Hello, my name is Steve Pryor…for those of you do not yet know me, I am strongly anti dog racing…in my mind there is absolutely nothing good about it, the food, the conditions, the treatment, the injuries. Did you know that the greyhounds housed at commercial racetracks spend the majority of their lives in confinement—stacked in double-decker cages in warehouse-style kennels. The cages are just barely large enough for the dogs to stand in. The majority of the enclosures are not heated or air-conditioned, causing the short-coated dogs with practically 0% body fat to suffer during severe weather temperature whether hot or cold. Many dogs suffer from fleas, ticks and internal parasites …and even a “winner” or “favorite” is only as good as their last race, as even for winning dogs, the realities of kennel life are dreadful. Racing greyhounds spend most of their lives— 18 to 20 hours a day— confined in those cramped crates with very little human contact. An “average” track will house around 1,000 dogs. Dogs are suffering broken legs and other serious injuries and as a result killed on a daily basis on tracks all over the world.
The majority of people attending greyhound races have little knowledge of what actually happens to these animals. They do not know, or care, what kind of life these dogs lead behind the scenes. To them it’s a lot of fun, have a few drinks, win or lose a few bucks, and return to their comfortable homes. The life of the Greyhound, most often, is one of misery, fear, mistreatment, and finally many times a shockingly brutal death.
I was recently made a “whipping boy” on a couple of so called “rescue groups” pages for being outspoken on the subject of track, kennel & trainer abuses…they told me not to make negative posts in their groups as they have a good relationship with the track/etc and do not want to make them angry as doing so would cause them to withhold dogs from them. This is nothing more than a conspiracy of silence, or, hear no evil speak no evil. Everyone knows what is going on but none are willing to do anything about it. The inhumane treatment to these dogs is beyond comprehension.
I cannot ride the fence and pretend to overlook things and have my conscience held hostage. If a track wants to do that, who cares, get the greys somewhere else…there are plenty that need homes, but if I want to be part of the solution, I cannot also be part of the problem by looking the other way and keeping my mouth shut for fear of offending those I have an agenda against.
Once you know the facts, you’ll find there’s nothing at all entertaining about the greyhound racing industry.
The “greyt” ones may not have a voice, but I sure as hell do.
In October of 2010, Investigators with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering discovered more than 30 dead dogs inside a kennel at the Ebro Greyhound Park (located north of Panama City). An additional five dogs were found alive, but barely. Several of the dead dogs, and three of the surviving dogs, had duct tape wrapped around their necks. Trainer Ronald J. Williams was arrested and charged with 37 counts of felony animal cruelty. Two days later, the decomposing bodies of at least eight more greyhounds were discovered near Mr. Williams home.
March 20, 2010: Four greyhounds fell and broke a leg during races at the Sarasota Kennel Club; three of the dogs were immediately euthanized. The track reported that 14 greyhounds had been euthanized after accidents at the track during the previous 19 weeks of racing.
August 2009: 22 greyhounds belonging to a kennel at the Pensacola Greyhound Track were so severely neglected that they had to be euthanized.
August 2004: THE FIRST AND LAST RACE FOR DOOMED GREYHOUND PUPPY “Mr. Junior Mint,” an 18-month-old puppy, was entered into his first-ever schooling race on July 30th at the Flagler dog track. He fell and was bumped into the rail during a collision with “Our Baby Ruth,” another 18-month-old pup. Two of his legs were severed when he was hit by the lure motor; he died from massive blood loss. “Our Baby Ruth,” who was also injured, disappeared from the record on August 27th after performing poorly in subsequent schooling races.
The above are just a few examples out of thousands upon thousands, and yet people continue to tell me, “I agree that they may be mistreated in some instances, but the actual racing does not hurt them”
For Gods sake people, wake the &#(@ up!!
Planet Greyhound & friends believes that the only real solution to this horrendous state of affairs is for all greyhound racing everywhere to be brought to an end.
This is NOT the way mans best friend should live 20 hours a day…
This is….
