The first time I saw Homer, I didn't know he was going to be my dog. He knew it, though.

We were in the yard at Nittany Greyhounds near State College. He saw me and ran over, clacking his teeth, jumping up and down on his front legs and barking. I remember thinking that the greyhound people said these dogs don't bark. Apparently, nobody told Homer that.

He wasn't supposed to be my dog. My then-girlfriend Cine -- now my wife -- had always wanted a greyhound. She read books about them and was all prepared to get a greyhound. She liked the idea of rescuing a dog that was seen as a disposable commodity.

That's what greyhounds are to the dog-racing industry. The lucky ones find their way to places like Nittany Greyhounds. The unlucky ones wind up in mass graves. (Not long ago, there was a story about a guy in Georgia who was convicted of animal abuse after it was discovered he was paid $10 a piece to get rid of the old greyhounds by shooting them in the head.)

The really lucky ones, well, this is the story of one of those.

Homer didn't start out as Homer. He had some kind of stupid dog racing name, Jo Doe, or something like that. Cine changed his name to Homer. It fit.

We drove home with Homer and settled him into Cine's condo. He seemed OK.

Everything seemed OK, and I went home.

Not long after that, Cine called me. She told me that when I left, Homer stood by the door and cried. He kept going over to the windows and looking out.

I went over and Homer was glad to see me. He'd do this thing when he got excited, kind of jumping up and down and twirling. He'd get so excited, he'd fall over.

After a while, Cine saw what was happening.

"Take him," she said. "He's your dog."

Homer moved into my house. He refused to get into his crate. The greyhound people said the dogs liked their crates and were comfortable in them. Homer didn't. Homer settled on the couch, and if it weren't for eating and walks, he would have never gotten off of it.

After we adopted him, the people at Nittany Greyhounds said they were glad we were taking him. They were afraid nobody would adopt him. He wasn't like other greyhounds. Other greyhounds look dignified and carry themselves with grace and dignity. Homer was goofy and didn't act like the other greyhounds. And his nose was crooked.

His story was he was retired from the track when he was 3 years old. Usually, greyhounds race until they're 5 or older if they keep winning. After people kept asking about his record on the track, I tried to look it up. I found the track he came from, in Connecticut, and the people I talked to there couldn't find any record that he ever raced. Once, I was talking to a woman who had gone to dog races at that track and she recalled one race where, shortly after the dogs sprinted from the gate, one of the dogs, a black one, stopped and, noticing the people in the stands, went to the railing where he jumped up and down and barked at people.

I have no proof, but that sounds like Homer.

I always called him the smartest dog in the world, and Cine would accuse me of lying to him. She did try that dog intelligence test - the one where you cover your dog with a blanket and see how long it takes him to extricate himself.

If we hadn't uncovered him, he'd still be lying there on the floor, under a blanket.

Homer loved everybody, and he'd get upset when other dogs or people were afraid of him because he was huge.

He was afraid of a few things - flags and elderly women. When we'd walk past a house flying a flag, he'd cower away from it. If we encountered an elderly woman while walking, he'd try to hide behind me. I was never sure what either of those things meant.

He was also afraid of thunder. He'd walk the floor and whimper during storms. If it was bad enough, he'd stand in the corner of the room.

He was a strange dog.

He spent most of his time sleeping. I'd tell people he spent 23 hours a day sleeping and they'd laugh. It was no joke. He spent the other hour eating.

He ate everything. He once ate something he found on the sidewalk while we were walking; I think it was a dead bird.

He also ate everything in the house. He ate a piece of fish from a plate on the kitchen table. I got the fish out of the refrigerator, put it on the table, turned my back for a second and it was gone. He ate an entire plate of beef fried rice when Cine left it on the coffee table to answer the door.

He liked beer too. I discovered that when he knocked over a beer and began lapping it up.

He liked to climb into bed with us at night. He was stealthy about it. He'd wait until he thought we were asleep and then he'd put one foot up on the bed and wait. Then, he'd put both front paws on the bed and stand there for so long that he'd start shaking, finally jumping onto the bed when the shaking reached about eight on the Richter scale. He'd try to lie down, which was difficult because he was like having a little horse that weighed about 95 pounds climb into bed with you.

His best friend was Shmuley, a terrier with anger-management issues. Shmuley loved Homer in a way that Homer didn't quite appreciate, if you catch my drift. He'd lick Homer's ears and rub his butt on Homer's face. Homer tolerated it. He was a tolerant dog.

Homer liked chasing squirrels in the back yard. He once chased one right into a fence post, resulting in a close encounter with the emergency vet.

