Lets face it, we aren’t shrinking violets, but we did think twice (and the rest) before doing what we did. It all began when a string of walking hat racks turned up at the kennels over a few months, all having being trained by the same guy. They were rehomed via Free Ads in excellent condition, only to re-emerge as pitiful wrecks a few months later. Naming and shaming would have got Tia sued and besides the responsibility for the racers had passed to a new owner.
So we had a bit of a think! A simple spreadsheet, no names, no pack drill, just the dogs name, earmarks racetrack, plus a few lines noting its journey to the pound. Absolutely no mud slinging or finger pointing. We just took the decision to let the facts speak for themselves. Tia had no idea how effective the outcome would be.
Days after we posted it onto the website the phone started ringing off the hook. Some of the conversations were couched in the most obscene terms. Our highly successful Stray of the Day articles had also ignited the sympathy and passion of our supporters and the authorities sat up and took notice. It dawned on a few people that if they wanted to save the sport, things had to change. The usual suspects cleaned up their act with the threat of expulsion looming over their heads and what had been a flood of strays, slowed to a trickle. We began to track siblings through their earmarks, noting patterns emerging and we also discovered the power of the internet. When we had enough knowledge, we got the van out and scoured allotments for the neglected and discarded.
Trainers and owners from all over the country were heard to be monitoring the site on a regular basis, afraid of their dogs popping up.
At one point we were invited to one of the local tracks. We were asked, begged and almost threatened into not putting any of their dogs on the Wall. “Please let us know first, we will deal with it in house, there’s no need to put it on the internet.” Well clearly there was.
The meeting actually ended with the part owner of the track getting up shouting and walking out of his own meeting room. Well he does have form for throwing tantrums.
Some trainers threw in the towel, at least on the regulated circuit. Others took the dogs directly to the stray kennels and paid the fee.. At least those dogs were safe and could be fast tracked to Tia and other rescues. We formed new relationships with decent trainers who have become supporters in their own right. Looking back it is difficult to imagine what pressure we were under at the time with the vet bills and overcrowding. The Wall of Shame really was as a turning point for us.
We still get the odd stray, but nothing like the number back then, all because we simply pointed out the facts.
