Florida

The state of Florida currently has 16 greyhound tracks in operation. As you can see, Florida easily holds the record for the MOST documented cases of greyhound abuse and killing of all the states where dog racing is legal. Definitely something to be proud of...

 

GREYHOUND ADVOCATES SEEK COCAINE PROBE
A group opposed to greyhound racing, along with the Humane Society of the United States, asked Florida on Wednesday to investigate cocaine use at dog tracks.
The request to the state attorney general follows a newspaper report that pointed to positive tests for cocaine in some 100 dogs over three years.
read more
Source: MaconTelegraph.com, David Royse, Associated Press, 5/19/04

A GREYHOUND HAD TO BE EUTHANIZED AFTER IT WAS HIT BY THE TRACK'S MECHANICAL LURE
Leta's Princess, a 3-year-old female, walked into the path of the lure that dogs chase and was struck with the equivalent of 200 pounds of pressure Sunday afternoon at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, said Theresa Hume, the track's director of publicity.
read more
Source: The Associated Press, July 15, 2003

DEATH OF RACE DOG RULED ACCIDENTAL
One greyhound died and two others were left near death when the air conditioning system malfunctioned in a truck transporting 38 of the racing dogs from Miami to Naples, a state probe concluded Tuesday.
read more
Source: Miami Herald, BY Luisa Yanez, August 14, 2002

DISMAL END FOR RACE DOGS, ALABAMA AUTHORITIES SAY
The last stop on the Florida greyhound racing circuit was supposed to be the Pensacola dog track, where over-the-hill racers hustled after the mechanical rabbit one last time.

But for dogs that could not keep up the pace, the authorities say, it turns out that the end of the line would often be across Perdido Bay, in a dusty corner of Alabama, in a ditch behind the ramshackle home of one Robert L. Rhodes.

Here, on an 18-acre spread strewn with rusty trailers, filthy sheds, steel animal traps and a small menagerie of hogs, cows and billy goats, Mr. Rhodes routinely disposed of used-up greyhounds with a bullet to the brain, prosecutors say.

Judging from aerial photos of mounds of bones, Mr. Rhodes's own admissions, and the number of dog carcasses unearthed on Tuesday in just one pit, investigators say they believe Mr. Rhodes slaughtered 1,000 to 3,000 dogs over the last 10 years. read more
Source: The New York Times, By David M. Halbfinger, May 23, 2002

GREYHOUNDS FOUND BURIED ON TRACK PROPERTY AT PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB
A long-time greyhound trainer has admitted that he buried three dogs at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in August to cover-up their deaths from heat stroke. Mitch Haber cut the ears off three of the dogs he disposed of to avoid identification through the dogs' ear tattoos. He admitted that the five greyhounds were left outside in the Florida heat for three hours. Three of the dogs were found dead, a fourth greyhound later died, and the fifth dog is recovering. The dead greyhounds were Mask of Courage, Positive Thought, Haberfield, and Tiebreak Winner. Source: Palm Beach Post, September 8, 2000

RACER, "TUNE ME IN" BLED TO DEATH WITH FATAL INJURIES AFTER BEING HIT BY THE MECHANICAL LURE ARM at the Naples-Ft. Myers track during an evening race on February 23, 2000. Eyewitnesses told greyhound advocates that Tune Me In appeared to be in great pain and distress as evidenced by her screams and cries which went on for some time before track personnel responded. By the time euthanasia was performed, the dog, who was in agony for over 30 minutes, was almost dead. An investigation by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering determined that no violation of any rules or statutes had taken place. GPL Florida representatives have formally questioned the gross omissions and trivialization of the horrendous incident by state racing officials, including failure to interview any of the eyewitnesses and failure to review the accident on track videotape.
Source: Naples Daily News/ March 16, 2000, Florida Greyhound Protection Research Files

FOUR GREYHOUNDS WERE HIT BY A TRUCK AND KILLED WHEN they escaped from their kennel in Palm Beach, Florida. Theresa Hume, spokesperson for the Palm Beach Kennel Club said "the safe barriers did not work today."
Source: WPTV Channel 5 News Transcript, October 7, 1998

TWO GREYHOUNDS DIED FROM THE HEAT during a cross country rescue haul. The drivers were using a makeshift aluminum trailer to transport dogs from Florida to a Philadelphia adoption program when they got lost and encountered gridlock traffic near Wasington, D.C. in a 97 degree heatwave.
Source: The (Howard County) Sun/ Nancy Youssef, June 9, 1999, Maryland State Police News Release, June 8, 1999

A TWO YEAR OLD GREYHOUND OWNED BY A FORMER KENNEL EMPLOYEE WORKING AT TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK DIED OF NEGLECT IN JANUARY, AFTER IT WAS ABANDONED IN A TRAILER PARK. An animal control officer responding to a call discovered the male greyhound lying on the ground in extremely emaciated condition. The dog had died recently. The owner, Stephanie Seitsinger, had apparently left the dog outside her mother's trailer and moved away. Seitsinger and her boyfriend, both licensed to work as coolouts at the Tucson track, were later found responsible for the neglect and ultimate death of the dog.
Source: Sun Sentinal (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)/ Larry Barsezewski, Sarah Lundy, May 29, 1998, The Palm Beach Post/ Tim Pallesen, May 30, 1998

