Dog lovers did not see the humour in a joke about dying greyhounds posted on the normally warm and fuzzy Hallmark Cards Web site. Now some angry protectors of man's best friend are threatening to boycott the greeting card firm. "It's bad taste or stupidity, I don't know. It's appalling," said Ms Helen Banks, founder of Second Chance for Greyhounds, a Florida-based group that finds homes for greyhounds after their racing days are over.
At issue is the January 21st "joke of the day" on Hallmark's Shoebox Greetings Web site: "One hundred greyhounds at a St Petersburg, Florida, dog track were sick last week with a highly contagious kennel cough. To bet on which ones will die, call 1-800-555-BARK. Good luck." The joke was an apparent reference to the recent deaths of six dogs at Derby Lane in St Petersburg and two others at the Daytona Beach, Florida track.
"Anybody who would make light of animals dying . . . I think it's totally tasteless," said Dr Jim Bader, a Holland, Michigan, veterinarian who helps find homes for greyhounds.
A Hallmark Cards Inc spokeswoman called the joke "a mistake". "It wasn't funny," said spokeswoman, Ms Julie O'Dell. "We've revisited our processes internally to make sure that type of thing doesn't happen in the future." O'Dell said the company would apologise to each person who called or e-mailed a complaint, and contact those who threatened to boycott Hallmark products.
Hallmark Cards, based in Kansas City, Missouri, controls about 42 per cent of the US greeting card market, and its cards are distributed in more than 100 countries in 30 languages.
