Fake Dog Protectors Resort to Mob Hysteria & Tactics

By Dennis McKeon

FAKE DOG PROTECTORS RESORT TO MOB HYSTERIA and TACTICS, as the number of Greyhound Adoption Groups who have gone on public record by taking a stand against Amendment 13 nears the century mark.

The animal rights extremist groups, who are attempting to ban greyhound racing in Florida by Constitutional mandate, have gone off the deeper, deep end. Alex Jones and Q-Anon are old news. The anti-racing, anti-greyhound movement has taken their place in American culture and folklore, at the forefront of outlandish promotion of unlikely and inane conspiracy theories.

As 95 Greyhound-specific adoption charities publicly state their opposition to the tyranny of animal rights dementia, and to the patently anti-greyhound legislation that these two-bit tyrants and donation-hustlers have proposed to pervert the Florida Constitution, and to displace thousands of Florida’s Greyhounds, they have resorted to orchestrated personal attacks against the leaders and members of these charitable groups.

This follows on the heels of the now infamous conspiracy theory they put forth, alleging that these Greyhound adoption charities were somehow coerced or paid-off by the “racing industry”, to publicly disavow Amendment 13, and its proposed ban of Greyhound racing in Florida. Coerced, one imagines, by the “threat” of being blackballed-out of spending untold thousands of dollars of their self-generated-monies, to care for and re-home several thousand retiring greyhounds each year.

Just who in the “racing industry” made this threat, exerted this force, or financially seduced these adoption groups is unclear, inasmuch as the majority of Florida’s greyhound racetrack operators would rather their venues become full time casinos--and if you gave them a lie detector test, they’d just as soon be rid of racing.

So the anti-racing mob has resorted to heaping verbal abuse upon 95 Greyhound charities, their leaders and their members, whose only crime, it seems, is in having a future vision for the Greyhound in America. A future that preserves its athletic aptitudes, and honors its athletic heritage and legacy. A future that provides an objective method of selectivity for breeders, based upon actual athletic performance and performance data, observable and/or gleaned from head-to-head athletic competition. A future that will keep the breed on an athletically adaptive curve, and one that will insure a plethora of critical, genetic diversity.

These Greyhound adoption volunteers have performed an adoption miracle for the Greyhounds of America, without any assistance from the fake dog protectors of the “Yes on 13” mob. Today, adoption has become the final career phase for the American Racing Greyhound, thanks to the monumental, charitable and painstaking works of these adoption volunteers and the charities with which they are affiliated. Our US adoption network and culture is the envy of every country where Greyhounds exist for the purpose of racing. They are an iconic phenomenon, and they deserve the heartfelt thanks of every Greyhound-interested person in the world.

What they don’t deserve, is abuse, threats or bullying from the multi-millionaire, animal rights grifters, and the conspiracy-addled, emotional fascists of the Yes on 13 mob.

They also deserve a public apology from the culprits, for trying to advance their diabolically anti-greyhound agenda, by attempting to corrupt, in the public mind, by asinine conspiracy theorizing, their unselfish, charitable and unprecedented greyhound welfare endeavors and achievements.

I would personally like to thank each and every one of these individuals who belong to the 95 Greyhound adoption charities, for having the courage and the compassion to take a stand against the mob tactics of animal rights tyrants, for the present and future welfare of the Greyhound breed, and for epitomizing what it means to truly be “all about the dogs”.

Protect Greyhounds and Greyhound adoption groups from fake dog protectors (and wacky conspiracy theorists).

Vote NO on Florida amendment 13

copyright, 2018

HSUS and Greyhounds

By Dennis McKeon

HSUS prefers killing greyhounds to pensioning them.

"I don't think the humane movement would be quick to condemn the humane destruction of these greyhounds... we would much rather see them humanely destroyed than to see someone attempt to perpetuate them on a farm for retired greyhounds for years and years to come." ... John Hoyt, VP of the Humane Society of the United States... Turnout Magazine, 1983.

Do you get it now Greyhound Nation?

The fake dog protectors are exactly who we thought they were. Their war on Greyhounds continues, as we speak, via proposed Amendment 13 -- which will put 8,000 or more Florida greyhounds at risk, as soon as January 1, 2019. That's just about 10 weeks from today. don't be fooled by activist lies. There is NO phase-out. Greyhound tracks can cease racing operations on New Year's Day. There are no contingencies for these greyhounds, and no appropriations for them, once their racing revenue streams and incomes are shut off. 

Although I have told this story to Greyhound Nation more than once, this is the black and white proof of the Humane Society of the United States' 40-plus year war against the racing Greyhound breed -- which goes on today, via the fake dog protectors of Yes On 13, where they are the prime movers. 

Thanks to Real Greyhound Advocates

Please share and remember...

Protect Greyhounds from fake dog protectors...

Vote NO on 13.

copyright 2018

Before You Vote in Florida...

Ask yourself…

How can…

• greyhounds “confined to crates 23 hours a day” run 45 mph on a track?
• a greyhound die “every three days” when the injury rate in racing is 0.3%?
• “thousands of dogs be thrown away” when the adoption rate for greyhounds is 95%-98%?
• greyhounds be “abused and neglected” when they quickly become wonderful pets in homes?

If this proposed Amendment is focused on greyhound welfare, why does it...

