GREY2K USA calls for removal of Arizona state racing commissioner
The debate over greyhound racing in the state of Arizona is heating up, in large part due to the appointment of a racing commissioner who, according to GREY2K USA, has made disparaging remarks on Facebook about the anti-dog racing organization and at least one individual who leads its efforts to protect greyhounds.
Carey Theil, the executive director of GREY2K, wrote a letter to Governor Jan Brewer, requesting that Arizona Racing Commissioner Rory Goree be discharged from his position.
A couple of the statements that Goree is accused of posting on Facebook are reported in a story on the AZCentral.com website.
How about this suggestion: Free the dogs from this horrible life and then you won’t need a racing commissioner. And then state officials can focus on finding loving homes for the dogs and can focus on promoting the creation of more jobs and a better economy. Sounds like a much better plan than the state’s full-scale promotion of a dying industry with a horrible track record on animal-welfare.
Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane. Greyhounds endure lives of nearly constant confinement, kept in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. While racing, many dogs suffer and die from injuries including broken legs, paralysis, and cardiac arrest. And many greyhounds are euthanized every year, as the number retired from racing exceeds the number of adoptive homes.
At racetracks across the country, greyhounds endure lives of confinement. According to industry statements, greyhounds are generally confined in their cages for approximately 20 hours per day. They live inside warehouse-style kennels in stacked cages that are barely large enough to stand up or turn around. Generally, shredded paper or carpet remnants are used as bedding.
An undercover video recently released by GREY2K USA shows the conditions in which these gentle dogs are forced to live: http://www.grey2kusa.org/azVideo.html
For more information on injuries these dogs suffer, please view:
http://www.grey2kusa.org/azInjuries.html
http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-022811Email.html
Dogs play an important role in our lives and deserve to be protected from industries and individuals that do them harm.
V Wolf Board Member, GREY2K USA
One statement in the first comment catches my eye…..”undercover video.” Guess no one had the nerve to go and ask for permission. I would say that sums up Grey2K USA……
Myke,
In cases such as this, if you ask for permission, the curtain goes up in front of anything you’re trying to uncover.
Val keeps copying and pasting the same ridiculous statements over and over again. She’s quite good at it.
Very few dogs suffer serious injuries. The documented rate of serious injury for a racing greyhound is 0.25% (one-fourth of one percent).
Greyhounds are provided with 3′x3′x4′ crates – more than large enough for them to stand, turn around, lie down or roach, if they prefer. They love the shredded newspaper. Carpet remnant? If you have a 3′x4′ piece of carpet in a 3′x4′ crate – that’s wall-to-wall carpeting – not a remnant.
Crated for 20 hours per day? Hardly. In addition to 5 – 6 turnouts per day to relieve themselves and play (usually 45 to one hour at each turnout), they are out of their crates while being groomed, having their nails clipped or their teeth cleaned. They are also sprinted or walked on days that they do not race.
Grey2k USA collected $1.5 million in donations from 2008 to 2011. The husband / wife operators of this sham put more than $331,000 of that in their pockets and has done God know what with the rest. As far as actual financial support to greyhounds? They claimed about $8,000 in “charitable contributions” on their IRS Form 990′s. And it’s not even clear that all of that benefited greyhounds. That’s a paltry 0.53%. Shameful.
Our rescued racing greyhounds nap and sleep in our beds. Our rescued greyhounds get to play with toys when choose to. They snuggle with us on the sofa while we watch TV.
They get to go outside and play and they are NEVER forced to put their bodies and life at risk so that a few people can gamble on their speed.
They get to interact with us when they want to. They frequently come to us for hugs. We have cared for many with health problems – cancers, damaged bodies.
We know one family that over a short span of time adopted four ex-racing greyhounds who developed osteosarcoma – a form of cancer that studies have shown is more prevalent in racing greyhounds – than in ANY other breed of dog – large or small.
We have a greyhound right now battling osteosarcoma.
There is a lot wrong with dog racing. There is no doubt about it. And no matter how anyone wants to play with the percentages, too many never make it out of racing alive.
The life of a racing greyhound is different, not worse or better than a pet’s life. They are cognitively stimulated, have their health watched and their emotional needs met. Probably more importantly, they are kept fit and well exercised. No, they don’t have Sleep Number beds or Coach leather collars with jingling tags, but that is just materialistic stuff humans think as important.
As for the cancer, any LONG boned dog will get osteosarcoma. It is prevalent in Irish Wolfhounds, Deerhounds, Great Danes and I’ve even known Golden Retrievers with it. After 10 years of age, 50% of ALL dogs will die of some form of cancer….and 33% of younger than 10 yrs will be touched with cancer. Please do not equate cancer with any sort of cruelty.
Do we really need government in adoption efforts? *cringe* There is enough politics already. The focus on adoption is already muddled with the single interest lobby efforts of some slick palmed individuals.
