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pomegranate-belle · 6 years ago

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More cat!Matt AU, this time the moment that Foggy finds out that his lil cat friend is also his roommate:

Tabasco is Matt. Matt is Tabasco. Has, in fact, always been Tabasco. This whole time. Since before Foggy even walked into room 312. Since before he tripped over his own desk chair like a massive dumbass and was grateful that only a cat was around to witness it.

So. Foggy’s about neck-deep in mortification and trying desperately to remember if he’s said anything to Tabby that will tip him over into ‘I need to go ritually kill myself now’ territory, but he’s still got a pair of working eyes.

And Matt... Matt doesn’t look too good. His shoulders are hunched. His face is drawn and pale. His eyes, uncovered, are flicking across the room, panicked and — as always — unseeing.

He looks terrified. Foggy wonders of what for a moment, and then comes to the startling and painful conclusion that it’s him. Matt’s afraid of him. Afraid of Foggy’s reaction. He needs Foggy to react calmly to this, to be accepting of it. So, Foggy decides, that’s exactly what he’s gonna do. He swallows down his own embarrassment, locks it away to comb over later, and focuses on slowing his breaths. Exuding a calming aura, or something, because Matt seems to pick up on shit like that.

“So. You like, turn into a cat sometimes,” he says to Matt, very gently.

Matt flinches, but he doesn’t bolt.

“Um. I. Yes, I.” He nods, licks his lips. “Yes. I turn into a, into a cat sometimes. During the day. Sort of. It’s more like I’m, I turn back human when the moon is shining. Basically.”

Ok. Weird. But not the weirdest thing Foggy’s ever heard. He nods and narrates it.

“A curse, then, I’m guessing. Not hereditary shapeshifting.”

“A curse,” Matt confirms, and he’s loosening up, but not enough; his movements are still a little twitchy, a little scared. “I’m. I’m sorry, if it frightened you, I didn’t intend...”

“No, hey, it’s ok!” Foggy assures him. “I mean, I was a little surprised, but. You know. Magical shape-changing. Gets kinda gaudy.”

There. Matt’s mouth twitches upward just a tiny bit. His posture isn’t so hunched.

“Gaudy?” he asks skeptically.

“Oh yeah, dude,” says Foggy. “It is truly a shame you can’t see it because you literally glow. Like I’m talking a full on Beauty and the Beast slash magical girl transformation sequence here.”

Matt laughs, then — loud and unselfconscious, head thrown back. It’s utterly unlike the thin smile and quiet, huffing laughs all of Foggy’s previous jokes have garnered, and it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard. All the fear and tension has been drawn out of Matt’s body, and now Foggy can see that even before the reveal there was always some part of him that was tense, guarded. A part that Foggy had assumed was Matt’s shyness, or his bad experiences with ableism, when it was really this all along. It’s like maybe Foggy’s really meeting Matt for the first time right now. He feels kinda honored at the privilege.

The two of them sit on Foggy’s bed and talk for hours, about everything they’d been holding back. Foggy’s birth mom, Matt’s adventures as a cat. And now that that door is open, Matt talks about it candidly. How Battlin’ Jack had won a fight he wasn’t supposed to, and the fixer he worked for had sent a mage to kill him. How that mage, when faced with a terrified, enraged, blind nine-year-old boy, had cursed him.

“He told me he didn’t kill kids,” Matt spits, his eyes dark with rage and his mouth curled into a snarl. “Like that was supposed to be any consolation for me with my dad lying dead on the ground at our feet!”

Foggy can’t take it anymore. He wraps his arms around Matt and holds him tight. Cries an embarrassing amount of tears for everything Matt’s had to fight through alone, all the things Foggy wants to fix for Matt but doesn’t have the power to. Matt hugs back, hard, his arms trembling. They don’t let go of each other until they’re wrung out, all the anger and sorrow drained away. Then Matt loosens his grip, Foggy follows his lead, and they both sit back and scrub at their eyes.

“So you’re just,” Foggy says, pausing to grab a tissue and blow his running nose. “You’re just stuck like this? Forever?”

Matt shrugs.

“Basically. There’s a, a way to break the curse but it’s pretty much impossible.”

Foggy can do impossible. For Matt, he could do anything.

“Ok, but what is it?” he asks.

“To break the curse, someone has to make a vow of everlasting love to me, and prove it to the world.” Matt smiles wryly. “No one could do that.”

I could, Foggy thinks — but he’s at least got enough sense not to say it aloud.