• allow casinos to close tracks on 12/31/18 rather than mandating closure in 2 years as purported?
• commit nothing towards placing 8K-10K greyhounds in homes? 
• place greyhounds in overcrowded, high kill animal shelters?
• ban wagering on live racing yet allows wagering on greyhound races from other states?

Do you know that...

• greyhound racing contributed >$96 million into the Florida State School Trust Fund?
• HSUS, ASPCA, Grey2K and PETA raised over $300 million last year and gave less than 1% to animal rescue groups?
• passage of 13 allows expansion of casinos in FL without voter consent?
• passage of 13 opens the state up to $500 million in lawsuits for inverse condemnation. 

To date, 85 greyhound adoption groups in the US & Canada, comprised of thousands of volunteers who love the breed, support racing. They KNOW the dogs are treated right. 

Amendment 13 is a poor bet for Florida taxpayers & for greyhounds.

If you want to learn more, may I suggest these links.

Amendment 13 - A Poor Bet for Floridians

Ending Greyhound Racing Could Cost State $500 Million

Greyhound Racing Ban Means $400K Loss to Education

Greyhound Chronicles - Life Behind the Scenes

copyright 2018

A Greyhound Dies Every Three Days on a Florida Track - DEBUNKED

“You only use 10 percent of your brain. Eating carrots improves your eyesight. Vitamin C cures the common cold. Crime in the United States is at an all-time high.

None of those things are true. But the facts don't actually matter: People repeat them so often that you believe them. Welcome to the “illusory truth effect,” a glitch in the human psyche that equates repetition with truth. Marketers and politicians are masters of manipulating this particular cognitive bias---which perhaps you have become more familiar with lately.“ —- from “Want to Make a Lie Seem True? Say it Again. And Again. And Again.” Emily Dreyfuss 2/11/17 Sound familiar? One of the most often repeated phrases of the anti-racing faction in recent years is the deceptive statistic that a greyhound dies every three days on Florida racetracks. Grey2K masterminded this catch phrase after successfully sponsoring a law, which became effective mid-2013, requiring that every death of a greyhound occurring on Florida track grounds be reported to the state. It doesn’t matter if the death was race related, from illness or natural causes - it must be reported. That there was no effort or consideration when proposing this law to include safety measures to reduce injuries and fatalities, is indicative of their agenda. They were interested only in the numbers, not the welfare of the dogs. Five years later, Grey2K uses these reports to evoke shock, pity and anger, in their ongoing crusade to eradicate greyhound racing. From May 31, 2013 through September 30, 2017, there were 438 greyhound fatalities reported by various Florida racetracks. Grey2K has manipulated this raw data into one of the most blatant deceptions in their bag of tricks - “a greyhound dies on a Florida track every three days.” These 438 deaths of Florida greyhounds occurred over 52 months or 4.333 years. This equates to an average of 101 deaths per year. Grey2K’s claim of one death every three days, using the correct mathematical calculation, would equate to 122 per year, not 101 - a 20% overstatement on their part, but then they were never ones to shy away from exaggeration. What they don't tell you, because they don't know, is how many individual dogs were actually in residence at tracks over this 52 month period, or even over a 12 month period. We know that dogs come and go throughout the year, as some retire and others begin their official careers, so the static population at any given time has been estimated at approximately 8,000 dogs. In any given calendar year, the number might actually include as many as 12,000 individual dogs if the annual turnover rate were 50%, or 10,000 at 25%.
To be conservative, using the 8,000 figure and the true average of 101 deaths per year, the mortality rate would be 1.26%. That percentage would drop to 1% or less if the actual number of dogs in residence during a 12 month period were higher.
The 688 participants in a recent online survey circulated to owners of NGA bred pet greyhounds reported 1,506 greyhounds of any age resided in their homes in the year 2017. Of those, there were 21 deaths reported for greyhound pets younger than 6 years of age, or 1.39%.
The survey also asked participants for the overall number of pet greyhounds they’ve ever had in their homes, and how many had died prior to reaching 6 years of age. Out of 3,710 greyhounds reported, 167 died before age 6 - or 4.5%. While the pet survey is anecdotal and not independently verified, there’s no reason to believe the numbers and information reported are not accurate.
While any premature death of a racing greyhound is tragic and heart wrenching, a reasonable conclusion would be that the occurrence of fatalities at race tracks appears to be less than or in line with those occurring in pet greyhounds of similar age and from similar causes.
The larger issue is not the number of deaths or injuries on Florida greyhound tracks, but why and how could they be prevented? The Florida greyhound industry has repeatedly proposed legislation which would mandate that track owners implement strategic safety measures, as well as requiring greyhound handlers to report all racing-related injuries. At every turn, Grey2K and their affiliated legislators have struck down these proposals in favor of bills requiring injury reporting only, with no provision for injury prevention. Clearly the so-called greyhound “protectors” are more interested in maintaining their bank account balance than maintaining safe racing venues.
(c) 2018

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED on the WAY to NOVEMBER

By Dennis McKeon

Greyhound Nation is becoming woke. The Greyhound world community is slowly but surely turning its focus from discussions of the size, color and shape of their pet’s digestive output, to the state of Florida, and the political machinations of national, extremist animal rights groups, who wish to turn Florida’s estimated 8-10,000 Racing Greyhounds into fuzzy-wuzzy outlaws—in a manner of speaking.

