b'A Safe LandingFor American Greyhoundsby Christine A. Dorchak, Esq.As I sit with my angelic Greyhound Gina, rescued from heart attack at the age of three. Living Fast died of a seizureDerby Lane in St. Petersburg, I think of all the racing dogs inhiscage.Hewasonlytwoyearsold.Darkbrindlewho never felt a soft touch or heard a kind word. Many of beauty, Flying Betty Lou, was the saddest victim of all. Justthese dogs were featured in the 2018 campaign to ban dog after the picture (below) was taken, she crushed her skull inracing in Florida. Amendment 13 passed statewide by a a practice race. She was only one.landslide margin of 69%, but help came too late for the 74dogs who died just before election day. Penrose Jake was just three years old when he collidedwithanotherdogwhileracingatOrangePark.RoyalRunner was electrocuted when he fell into the rail at PalmBeach. He was just two. A puppy named Tempo Jester diedfrom extreme exhaustion after a schooling (training) racein Miami. Flying Meteorite finished last in his race at Ebroand died of a heat stroke. The cruelty of dog racing in theSunshine State went on for almost 100 years.Thankfully,since2001,morethanfourdozenAmerican tracks have been shuttered. OnMarch 24,2022Oregon passed a prohibition on dog racing. This ground-breakingmeasurealsolimitedinternetwagingonGreyhounds. Then on May 15, Iowa held its final dog racewiththeclosureofitsonlytrack,DubuqueGreyhoundPark. Kansas, which had already closed all three of its tracksmore than a decadeago, followed in April with a measureoutlawingsimulcastwageringaswell.CommercialGreyhound racing is now illegal in 42 states as well as the The political fight in the Mountain State has been chal-USTerritoryofGuam.Thetrendistrulywiththe lenging. Not only has the Governor blocked a measure thatGreyhounds in what has been an historic twenty years for would have ended dog racing and established a million dol-anti-racing advocates.lar adoption fund for the hounds, but state lawmakers con-There is still work to do, however. In six states, all dog tinue to provide $17 million in annual subsidies to localtrackshaveclosedandceasedliveracing,butbreeding Greyhound breeders. These funds would be better spentfarms remain in operation because a prohibitory statute has buildingandrepairingroads,hiringmoreteachersornotyetpassedintolaw.ThesestatesareAlabama, public safety officers, helping homeless and food insecureConnecticut,Kansas,Iowa,Texas,andWisconsin.Pari- residents, providing health careyou name it. But instead,mutuel dog racing remains legal and operational in two thismoneyiswastedproppingupadepravedbusinessstatesArkansas and West Virginia. But while the former which has repeatedly been caught using small animals asis in the process of winding down, West Virginia remains bait to train young Greyhounds.determined to offer itself as the last outpost for Greyhound Liveluretraining(orblooding)referstotheuseofgambling. smallanimalstoexciteandenhanceachaseinstinctinAt West Virginias two tracks, 10,000 dogs have been youngGreyhounds.Typically,screaminganimalsareinjured since 2008. In 2021 alone, 627 Greyhound injuries dangled before Greyhounds, dragged in front of them onwere reported and twelve dogs died. GTs Cocobolo had a ropes, or simply set loose to be attacked. 52THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'