“It’s a wide world out there, Murdock,” he says instead, squeezing Matt’s hand. “And you’re amazing. You’ll find somebody who can.”

#mattfoggy #cat!Matt AU #writing #daredevil

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miloud02 · 4 years ago

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HOW THE LACK OF SLEEP AFFECTS A BABY’S BRAIN AN PERSONALITY

A leading researcher on temperament in infants and young children once said in despair, “When I raised my first child, I believed behavioral theories claiming that what I do as a parent molds my child’s character. With my second child, I was already a geneticist and believed that a child is born with characteristics that are passed on through heredity and that environmental influence is minimal. I barely knew my third child at all...”

This analysis was, of course, exaggerated, but it demonstrates the ongoing quest of parents and scientists to answer this question: what determines the personality and personal characteristics of the child?

The question of heredity (“She got her shyness from her dad’s family”) versus environment (“If his mother were more strict with him, he would be calmer”) underlies parents’ attempts to understand the range of influence they have in molding their child.

Up-to-date research points to a complex picture: the influence of heredity and environment on the child. Much evidence suggests that the baby is born with genetic baggage that not only determines how he looks, the color of his eyes, and his chances of suffering from various diseases but also significantly influences the character traits that he or she will develop.

Physical activity level, shyness or sociability, openness to new situations, and anxiety are among the traits that are related to the genetic predisposition with which babies enter the world. Many parents discover that their child has traits that are undesirable to them—especially if they remind them of qualities they dislike about their parents, their spouses, or themselves.

Parents frequently try to fight these traits, but they often discover that it is a losing battle.

It seems that the most important variable that influences the quality of the relationship between parents and children is the “goodness of fit” between the child’s traits and the parents’ expectations.

A very active child, for example, may be adored by a father who appreciates and identifies with this trait but merely tolerated by a father who expects a calmer child.

On the other hand, a quiet, calm child may be considered depressive or lifeless by the first father, while the second father sees her as perfect.

Incompatibility between parental expectations and the child’s traits may lead to frustration and stress in the relationship, particularly if the parents try to “correct” the child to conform to their expectations.

The Relationship Between Temperament And Sleep

Every parent is familiar with the situation in which her child demonstrates by his behavior that he “is up past his bedtime.”

When scientists asked parents to describe this situation, some said that the child calms down, seems sleepy, falls asleep on his own, or asks directly or indirectly to go to bed. Other parents said that their child in this situation “climbs the walls,” “is a crybaby,” “is nervous and unhappy with everything,” “doesn’t respond to what he’s told,” or “simply does annoying things.”

Clearly, young children react to tiredness in significantly different ways.

A state of fatigue is not necessarily expressed by decreased activity and obvious sleepiness.

Sometimes the symptoms can be just the opposite.

Some of the typical “negative” behaviors of the tired child are compatible with general patterns that characterize behavior disorders.

Much evidence points to a strong correlation between sleep and the development of the child’s personality traits.

Studies have shown that a baby who suffers from sleep disorders (difficulty falling asleep, for example, or many awakenings during the night) tends to be “more difficult” in other behavioral domains.

In a study conducted in several sleep laboratories, scientists compared a group of nine- to twenty-four-month-old babies whose parents had come for a consultation about their children’s sleep problems with a control group of babies without sleep disorder – not surprisingly, what they found is significant differences in the traits that the mothers attributed to babies.

The mothers completed a temperament questionnaire, which is a sort of “personality” test for young children.

The mothers rated their degree of agreement with such sentences as “The child agrees to be dressed and undressed without protesting,” “The child responds strongly (screams, yells) when frustrated,” and “The child sits quietly when waiting to eat.”

In general, the mothers of babies with sleep problems described them as more demanding, complaining, annoying, negatively sensitive to different stimuli, and difficult to adapt to different situations, as compared with babies without sleep problems.

One of the traits measured in the temperament questionnaire is the degree of sensitivity or responsivity of the baby to different sensory stimuli (noise, temperature, taste, smell).

Some babies are very sensitive to any kind of sensory stimulus, and others are sensitive only to a specific type of sensation—for example, those who recoil from skin contact.

A wide range of babies do not respond in an outstanding way to sensory stimuli.

One of the hypotheses that the researcher William Carey examined in 1974 was that babies who suffer from hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli would tend to develop sleep difficulties.

Carey’s findings supported the hypothesis, and he claimed that the heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli is hereditary.