If you did your homework, you’d see that the racing commission oversees not only horse and dog racing but all kinds of sports including boxing, kickboxing, tough man, and mixed martial arts events.
Leslie,
I’ve done quite a lot of homework on this subject – and I need to point out the oversight of commissions has done very little to stop abuses in both the greyhound racing and horse racing industries.
And recent research is showing the rate of osteosarcoma in racing greyhounds is even greater than the rates for ANY other dog breed. That is really important to note, because as you point out, the rate of cancers in other dogs – due to some really poor breeding practices – is high overall.
If the rate in racing greyhounds was the same, that would be a poor showing in and of itself, as things stand today.
And lastly, the life of a vast majority of dogs in homes is FAR BETTER than the life racing dogs endure. The examples I’ve cited above are clear.
There’s little point in folks who believe in the concept of sporting or working dogs debating with Tom Grady. Based on my prior debates with him, I can think of no scenario in which he would approve of professional Greyhound racing or even the use of dogs in hunting or other sports unless they all lived in someone’s house and were surrounded by stuffy toys 24/7. He simply doesn’t believe — based on no experience with working or sporting dogs in their working environment — that those working or sporting dogs who live in kennels to do their job can have happy and fulfilled lives, regardless of whether they are loved and respected by their owners.His odd mixture of Disney-inspired anthropomorphism and animal rights radicalism makes him the perfect blogger mouthpiece for GREY2K and their HSUS masters.
By the way, Tom, in your “homework” on osteosarcoma in dogs, I’m sure you’ve come across the studies which indicate that spaying or neutering dogs of any breed significantly increases their risk of developing bone cancer. Just to get you started, here’s one study that indicates that de-sexing dogs doubles their risk of developing bone cancer: Ru G, Terracini B, Glickman LT. Host related risk factors for canine osteosarcoma. Vet J. 1998 Jul;156(1):31-9. I wonder if it’s occurred to you that since almost all adopted racing Greyhounds are spayed or neutered, their risk of developing bone cancer is increased even beyond that of simply being large breed dogs. I’m quite sure that won’t cause you to re-think the spay-neuter mantra that folks of your persuasion repeat as holy writ.
All older dogs eventually die of something,and in large breeds like Greyhounds,osteosarcoma is one of the leading cancers of which they die. Is there another disease that you would prefer older Greyhounds die of ? Congestive heart failure or renal failure perhaps ?
John,
Want I have is compassion for others – compassion for other living things. I don’t believe other people or animals should be exploited for profit.
If this is a bad thing in the eyes of the pro-racing or other animal-exploitation industries, then I am guilty as charged. And you apparently don’t understand the definition of anthropomorphism. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.
Spay/neuter has important health benefits, especially if performed at the proper age. And the overall benefit means fewer homeless dogs die.
Other dog breeds are spayed and neutered. Why is it that greyhounds are having this problem at a greater rate? And of course, their are cancers that develop from not spaying and neutering. And again, if the greyhound racing industry is comparing its breeding standards with the norm that’s not a good place to be.
And yes, other dogs die of cancer or other health issues. But the greyhound racing industry has a history of never allowing so many of them even a chance to live out their natural life span.
Working dogs and sporting dogs are still dogs. This tag put onto them does not change their level of self-awareness and state of consciousness and it should not open them up for exploitation.
Thankfully, recent studies are showing dogs and other species experience emotion and can suffer both physical and emotional pain. The constant confinement is not good and does not allow them to be free to be dogs. They are clearly not happy in a kennel life.
Those of us who rescue dogs and have knowledge about emotion and cognition in animals, can understand how their previous lives have impacted them emotionally. They are crying out for compassion and when they finally get it, in a home setting, you can see the transformation.
I’ve see to many adopted with twisted back legs that were never repaired and others carrying the emotional sting of their previous lives.
I’m trying to spread a message of compassion. And you’re right, the propaganda will never work on me. I can only hope the message of compassion and the facts about the emotional lives of animals will reach more and more people. I think we’re moving in the right direction.
Thanks for offering your take on these topics. Everyone is welcome to offer their viewpoints here.
OK, we know everyone is entitled to an opinion.
And we know the anti-racing, pro-racing debate continues.
But, I find it surprising and sad that (breeding and coursing aside) someone in greyhound adoption would accept (and seemingly condone?) that racing greyhounds at farms and track kennels receive no love and respect from their owners.
” . . .that those working or sporting dogs who live in kennels to do their job can have happy and fulfilled lives, regardless of whether they are loved and respected by their owners.”
Caryn Wood
Not sure how that happened, Caryn. I wrote that, ” . . . those working or sporting dogs who live in kennels to do their job can have happy and fulfilled lives, where they are loved and respected by their owners, trainers and those in whose care they’re entrusted.”
Perhaps some “editing” is going on in the “review” process before comments are published ?