He lost his tail along the way. He suffered from what's known as happy tail. He'd get so happy that he'd wag his tail violently into walls, door jambs and furniture, causing some serious bleeding. His tail would spray blood all over the room. We often had to clean blood off the ceiling.

And then, last year, he was diagnosed with cancer. He had surgery and was OK for a while. Then the disease spread to his bones, and that was the end for Homer.

Even to the end, when Doc came to the house to end his life, he was Homer. He was happy to see Doc. He was always happy.

I wasn't there when the end came. I couldn't face it.

We buried him in the backyard, out in the corner where he chased squirrels.

He never did catch one.

Mike Argento's column appears Mondays and Fridays in Living and Sundays in Viewpoints.

ADOPT A GREYHOUND

If you're interested in adopting a retired racing dog, check out the greyhounds at Nittany Greyhounds at

nittanygrey.org

or Personalized Greyhounds at

pgreys.org.

Lots of good greyhound information is available at adopt-a-greyhound.org.

Baltimoresun.com June 27th 2007

By John Woestendiek

Nine greyhounds suffered broken legs at Massachusetts dog tracks in May,
according to state reports completed by racetrack veterinarians.

That brings to 820 the total number of dogs injured since the state began keeping such reports in 2002, greyhound advocates say.

“These broken legs are indisputable evidence of the cruel nature of this industry,” said Michael Markarian, Executive Vice President of The Humane Society of the United States.

“Dogs should be treated like part of the family, not profit machines at constant risk of suffering a serious injury.”

Broken legs comprise nearly 80 percent all greyhound injuries reported to the state each year. Other reported injuries include spinal cord paralysis, death from cardiac arrest and a broken neck, according to The Committee to Protect Dogs, an animal welfare organization dedicated to passing stronger dog protection laws in the state.

Last week, supporters of a ballot question to phase out commercial dog racing in the Massachusetts announced that they had collected 45,000 signatures with an all-volunteer effort, more than four times the number needed to place the Greyhound Protection Act on the November ballot.

If passed, the proposal would phase out commercial greyhound racing by 2010. Committee co-chairs include representatives of the MSPCA-Angell, the Humane Society of the United States and the greyhound protection group GREY2K USA.

Last weekend, GREY2K USA board member Charmaine Settle attended an auction at the recently shuttered Cloverleaf Kennel Club in Loveland, Colorado.

One hundred people were on hand, bidding on vehicles and equipment, signs, and even a mechanical rabbit. But Charmaine drove all the way from Boulder to celebrate the end to dog racing.

When she was asked by a local reporter why she was there, she made it clear it was for the greyhounds. “I guess I wanted to give one last farewell from someone who cares about the dogs,” she said. “I thought of the decades, of all the the dogs that ran there and what that meant to them.”

Hooray for the greyhounds! Cloverleaf is just one of eleven tracks to close or end live dog racing since 2004!

We will continue to update you as tracks close and the campaign to end dog racing thrives nationwide.

An audit shows Dairyland Greyhound Park at Kenosha lost $2.8 million in 2007. The parimutuel racetrack lost about the same amount in 2006, following a loss of $2.4 million in 2005.

Dairyland offers live greyhound racing, as well as simulcasting of thoroughbred and greyhound racing.

The Menominee Tribe has an option to buy the track for $40.5 million. The Menominee in partnership with the Mohegan tribe in Connecticut are awaiting regulatory approval to build a casino-convention center at the dog track.

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

They show 76 greyhounds broke their legs, an increase of 18.7 percent. The total number of injuries also increased to 462, up 19 percent.

The records said 363 of the 462 dogs hurt suffered muscle-related injuries, sprains or fractures.

Jenifer Barker, a state veterinarian who treats most of the injured dogs at Dairyland — which is the only remaining dog track in Wisconsin, said the condition of the track's surface and deterioration of the greyhound industry in general are reasons for the increased injuries.

The leader of a national organization opposed to greyhound racing has criticized oversight of dogs at the Dairyland, saying the number of injuries to them there in recent years "far exceeds the acceptable norm in dog racing or any other sport."

"This has been the case since the track was built in 1990," Susan Netboy, head of the Penn Valley, Calif.-based Greyhound Protection League, said Monday.

"Eighteen years of high injury rates suggests structural defects that cannot be fixed with resurfacing and grooming. For all of these years, management has been unwilling to effectively address this underlying problem, and hundreds of greyhounds have paid the price."

Bill Apgar, the track's general manager, dismissed Netboy's comments.

"Their agenda to shut down the industry is well-documented," he said. "We won't comment on such propaganda."