In order to fall asleep, the baby has to disassociate himself from the external environment and stop responding to people, noise, light, and temperature, and to disassociate from internal signals as well, such as pain, discomfort, and hunger. This ability to disassociate is most critical for maintaining uninterrupted sleep and for preventing awakenings in response to various stimuli.

A baby who is sensitive from birth to any internal or external stimulus will have trouble disassociating from environmental stimuli, which will interfere with his ability to relax and fall asleep easily and will cause him to awaken easily and frequently over the course of the night.

This correlation between sleep and behavior continues throughout later childhood.

Studies that examined school-aged children found a correlation between sleep disorders and problems with behavior and more general adaptation.

Actually, sleep disorders serve as a sensitive barometer of general adaptation problems among children and adults.

Sleep disorders are a prominent sign of stress and anxiety, depression, and adaptation problems. Sleep problems are so prevalent in some behavior or emotional disorders that they have been included in diagnostic criteria.

One factor that strengthens a diagnosis of anxiety disorders in a child, for example, is the presence of a sleep disorder.

The close correlation between sleep disorders and behavior problems in children can be explained in a number of ways.

Perhaps a child born with a tendency toward problematic behavior develops sleep problems as well, as a result. At the same time, it is reasonable to believe that significant sleep problems will lead to insufficient sleep or sleep deprivation, which may cause the child to be nervous, impatient, and harder to manage.

In addition, a third cause, such as incompatible parenting patterns, may provoke or aggravate both behavior problems and sleep difficulties.

In treatment centers, scientists frequently come across babies or young children who are described by their parents as hyperactive.

The parents use this term casually, but professionals use it to diagnose a condition—the professional term is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder— that occurs only in older children.

These babies are described as especially active and restless and are said to demand attention and seek stimuli constantly.

Often parents associate their child’s sleep difficulties with his wakeful restlessness. Occasionally a parent says something like, “This boy has a turbo engine and he cannot shut it down at bedtime,” or “He is like the Energizer bunny; he keeps going and going and going.”

Although hyperactivity is diagnosed at a later age, there is evidence that most hyperactive children were overactive, restless babies, with difficult temperaments.

Again, we face a chicken-or-egg question: are these babies unable to sleep like “normal” babies because they are unusually active, or does their sleep problem underlie their “hyperactivity”?

In many cases sleep disruption appears to lead to “hyperactive” behavior patterns, even though no research has directly confirmed this fact.

More and more evidence demonstrates that lack of sleep may bring on behavior that resembles that of a hyperactive child.

From an intuitive perspective we can all recall methods we use to keep ourselves awake when we are tired.

These methods include increasing our activity, fidgeting, fiddling with our hands or our facial muscles, and similar strategies.

This pattern contradicts the expectation that the tired child will relax and slow down.

The clinical literature has documented certain cases in which significant sleep problems have been found to lead to “hyperactive” behavior patterns and later to a wrong diagnosis and treatment.

It is of utmost importance to examine the possibility that the sleep disorder is the source and not the outcome of the “hyperactivity.”

In the event that a sleep disorder exists, it should be treated before treating the disorders that result from it.

In some cases treating the sleep disorder may spare the child from receiving unnecessary medication like Ritalin, which is the most prescribed chemical response to children’s behavioral problems.

An erroneous interpretation of a child’s behavior can also result when she responds to a sleep disorder with heightened tiredness, indifference, and lack of interest in the environment. This pattern may be interpreted as depression, and sleep difficulties can be seen as the result of that condition.

As the professional literature reveals, such an erroneous diagnosis can result in a failure to detect and treat a primary sleep disorder, as well as mistaken treatment for depression.

Case studies have shown that when the problem is diagnosed correctly as a primary sleep disorder and treated accordingly, there is a parallel improvement in sleep and disappearance of the “depressive” symptoms.

Intellectual Development

Assessing intelligence in infancy is a very complex task.

Tests used on infants to assess early mental abilities that could be considered components of intelligence have generally failed to predict intelligence or cognitive abilities and achievements in later ages.

The research on the relation between sleep and intellectual development has been hampered by our limited capacity to assess intelligence in infants.

Efforts to study this issue have failed to provide a clear picture of the situation, and we need to call upon additional studies on older children and adults to help us consider the issue more systematically.

Scientists from the University of Connecticut in Evelyn Thoman’s group, which has contributed significantly to the field of the study of infant sleep, examined this question. They followed sleep of newborns over the course of their first two days of life and examined their development at the age of six months.