These outside agitators and fund-raising juggernauts, who masquerade as “dog protectors”, have managed to somehow convince a significant portion of Florida’s political class, that a proposed statewide prohibition on state-regulated, pari-mutuel greyhound racing, is a question of Constitutional importance, and should become an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Florida.

So come November, voters will be asked whether or not Rover and Clover’s sanction to race in Florida, yea or nay, belongs up there with broader philosophical and constitutional matters such as:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

And that Rover and Clover’s future should be decided by voters who routinely mistake them for deer, egged on by fanatical, animal rights ideologues and propagandists, whose lack of practical, first-person knowledge or experience with greyhounds and their lives within racing, is exceeded only by their lack of ethics, and lack of veracity in their knee-jerk, talking-point, scripted opposition to Greyhound racing.

But a funny thing happened on the way to November. Something that the multi-million dollar, national animal rights fund-raising juggernauts hadn’t quite anticipated.

Thousands of Florida’s greyhound adopters, greyhound adoption providers, and greyhound adopters all over the USA, and in nearby Canada, began to question and to take exception to the mischaracterization of their loving and beloved, retired Greyhound pets, as abused and traumatized victims of institutional and systemic cruelty.

Social media lit up like a galaxy of tote-boards, with the testimonials of retired greyhound adopters and adoption providers, who realize that their beautifully-tempered, splendidly-behaved, loving and lovable adoptees, could not possibly have re-adapted as pets, and manifested so magnificently, by the hundreds of thousands, had they actually been the “victims” that those who are light years removed from their everyday lives in racing, pretend that they are.

Facebook groups and Political Action Committees were formed, to debunk the propaganda of these outside agitators, and to preserve the safe-space in Florida that Greyhounds have earned, rather than casting their fate to the unknown, by disenfranchising them via Constitutional mandate.

A local Florida artist, who was seeking truth, as artists are inclined to do, began to make real-time videos of Florida’s greyhounds, in their kennels all around the state, and in their moments of preparation, play and repose. He saw nothing but happy, healthy, personable, well-adjusted and well-cared for dogs. He shared these videos on his Greyhound Chronicles and Paint the Trail Facebook pages, so that the public could get a first-person look, behind-the-scenes, at how the greyhounds feel about their lives within racing. The public’s response was overwhelmingly positive. And the fake dog protectors? Not so much.

What is especially remarkable and noteworthy, is that these individuals, grassroots groups, committees and PACs were not sponsored, sanctioned or requested by the “greyhound racing industry”, or the National Greyhound Association, or the Florida Greyhound Association.

They are an entirely organic phenomenon, comprised mainly of retired greyhound adopters, and adoption providers, who have come to understand the crucial role that organized, state-regulated racing plays, not only for having united them with their cherished greyhound pets in the first place, but in preserving the Greyhound’s critical, thousands-of-year-old genetic diversity, athletic heritage, and their current and future well-being.

Protect Greyhounds
Vote NO on 13

copyright, 2018

The Humane Case for Greyhound Racing

By Dennis McKeon

I just finished listening to a broadcast from Florida, where a lobbyist for greyhound racing debated the “issues” with a lobbyist from an anti-racing group. To spare you the tedium of listening to it yourself, it was pretty much a win for the anti-racing lobbyist, as I heard it.

Not that the pro-racing side didn’t make valuable points. The lobbyist was well prepared with the financial, wagering and tax revenue data, which supported his point of view, that greyhound racing is far from a dying sport, and still makes significant contributions to Florida’s economy and tax coffers.

Predictably, the anti-racing lobbyist fairly ignored those facts, and went straight for the heartstrings, making the usual, spurious, counter-intuitive and inexperienced claims of cruel and inhumane confinement and handling, dietary insufficiency, and unnecessary exposure to injury, while implying that the use of illegal and performance-enhancing drugs is more than a rare and, almost always, anomalous occurrence.

Sadly, the pro-racing lobbyist made few convincing rebuttals to much of that, and had he been able. was not given a great deal of time to make them,

What was noteworthy, was that the anti-racing lobbyist admitted that today, “most greyhounds ARE adopted” after their racing careers have ended, and he waxed, near rhapsodically, about what superb pets they make.

Now that admission is quite revealing. And that is because canines either make great pets, or not so great pets---or unmanageable pets---for a number of reasons. There is a both a nature and a nurture component to the making of a great pet. There are inputs and feedback regarding both nature and nurture.

The “nature” aspect includes things like genetics, diversity, bloodlines, temperament, disposition, conformation, and how those things either may enhance or inhibit the greyhound’s ability to function and perform its job. In the case of the greyhounds most of us know, that would be chasing a mechanical lure around an oval shaped race track.

“Nurture” involves inputs and feedback, as they relate to performance of that function, and then, to selectivity when the breeder is choosing which individuals are to be bred.

The greyhounds’ “inputs”, in addition to the previously mentioned aspects of “nature”, are things such as environment, raising, handling, diet, and training. These all enhance or detract from the greyhound’s ability to function, and either limit or expand his capacity to function at a certain level.