Apgar said the track has not been completely resurfaced since at least 1995. But he said the track is constantly maintained and groomed for the dogs.

"Nobody likes injuries," he said. "This is an athletic contest, and injuries do happen. We spare no expense in making the track as safe as we can."

Dave Picard of De Pere, president of the Retired Greyhound Athletes, a nonprofit that doesn't take a stance on the greyhounds racing issue but helps find homes for retired greyhounds, said the report of injuries is a concern.

"I hope they would take some steps to improve the track if that's the problem," Picard said. "If the statistics are correct, then perhaps the condition of the track can be improved."

Apgar said four full-time workers were employed to groom the track, as well as three part-timers. He also said that he, the maintenance director and the track's racing director monitor the track.

Not every injury is attributable to the track, Apgar said.

"A third of these injuries were injuries when the dogs were bumped in turns. Other injuries could be the result of genetics. Maybe the dog got bumped, didn't show any effects right away and the next time he ran, he broke down," he said.

Barker said there was not a policy among veterinarians around the country on how often a track needs to be resurfaced, but she said a rule of thumb is every three to five years.

Dan Subach, the state Gaming Division's chief steward at Dairyland, also said weather plays a role in injuries at Dairyland.

"And there is a concern that the quality of dogs Dairyland is getting is not as good as they've seen in the past," Subach said. "And that quality may be related to past health issues, or previous injuries. Finally, when dogs run well, they tend to be moved out to other tracks.

"We want to look at the kennels and the education and training at the kennels, and make sure they are putting a sound animal on the track."

Barker said the greyhound industry has been in decline for years, a victim of differing tastes and the growth of casino gambling.

"Some have called it a dying industry," she said. "There's not much money in it, and there isn't as high caliber of help as there used to be."

— Tony Walter/Press-Gazette

Greyhound Friends (USA) press release.

http://www.greyhound.org/newsDetails.cfm?newsID=37

On Monday, March 3rd, Kevin J. Schneider of Spruce Street, Watertown is expected to plead guilty in the Waltham District Court to charges that he starved and abused two greyhound dogs, Sari and Talca, who were in his custody for several months. Schneider adopted the dogs from Hopkinton based, Greyhound Friends, in the Spring of 2007.

He was arrested in November 2007 by Watertown Police after the MSPCA received reports that the weak and severely emaciated dogs had been dumped in Connecticut and Rhode Island. An intenstive investigation lead by Watertown Police Detective Joseph Kelly later connected Schneider to the abuse of the dogs who had lost more than half of their normal body weight when they were found. Sari died a few days after she was abandoned by Schneider in Rhode Island. Talca is recovering and has been adopted.

Schneider was arraigned in Connectiuct on related charges last month and faces an ongoing investigation by Rhode Island law enforcement authorities. Greyhound Friends and other greyhound advocates throughout the world have been watching Schneider's case closely. A representation of gravely concerned citizens is expected to appear for the Court proceeding on Monday. They remain hopeful that Schneider will be severely and appropriately punished for his crimes - not only for the extreme suffering he caused these dogs but also to send a strong message that animal abuse will not be tolerated. Schneider's criminal history in New Hampshire is expected to play a role in his sentencing.

On the night of October 27, a local man watched a black Chevy Suburban slow down on Route 6, a heavily travelled secondary road in the tiny town of Killingly, Connecticut. The passenger door opened, and while the vehicle was still rolling, something was pushed out. It hit the ground hard,and seemed to move slightly as the SUV sped off. The man walked over to see what had been thrown from the car. He was shocked to find a skeletal, white and black Greyhound looking up at him. As he reached for her, she wagged her tail, weakly.

An hour later, a black Suburban pulled up in a dark corner of the parking lot of the Miriam Hospital, in Providence, RI. It was pouring rain, and the driver was seen to get out of the vehicle, lift something from the back seat, and place it under a bush. After the Suburban sped off, a nurse investigated the object. She found a white and black Greyhound, so weak, she couldn't move.

Both dogs were transported to veterinarians. The Connecticut dog at 40 lbs, and was so thin, they weren't sure she was going to make it. The Rhode Island dog was 33lbs, and in even worse condition. Through their tattoos, it was discovered that both dogs had been adopted to a man in Watertown, MA, just five months before. Talca, the CT dog is now recovering: she has gained nearly 15lbs in the last two weeks. Sari, the dog found in Rhode Island lived for four days before she lost her battle.

The deaths of seven greyhounds at a West Memphis track this summer have prompted Arkansas racing officials to call for a review of the rules for handling racing dogs.

