwise be denied by the people who bred them.

Something tells me Dominator would be happier lying on the couch in the home of a family that loved him.
-- Marilyn Varnberg, Greyhound Adoptions of Florida, Eustis

Treat crime in school seriously

Re: An arresting attitude, July 2.

Has the editorial board of the St. Petersburg Times been on a very lengthy sabbatical in a very far away land? Like Oz? Since 1992 there have been more than a dozen high profile homicides that occurred in schools, committed by teenagers/students. Your editorial contends that "any time a 13-year-old boy is treated like a criminal, educators need to be wary." Wake up. Juveniles are committing serious crimes at alarming rates and at younger and younger ages.

What special training did the principal at Southside Fundamental Middle School get in criminal law? How much experience does he have in determining probable cause? If the school resource officer determined a crime had been committed, it's her job to refer charges or make an arrest.

If a 13-year-old boy is allowed to expose his penis in a classroom full of students and the police are not notified, let the public be wary. I sure don't want my children attending a school where the police are not called to investigate such an allegation. If that's what students are doing in class, no wonder the FCAT scores are so low!
-- Susan Anderson, St. Petersburg

Authorities show a hostile attitude

Re: An arresting attitude.

The incident described in this editorial not only highlights the differing priorities between police officers and school officials, it also highlights the attitude of the police and prosecutors in general as a punitive and hostile one toward the general citizenry. It is clear that Officer Jane Story would rather have arrested this student instead of helping him. This seems to be part and parcel of a global police agenda to turn any errant citizen into a criminal.

We are already jailing thousands upon thousands of citizens who are guilty of victimless crimes. There seems to be no concern on the part of the police or prosecutors for whether these people are truly criminal types, or if they deserve to be jailed. We are seeing thousands of citizens who have made errors of judgment that hurt nobody turned into criminals by the justice system. The authorities don't seem to care about the person behind the crime, or what the circumstances were that led up to the incident. If they could get an arrest and conviction out of it, they would probably jail Mother Goose.

Is this where we really want to be heading in these United States?
-- Michael Otto, Oldsmar

Restaurant could have succeeded

Re: Alstott sees sweet deal after sour, June 22.

I just got done reading the story about Mike Alstott's new restaurant venture. Well, I am the guy who started A-Train Pizza with him three years ago. Yes, I wanted only his name for recognition -- which helped out tremendously. We were on every TV and radio station in town along with ESPN and, of course, in the Times. We were a huge success initially. Even your food critic, Chris Sherman, said, "A-Train will be a winner!"

So what went wrong? Many people blamed the location. I felt the location was not perfect, but a place that was near enough to the rejuvenation of downtown St. Petersburg. We had customers coming from all over Tampa Bay, even folks from as far as Buffalo, N.Y. Many people commented to me that the place would be a gold mine. What happened was, as happens to many restaurants, we were lacking the funds to keep the place going. Before I signed the lease, the Health Department said we were ready to go. Nothing had to be improved or changed. The very day I signed the lease, the Health Department had me install three new sinks, and the city insisted that we needed handicapped washrooms.

My build-out capital was limited. I had no money in reserve for operating expenses. After the Final Four we were jamming, but I still could not recuperate from the initial build-out. If Alstott had invested the same amount of money he invested with his new restaurant, A-Train would be a huge success today.

Am I disappointed and upset? Sure, I lost a lot of money. But, I feel this way: It is only money, and I am not the first one to fail in the restaurant business. I put my blood, sweat and tears (and of course money) into a place that I feel only failed because of lack of capital, nothing else.
-- Bob Marcus, St. Petersburg

An exaggerated comparison

A recent letter to your newspaper (Repressive tactics, June 30), compared the Republican Party organizers for President Bush's tax-cut rally to the Communist Chinese government. The comparison was, at best, a gross exaggeration. At worst, it was slander.

A little shouting and jostling among Republicans and protesters is a very far cry from Tianamen Square and harvesting human organs from convicts.
-- Laurence Veras, Clearwater

Lightning requires caution

Every year during my annual vacation on Maderia Beach, I witness an incredible display of ignorance and stupidity. I'm talking about people walking the beach during lightning storms. You would think that all adults would have enough common sense to seek shelter during a lightning storm, but that is not true for a small fraction of our population.

Sometimes it's a lone person and other times an entire family. Do they not know that Florida is the lightning capital of the world and that an average of 10 fatal strikes occur in Florida every year? Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are rated No. 1 and No. 3 respectively in the number of deaths and injuries due to lightning strikes, according to the National Lightning Safety Institute.

There have been nearly 1,600 deaths and injuries from lightning in Florida since 1959. One's chances of being struck by lightning in west-central Florida are much higher than one's chances of winning the Lotto.

Considering the large number of tourists and non-native residents we have in our area, we should provide more public service announcements in the newspaper and on TV about the dangers of lightning in our area. Hotels, rental properties and golf courses should also warn their patrons about the dangers of lighting.
-- Brian Boyle, Tampa

Use those seat belts

This is getting out of hand. It seems every day that I open the Times or listen to the radio, I hear about yet another accident where people have been "thrown out" of their vehicles and killed. About 80 percent of the time this concerns larger vehicles such as vans and SUVs.

Why do people imagine that not wearing a seat belt in these vehicles is safe? Do they imagine that the sheer bulk of this vehicle is going to protect them from harm? I'm trying really hard to see the logic in not using seat belts and am not getting too far.

People, the seat belts were put into the vehicle for a reason! Use them! This is not rocket science. This is common sense, and don't kid yourself that your name might not be the next one we read about in the paper! Wake up!
-- Kim Salter, St. Petersburg

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