The “feedbacks”, which are used to improve and perfect the inputs, are the results of actual, head-to-head racing competition. These competitions allow breeders and trainers to see, in no uncertain terms, whether the inputs they applied were appropriate, and when and where they may be improved upon or changed. They also enable breeders to make informed decisions about which individual greyhounds and greyhound families, are on the cutting edge of adaptation to the function of racing.

Now each and every greyhound is the embodiment---the sum total---of all these inputs and feedbacks, from nature to nurture, from the whelping box to the starting box. If they indeed do make such great pets, then it can only be a result of all these things---because of them, and not in spite of them. That is how canines work.

So we have a population of dogs who were never bred with the intention of being pets, or anything other than performing athletes, who have become a literal pet phenomenon.

And we have a ringleader of the anti-racing movement endorsing them as wonderful pets, while tacitly implying that none of these things we have discussed here, all these things that make up the individual greyhound---nature, nurture, inputs, feedback and function---have any bearing on that, whatsoever.

Accordingly, we must then infer that it is cruel and inhumane treatment, and widespread “abuse” of these greyhounds, which has made them the unprecedented success they have become as companions in retirement, the world over.

You decide.

copyright, 2017

Trying To Reason with Hurricane Season

By Dennis McKeon

This is the time of year that I usually begin to check the Weather Underground “severe weather” reports. I don’t like hurricanes. They knock over trees. I like trees. Just not on, nor through the roof of the house.

So my first of many yearly excursions to that estimable web page, brought to mind the hurricane of 2017, called Irma. It posed a clear and present danger to the state of Florida (among others). There was a great deal of concern not only for the residents of Florida, but for the estimated 8-10,000 actively racing greyhounds who live and race there.

In hindsight, it is interesting to note, that the same people who call themselves “greyhound protectors”, and who are politically active today, in attempting to ban greyhound racing in Florida, thereby disenfranchising many of those 8-10,000 greyhounds, had an equally curious strategy, then, to “protect” those greyhounds.

As Florida residents undertook a mass exodus of their state, gridlocking highways and emptying gas stations up and down the isthmus, the self-styled experts behind today’s “Committee to Protect Dogs”, were demanding that the greyhounds of Florida join the insanity.

Insisting that the kennels at the various racetracks were not built well enough to withstand the force of a Category 4 hurricane, they were trumpeting all over the media, that Florida’s racing greyhounds should be evacuated, 10-12 at a time, if need be, to who knows where. And that it was the height of unconcern for Florida's racing professionals not to do so at once.

24 Hrs Post Irma

Naturally, people who actually understand and know how to care for large colonies of greyhounds, were virtually dumbstruck by the pure absurdity of such an impracticable and dangerous suggestion, which, when amplified incessantly by the media, became a more of a taunt.

Fortunately, Florida’s greyhound racing professionals did not panic, and as greyhound racing professionals always have done, they chose to ride out the storm, and to stay in the kennels with their greyhounds. Because that’s what real greyhound protectors do. They place the greyhounds first. Not their agenda, and not their personal safety.

And not a single greyhound, nor their attendant trainers or kennel owners in the state of Florida, was harmed by the considerable rage of Hurricane Irma---despite the dire warnings and taunts of those self-styled experts, who are now the braintrust of ‘The Committee To Protect Dogs”.

Courtesy of the Committee to Protect Dogs. this year’s brainstorm of “greyhound protection”, for those of you who aren’t aware, is to ban greyhound racing in Florida, via a Constitutional Amendment, to be voted on by the public. Demonstrating once again, that “fake greyhound protectors”, should be feared more by greyhounds, than Armageddon hurricanes. Or by the prospect of thousands of Florida’s greyhounds having to be re-homed by independent adoption groups, without any contingency plan built into the proposed legislation.

Meanwhile, the “greyhound protectors”, or the Committee to Protect Dogs, or whatever counter-intuitive name they are calling themselves by then, will ride off into the sunset, as they always have, without a care or concern in the world for any of that.

Just like Hurricane Irma did.

copyright, 2018

(with acknowledgment to Jimmy Buffet)

Grey2K, Carey Theil Help Prove Cocaine Problems Very Low in Greyhound Racing

By Dick Ciampa

Grey2K's Executive Director and co-founder Carey Theil helps prove how rare cocaine is in greyhound racing. Today, Grey2K and Carey Theil announced that they discovered 4 more cases of a greyhound testing positive for cocaine.

GREY2K USA on NPR: four more cases of greyhounds testing cocaine positive in Florida, legislature needs to phase out dog racing now (23-28 minute marks).
http://news.wfsu.org/post/capital-report-04-02-2015

We know from Grey2K's 80 page report released earlier this year that there were 16 cases of cocaine found in greyhounds during the 7-year period of January 2008 to the end of November 2014.

So in 7 years and 3 months, we have a total of 20 greyhounds that tested positive for cocaine.

Here are the drug test results from Florida for fiscal year 2008/2009. Benzoylecgonine is cocaine.

