Laura Pike as her vision of herself if she were a greyhound.

Laura is foster coordinator for Buffalo Greyhound Adoption

My Week with Laura Pike

by Jean Perry

My name is Jean Perry and I am the Assistant Trainer for the Anthony Napolitano, Jr, Kennel at Raynham Greyhound Park in Raynham, Massachusetts. For one week this past June, Laura Pike serves as a volunteer kennel helper with us. During that time, she was under the guidance of veteran Head Trainer Glenn "Tank" Atkinson. It was truly a pleasure to have Laura work with us and become part of our team. Each day we observed her increased participation with the daily duties involved in the successful operation of a greyhound racing kennel. Laura learned about the early morning routines and the many long hours required when working in a kennel. She helped with turn outs, feeding, changing beds, kennel clean-up/maintenance, weigh-ins, and picking up racers. Laura got to see firsthand how much time and effort goes into a greyhound's performance on the racetrack. It became easy for Laura to see why we take it to heart when a greyhound doesn't race well. She also had the opportunity to see why we are so full of excitement and pride when one of our greyhounds runs a great race. Laura now realizes what we work so hard for in the kennel day in and day out. She also knows how much we love the greyhounds and the enormous extents to which we go in order to ensure our greyhounds are happy, healthy, fit, and always kept quite comfortable. We consider them all to be our babies, and now Laura does as well.

Laura always completed her daily kennel responsibilities with enthusiasm. Her attitude and effort were a direct reflection of the love and care she bestowed upon each and every greyhound in the kennel. Laura is indeed an animal lover, and after the week she spent working as a volunteer in our kennel, she is now definitely a bona fide greyhound lover. It became clear to Laura that it would be nearly impossible to spend as many hours as we do in the kennel without being animal lovers. It is unfortunate that there aren't more people out there who can get this same sort of experience that Laura Pike had with us back in June. Perhaps then our industry would be betted understood by the misinformed general public who, unfortunately, has now become accustomed to repeatedly seeing negative, anti-racing propaganda in the media. Positive publicity is indeed a rarity for the greyhound industry. The unfounded, negative publicity is a tremendously difficult thing to accept for those of us who have dedicated our lives to the care and welfare of greyhounds. Imagine putting so much time, energy and effort into the lives of greyhounds only to have people suspect that perhaps you are abusing the very animals that you love and care for so much. After her time spent with us, Laura learned the truth through experience, and she can now share that experience with others who are either uninformed or misinformed.

When Laura's time as a volunteer with us came to an end, she was sorely missed by Glenn and I, as well as an entire kennel of greyhounds. As a tribute to her, kennel owner Anthony Napolitano, Jr. promised to name a greyhound for Laura. Princess Laura P is currently racing at Raynham Greyhound Park and she is, of course, Laura's new favorite. She recently earned two victories on the racetrack and she'll be sure to have a place with Laura as a beloved pet when her racing career is over. Until then, we'll watch with anticipation each time Princess Laura P steps onto the racetrack...and we'll be sure to keep Laura informed every step of the way.

Dec. 20, 2005