Life After Racing, Part 2

By Leslie A. Wootten

South American Conundrum

Sergio Cortella and his wife, Silvana Rizzi, operate Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption, a non-profit group based in Hollywood, Florida. The couple also owns Hollydogs Pet Hotel. Because this was the group Anonymous pointed to, I spent hours talking to Sergio Cortella on the phone. His wife did not wish to speak with me. The only communication I had with her was a brief telephone conversation in which she indicated her husband knew nothing about Greyhounds going to South America, and via an email where she wrote, “Throught out [sic] the years, I have received numerous requests for adoption from the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, you name it and I had [sic] always rejected the request.”

In Florida, I visited the combined facility of Hollydogs adoption kennel and pet hotel, which is a couple of blocks from Hollywood Greyhound Track. The Greyhounds appeared well-fed and healthy, the place spotless. Sergio Cortella served as host, and he was cordial during my visit and during all telephone conversations. He did convey that my inquiries had created trouble for him with his wife who has never approved of his “wheeling and dealing” involvement with Greyhounds.

Cortella said he has a passion for the kind of short course racing that occurs in his home country of Argentina, and that he also has a fondness for amateur lure coursing competitions in the USA. In years past, he apparently very much liked track racing in the USA, as well. His wife, he noted, does not share his appreciation for racing of any kind, and this gap has at times created tension in their relationship.

Hollydogs Adoption Vehicle

In fact, Silvana Rizzi is staunchly anti-racing according to a December 2, 2010, Miami Herald article where she is quoted as stating, “For many years we stayed politically correct so that we could rescue the animals and find them homes. Now we have the connections we need to do that and work to see legislation abolish Greyhound racing.” Cortella told me his wife was misquoted, but the 2009 nonprofit income tax form (990) for Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption reinforces her quoted statement in the Miami Herald. The 990 form states the group’s mission is “Rescue—rehabilitation and placement of retired racing Greyhounds that otherwise would have been destroyed into qualified loving homes.” Their website states, “Sadly many greyhounds are destroyed on a regular basis because they do not have any place to go.” Such comments confirm an anti-racing stance, although Cortella insisted he has always advocated a position that is middle-of-the road, not too extreme one way or the other.

Curiously enough, Hollydogs is one of seven adoption groups in Florida that Grey2k’s website linked to as recently as February 13, 2011. Hollydogs’ rhetoric is surprisingly similar to that of Grey2K. When I asked Dorchak how her organization determines what groups to link to on the Grey2K website, she stated there is an open invitation for any group to request linkage. She added that the groups tend to “share our view.” Indeed, that certainly appears to be the case here. Another group that Grey2K links to is the National Greyhound Adoption Program (NGAP) based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an organization led by David Wolf, who is extremely vocal about his anti-racing position. Hollydogs’ website notes that Wolf provided high-definition photos for their “Greyhounds Going Home” bus, which transports Greyhounds to Wolf’s NGAP facility for adoption.

According to Cortella, he and his wife moved to Florida from Argentina in the early 1990s. They both worked for a time at racing kennels in the state. Unhappy with that experience, the couple decided to leave the racetrack realm. Soon, they shifted into Greyhound pet adoption, setting up their nonprofit group in 1994. Despite the shift in focus, Cortella’s interest in competitive Greyhound bloodlines—and competition—continued. He immersed himself in amateur lure coursing all over the country, capturing numerous trophies with his own Greyhound competitors.

Ebony River

Given his exposure to U.S. Greyhounds and his ever-increasing knowledge, he became the primary source of consultation and information for South American individuals seeking quality Greyhounds. Through the years, Cortella connected South American buyers with U.S. Greyhound owners, and legitimate sales occurred. He noted he was occasionally paid a commission by the sellers. Two of the Greyhound stud sales he was involved with include Ebony River (runner-up in the 2006 Derby Lane Million) and I’ve Got You Babe. These and other transactions were confirmed with the U.S. owner, Cary Alsobrook, who told me, “Sergio and I have always had a good relationship.”

Running alongside confirmed facts are anecdotes that infer Cortella’s involvement in selling or transferring adoptive Greyhounds to South American interests without owner consent. Of course, it would be easy to conclude that because Cortella has an adoption group, he might skim off a few Greyhounds now-and-then to sell to South American interests, or that he might have used the cream-of-the-crop adoptees in his lure coursing adventures. Some believe these possibilities to be true. When confronted, Cortella denied such activity convincingly, and I discovered no factual evidence to prove him wrong.

What Cortella freely admitted is that some of the South American individuals began making their own contacts with owners and/or kennel operators. He noted that others who had worked with him spiraled out of his control, causing Greyhounds to be sold or given away to unknowns in South America. Disapproving of such activity, Cortella consequently severed relations with at least one individual who, in turn, began a hostile campaign against him, spreading misinformation on discussion boards and elsewhere. “That guy talks bad about me, then lists USA Greyhounds for sale,” Cortella remarked, hinting that there might be something devious about the fellow’s dealings.

It seems clear that Cortella helped spawn a voracious appetite. He indicated that South Americans have enjoyed country-style Greyhound racing for about 50 years, but recently, people have developed a particularly competitive spirit causing them to want the best bloodlines possible. This spirit has obviously been fueled by the domino effect of so many track closures in a short period of time, making stellar bloodlines easier-than-ever to acquire.

Cortella noted that South Americans do not understand the philosophy of giving “retired” racing Greyhounds to adoption groups to pet out, and that he had often had to explain the process. He might have explained the process a little too well because some have taken advantage of the opportunity to get quality bloodlines for minimal investment, sometimes free except for the price of health certificates and airfare. The ploy has clearly worked in a number of cases, especially in South Florida where nonstop, daily flights are commonplace between Miami and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile.

Make no mistake, some individuals from other countries have purchased Greyhounds with owner consent, but other Greyhounds have slipped through the cracks, unwitting products of Grey2K’s doctrinaire cause to stop what they call “the cruelty of Greyhound racing.” The organization claims, “Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane and should be prohibited,” as if that is the end of the story. But, of course, the story doesn’t end there at all.

Comments on Part 2

It's been a year and Carey Theil has had ample opportunity to fess up and explain why Grey2K USA actions created a boom time for South American greyhound racing and breeding.  He has remained silent. Why? Well, as long as he has a public that does not know what Grey2K is really about then Carey has an opportunity to continually collect money so he and his wife, Christine Dorchak, who masquerades as the organization's president, can line their own pockets with money that should go to real heroes, the heroes of greyhound adoption!

Grey2K likes to toot it's own horn about Massachusetts victory, but they are unwilling to debate the Cause and Effect of Grey2K USA's own actions.  Why?