Here are the drug test results for Florida for fiscal year 2009/2010

You can see the number of samples analyzed in 2008/2009 were 54,942 and in 2010 the number of samples analyzed were 58,095. The other years weren't available online so I will estimate the number of samples analyzed real low at 40,000 per year for the remaining 5 years for a total of 200,000 for those 5 years. If you add the 200,000 to the 58,095 from 2010 and 54,942 from 2009 and you have a total of 313,037 samples analyzed for those 7 years. That was the time frame Grey2K had 16 cocaine positives for not only Florida, but Alabama also. Now for part of that time Alabama had three tracks running, Victoryland, Birmingham and Mobile. During 2011 Victoryland closed and only the other two tracks were running. We still have to add the first 3 months of 2015 so if we again go with a low number of 40,000 for the year we would add 10,000 for 1/4 of the year 2015 bringing the total number of samples analyzed for the 7 years and 3 months to 323,037.

Now with 20 positives out of 323,037 samples analyzed that give you a percentage of greyhounds testing positive at 0.00619.

The percentage of greyhounds testing positive for cocaine isn't extreme, Grey2K is.

Robert F. Kennedy once said this about extremists,

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."

When Greyhound Protection is . . . Not

By Dick Ciampa

There are currently two pieces of legislation before the Florida legislature. One, introduced by Sen. Sobel called the Vicky Q. Gaetz Greyhound Protection Act, calls for racing greyhound injury reporting. The other, Smith Radar Greyhound Protection Bill, SB 262, HB 187, also calls for injury reporting, and in addition, requires a wide range of protective measures including more stringent BACKGROUND CHECKS for those working with the dogs, and a number of track safety measures aimed at preventing injuries.

Most people, if asked which legislation they would support, would say the choice is obvious, and would favor the more comprehensive bill. Why wouldn’t they? It will reduce the number of injuries with measures such as upgrading track surface maintenance procedures, INSTALLING a guard covering the live rail, installing a breakaway lure arm, as well as ensuring timely and detailed reporting when an injury occurs. Choosing the more comprehensive bill is simple common sense.

Those same people might therefore be more than a little surprised to find out that Grey2K, the self-proclaimed “largest greyhound protection group in the country”, is supporting the Gaetz bill.

When asked about the Smith Radar bill, Grey2K pays lip service to its content, and has even produced a note sent to Carey Thiel by Representative Radar, thanking him for his support. However, nowhere on the Grey2K website, on their Facebook page, or anywhere in the press that we have been able to find, does Grey2K communicate the benefits of the Smith Radar bill, or encourage their readership to support it. Instead, they strongly encourage support of the narrowly-focused Gaetz bill, which has no provision for preventing injuries. It appears that Representative Radar’s thank you was based on a misunderstanding of the Grey2K position.

Effectively, Grey2K is taking a stand against protecting greyhounds.

Why would they do that? There are several interesting answers, none of which has anything to do with greyhound welfare.

Carey Thiel, Executive Director of Grey2K is also on the board of Stop Predatory GAMBLING. If greyhound racing is brought to an end, so is a source of GAMBLING, in view of which, supporting a bill that enforces better conditions for greyhounds is counterproductive.

In addition, and ironically, several tracks have been very supportive of Grey2K in recent years, as they would like to back out of the agreement that requires live racing in order to offer other forms of gambling. If Grey2K endorses a bill that places responsibility upon these tracks to implement safety measures, it would certainly dampen their support. So faced with a choice between protecting greyhounds and protecting tactical relationships, Grey2K has turned away from the greyhounds they claim to work for.

Finally, and most importantly, consider that Grey2K and donation campaigns are almost synonymous. This very month of April, Greyhound Adoption Month, their Facebook page featured a warm and fuzzy piece about adoption, followed by a series of fundraising opportunities. One might reasonably expect the proceeds of those fundraisers would be explicitly earmarked for adoption, but no. All resulting DONATIONS go directly and silently into Grey2K coffers.

In the context of the Smith Radar Greyhound Protection Bill, the Grey2K math seems to say, if we genuinely protect racing greyhounds thereby reducing injuries, the cash streaming in will SLOW down. Conversely, if we defeat injury-preventing safety measures, effectively helping to increase the number of injuries, we are gaining a larger database to exploit for fundraising. And as for the tracks, once those relationships have served their purpose, they can be discarded.

Genuine greyhound protection is nowhere in this picture.

Copyright 2015

The Truth About Injury Reporting

By Dennis McKeon

Let’s be clear about one thing. Any legislation that requires injury reporting without accountability, on its face, is an exercise in futility. The mere reporting of injuries without mandates to insure that all necessary steps are taken by those whose responsibility it is to provide as safe and hazard-free racing venue and surface as is humanly possible, isn't worth the paper it is written on.

The often reported fabrication that injuries have been magically reduced as a result of simply adopting an injury reporting program, is pure, unadulterated nonsense. Injury reporting alone, has no more effect upon reducing racing injuries to greyhounds than does the mere reporting of automobile accidents alone have in reducing injuries to drivers and passengers. There has to be accountability.

Moreover, if there were no injury reporting in a state, how is a comparison to be drawn once injury reporting has been employed? If there were no injury reports, where did the comparative data come from that suggests the mere reportage of injures can somehow reduce them? And in the case where racing programs are reduced from year round to seasonal, as in Massachusetts, then there should be an equal, relative reduction in injuries, with or without injury reporting. There is no cause and effect achieved upon the greyhounds or the racing surface itself, by the simple filing of a document.

