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"We're talking about young, healthy dogs that are being killed. When you look at them, you see all they want is a little attention and some love."

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An Iowa veterinarian
People, September 23, 1991

The following are selected media-documented cases reported since the 1980s involving racing greyhounds. This is only a sample of such cases - new ones are continually being reported...

	Approximately 40 greyhounds from the Greenetrack, Alabama dog track were illegally donated for medical experimentation...		9 emaciated greyhounds apparently deprived of bedding and food...
	Approximately 600-800 greyhounds from the Pensacola Greyhound Track in Pensacola, Florida are disposed each year by a local animal shelter...
	Hundreds of dead greyhounds reportedly buried ...		An emaciated greyhound with open sores...
	10 starving greyhounds...		80 greyhounds from a Florida race track were found abandoned...
	The bodies of approximately 16 greyhounds were found outside a rural Florida slaughterhouse...		"He's my Denny," A two-year old male greyhound racing at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club died...
	7 greyhounds were sold by a New Hampshire trainer to a Canadian...		Despite widely reported atrocities in 1993 at the Coeur D'Alene dog track in Idaho, widespread abuse continued into 1995...
	20 greyhounds died of heat stroke...		51 greyhounds died of extreme heat exposure...
	65 greyhounds, many near death from starvation, were discovered...		12 racing greyhounds were illegally sold to the University of Arizona...
	8 greyhounds were left unprotected in outside runs during freezing January temperatures...		Over 400 former American Racing greyhounds, including many originally from New England and Florida, were found abandoned and starving in their crates...
	8 malnourished greyhounds were seized...		Bloodied and mutilated greyhounds...
	180 greyhounds were injured in a three month period...		4 racing greyhounds died in transit apparently from dehydration or heat stress...
	3 tightly muzzled greyhounds were found abandoned...		37 greyhounds were discovered dead and another 141 starving...
	1O severely emaciated greyhounds were found near death...		Losing greyhounds at an Idaho dog track were electrocuted or shipped out of state to be shot...
	28 dogs too slow to race competitively in the United States were sold to a South American businessman...		Racer C.G. Dude had a heavy gauge wire inserted into the sheath of his penis without anesthetic...
	12 underweight and malnourished greyhounds from a Vermont track...		5 extremely emaciated greyhounds found on urine covered bedding in dirty pens with little or no ventilation...
	175 greyhounds were to be shipped...		The decomposing bodies of 143 greyhounds shot in the head...
	87 greyhounds burned to death...		200 former U.S. racing greyhounds awaiting shipment to race in Venezuela were found starving in their own waste...
	8 greyhounds were found shot to death...		Greyhounds were discovered in different stages of dehydration and malnutrition...
	35 greyhounds were discovered abandoned in their crates...		Rancid meat infested with flies and maggots...
	98 dogs shipped from New Hampshire were discovered in the Key West track compound laying in their own feces and vomit...		The bodies of 35 greyhounds...
	2 female greyhounds were discovered in a dumpster...		101 sick, skeletal greyhounds were carried out of a greyhound kennel in Tucson...
	2 dead greyhounds and 23 others left starving in small compartments were discovered...		An entire kennel of starved, dehydrated greyhounds was discovered...
	83 starving and diseased greyhounds were found...		2 Arizona dog dealers fraudulently sold at least 600 greyhounds to several research facilities...
	16 dead greyhounds were discovered amidst spoiled meat and household garbage...		23 greyhounds were euthanized in a single day...
	141 greyhounds were poisoned with a pesticide...		In 1983, city workers at a Key West landfill witnessed greyhound trainer Milton Blackwell unloading 6 greyhounds from a truckload of dogs and shoot each in the head with a .22 caliber pistol...
	...in 25 years he had personally euthanized approximately 10,000 greyhounds...		25 greyhound skeletons and several dozen starving and dehydrated dogs were found...

Approximately 40 greyhounds from the Greenetrack, Alabama dog track were illegally donated for medical experimentation by a kennel operator and a track employee. The dogs were provided to Mississippi State University without the knowledge or permission of their legal owners. Approximately 20 greyhounds were still alive when the animal welfare interests discovered their status.

9 emaciated greyhounds apparently deprived of bedding and food were brought to a local veterinary office by rescue workers. One of the animals was unconscious and near death from kidney failure. The dogs had been in the care of a trainer at Connecticut's Plainfield Greyhound Park. The greyhounds were covered with sores, fleas, and ticks; several were 20-25 pounds underweight. "They were all basically starving," said Dr. John Robb. Racing officials and track management at first insisted that the dogs could not have come from the Plainfield facility, but they later admitted that they had. At least two of the neglected greyhounds had recently raced at the track.