Special recording devices documented the babies’ sleep in hospital bassinets after birth.

The scientists then tested the mental, motor, and perceptual abilities of the babies at the age of six months, using the Bayley Test.

They found a correlation between sleep measures of the newborns on their first day of life and their development six months later.

Some scientists found a correlation between sleep disorders in infancy, especially those that are caused by respiratory problems, and possible shortfalls in intellectual development and academic achievements at a later age.

Other studies, however, found no comprehensible correlation between sleep and later mental function.

Studies on older children and adults have shown that sleep disorders or insufficient sleep primarily interfere with cognitive abilities associated with attention and concentration.

That is to say that the ability to focus on certain stimuli for extended time deteriorates.

People who don’t get enough sleep react more slowly and make more mistakes on tasks that demand attention and continuous concentration. Although the question of sleep and attention has not been directly studied in infants, some support for their correlation comes from indirect approaches.

For example, mothers described their babies (aged nine to twenty-four months) who suffered from sleep problems as having trouble concentrating on play or a particular activity for an extended length of time, and as easily distracted by other stimuli.

In another recent study, sleep scientists examined the relationship between sleep patterns and learning skills, concentration, and attention among school-aged children.

The sleep patterns of the children were examined objectively by using sleep watches, and their learning functions were examined by computerized tests.

Similar to the results in studies of adults, they found that children whose quality of sleep deteriorated (as manifested by many or lengthy awakenings from sleep during the night) also had decreased attention abilities.

These findings support the assumption that these critical functions for learning and academic achievement are adversely affected by sleep disorders among children.

Furthermore, recent studies have shown that if “normal” children are requested to shorten their sleep for experimental purposes, they suffer negative consequences, and their learning and attention abilities are significantly compromised.

On the basis of what we have learned about older children and adults and from the limited information on infants, it is fair to conclude that the intellectual abilities of infants are challenged by disrupted or insufficient sleep.

#child reading #kids learning #childrens #childrens sleep #sleeping kids #baby fashion

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nicolasmartinez-88 · 4 years ago

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Is Your Dog Safe At The Dogpark?

Numerous dogs want to play with abnormal canines, and this is totally typical canine conduct. You need to think whose wish is this, is it your canines or yours? Numerous canines are unseemly for a canine park. Perhaps the most depicted issues we hear is that flippant canine proprietors carry some unacceptable canines to canine parks.

Forceful canines may provoke battles with individuals and canines getting nibbled. Excessively hostile, excessively decisive, excessively rowdy, unsavory canines, under mingled canines and doggies don't have a place in a canine park.

Some may have hereditary shortages, social shortfalls and can't peruse another signs may in like manner fall into difficulty. Doggy ranch, pet cleave, on line canines might not have figured out how to peruse canines appropriately.

Canines much like individuals may have terrible relational abilities; young doggies and juvenile canines particularly can frequently be unpracticed communicators prompting mixed up translations.

Doggies and unfortunate canines can likewise be risky, in light of the fact that they may battle or nibble as a dread reaction. Furthermore, canines that have a caring relationship with their proprietor would prefer to associate with them than go around with obscure canines. Who disclosed to us that we expected to do this for our canine?

For what reason do individuals anticipate that their pet should be social with different canines? This isn't the means by which canines have endure. Canines are foragers, they just assemble at food locales to search, they feed in roads, lawns, trash dumps, and afterward they go on their happy way alone or maybe with another canine. They don't frame packs as the old writing has persuaded.

A lot of what we have expected about them is imitated from investigations of different species. Do we study the Zebra to get ponies? Obsolete presumptions about canines have prohibited us to examine the canine. What could be the best model to contemplate canines by? It's simply the canine, however that is for an alternate article.

Unquestionably coerce assumes a part here in having them purported playing with different canines. Our ways of life have gotten a great deal more mind boggling, which implies our pets mean undeniably more to us. Anyway, what preferable approach to remunerate them over permitting them the opportunity to skip with their own sort and become one with their inward canine? This coming from the human's point of view obviously and not the canines.

For what reason do individuals accept that all canines need to be with different canines? This is one more human presumption. In realitycanines are foragers and are ordinarily more semi-lone and very much wants the friendship of individuals to that of different canines. A forager doesn't need or need different canines contending with him for restricted assets.

The taming of cannes has created canines to be man's friend. Your canine ought to be centered around you, appreciating you, playing with you. You ought to be the most significant, fascinating fun amigo he has as opposed to more unusual canines.

