No rest for greyhounds
Not long after Florida voters overwhelmingly chose to ban greyhound racing — eliminating 11 of America’s 17 remaining dog tracks by the end of 2020 — new battle lines are being drawn over who will eventually handle adoptions for the dogs that are now coming up through breeding and training kennels.
If the racing industry and its supporters have their way, it won’t be anybody who persuaded Floridians the dogs needed saving in the first place.
The National Greyhound Association, which registers all racing greyhounds and fought the ban, says it will shun any rescue groups that worked to end the sport in the Sunshine State.
Grey2K — which has worked to enact legislation since 2001 — does not find homes for greyhounds but has a sister organization that makes grants to groups that do. Its president, Christine Dorchak, said the push to wind down Florida racing by giving dogs only to adoption groups that opposed the ban is nothing new.
“The industry will try to keep a tight wrap on these dogs,” Dorchak says. “It’s quite clear now that they have a list of which groups are on the good list and which are on the bad list. They always say that. We’ll end up getting dogs into our network. We always do.”