Approximately 600-800 greyhounds from the Pensacola Greyhound Track in Pensacola, Florida are disposed each year by a local animal shelter. Black bags filled with the dead dogs were picked up at local veterinarian offices and dumped in the county landfill. Commenting on the situation, one local veterinarian said "I do this [euthanize healthy greyhounds] because it's the best way to deal with a horrible situation. It's not wonderful what I do, but as long as greyhound racing is legal, we need to be sure that when these animals are disposed of, it's done in the most compassionate way possible...I'm not going to stand on the sidelines because probably the only way things will change is if greyhound racing becomes a thing of the past."

Hundreds of dead greyhounds reportedly buried in the 1970s across from the Seabrook, NH dog track were speculated to be the cause of E. Coli bacterial contamination recently discovered in the town's water supply. Two wells near the racetrack were found to be the cause of the contamination. One resident claimed 1,000 greyhounds were buried at the well site in the 1970s. Water Superintendent Warner Knowles questioned that figure but said he had no firm numbers. Both wells are now permanently closed.

An emaciated greyhound with open sores was found wandering near one of Tucson Greyhound Park's kennel compounds. The greyhound was later traced to a local racing kennel. When rescuers bathed the dog, it was so flea infested that blood flowed from her body for 15 minutes. A local veterinarian stated that the condition of the dog exhibited lengthy neglect and confinement on a hard surface. Animal welfare advocates noted that although new regulations now exist in Arizona, including unannounced kennel inspections, they go largely unenforced. 'In the four years I've been doing this [placing unwanted greyhounds as pets] I've seen more dogs like this than anyone can handle,' said Joan Randles of Arizona Greyhound Rescue.

10 starving greyhounds were rescued from the property of a Texas man who claimed to be starting a dog farm. County human investigator Wilfred Simon said, 'This is the worst case I've ever seen. There's feces everywhere. The dogs were starving.' The previous month, officials found the dogs in the backyard of the property feeding on the carcasses of two dead greyhounds.

80 greyhounds from a Florida race track were found abandoned in east Texas. Sixteen dogs were found along a roadside unable to walk and grossly underweight. Two dogs were found dead nearby and several others were rumored to be dead on private property, according to the local sheriff. The dogs had been transported from Monticello, Florida in a small dog trcuk in which 3-4 dogs were reportedly crowded into single kennel compartments, forcing most of the dogs to stand for the estimated 1,000 mile trip to Texas. Later, another 32 greyhounds from the same dog haul were found at the property of an individual in an adjacent county, who had died shortly after purchasing them for match racing. Some were severly sick and injured. The dogs were later transferred to adoption groups.

The bodies of approximately 16 greyhounds were found outside a rural Florida slaughterhouse by the investigative team of a local television station acting on a tip. The slaughterhouse company, Skip Lea, processes dead animals into food for dogs, alligators and panthers It reportedly supplies meat to many Florida tracks and dog farms. When officials arrived the following morning, the evidence (bodies) had been destroyed.

"He's my Denny," A two-year old male greyhound racing at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club died on January 28,1996 from untreated, gangrenous wounds sustained in a dog fight five days earlier, The dog was discovered when nearby greyhound adoption volunteers heard him whimpering in his crate. The dog's trainer and caregiver was arrested on a charge of felony animal cruelty. A kennel assistant was arrested on a misdemeanor animal abandonment charge. [ photo ]

7 greyhounds were sold by a New Hampshire trainer to a Canadian who intended to cross-breed them with huskies to make faster sled dogs. After numerous rescue attempts, officials finally rescued the dogs from an unheated shed in freezing temperatures. The dogs were housed two to a crate.

Despite widely reported atrocities in 1993 at the Coeur D'Alene dog track in Idaho, widespread abuse continued into 1995, according to severa trainers. One trainer was alleged to have electrocuted several dogs in 1992 but not targeted for investigation by the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement until May 1995. Stating commonplace abuse and inhumane kennel conditions, five trainers reported various cases in which dogs were shot, beaten, and had their throats slashed. One claimed to have witnessed another trainer beat six puppies to death with a claw hammer. Several trainers admitted to drugging their dogs or overvorking or overfeeding the animals to alter the outcome of races. Both the Idaho Racing Commission and the National Greyhound Association had reportedly been contacted repeatedly about abusive situations at tht kennel compound.

20 greyhounds died of heat stroke at the Jacksonville KennelClub in Florida The temperature inside the kennel soared when the air conditioning unit broke down and a backup sensor failed. The sensor was improperly set at 98 degrees.