Members of the Arkansas Racing Commission said they were concerned about an Aug. 9 fight that erupted among a group of greyhounds at Southland Gaming and Racing's track. A state veterinarian told commissioners that one dog was dead when she arrived at the track. The others had to be euthanized.

Shane Bolender, Southland's racing director, told the commission the fight broke out among the dogs during 100-plus degree heat that afternoon when the dogs were in a "turnout pen."

"A fight erupted in the male pen, and it was two males going at it. There was a lot of extracurricular activity and excitement generated in the pen with the other dogs," Bolender told the commission. "It didn't take long for the dogs to overheat."

Bolender said the track discontinued its contract with the kennel company that oversaw the pen where the fight erupted.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, Southland said it won't renew its contract with the company, Washburn-Oregon Trail Kennel, for the 2008 season.

"We expect for those trainers and kennel owners who race at our venue to abide by the strict rules and best practices governing greyhound racing at racetracks around the country," the track said. "We have a zero tolerance for any mistreatment of animals in any kennel who race at Southland Park."

Lisa Robinson, a racing commission veterinarian assigned to the dog track, said one dog was dead when she arrived at the track and she had to euthanize two others. The other dogs were euthanized by a local veterinarian, she said.

"We had been at 102, 103 or sometimes higher...and basically we needed the proper amount of help there," Robinson said after Tuesday's commission meeting. "It was just a combination of things that just kind of came together."

Robinson said she couldn't remember any similar incidents occurring at the track during her 10 years there. She said only one person was supervising both the male and female turnout pens when the dog fight occurred.

Commission members asked Robinson to meet with track officials and members of the Arkansas Greyhound Association to discuss ways to prevent future incidents and possibly new rules for the supervision and operation of turnout pens at the race track.

"This has never happened before. I don't know if anyone anticipated something like this happening," said Byron Freeland, the commission's attorney. "If this could be a problem in the future, we may need a rule requiring proper supervision."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The odds may be getting longer for dog and horse tracks in Florida.

An industry already hit heavily in recent decades by competition for the entertainment dollar is worried that a compact signed this week that gives the Seminole Indian tribe the nearly exclusive right to expanded gambling in much of Florida could hasten the demise of other forms of betting.

"I think it will probably put the nail in the coffin on this thing," said Richard B. Winning, one of the owners of the Derby Lane track in St. Petersburg and president of the American Greyhound Track Operators Association. "They never once came to the pari-mutuels and spoke to us."

The Seminoles and Gov. Charlie Crist signed an agreement Wednesday that allows the tribe to add Las Vegas-style slots and card games including blackjack at seven casinos on tribal land.

The state gets at least $100 million annually from the deal. The Seminoles get a situation in which it's unlikely any other expansions of gambling will occur in Florida outside of Miami-Dade or Broward Counties. If lawmakers do allow new forms of gambling in the rest of the state, the Seminoles will no longer have to give the state the money.

Among the tribe's casinos that will now be able to add full Vegas-style slots and new card games is the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in the Tampa area. It's already been blamed for poor attendance 10 miles away at the Tampa Greyhound Track, which ended live racing in August after 75 years.

Izzy Havenick, vice president of the family-run Naples-Fort Myers Dog Track, said he is deeply troubled by the compact, fearing that patrons will shun the track for a Seminole casino 37 miles away in Immokalee.

He called the deal between Crist and the tribe "a slap in the face of the entrepreneurial spirit of Florida," and to the hundreds of employees of the track in Bonita Springs.

Opponents of the move _ which also include those simply opposed to expanding gambling in the state _ are pinning some hopes on the Legislature, where there is also opposition to the agreement, particularly in the House. Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, has suggested lawmakers may sue to try to block the compact from going into effect.

Havenick said the racing industry is also trying to figure out how they might be able to help fight the deal.

Winning said the state could have raised more money than it gets from the deal if it had allowed the heavily taxed pari-mutuels to add slot machines.

While pari-mutuel facilities _ horse and dog tracks and jai-alai frontons _ in Broward County will still be able to add slots, some officials of those facilities also feel slighted, because they pay more of their take to the state than the Indians. Those facilities also aren't allowed to have expanded card games like blackjack or baccarat that are now permitted in the Seminole facilities.

Crist's chief of staff, George LeMieux, said negotiators in the governor's office did take into account the concerns of non-Indian gambling operations in Broward County, where voters have approved slot machines, noting three tracks there have already spent money to add slots. The state Constitution also would allow slots in Miami-Dade County, if voters approve it, though so far they have not.

