💔 Cosmo - a heartbreaking example of how the Greyhound racing industry uses, abuses, and then ‘discards’ their so-called ‘loved and cared for’ dogs 🤬
Cosmo is a prime example of the true cruelty of Greyhound racing. It was my first rescue mission as a volunteer with Gumtree Greys. The plan was to pick up a dog that a trainer had ‘no further use for,’ vet check him, and get him to a foster carer to start his new life as a loved pet where he would simply learn to be a dog; something that Greyhounds in the racing industry are completely robbed of.
Well, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for Cosmo. He came to us emaciated, all skin and bone, with a bloated belly, starving for food, and extremely thirsty. His pulses were bounding, and his heart rate was high.
He was NOT in a position to go anywhere apart from an emergency vet hospital for me to investigate further.
His blood work and an ultrasound of his belly showed chronic changes, low blood sugar, and a belly full of fluid surrounding his organs. The fluid was sampled and sent off to an external lab, and Cosmo was started on intravenous fluids, antibiotics in case there was a septic process, and aggressive nutritional supplementation to ensure his blood glucose levels did not plummet further.
The next day, his results from the fluid sampling returned, and it was news we all dreaded—cancer. Advanced lymphoma that had spread to other organs and was eating away at his body. This was NOT a ‘sudden’ or ‘acute’ problem like the trainer claimed; this would have taken months. This was the result of complete neglect and turning a blind eye to a dog that was in desperate need of help long before he came to us.
With such a poor prognosis, Cosmo was sadly euthanised. He grew his angel wings and fell asleep peacefully, in a warm comfy bed, being cuddled by those who desperately wanted a better life for him.
This is the reality of Greyhound racing. Neglect, lack of basic care, lack of respect for a living, breathing animal which has been used and abused.
I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you, Cosmo 💔