51 greyhounds died of extreme heat exposure near Lubbock, Texas when the air conditioner for the training room in which they were located stopped working. According to local law enforcement officials, three breaker switches for the air conditioning units were discovered in the "off" position, while other breaker switches were in the "on" position.

65 greyhounds, many near death from starvation, were discovered at a greyhound breeding farm in Ballinger, Texas. According to an animal control officer, the crowded kennels were filled with feces and the skeletal remains of other dogs.

12 racing greyhounds were illegally sold to the University of Arizona without the permission of their registered owners. Greyhounds are typically owned by private investors but handled on a day-to-day basis and often disposed of by trainers and kennel owners. In 1993, at the U of A lab alone, approximately one-hundred-twenty greyhounds were killed in research.

8 greyhounds were left unprotected in outside runs during freezing January temperatures by an Iowa framer and were eventually seized by county authorities in Moscow, Iowa. The dogs had been left out during periods when wind chill factors registered minus twenty-five degrees.

Over 400 former American racing greyhounds, including many originally from New England and Florida, were found abandoned and starving in their crates at a bankrupt race track on Margarita Island, Venezuela. Humane officials discovered sixty-one dogs already dead and later euthanized fifteen others. According to one humane official, the greyhounds were dying at a rate of five a day.

8 malnourished greyhounds were seized by animal control forces in Dumas, Texas. The court charged tho dogs' keeper with cruelty and removed the dogs from the facility.

Bloodied and mutilated greyhounds were shown in footage exposing the flow of excess greyhounds into labs at Colorado State University. The university reportedly receives and uses about 450 greyhounds a year. The graphic footage showed unsanitary conditions of CSU's holding pens.

180 greyhounds were injured in a three month period at Wisconsin's Dairyland track in 1993. Many of the dogs experienced career- ending injuries, including broken legs, hips, shoulders, and hocks.

4 racing greyhounds died in transit apparently from dehydration or heat stress in a hauling vehicle traveling through the Arizona desert from Colorado.

3 tightly muzzled greyhounds were found abandoned at a marina north of St. Petersburg, Florida.

37 greyhounds were discovered dead and another 141 starving at a greyhound farm in Cherry Lake, Florida. The owner had left teenagers in charge of the animals.

1O severely emaciated greyhounds were found near death, abandoned in a padlocked kennel outside Phoenix. One dog was in the words of one humane officer, "the worst I've ever seen that was still alive." [ photos ]

Losing greyhounds at an Idaho dog track were electrocuted or shipped out of state to be shot according to five trainers. One trainer described electrocution of dogs using the "Tijuana hot plate treatment," so called because in Mexico 'they used to electrocute their dogs.' Another trainer, who saw the device used to kill a dog at the track's kennel compound, described how clips were attached to either end of the dog's body. When the switch was flipped, the animal reportedly screamed for twenty seconds. Bob Lee, a general manager of the track, admitted that electrocution was used at other tracks in the past but denied its use at his facility.

28 dogs too slow to race competitively in the United States were sold to a South American businessman to introduce greyhound racing Brazil. The dogs, several of which had obvious injuries, were running exhibition races outside shopping malls in several cities.

Racer C.G. Dude had a heavy gauge wire inserted into the sheath of his penis without anesthetic by trainer John Duncan at a track in Raynham, Massachusetts, supposedly to keep the dog from sexual arousal that might alter his racing performance. Duncan reportedly performed the procedure regularly on male dogs in his care.

12 underweight and malnourished greyhounds from a Vermont track were brought by their trainer to be euthanized by a local animal shelter. Multiple wounds on the dogs' bodies indicated excessive caging; their fur was reportedly cover with feces, dirt, and pus. All had been housed within kennel facilities at Vermont's Green Mountain racetrack under the care of a veterinarian appointed by the state.

5 extremely emaciated greyhounds found on urine covered bedding in dirty pens with little or no ventilation were among seven greyhounds seized by Pima County Animal Control officers in Tucson. The animals were suffering from excessive sores caused by poor bedding. They were in the care of an expelled NGA member.

175 greyhounds were to be shipped from Canon City, Colorado to Hong Kong to race in Macau according to a 1992 article. In February of 1994, English greyhound trainer Colin Bastafield descnbed his experience working in Macau to a British reporter "The dogs there are literally raced to the death and rarely last more than six months," he noted. According to Bastafield claims forty dogs a month are regularly sent from Britain to Hong Kong on a twenty-six hour journey in cramped crates. Four dogs per trip typically are dead on arrival.

The decomposing bodies of 143 greyhounds shot in the head were discovered by farm workers in an abandoned fruit grove outside Phoenix. As in many states, the shooting of dogs in one's possession is not illegal in Arizona.