"There's nothing in this agreement that prevents them from having more gaming," at pari-mutuel facilities in those two counties, said LeMieux.

But in other counties, the inability to push for more gaming adds to anxiety by track officials that theirs may be a business heading down the backstretch toward its end.

The Melbourne Greyhound Park cut most of its racing program this year, although it continues to host poker, which has proved very popular. The three tracks in the Jacksonville area have consolidated racing at one venue, and tracks in Orlando, the Miami area and Key West have all closed in the last couple decades.

___

Associated Press Reporter Mitch Stacy in Tampa contributed to this report.

We are proud to announce that over 100,000 signatures have been collected to help put the Massachusetts Greyhound Protection Act on the 2008 ballot!

In an all-volunteer effort, over 2,000 people worked together to help the greyhounds. As we send this update to you, a team of volunteer drivers is now delivering thousands of signatures to city and town clerks statewide.

The Greyhound Protection Act is a humane measure that will phase out the cruelty of dog racing, and close two dog tracks in Massachusetts. The initiative is sponsored by the Committee to Protect Dogs, which is comprised of GREY2K USA, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Humane Society of the United States.

Dogs at Wonderland and Raynham Parks are kept confined in small cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around for typically twenty hours per day. When racing, they face the risk of serious injury. According to state records, over 700 dogs have been hurt while racing since 2002. Injuries include broken bones, cardiac arrest, paralysis and seizures.

The closing of a dog track is the best possible news for greyhounds, and today we bring confirmation that two more dog tracks will be shut down within days.

On August 7, local Kansas voters rejected a proposal to approve slot machines at Wichita Greyhound Park. Within moments of the news, track owner Phil Ruffin announced the shutdown of his struggling facility. WGP will wind down activities within three months time.

Two days later, on August 9, the general manager of Florida’s Tampa Greyhound Track also announced an end to live racing. Citing low attendance, track owners will cease live racing operations on August 18.

With these closures, 36 operational tracks remain in 13 states.

Thanks to the efforts of greyhound advocates like you, six tracks will have closed and an additional two ended live racing within the past three years.

This trend will continue, and thousands of greyhounds will be spared if we all keep working.

Greyhound Protection Update - July 27, 2007

Greyhounds Win Victories in New Hampshire!

Friends,

We write today to report several wonderful advances in our campaign to end dog racing in New Hampshire!

The biggest news came last week, when Hinsdale Greyhound Park announced it is ending year-round racing. This means that as of Labor Day, all dog tracks in the state will race only seasonally, for just a few weeks each year. There will no more winter racing in New Hampshire!

Additionally, in June, lawmakers voted to end a taxpayer subsidy the tracks had been receiving for drug testing. Had it not been repealed, this ridiculous corporate welfare plan would have amounted to a $2 million subsidy for the tracks over the next four years. Earlier this year a broad coalition, including GREY2K USA and lawmakers from both parties, filed legislation to end this wasteful program.

This is the second time in two years that GREY2K USA has helped end a taxpayer subsidy to New Hampshire dog tracks. In 2006, we worked with lawmakers to eliminate an $325,000 annual subsidy the racetracks were receiving from the state’s Educational Trust Fund.

The tide is truly turning for greyhounds in the Granite State. Our promise to you is that we will keep working until Seabrook Greyhound Park, Hinsdale Greyhound Park and The Lodge at Belmont shut down for good.

It is hard to think of someone abusing greyhound dogs, but that is exactly what the state is investigating after dogs tested positive for cocaine and three others died from heat exhaustion.

The same trainer at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club cared for all of the dogs.

We are now learning that cocaine is not a performance-enhancing drug for race dogs and the animals may have ingested the drug by accident.

As for the heat exhaustion, each track has cooling procedures for the dogs after practice or race sessions. The kennel club general manager says he believes two of the three dogs that died were in fact cooled.

State workers say they test at least two dogs after every dog race for drugs, the winner of the race and another dog.

Derrick Z. Jackson

Michael Vick isn't alone

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist | August 22, 2007

As Michael Vick plummets from celebrity to our national symbol of animal cruelty, there is an
unsettling question unanswered in all of the press coverage. Was he uniquely brutal or merely a
spectacular outlier for canine atrocities we allow every day?

This is not an apology for Mr. Vick and his accomplices in his dogfighting ring. The act of hanging,
drowning, electrocuting, and shooting pit bulls, just because they did not win, easily calls for
prison, penance, and other impoverishment, not to mention many therapists.

But the national outrage rings a bit hollow. It feels a bit too easy to condemn only this fool sick
enough to throw away a 10-year, $130 million football contract with the Atlanta Falcons and his
residual millions in endorsements for his mad dashes as quarterback.