People have gone through over 10,000 years, 40,000 perhaps 90,000 years taming canines so they would incline toward people over canine friendship. Would we truly like to urge pets to play by canine standards as opposed to human guidelines while simultaneously we request a greater amount of them in their well disposed communications with us?

A large number want to associate with their own species. This doesn't imply that these canines are unpleasant toward different canines; they're simply not intrigued. Deplorably, individuals erroneously believe that there is something "incorrectly" with these canines and continue to take them to playgroups or other multi-canine exercises to "fix" them. Individuals who understand this as quite ordinary conduct discover these canines make brilliant sidekicks.

I cherish and appreciate the way that my canines would prefer to play with me than play with an odd canine. I have canines to collaborate with them, to play with them, to impart life to and to be my partners. I would prefer not to be dealt with like simply one more canine. I need to be everything I can for my canines, and the other way around.

All the more significantly I need them to need to be with me since I'm a ton of fun, I can toss a mean Frisbee, I can play pull, I can open jars, opens entryways, give love, give structure, they know precisely what I anticipate from them through preparing, and they have a sense of security.

Countless individuals take their pets to canine parks or pup day care on the grounds that their canines have social issues which they trust these exercises will by one way or another mystically eliminate.

Remember whether your canine doesn't feel good and feels he must be cautious you are then setting your canine in that position. Furthermore, every time your canine feels he needs to accomplish something he is idealizing his strategy by over and again practicing the conduct. On the off chance that he continues to practice the conduct it will heighten and transform into forceful conduct.

It's dependent upon you to not set him in a place of safeguard. An aspect of your responsibilities as a pioneer is to ensure your canine. There is no requirement for your canine to figure out how to welcome different canines considerately, effectively, or by any means. This isn't what the canine needs.

Lastly, remember to inquire as to why you think your canine requirements this sort of movement. In the event that your canine is respectful and sound, odds are that the person is totally substance to invest energy with you instead of different canines. Is that not why we call them buddy canines, to be individuals friends instead of another canine's buddy.

However long your canine can disregard different canines, he shouldn't have the option to GO UP to another canine and meet another canine respectfully or in an energetic way to be a decent canine resident.

The best human canine connections are made by encountering positive cooperations with you. Our canines have no motivation to approach canines. Certainly, some meek ones do strengthen when tossed into a pup climate wherein they should figure out how to stand up for themselves on the off chance that they don't need different canines to menace them cruelly.

In any case, a genuine danger exists that those harassers are there in light of hostility issues now you have set your shy canine in a place of guard.

The more contentious canines will overwhelm and menace the more meek ones, the net outcome being that each canine's issues will be strengthened as opposed to decreased by the experience. When we add these canines to each one of those whose proprietors chase for an encased pup area on the grounds that their canines won't react to their solicitations, does this sound like a spot where a canine will learn great propensities?

Does that imply that you can't participate in pup exercises since you appreciate the friendship of others who like canines, as well? Not in any way. In any case, simply make certain to choose those exercises that will address your canine's issues and not simply yours.

On the off chance that canines of all ages experience social issues, for example, bashfulness, shyness, division tension, or animosity, examine these issues with somebody proficient about both creature conduct and the human-creature bond prior to including that canine in any pup bunch exercises.

Few out of every odd canine can cavort through a canine park. Canine parks do have their utilizations for certain canines, is it one that will satisfy your canine's necessities? Contemplate this. My recommendation is the well-known adage "let the purchaser be careful". That way canines won't be put in exercises and conditions that exacerbate their issues instead of better.

Dianne is a Certified Animal Behavior Therapist just as Master Trainers in her field. Having some expertise in assessing and treating social issues in homegrown canines. Dianne offers guidance to canine proprietors consistently and composes articles for the Ottawa Dog Blog and Animality Pet Magazine the Orleans Star just as La Nouvelle. She has seemed various occasions on TV giving counsel to canine proprietors.

Dianne has been highlighted in a few magazines with her canines including Dog-Sport magazine and profiled for Progressive Choices - Ontario Women in business, being portrayed as having a mix of ability, expertise and energy. Dianne imparts her life to her better half Richard and their three canines and two parrots.