87 greyhounds burned to death in a fire at the wooden kennel compound in Lynn, Massachusetts when flames ignited the shredded paper lining their cage. The independently-owned compound houses an estimated 1,000 dogs racing at Massachusett's Wonderland racetrack. The state has no restrictions in its racing rules and regulations regarding housing and general treatment of the dogs.

200 former U.S. racing greyhounds awaiting shipment to race in Venezuela were found starving in their own waste at a greyhound farm in Summerfield, Florida. Humane officials also found recently killed dogs, including puppies, in a nearby pit.

8 greyhounds were found shot to death in a lemon grove outside Chandler, Arizona. The dogs' left ears had been cut off to remove identifying tattoo numbers.

Greyhounds were discovered in different stages of dehydration and malnutrition in unsanitary kennels at the Key West, Florida track compound in February 1991. Despite frequent warnings, conditions at the track included dirty, foul-smelling pens, large trucks of feces left for days, excessive fleas and ticks,and swarms of maggots and flies in meat lockers.

35 greyhounds were discovered abandoned in their crates at the Key West kennel on December 29, 1990.

Rancid meat infested with flies and maggots was discovered at Florida's Key West dog track on November 28, 1990. Inspectors reported sick dogs, many of whom where missing races because of the bad meat. Greyhounds are routinely fed raw "4D meat" - that of diseased, dying, downed, or dead animals rejected by the USDA for human consumption.

98 dogs shipped from New Hampshire were discovered in the Key West track compound laying in their own feces and vomit in bare wooden crates on October 16, 1990. Their trainer had not arrived. The dogs were grossly underweight.

2 female greyhounds were discovered in a dumpster at a greyhound kennel in Phoenix, one bludgeoned with an object described as a claw hammer. Both dogs were 50% underweight and close to death. Inside the kennel, one greyhound was found dead and approximately 50 others were in poor condition.

101 sick, skeletal greyhounds were carried out of a greyhound kennel in Tucson. 36 of the dogs could not be kept alive.

The bodies of 35 greyhounds were found three weeks after the dogs had died of thirst or starvation at a Yuma training farm. Some dogs were locked into kennels; others were found in a fenced-in area.

2 dead greyhounds and 23 others left starving in small compartments were discovered at a greyhound kennel near Ocala, Florida in 1989. The emaciated animals were covered with fleas and ticks.

An entire kennel of starved, dehydrated greyhounds was discovered within the Yuma track compound. Some dogs weighed less than 20 pounds.

83 starving and diseased greyhounds were found at a greyhound kennel in Dowling Park, Florida. The dogs were in such poor condition that they were soon euthanized. "They were just skeletons that were breathing," said Humane Society official Ken Johnson. Their caretaker reportedly stopped feeding them over a pay dispute.

2 Arizona dog dealers fraudulently sold at least 600 greyhounds to several research facilities between 1988 and 1989 according to U.S.D.A. records. 20 greyhounds were slated for an 8-week bone- breaking experiment at the Letterman Army Institute for Research at the Presido but were later released after protests by the animal welfare community.

16 dead greyhounds were discovered amidst spoiled meat and household garbage at the Granite Landfill near Athol, Idaho. "It's always been accepted in the business that dogs that cannot win and cannot be adopted must be put down. It's just something we do as an industry," said Bob Lee, general manager of the nearby Coeur d'Alene greyhound track. "We try to play it down because it is unpleasant, but it happens."

23 greyhounds were euthanized in a single day at the Escambia County shelter in northwest Florida, which reportedly received 25 or more greyhounds to be killed monthly during greyhound racing season. The volume of greyhounds received was causing the facility to run a new $40,000 incinerator almost day and night. 'lt's pretty common with dogs that don't run,' commented a local veterinarian. 'There are a lot that are killed, it's strictly a business.'

141 greyhounds were poisoned with a pesticide used to kill fleas and ticks mixed into their food in 1986.

In 1983, city workers at a Key West landfill witnessed greyhound trainer Milton Blackwell unloading 6 greyhounds from a truckload of dogs and shoot each in the head with a .22 caliber pistol. Blackwell was convicted of firing a gun, but acquitted of a cruelly to animals charge.

In a court deposition attended by the state for the 1983 Key West case involving Milton Blackwell, veterinarian Dr. William Deans testified as to the many thousands of greyhounds destroyed annually and stated that in 25 years he had personally euthanized approximately 10,000 greyhounds.

25 greyhound skeletons and several dozen starving and dehydrated dogs were found at an Osteen, Florida breeding farm in June 1981.