It feels a bit easy because I am a former owner of a rescued greyhound.

You can go down last month's 18-page federal indictment against Vick and his codefendants and see
plenty of snippets such as these: "train and breed . . . for. . . competitions"; "destroying or
otherwise disposing of dogs not selected to stay"; "executed at least one dog that did not perform
well"; "executed at least two dogs that did not perform well"; "Vick possessed. . . approximately 54
American Pit Bull Terriers, some of which had scars and injuries."

Of course, you can apply the same phrases or similar ones to greyhound racing. Yet dog tracks
operate in about a quarter of our states, including Massachusetts. In 2000, animal rights activists
were able to place a ballot question before the Commonwealth's voters to ban greyhound racing.
Supporters of racing outspent the activists by nearly 4 to 1 and barely beat back the proposed ban,
51 percent to 49 percent.

Activists this month submitted an initiative petition to Attorney General Martha Coakley to put a
ban back on a statewide ballot, reasserting that "commercial dog racing is cruel and inhumane." How
cruel and inhumane is a bitter debate.

The California-based Greyhound Protection League estimates that in the two decades from 1986-2005,
606,633 dogs from the industry were killed: 184,604 puppies judged to be inferior for racing and
421,129 after their "careers" ended, usually by 4 years old.

Things are nowhere as bad as they once were. In its worst years, critics said greyhound racing was
death row for dogs. The website of the Greyhound Racing Association of America says that the peak
year for the sport was 1992, when $3.5 billion was bet at more than 50 tracks. That year happened to
come right at the end of a frenzied era in which, according to the Greyhound Protection League,
between 42,000 and 58,000 dogs were killed in the search for winners.

The Greyhound Racing Association says that dog betting, which is being supplanted by other forms of
legalized gambling, is down to about $2 billion at about 40 tracks. Hammered by bad publicity from
animal rights groups, the killing of dogs has dropped dramatically, down to 12,000 in 2005,
according to the Greyhound Protection League.

The Greyhound Racing Association and industry defenders deny there was ever any mass abuse. They say
that 90 percent of greyhounds are either adopted or kept alive for breeding. But over the years,
there have been dreadful stories, such as the man in Alabama who was arrested in 2002 for
slaughtering up to 3,000 used-up or losing dogs from the Florida tracks over a 10-year span.

Throughout the 1990s, there were several news reports of mass killings, dog abandonments, and
squalid kennel conditions. One trainer said that alleged dog electrocutions at one Idaho track were
akin to Auschwitz.

Those reports include the 1,200 over-the-hill greyhounds that were dumped on a Pittsfield shelter
from 1986 to 1991. In 2000, the Globe quoted John Perrault, the shelter manager for the
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on the conditions at Pittsfield. "I
saw wounds, gashes, infections, broken legs that were left untreated. I saw dehydration, starvation,
infestation of parasites," Perrault said. ". . . Owners made it clear they wanted the dogs killed."

There is no difference between this and what Vick did, other than that dogfighting is illegal and
greyhound racing remains legal in many states. For his depraved hobby, Vick will be shamed with
prison stripes. Greyhound racing, despite its primitive exploitation of dogs, remains a $2 billion
business even today.

Two-week suspension spurred by confrontation over euthanizing dog

By Dale Quinn

arizona daily star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.05.2007

A Tucson Greyhound Park kennel owner, widely supported by dog-adoption groups, had his operations shut down and his license suspended for being drunk on the job, the track's Board of Stewards ruled Tuesday night.

The suspension stems from a Friday night incident when kennel owner David Blair tried to keep a veterinarian from euthanizing an injured greyhound, said Tom Taylor, the track's general manager.

The Arizona Department of Racing charged Blair with intoxication, disorderly conduct and disrupting the orderly operation of racing.

The department director, Geoffry Gonsher, said he could not speak directly to Blair's charges. However, he said "any time a licensee is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, he poses a risk to other licensees and the animals."

The Board of Stewards, which consists of two state track officials and one local official, fined Blair $500, suspended his license for two weeks and referred the case to Gonsher.

Blair said he will appeal the decision.

Blair, who had been working as a trainer Friday night, was asked to go to the paddocks at the greyhound track at 2601 S. Third Ave. because he was intoxicated and acting belligerent toward customers, Taylor said.

"He was pretty drunk," he said.

Blair said he did not act confrontational with any customers and, if that was the case, he should have been kicked out.

Blair said that while caring for his dogs in the paddocks he noticed someone carrying a greyhound into a veterinarian's office and he went into the office to check out the dog's condition.

