Betty White's Greyhound Connection

Waaaay back when NGAP was in its infancy, we heard that the The Golden Girls spinoff, The Golden Palace, was airing an episode about greyhounds (Episode 19: A New leash on Life, Airdate: April 2, 1993). We tuned in on a Saturday night and watched as the story unfolded. A greyhound owner and his greyhound were staying at The Golden Hotel before the big race and the owner explained to Rose (Betty White's character) that if the greyhound did not win the race it was going to be put to sleep. That did not go over well with Betty White's character. The greyhound 'disappeared' only to reappear with dalmatian-like spots - but not looking quite like a dalmatian! To cut to the chase, the owner got his dog back, the greyhound lost the race and was going to be put to sleep. Betty White's character stepped up and said, something to the effect of, 'I'm sending this greyhound to the National Greyhound Adoption Program where it will be safe.' You could have knocked us over with a feather! We had no idea we would be mentioned in the episode but of course we knew it probably left the industry saying, 'How'd they do that?'

The following January at the North American Veterinary Conference, we presented Betty White with a beautiful framed print with an engraved plate commemorating the event and honoring her.