Tom’s biggest disadvantage in all this discussion is that he writes from ignorance, never have taken the trouble to visit a racing Greyhound farm or racing kennel, or even a kennel where gun dogs or Foxhounds live. Why investigate and see things for yourself when it’s so much easier to rattle off scripted, empty rhetoric from the comfort of the keyboard ?
Just curious, Tom — what actual work do you do in Greyhound adoption ? I’m guessing it’s about the same as your GREY$K buds Carey and Christine — which is to say, none. “Compassion” is a great deal more than empty rhetoric on a blog.
Perhaps, John Parker, what you intended to say and what you actually said are two different things.
How many dogs has the National Greyhound Association adopted out? I don’t mean handed off to adoption groups, I mean done the vetting, the transport, the site visits, taking and checking applications, etc. If you need to go back and ask your fellow racing supporters, we’ll wait. But surely someone at the NGA has that number handy.
Eric, as you know the NGA and its related organization, the American Greyhound Council, has given over a million dollars in grants to Greyhound adoption groups since their grant program started. They’ve provided hauling services and the kennels at the NGA headquarters as stopping points for cross-country hauls of adoptable. In short, though the NGA doesn’t claim to be a “Greyhound advocacy organization” as you GREY2K folks do, it has given far, far more in money and services to advance the mission of Greyhound adoption than GREY2K and its masters at HSUS ever have, or will.
In any event, my reference and question was to what actual, personal work in Greyhound adoption the INDIVIDUALS I mentioned (Tom Grady, Carey and Christine), not the organization, have done. Care to answer that one ?
John,
I do not edit comments. You wrote – ” … can have happy and fulfilled lives, regardless of whether they are loved and respected by their owners.”
As far as your other comments are concerned, I would never be allowed inside a greyhound racing facility – especially unannounced. And I guess you have no opinion on how any US President has conducted himself in recent years, because you’ve never been involved in an any White House meetings?
Until you have visited a particular war zone or Iran or the Moon, you aren’t able to come to any conclusions about the countries or the NASA missions?
I’ve been waiting for some clarification on the alleged edited wording of your comment, and now that Tom has responded, I’d say: John, why don’t you double check your comments and avoid confusion?
Getting back to the issue of “loved and respected”, there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that the dogs I’ve personally seen coming off tracks have not been loved and/or respected.
Before you ask: Flagler (now Magic City), Mile High, Cloverleaf, Tucson, Apache, Multnomah, Wheeling.
Lively here, that is for sure. If there is love and respect, beyond the money they earn until they are no longer viable, why do rescues come with no knowledge of stairs? Why do rescues come with no knowledge of flooring other than a track or grass, a crate and a turn-out area? Why, when they are shown love, are they glued to their adopters’ side? I can’t buy it. They are not loved, nor respected.
And as to the 3x3x4 crate, I have a recent 86.6 pound rescued ex-racer. That would give him a couple inches clearance to get up, turn around and lie back down again? Sorry, I don’t get how that is sufficient.
I think the initial post by Mr. Parker was honest: “… regardless of whether they are loved and respected by their owners”. Apparently they are not. Sad…
Kennels are designed with the idea of utmost safety for the dogs. There are no stairs because they present a danger to the dogs, the flooring is non-skid, non-slip roughly finished cement…easy and non porous for cleaning sensibility….
We keep grass at a minimum around the dogs again for safety and health reasons…..HUMANS have an aversion to bugs, so they spray chemicals, which might be unhealthy for dogs to ingest….they are used to the track because it is a professionally groomed surface to protect their feet from again, slips, stones, any possible injuries.
As far as your 86lb. racer, a dog needs enough room to turn around, lay down, stretch out, roach – short of buying him air rights, a couple of inches affords him those abilities….
And lastly, they are glued to your side because they are well socialized, well behaved and great pets. Must be, right?, or you wouldn’t have one. Dogs are Dogs, not humans. They all respond to kindness and good care, be they greyhounds or poodles. All it requires is common sense…
Actually, there is one primary reason why greyhounds make such good pets. From what other racing insiders have reported, the puppies remain with the family unit longer than is typical from too many other breeders.
This is the only good thing I say about dog racing. Puppies need to have on-going social training from their moms and siblings, for at least around 12 weeks. Too many breeders separate and then sell off the puppies at 6 to 8 weeks old.
The way it’s done in racing, it sets the dogs up for better behavioral skills. But environment also plays a factor in socialization and behavior, which is why over the years we’ve had to help three of our ex-racing greyhounds through emotional problems. Two have had sleep aggression. We have not seen this in any other dog we’ve rescued over the last 20 years.
We made the mistake one night of watching a documentary about the horrors of greyhound racing with one of these two in the room. The first time the sound of a racing start came out of the TV speakers, he dove off the sofa and hid in a corner, shivering in fear.
But look, the bottom line is this – dogs should not be exploited in this way, where they risk life and limb for gambling profits. And too many never make it out alive.
And the cage sizes described by the industry are no way for a dog to live, as it’s housing for 20 hours a day. Why not let the dogs live in homes when they’re not racing?
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