The dog didn't appear to have a serious injury, Blair said. He asked if the vet was going to wrap the injured leg and he learned the decision had been made to euthanize the animal.

Taylor said the dog suffered a fracture, and while it could have walked again, it would have been in pain the rest of its life.

Once the track vet and the owner decided to euthanize the dog, a state vet looked at the animal and approved the decision, Taylor said.

"Both vets felt it was the humane thing to do and the owner felt it was the humane thing to do," Taylor said.

Blair acknowledged he'd been drinking in the afternoon and he said refused to let track officials kill the dog. He said in his more than 20 years' experience with greyhounds, he's never euthanized a dog.

Taylor persuaded the dog's owner to try to sell it and Taylor offered it to Blair for $200. Blair said he didn't have that much money and he was afraid to leave the dog alone.

"They wanted to put it down because that's the easiest thing to do," Blair said.

The dog continued suffering as Blair stalled the vets, Taylor said, so he called the South Tucson Police Department and Blair was escorted off the property.
Once outside, Blair learned his license to operate his kennels in Phoenix and Tucson had been suspended by the Arizona Department of Racing. Blair said he owns about 140 greyhounds and the suspension, which went into effect on Friday, means none can race.

So far this year, Taylor said, five greyhounds have been euthanized after suffering injuries at Tucson Greyhound Park. Four had broken legs and one had a broken back.

"We have many dogs that have minor breaks and they are never euthanized," Taylor said.
But Joe Romack, who came to the hearing in support of Blair and is connected to many adoption agencies, said killing the dog was unnecessary.
"There have been some injuries where a dog needs to be put down," he said. "But in this case it's a dog that could easily have been saved."

Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com.

Comment from a USA based greyhound campaigner: I went to this kangaroo court hearing and took a few notes:

Although David Blair said he had a few beers during the afternoon, TGP called the South Tucson police to remove him from the premises. The police did not handcuff him. They did not give him a breath-o-lyzer test. They dropped him off at a nearby Circle-K (convenience store) where there were children and families.

The dog in question had a broken hock. She was not screaming out in pain. Blair offered to take her and even called the kennel coordinator from Arizona Greyhound Rescue who was on her way to pick up Missy.

Since Blair was not the owner of the dog, a phone call ensued and he was told he could have the dog for $200. He didn’t have $200. While he was taken away by the police, the dog was euthanized.

The trainer Kevin Matthieu said (I wrote this down verbatim), “It’s always my standard option to put down dogs…” Sixty supporters of Blair collectively GASPED.

If David had $200 in his pocket that night, Missy would’ve lived.

There was some discrepancy by the track personnel as to how many people have to sign off on a dog before putting her down.

David Blair claims that in his 30 years of racing, he has never euthanized a dog. Arizona Greyhound Rescue receives many dogs that he brings to us who were going to be put down because of oops litters, older brood mamas, broken legs, etc. I’m sure other groups receive these dogs too.

The state track vet said that if Missy had surgery – yes, she could be a pet.

Tom Taylor is the GM of TGP and the acting president of GPA-Tucson. Scary. That just goes to prove how in bed GPA is with the racing industry. I would think this is a conflict of interest.

The bottom line here is that greyhound racing is indeed a blood sport as dogs are still dying – needlessly. The above quote from Taylor leaves out some other dogs that died over July 4. One is Bert who was taken by a TGP kennel operator to a local emergency vet to be euthanized -

http://www.azgreyhoundrescue.org/html/bert-ernie.html and the other is a dog that went to another greyhound adoption group and died after vomiting up stones/rocks and seizures. Do these deaths just fall through the cracks? Is this a reason the NGA doesn’t have a good count of how many dogs die every year?

The three stewards made their unanimous decision quicker than it takes most people to order dinner that Blair was guilty, his license is suspended for 14 days, and a $500 fine. He’s appealing.

The issue is not so much about David Blair but rather how arrogant Tucson Greyhound Park is and how disposable greyhounds are.

Read the following story for more info:

BOSTON, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

In anticipation of a debate over the proposed ballot question to phase out
dog racing in the Bay State, the Committee to Protect Dogs today released
a report outlining animal welfare problems at two commercial dog tracks in
Massachusetts.

"This report documents our concerns with greyhound racing, which
includes the number of injuries and the almost constant confinement of
dogs," said Carter Luke, Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA)-Angell.

The report documents specific animal welfare issues at these
facilities, including:

-- Since 2002, there have been 728 reported greyhound injuries at these
tracks. Nearly 80% involved broken bones, and other reported injuries
include dislocations, ruptures, lacerations, head trauma, instant
death, cardiac arrest, paralysis and seizures.