14 UNDERWEIGHT AND FLEA INFESTED GREYHOUNDS WERE BROUGHT TO THE THOMASVILLE HUMANE SOCIETY ANIMAL SHELTER in Georgia on September 3 by a kennel operator from the Jefferson County Kennel Club, an end-of-the-line track in northwestern Florida. The small shelter was unprepared for the sudden influx of so many dogs. The same operator left another seven greyhounds with Tallahassee Animal Services and another three dogs at the track. Through the response of emergency efforts by Florida greyhound adoption groups, most of the dogs were saved. Two of the three dogs left at the track had already been killed.
Source: Times-Enterprise/ Denise T. Ward, September 5, 1997

APPROXIMATELY 600-800 GREYHOUNDS FROM THE PENSACOLA FLORIDA TRACK ARE DISPOSED OF EACH YEAR BY A LOCAL ANIMAL SHELTER. Black bags filled with the dead dogs are picked up at local veterinary 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."
Source: Pensacola News Journal/ Troy Moon, November 24, 1996

60 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 a local sheriff. The dogs had been transported from Monticello, Florida in a small dog truck 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 severely sick and injured. The dogs were later transferred to adoption groups.
Source: The Hampton Union/ Susan Morse, September 13, 1996, WBZ-TV, September 11, 1996

THE BODIES OF APPROXIMATELY 16 GREYHOUNDS WERE FOUND OUTSIDE A RURAL FLORIDA SLAUGHTERHOUSE by an 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. Skip Lea also supplies meat to many greyhound tracks and dog farms. When officials arrived the following morning, the evidence [the bodies] had been destroyed.
Source: WFLA-TV (Tampa)/ Transcripts, June 18, 1996, The Tampa Tribune/ Deborah Van Pelt, June 20, 1996, St. Petersburg Times, June 21, 1996

"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 asistant was arrested on a misdemeanor animal abandonment charge.
Source: Daytona Beach News Journal/ Joseph Ditzler, February 8, 1996

20 GREYHOUNDS DIED OF HEAT STROKE at the Jacksonville Kennel Club in Florida. The temperature inside the kennel soared when the air conditioning unit broke down and the backup sensor failed. The sensor was improperly set at 98 degrees.
Source: The Florida Times-Union/ Dana Treen, May 10, 1995

FOUR GREYHOUNDS DIED AND ANOTHER 48 WERE RESCUED May 29, 1998 after a fire broke out at the kennel compound for the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Welders were repairing the air-conditioning system when a spark ignited a duct filled with dust and dog hair. One dog was dead at the scene; three others were taken to vet clinic where they later died. Approximately 1,000 dogs are housed at the facility.
Source: Sun Sentinal (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)/ Larry Barsezewski, Sarah Lundy, May 29, 1998, The Palm Beach Post/ Tim Pallesen, May 30, 1998

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.
Source: Boston Globe/Robin Romano, December 31, 1993

3 TIGHTLY MUZZLED GREYHOUNDS WERE FOUND ABANDONED AT A MARINA NORTH OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA.
Source: St. Petersburg Times/ Carol Clancy, July 25, 1993

37 GREYHOUNDS WERE DISCOVERED DEAD AND ANOTHER 141 STARVING at a greyhound farm in Cherry Lake, Florida.
Source: St. Petersburg Times/ Brian Landman, July 17, 1993

200 FORMER AMERICAN 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.
Source: The Ocala Banner, November, 1991, National Geographic Explorer (TNT) January 1993

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 and excessive flea and tick infestations.
Source: Miami Herald, Febraury 27, 1991

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 were missing races because of having ingested the bad meat.
Source: Miami Herald/ Dan Keating, March 3, 1991

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 in fleas and ticks.
Source: The Arizona Republic, September 30, 1990

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 one HSUS official.
Source: The Ledger/Associated Press, August 18, 1989

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 THE RACING SEASON. The volume of greyhounds received was causing the facility to run a new $40,000 incinerator almost day and night. 'It'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.'
Source: Pensacola News-Journal/ Cindy West, September 9, 1987

IN 1983, CITY WORKERS AT A KEY WEST LANDFILL WITNESSED GREYHOUND TRAINER MILTON BLACKWELL UNLOAD 6 GREYHOUNDS FROM A TRUCK LOAD OF DOGS AND SHOOT EACH DOG IN THE HEAD WITH A .22 CALIBER PISTOL. Blackwell was convicted of firing a gun, but acquitted of a cruelty to animals charge.
Source: Miami Herald Tropic Magazine/ Gary Karasik, October 21, 1990

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.
Source: Florida Court Records 1990