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k9kesi · 7 years ago

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Racing greyhounds in the United States

I have so many good resources to share with you! I want to first emphasize that when I speak of racing practices, my knowledge is solely about racing in the United States. I have not done extensive research into other countries (other than the plight of the galgo in Spain, which is separate from racing), and I don’t have enough of a knowledge base to comment one way or the other on them. I want to make a pretty comprehensive post here but not make it so heavy that it is hard to dig into, so I’ll try to summarize a few issues and at the bottom give multiple references. I know there is simply no way to cover every question that may be out there, so hopefully the references can help with that.

All photos courtesy of Rachel Hogue, who has graciously allowed her photos to be shared for informative purposes.

Misconceptions of cruelty

I thought I should address this first. A lot of people completely unfamiliar with greyhounds or sighthounds think they are too thin, malnourished, or starved even when they are in peak physical condition. So keep in mind when you hear people claim that they are all starved, the person may be simply uninformed and uneducated about the ideal body condition of a sighthound. It’s not uncommon for adopters to let their greys become overweight after adoption due to being alarmed at the sight of ribs, spine or hip points.

Another misconception is that a nervous or scared hound proves abuse occurred. There can be many reason a hound is scared. One is that simply the stress of a complete environment and routine change for the dog has caused him/her to be particularly anxious. Going from a racing life to a home life is an incredible transition and some handle it better than others. Nothing I’ve read brings a better understanding of that than this wonderful excerpt from a seminar by Kathleen Gilley titled "What is your new adoptive greyhound thinking?"

Another possibility, if the hound seems to be very extreme in their anxiety and shyness, is that a small number of hounds are what is termed “spooks.” Just like some people become very anxious, or OCD, or perhaps have agoraphobia, some dogs have these issues (and it’s not limited to greyhounds as a breed). It CAN be hereditary. While generally severe spooks are often simply retired quickly because they just don’t handle racing well, some actually do quite well in racing and only become more “neurotic” when they are taken out of their comfort zone. For these types, it takes a very long period of adjustment in retirement and a patient person to deal with their sensitivity. You can read an interesting discussion about spooks here on the Grey Talk forum.

Simple Logic

Stopping to think about some of the wilder claims made, when you really think about them, make no logical sense. Consider, for example, that racing owners and breeders want a top performing dog. A top performer will win more races, more purses, and ultimately perhaps become a sought after stud or a brood bitch whose pups will be highly valuable. A breeder spends thousands of dollars to have and raise a litter. It’s not simply taking a male and female and throwing them together.

If you look at pedigrees, and every racing hound’s pedigree is registered and recorded online here, you will see certain sires and lines in common with many, many hounds. That is because those dogs were exceptional performers. That means that people pay an expensive stud fee to have litters with those bloodlines. Already it makes no sense that there would be that kind of money and care put into a litter only to abuse and treat them badly. If a person starved and abused their dogs, all it would take was someone who didn’t do so to have dogs that outperformed the others. Even if you don’t believe these people care for their dogs (and most do), sheer logic says that if they want to make money and have any success that the dogs must be able to perform well.

Let’s then move on to the logic behind the claim that the dogs are being forced to race all their lives. I have to say, as an aside, that it’s laughable that these dogs are forced to run in any way. There can be no doubt that these dogs love what they do, they love running and racing. When handlers take them out for schooling or race day, they leap and strain and can’t wait to get to the track.

If you haven’t seen it, this video of a retired racer watching other dogs race is quite telling as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqdRV6HNfPQ

In truth, most race for one season, maybe two. If they are very successful, they don’t want to continue to race long-term a potential breeding hound because there is always some amount of risk of injury (as there is with any activity). A dog that has proven exceptional skill is going to be an excellent candidate to add to the gene pool of future racers. On the flip side, they won’t want to keep a poor racer around because they have to continue to pay for that dog’s upkeep. The track has a limited amount of space and kennels, and owners are going to want to keep their newest prospects there, not have a dog that isn’t winning languishing there and draining resources. It makes no sense. The kennels are owned by the track, and the track is not owned by the industry.

The Pro Greyhound Movement

A really great resource on Facebook is The Pro Greyhound Movement. It is a closed group so you must be approved to join; however if you don’t look like a spambot you can generally be approved within a day or so. There are many owners, breeders, trainers, track workers, and other adopters in this group. It was created to be a means of communication and connection between those in the industry and adopters. They are very willing to answer questions, and often if you give your dog’s racing name you might find out information about them. Some trainers may specifically remember your hound, or can give you more information about where your dog came from. If you’re lucky you might be able to connect with a trainer or breeder and get past photos of your hound from their racing life. I must warn you, however, that if you join up and immediately start out attacking people there your reception will not be a good one. They are understandably wary and defensive with people who seem to have an agenda other than learning. AR groups have “joined” before and stolen pictures only to edit and post them out of context in anti-racing propaganda. So that’s something to be aware of.

