Posted on MaconTelegraph.com Wed, May. 19, 2004

Greyhound Advocates Seek Cocaine Probe

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - 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.

David Roberts, the head of the state's Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering, said regulators have "found no evidence that anyone has given cocaine to a dog" directly.
The agency does a thorough investigation every time a dog tests positive, Roberts said, and the dogs' trainers usually have their licenses suspended or revoked.

Greyhound advocates say if the dogs aren't being drugged then positives must be caused by dog handlers having used cocaine. That's another reason law enforcement should be involved, said Christine Dorchak, vice president of Somerville, Mass.-based GREY2K USA.

"People who are under the influence of narcotics should not be responsible for the health and welfare of these dogs," she said.

GREY2K USA and the Humane Society asked Attorney General Charlie Crist to conduct an independent investigation to see if dogs are being intentionally drugged to enhance their performance.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general said the letter hadn't arrived at Crist's office, but she said he would review it.

Racing regulators say the state conducted more than 100,000 drug tests of dogs in the three-year period, so the number of positive tests was less than one-tenth of 1 percent.

Source: MaconTelegraph.com, David Royse, Associated Press, 5/19/04