The Gaetz injury reporting bill, recently passed by the Senate in Florida, is just such a piece of junk legislation. It is not designed to reduce and prevent injuries to greyhounds, but is crafted to burden veterinarians and greyhound breeders and trainers, (even those breeders and owners who are out of state), with paperwork and bureaucracy.

Additionally, it will accomplish nothing more than providing non-contextual fodder for donation seeking anti-racing propagandists, ultimately to no one’s benefit---other than the racetracks who wish to transition into casino operation, or full-fledged casino operations, without ever having bid for those privileges. It is the management of those racetracks who are and always have been responsible for the condition of their racing surfaces and all related equipment.

No bona-fide or ethical greyhound advocate, within or outside of racing, could possibly be oblivious or antagonistic to the need for mandating more diligence on the part of those racetracks in doing a better job than they have been recently, while noting the widely reported rash of injuries and fatalities at Florida’s racetracks---and the transparent and attendant cries for “decoupling”.

Which is simply code for : “We were granted permission to conduct casino and card room wagering only because we already were already licensed for Pari-Mutuel wagering. Knowing that expanding into those operations would negatively impact the wagering on our greyhound races, we agreed to share a small percentage of that revenue with the kennels, for not making a big fuss, and for allowing us to circumvent the usual balloting and bidding procedures, and to rake in a windfall. Now that we have gotten what we wanted, and after years of having failed to promote greyhound racing, we would like to renege on that arrangement.”

Can you spell “conflict of interest”?

The Greyhound Safety Act is pending legislation that not only requires injury reporting, but requires that racetrack management and their racing departments do a better job of maintaining a safe racing surface, as well as updating their electronic lure equipment to fail-safe them from presenting shock and concussion hazards to the greyhounds.

Racetrack surface maintenance is a science. It involves a lot more than just running a drag over the racing surface so that it looks nice and smooth. Two critical factors in analyzing and evaluating the safety of a racing surface are its component makeup (relative amounts of sand, silt, clay), and injury reports. Noted veterinarian and canine biomechanical expert, Dr. Rob Gillette, has this to say, regarding the proper use of injury reports and their role in managing a racing surface:

“Two ways to assess the racing surface are by using injury reports or by analyzing the surface. Injury reports can be used to determine the status of the racing surface. If there is a rise in injuries the racing surface should be considered as a possible cause. Certain injuries are related to various surface problems. This is a controversial way to assess the racing surface because changes to the track occur after the injuries have occurred. The surface itself can be analyzed for changes or problems. The content can be analyzed or base measurements can be determined. This method is better in preventing injuries…

Each racing facility regulatory veterinarian should keep a record of racing injuries. If a sudden increase in numbers occur, the racing surface should be evaluated for surface alterations. There can be seasonal variation in injury numbers, but these will be documented by the injury records. Certain track conditions will produce injuries related to that condition...

Assessing the racing surface using injury reports is one way to assess racetrack status. It requires little effort by the individuals involved and requires minimal knowledge of the racetrack mechanics. Its drawback is that the injuries have occurred before any evaluation is possible…

Once the basic information is accumulated to understand the normal paw-to-surface interaction the racing surface can be analyzed periodically for detrimental surface changes. That way surface problems can be detected before the injuries occur. The information required to have a basic knowledge of the foot-surface relationship includes content materials and RATIOS, base depths, force absorption, and surface traction.”

So we can see that while injury reports are a necessary adjunct to assuring optimal greyhound safety while racing, they are in no way a panacea. The cynical, out of context use of them to simply gin up public outrage and to raise pity donations for phony advocacy groups, without any mandates for racetrack management to finally begin to avail themselves of 21st century technology in preparing and maintaining their racing surfaces, is a waste of time and money. Unless, of course, your endgame is to impel more, not fewer injuries, so that your political agenda can be achieved.

Support the Greyhound Safety Act, co sponsored by Senator Chris Smith and Representative Kevin Rader---the only pending legislation in Florida that will actually help to prevent injuries to racing greyhounds.

Copyright, 2015

Florida Greyhound Death Statistics from 2013

Let me start by saying this...  I hate sensationalized facts.

That being said, I am going to delve into a Fox news article from Feb 2014 all the same.

The article states that in Florida, 74 greyhounds died across 13 tracks in 7 months, May to December, in 2013. At first sight, this looks like an OMG moment. That is until one does some basic math. Seventy-four (74) dogs divided by 13 tracks equals 5.96 dogs. For simplicity, let us round it up to 6...  6 greyhounds dying in each of those months per track.  Okay...  We need to further reduce that number as it happened over a course of 7 months. That gives us one (1) dog per month, (keep in mind I'm rounding up.)

What this article neglects to tell the reader (despite all the other facts therein) is the total number of races and dogs that raced during that time. Pretty piss poor reporting to me, but okay. That omission is pretty important. So let's fill it in and use the track I'm familiar with - Victoryland.

Victoryland had 24 race days per month and 28 races per day. (on average during it's prime.) They ran eight dogs at a time. So let's do some math here, 24 multiplied by 28 gives us a total of 672 races per month. Multiply the number of races per month times the number of dogs per race (8) and you get a total of 5376 individual starts. So, on average, there were at least 5376 greyhound racing starts per month. Obviously, this number will be much higher for Florida as we are talking about 13 tracks. So, multiply 5376 by 13 for an idea.