Dennis McKeon

Dennis really deserves a special mention here because he has written extensive essays and articles to share what goes on in the industry and debunking myths surrounding racing in the US. He has been involved in the industry as a trainer most of his adult life. A list of some of his myth debunking pieces can be found here: Debunking Lies. Dennis also posts often on his own Facebook page which is set to public so that it is open to all. I have spoken to him and asked him if he’d be willing to answer questions directly from people, which he generously agreed to. If you have questions that you just can’t seem to find good answers to, you can contact him through his Facebook page.

Resources and more Resources

I could go on forever here, but this is probably too long as it is! So here are several wonderful resources that you can check out to see what normal racing greyhound life is like and how they are treated. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Greyhoundfacts.org: Greyhound Facts is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Our mission is to provide a place to learn about all aspects of present day greyhound racing in the USA from those with hands on experience. Our network of volunteers includes people who are actively involved in the breeding, raising, training, and rehoming of these wonderful hounds.

All About Greyhounds: Welcome to All About Greyhounds! We hope you will explore all the pages of the website, Greyhounds have many facets and we hope to showcase them all. We endeavor to keep this website fresh and up to date, so please enjoy your visit and come back often.

Oh Happy Racing Greyhound: Community on Facebook.

Adopted Greyhound Puppies: Article and photos about greyhound puppies who, for whatever reason, don’t become racers.

Racing Greyhounds and Their People: There seems to be a common misconception that racing greyhounds don't get much human contact while they're at the track. A look behind the scenes shows how much trainers and kennel staff truly love these dogs in their care, as well as how much the dogs love them back.

Blanchard Greyhound Racing: A racing kennel that has graciously opened up to the public with updates, photos, and videos about their hounds.

Jason Michael: Works with Palm Beach Kennels in Florida. He shares photos and videos of the racers daily.

Life at a Greyhound Track (Rachel Hogue): A beautiful photo blog that takes you through the life of the typical racing greyhound. Browse through the photos and read the captions, you will learn a lot! She has other albums with fantastic photos from racing hounds to puppies at the farm.

American Greyhound Council: The American Greyhound Council (AGC) was established in 1987 to fund and manage greyhound welfare, research and adoption programs for the racing community. It is a joint effort of the National Greyhound Association, the official greyhound registry and breeding organization; and the American Greyhound Track Operators Association. The AGC works with breeders, tracks, adoption groups, regulators, elected officials and others to ensure the health and safety of greyhounds at every stage of their lives.

National Greyhound Association: The NGA is the official registry of the breed, a membership organization devoted to overseeing the recording of the breeding, registrations and performance of the Sport of Queens in the United States. Greyhound racing starts here, where professional members gather information to breed, whelp, humanely raise and produce the world's fastest canine. Most importantly, we celebrate a history of the breed and exalt the finest traits, to produce the finest athletes and amazing all around dog.

Conclusion

If you’ve adopted a racer, perhaps try to get in touch with your dog’s breeder or trainer. It can’t always be done but sometimes it can and they are happy to hear from adopters. Cole’s breeder was pleased to hear about him and sent me farm and puppy photos.

Rudy’s breeder became friends with me on Facebook where she loves sharing videos I post of him to her own page. I know a certain someone here on Tumblr who found people at the track through the Pro Greyhound Movement who remembered her hound, and even told a story of a specific song they used to sing to him ;).

I’m not trying to make people pro-racing here. I’m trying to stop the spread of misinformation that is completely false. They aren’t starved and beaten. They aren’t raced their entire lives, and they don’t live in a tiny cage 24/7 except when they race. They haven’t been deprived of all love and caring their whole lives. They aren’t forced to run. They are not mass-killed if they don’t win races. I only ask you listen to the other side and find out the facts before spreading information that may be inaccurate and ultimately harmful to the very dogs you are trying to help.