-- At Massachusetts racetracks, dogs live in small cages for 20 or more
hours per day with barely enough room for them to stand up or turn
around. Both tracks require a population of over 1,000 dogs in order
to function as gambling businesses.

-- In the Spring of 2005, 19 dogs at Wonderland Greyhound Park died from
a mysterious illness that was later proven to be a form of horse flu
that had never before jumped species.

-- To reduce costs, dogs at these tracks are fed meat that has been
deemed unfit for human consumption. Because this meat is fed to the
dogs raw, it can cause dogs to be exposed to serious pathogens such
as Salmonella.

-- In late 2003 and early 2004, a dog tested positive for cocaine twice
at Wonderland Greyhound Park.

-- Efforts to protect greyhounds through the legislative and regulatory
processes have not succeeded. Voters have no choice but to seek
relief through the initiative process.

-- Commercial dog racing is a dying industry in Massachusetts. Between
2002 and 2006, the total amount gambled at Wonderland Greyhound Park
and Raynham Park declined by 57% and 35%, respectively.

All information contained in the report relates specifically to
Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Park. In addition, all information is
recent, and based on state records, industry statements, and/or reports by
mainstream news organizations. All photographs were taken by the
Massachusetts dog tracks themselves.

The Committee to Protect Dogs is a state ballot question committee
dedicated to passing stronger dog protection laws in the Commonwealth.

Committee co-chairs include representatives of the MSPCA-Angell, The Humane
Society of the United States and greyhound protection group GREY2K USA. For
more information, visit http://www.ProtectDogs.org.

ELECTRONIC COPY OF REPORT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Read the following story for more info:

Racing foes to release report detailing dog injuries
Seek referendum to ban the sport

By April Simpson, Boston Globe Staff | September 5, 2007

Massachusetts racetracks reported 728 injuries to greyhound dogs in the past five years, with nearly 80 percent involving broken bones, according to a report by an animal rights group to be released today.

The report by the Committee to Protect Dogs - culled from reports submitted to the state by racetrack operators - also details incidents in 2005, when 19 dogs died at Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere from a form of horse flu. A couple of years earlier, the report said, a dog tested positive twice for cocaine.

Calling the toll inhumane, the Committee to Protect Dogs hopes to put a referendum on the 2008 ballot asking voters to end greyhound racing in the state by 2010. A referendum bid to end dog racing narrowly failed in 2000.

"There are dogs that are breaking their necks," said Christine Dorchak, cochairwoman of the committee. "It's just not acceptable. Every dog injured counts."

But officials at the parks argue that the state's numbers tell an exaggerated story, because, unlike the owners of dogs kept for pets, the tracks must report every injury regardless of how minor it is. Track operators said racing greyhounds are neutered by a veterinarian authorized by the state Racing Commission, are kept in crates large enough for a Saint Bernard, spend most of their time outside their cages, and maintain a healthy diet. Park officials said that the veterinarian checks the dogs after each race and that the parks typically have a 100 percent adoption rate for dogs that are no longer raced.

"They have to get out, they have to run around, and they have to exercise," said Gary Temple, kennel manager at Raynham Park, the only other track in the state. "I'm a dog lover myself. I would never work at a place that inhumanely treated dogs."

Between 2002 and June 2007, the antiracing group's report states, 439 dogs were injured at Raynham and 289 dogs at Wonderland. The report also alleges that, to save costs, the dogs are fed raw meat unfit for human consumption. Racing officials contend the meat is of high quality.

The report is being released as Governor Deval Patrick considers whether to support casino gambling, a measure animal rights advocates are concerned could jump-start dog racing.

"If there were no casino-style gambling permitted, it would just be a matter of time before greyhound racing stops, because the fan base is limited and aging," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the national Humane Society.

April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.

The owner of one of the other kennels called Arizona Greyhound Rescue and alerted them about the dog and they were en route to come get the dog and take care of his medical needs.

The owner of the dog decided instead to put him down, which was totally not necessary. The police were called to prevent the other owner from trying to save the dog and stop the murder.

Sadly, the owner of the other kennel now faces disciplinary action for stepping in and getting involved.

On Tuesday Sept. 4th at 5:10 pm there will be a meeting at the state offices at Tucson Greyhound Park to determine his future. Please show up and support him as well as protest the inhumane behavior towards dogs.

GA comment: Just another example of the global nature of greyhound abuse ... wherever there is organised greyhound racing ... there is also cruelty.