The Dogs - The King Put To Rest

The King Put To Rest
31/08/10
The king is dead.

The great Brett Lee had to be humanely put to rest on Sunday after complications arising from a backyard injury.

Brett Lee was arguably the greatest race dog we've ever seen in Australia, but incredibly he has surpassed those remarkable achievements in the breeding barn, where the greyhound has cemented his place as one of the world's top sires of all time.

"He's just done it through his whole career – the fastest dog in the world but he's actually a better sire than he was a race dog so that's going to live on a long time for all of us," owner Keith Pedrana told Sky Racing's The Catching Pen last night.

"Sunday was a tough day for all of us, my family were very close to the dog."

Pedrana eventually had the decision made for him as Brett Lee's health declined in the final weeks, but that didn't make the last day any easier.

The owner was present for the dog's final moments and is still coming to terms with the loss of a greyhound which has meant so much to him both emotionally and financially.

"The vet wanted to put him down when he first suffered the injury, but I just wanted to do everything I could for him to get him right but in the end it just wasn't to be, Pedrana said. “A very sad time.

"Buying him in the first place for so much money was a big gamble that's for sure, but it did work in the long run. The gamble has certainly paid off!"

Pedrana last night described the accident in which his star greyhound suffered the injury which would prove fatal.

"I let him out in the morning and he was running up and down in the yard and it must have been a bit dewey and he's slipped and done his shoulder," Pedrana said.

"I thought I had a good three or four years left in him – he would have turned 12 in January."

There are a limited number of Brett Lee straws still available for sale, and with the dog's progeny continuing to dominate the world of greyhound racing, those straws are certain to attract enormous interest.

The favourite for the upcoming Irish Derby final is sired by Brett Lee, and the great dog's offspring continue to perform well both abroad and at home meaning the final straws have huge attraction all over the racing world.

"Well I have 40 in all, but of those only 20 are for sale,” Pedrana said. “I was selling them for $20,000 up to now, but who knows what they could be worth in the future.”

Wherever the straws go Brett Lee's legacy will live on in both his progeny and in his achievements on the track.

RIP Brett Lee, arguably the best there has ever been.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VD99RnZXCo