Why Be a Waugal Watcher When You Can Train Greyhounds?

One of H’s colleagues resigned today so that he could kick-off November in a new career. Six months ago he used some savings he had acquired working overseas to buy a share in a greyhound. The dog lost its first race spectacularly and its trainer, who was working for free in exchange for a percentage of the dog’s winnings, threatened to quit. Over the weekend, the dog won its race, the second one it has competed in. He decided that in lieu of paying the trainer, he would quit his six figure job and train the dog himself. His goal is to purchase shares in additional greyhounds or be hired by others to train their greyhounds and live off his earnings from that and his winnings from betting on his dog. Apparently in Australia, people train greyhounds by setting them loose in a paddock with a kangaroo or two and letting the animals chase each other. The preferred practice used to be setting the dog after rabbits, but this practice of "live kills" is technically illegal. The legal protection may be unnecessary, as racing dogs have been bred to the point that they are unable to catch any game in the wild. On the track they only need to run in a (relatively) straight line. The ability to stop, turn or do anything else is neglected in the breeding practice. All it takes is one quick change of direction by the intended prey, and the pursuing dog falls tail over head with it's paws in the air. Of course to oversee this training, it’s essential to always have a cold beer in hand. Good luck Anonymous Colleague; you are certainly going to need it.