Articles by Dennis McKeon

     'It's truly amazing the effect that these dogs have on people. I don't think a person who hasn't gotten up close and personal with one can entirely wrap their mind around the sort of beguilement that only greyhounds are capable of.  But there it is.  You've all experienced it, whether you approve of racing or don't.  Makes no difference-- that mystical, untamable, nebulous, ethereal quality is undeniable.  It's what makes them unique.  It's something that is beyond us, something that we can't put our fingers on or hold in our hands.  It lies very close to their skin, but you can't feel it.  It's something that doesn't require your sanction, or necessarily, your understanding.  They understand.  

     They know exactly who and what they are, and what they're all about.  Whether it's the coyote-lonesome howling of the kennel chorus in full throat, or the fog-piercing gaze of the goshawk as he sizes up the gaps in the tree limbs, just before launching his strike---in those moments, in his private world, you don't exist.  You can't touch it.  You can only embrace it with your heart and soul.  It's what I like to call "the wild gene".  And it is an intrinsic part of all of them.  

     It comes from somewhere long ago.  It's kept alive because ancient greyhound voices can still be heard by these remarkable dogs, who, in their modern incarnation, are really not all that different from their long-ago forbears.  There's a reason for that, and we all know what that reason is.

     You don't have to like it, but please understand, it is the thing that preserves those beatitudes for these dogs...and for you.''

- Dennis McKeon -