Anyway, let's keep this simple using that statistic provided by Fox News and our Victoryland substitution.

Using these numbers, We have a staggering one dog that died for every 5376 dogs that raced for a period of one month.  Please consider the number used in the Fox story is incorrect. Seventy-four (74) greyhounds did not die. Grey2K counted some greyhounds twice in their report.  The true facts, as presented, support the assertion that greyhound deaths on the track are rare.

During the course of 2013, there were approximately 10,000 greyhounds racing in Florida. Sadly, seventy (70) of those greyhounds died as a result of illness, travel, congenital defects, accidents, and/or racing. That equals 0.7%.  Please compare that to the fact that 250,000 shelter animals and pets were killed in Florida that same year. 

In Pinellas County alone during the May-Dec 2013 timeframe, over 5,500 animals were euthanized in shelters compared to the ten (10) greyhounds that died in Pinellas county. Where is the front-page headline for those shelter animals?  The loss of any life is tragic, but some of the greyhounds losses could not be prevented.

The greyhound industry has worked successfully to increase greyhound adoptions annually and based on current statistics from the American Greyhound Council (AGC), 92-93% of racing greyhounds are being adopted or returned home to their owners when they retire from racing. Every year, the percentage of racing greyhounds being adopted has increased and the industry is committed to increasing those numbers to higher rates! Why was this not referenced in the article?

Commenting further on the Derby Lane statistics... The reports from the State’s DBPR division have been reviewed and the number of greyhounds which died at Derby Lane was 10, not 12, as incorrectly reported. Some of those dogs that died never raced or competed at the track. Of those 10 dogs, one died after transport to Florida. Veterinary assessment could not ascertain whether the transport had any causative effect on the dog’s health and resulting aneurysm. Approximately 9,000 racing greyhounds were transported in the State of Florida during 2013, with only 1 incident, therefore 99.99% of the greyhounds transported in Florida arrived safely and without incident. Greyhounds are transported to Florida in climate-controlled vehicles which are maintained to the highest safety standards. To vilify an industry for 1 dog who died after transport, possibly from unrelated circumstances, where 9,000 dogs are transported annually to Florida (and within Florida) is asinine. Why didn’t your paper research how many greyhounds are transported in Florida, and demonstrate comparative statistics for those greyhounds that are transported without incident? Instead you published a biased value without any specifications to how many dogs travel safely. 

At Derby Lane, some dogs passed away from natural causes and were not racing at the time of their death. Animals die due to congenital defects and it is not something that can always be prevented. Animals can die from cardiac arrest, seizure, benign hyperthermia, aneurysm, etc. We try to ensure the safety of our greyhounds, but if a greyhound passes away in its sleep, that is hardly the fault of greyhound racing. You cannot attribute the loss of a dog to an industry, based solely on the fact that there is an industry! Just because the dog is a racing greyhound should not implicate the people who love and care for their greyhounds every day. If a pet dies in their sleep in someone’s home, do we vilify the owner? No we don’t, the most common response is a sympathy card. 

In the timeframe from May – Dec 2013, Derby Lane ran 4,129 races, with 32,634 greyhounds racing based on those specific races. Based on a thorough review of all the State’s reports and associated information for these instances, not all the greyhounds dogs died as a direct result of racing. For the 32,634 racing starts, greyhounds racing at Derby Lane have a “safety rate” of 99.98%. We want that rate higher, and we are constantly striving to improve greyhound safety, and will continue to work with racetrack departments at Derby Lane to accomplish that. A safety rate almost at 100% is a good starting point! Kennel owners at Derby Lane want 100% safety for our greyhounds!

We know that Grey2K used the wrong numbers. I'm guessing that Grey2K also knows that their numbers are incorrect, however, my point is that even with their bolstered numbers they cannot win that fight so they (Grey2K and its minions), omit, change, and falsify records. And it plays well for them in the media. Why? Sensationalism. And here's the thing with that article. I read it, and I knew it was over a course of 7 months and that some facts had been omitted. But, the way they present it and the way Carey Theil talks, you keep thinking on a monthly basis. Especially with that comment about 1 every 3 days.

So, Grey2K needs to "suck it up." The statistics simply are not in their favor. That's why they and the media must sensationalize it. They simply can not win in a fair fight.

Florida Decoupling Revisted

By Dennis McKeon

To Review...a bit of history on the Florida "decoupling" question, and who is actually working to protect the casino-invested racetracks at the expense of Florida's Racing Greyhounds.

When It’s Not All About the Dogs

Most of us are already familiar with the decoupling question as it concerns Florida’s casino racetracks. To review and synopsize, some of the Greyhound racetracks were granted licenses to conduct casino style wagering, contingent upon also offering live greyhound racing, because that is what they were originally licensed to do.

As part of this bargain, these casino corporations agreed to earmark a small percentage of their casino profits to supplement the purses that the greyhounds compete for, which would naturally be impacted negatively by the introduction of casino wagering on the track premises. Everyone agreed this arrangement was equitable and satisfactory.

But then, as they are wont to do, greedy casino corporations began to act like greedy casino corporations. They wanted to slither out of the deal they made with the greyhound kennels, claiming that racing was no longer a viable or profitable attraction, after years of managerial malpractice on their part, in refusing to promote racing at their casinos. As if that were not entirely predictable.