Cole and Rudy, 2015

#greyhound racing #racing resources #myth #fact #long post #rachel hogue #US racing

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simeondaviesresearch · 7 years ago

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observance project notes, writing, poetry

Observance project: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collecter/publican. Guilt and shame. Existential good vs determinist good. Anxiety (Calvinist anxiety) The attractiveness of passivity inherent in the process of consumption (technology etc.) Delayed gratification, childhood, Value forming process, Existentialism. Think of work as resources for the project, rather than something fitting in as a component of its final form. I’ll start the process by writing my thoughts of the project. The idea of observance. The act of Looking at something, or being looked at, but also of following an external rule or set of rules. A central pun, but also a way of suggesting the interrelation of concepts. i) Ritual, ethics, the practice of a system of ethics. ii) Observation, the effects of observance on the observed and observer (the uncertainty principle as metaphor for the act of perception and its limits, and on the other hand, anxiety, self-consciousness, and the effects of trying to internalise a model of behaviour; cognitive dissonance between mode, scheme, instinct, reality

Meta-self-consciousness (homunculus, Cartesian theatre), actor/observer imbalance.

Observation as in language, the observance or conventions to enable communication.

Disparate idea, might be used further down line: Something playing with sequence. Repetitive images on subsequent pages, broken up (arythmically?) by text on some pages. The text draws attention to the artifice or constructedness of what is depicted (what somebody might see with their eyes) mimesis vs … Links to treachery of images, and Clarkson/james greens research. Issues: Watching. “sometimes, I feel like a voyeur” Impotence. The need to confess. The need to be seen… (Barthes.) What desire wants is a mirror, recognition, a faceto be seen, a face that is its own. I want to talk about her, and I stop myself, and I ask myself, Why do I want to talk about her? What am I trying to prove? What kind of language is this, is it a false thing? Am I an actor? Where do my values come from, and what are values? Idea: interviews about values. (do you know, its only a few days ago, and already I have no concrete idea who the her above is…)

Observance: look over here. I was the uncertainty principle at the school of hard knocks. … “he’s so quiet” Drawing on the train Looking into the void, The void looking back…

“do you think I’m objectifying you?” “…what?”

Deferral. “er… well, You’ll find, girls who run around after boys like that are a bit tup.

Staggered with politeness, And the fear of death, Asking around people’s lives As though they were seats (like an usherette?)

Ethics and morality:

(You’ll) talk about right and wrong: Where does the payoff come?

(Isn’t it naughty to think that way?) So you shirk desire like a dog on a chain Braided from its own tail.

No one thinks that they are the bad person, And when your parents words come Out of your mouth, the other Children have answers too… But you cannot see their own Parents, standing behind them, (essex cab drivers and all! Car loaded up! Such surprise!) you Can only feel your own, hand on shoulder caught. … My mother watches television Is upset by the villains “you’re watching pure evil” she says.

A book I read says that “he is condemned to see language”. (As a boy) I realised on the stairs that this life Doesn’t really matter. (it’s all about heaven, the life to come) Another time I fall down the stairs, tumble and pain on the old childbody. Another time I break my grandfather’s present, a “wireless”, Chucking it to my brother.

Break my toy arm. (break it right off, straight away, after delivery) Break my head falling from the settee, trip into the wall, Stitches in the forehead, brother rescues cats, The green space between the houses called “bombsies”, Where houses once were. … Do you hear that? We are “bullying” him.

Why are you crying? No one else is crying. This guy should be a comedian. Anna, do you like my sideburns? We laugh at his posture, his hubris.

Look here, I got him to dance Pretend to be a leprechaun You don’t have to do this I say He breaks down. He’s got seven children now. How often did I stick it in with the rest of them?

Cain stays in the smallest cloakroom, the one the younger years pass through, Sitting with his friend James. Used to say he rode to Cardiff on the roof of a train Used grappling hooks. His father’s SAS training proved hereditary. … Then, sex seemed elsewhere, Painful in part, and sometimes A promise to be delivered, A revelation imposed. … Holiness is separation.

Body: Would only kiss… Here’s an idea those funny little things Skinny like sausage skins Wrapped across, clarifying the voice, now Meeting- Could be cracked across With recent wine, blackened- … I disagree. Lips are abstract, like mouths. … Lips synchronising, falling in and out. I had not remembered it was so wet. … To negotiate, To pull away To avoid a kiss. … I know what he is in search of, a wife, Trying to make people marry, Microagressions.

Sticking it out His neck I mean, His nose. He thinks he By which he means I Should be the front one Pulling it in under his shyness, high and bloodless between words. … When I think of ‘love’ I think of her, and were, ‘problematic’ Because specific. An only once was, Has half life, Bleeds over, Acetate layer upon The emergent. … And when I say “why do we say anything?” Do not think I speak to silence you Or if I do, Think of it as mouth stopping. Think of it as a kiss.

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