They wanted to “decouple” greyhound purses from the casino take. They wanted all the money for themselves. Even though it was the toil of the greyhounds and their owners and handlers that built their facilities, sustained them for decades, and which afforded them the standing to circumvent the usual licensing procedure, and to “backdoor-in” their casino privileges in the first place.

These casino tracks then found themselves some odd comrades, in the braintrust of the purulent anti-racing political action group, Grey2k, and their politician lackeys.

For more than a decade, Grey2k has proven to be a relentless and effective foe of greyhound racing, seemingly incapable of hitting the bedrock of deception and unethics, no matter how low they stoop and dig to defame, negatively stereotype and promote hatred toward a small class of working greyhound professionals.

The endgame for Grey2k is to criminalize wagering on greyhound racing, which since day one, had put them in opposition to these very same casino/racetracks with whom they now shared a common objective.
Grey2k finances their operations via people who infer that they are a greyhound welfare group, and that donations to them will “help us help the greyhounds”.

However, a perusal of their IRS-990 forms shows that they have given but a scant 1.37% of the millions they accrued in donations since 2006, toward only “unspecified” charities. They do no greyhound adoption, nor do they provide any hands-on greyhound welfare services.

In Florida, Grey2k was an enthusiastic supporter of “decoupling”, and enlisted one Senator Maria Sachs to help ramrod their agenda through. The planned vote on decoupling legislation was to come on the heels of the release of a stunning, disturbing, and questionably timed year-old report of greyhound racing fatalities suffered at Florida’s greyhound tracks.

The report documented what seemed to be an extreme number of racing related deaths over a 7-month period. Subsequent analysis of the report showed that slightly more than half of those deaths were actually attributable to racing, and not just to normal, expected cases of natural, premature mortality.

Still, to veteran greyhound professionals, the number was staggering and unprecedented. It strongly suggested that there was a glaring conflict of interest for those casino corporation/racetracks, whose job it is to maintain a safe racing surface and safe lure equipment on the racetracks they own, for the greyhounds.

The negative publicity that injuries and racing related deaths of greyhounds engendered, broadcast ad-nauseum and unquestioningly by all media, only seemed to aid and abet them in their quest to “decouple” from greyhound racing.

The Florida Greyhound Association felt it necessary, in light of that odious conflict of interest, to introduce a bill, a Three Point Safety Plan, called the Smith Amendment, that would mandate the racetracks provide a stipulated standard of racetrack surface maintenance, and safeguard their electronic lures, so that they presented no shock or concussion hazard to the greyhounds, in the event they failed, or in the unusual instance where a greyhound makes contact with the electrified lure.

When the decoupling legislation was brought before the Florida Legislature, it fell apart. With it, went the proposed requirement to have the attending veterinarian and trainer file injury reports, each time a greyhound suffers a racing-related injury.

In a most chilling and bizarre scene, when the issue of the Florida Greyhound Association’s proposed Three Point Safety legislation (the Smith Amendment) came up for discussion, it was none other than Senator Maria Sachs, Grey2k’s favorite Florida politician, who pooh-poohed the idea that the tracks were not optimally safe for those greyhounds, and who spoke against this proposed bill, which was designed to insure a better level of safety for all Florida greyhounds.

Senator Sachs has worked hand in hand with Grey2k, through thick and thin, to rid the state of greyhound racing. To “help the greyhounds”--on the premise that racing is “cruel and abusive”, because greyhounds can be injured and even suffer fatalities while racing.

Here is the thrust and text of Senator Sachs’ testimony before the Florida Legislature, speaking out against the need for the Florida Greyhound Association’s safety proposal:

“…I have visited many of these tracks in the state of Florida. I found them to be well managed. I found them to have good safety precautions. I never found any of the tracks—the tracks themselves—to be kept in an unsanitary or unsafe manner…”

So spaketh the political handmaiden of Grey2k.

The racing injuries that they have trumpeted from the rooftops, far and wide, as evidence that an industry, a lifestyle and a culture do not even deserve to exist, apparently happen in a vacuum.

I would suppose it must be similar to the ethical and moral vacuum they personify.

Copyright, 2014


.

Reality of Florida Greyhound Racing

Mark Twain commented in Chapters from My Autobiography that "Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force:  'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'" (1)

Grey2K USA, an animal rights lobby associated with ALF, HSUS, and PeTA, attempts to skew statistics to support their arguments that a) greyhounds are being euthanized by the thousands when their racing careers are over and b) that wagering on Greyhound racing has drastically declined.

Well, the actual numbers don't support their claims.

A well intentioned reader on the Grey2K USA's FaceBook page recently commented that he understood from a friend that nearly all retired racing greyhounds are now placed in adoptibe homes. Christine Dorchak replied, "We believe adoption is increasing, but the National Greyhound Association admits that thousands of ex-racers are still killed each year,"

Her statement isn't true.  It's a damned lie.

According to National Greyhound Association (NGA) Executive Director Gary Guccione, with the decline in the number of greyhound pups registered each year (11,000 in 2013), more than 95% of today's registered racers are placed in adoptibe homes or returned to the farm as either pets or breeding stock when they retire.

Christine's math doesn't add up and it hasn't added up for a long, long time... years even.

The American Greyhound Council stated last month,

"We're not sure whether Twain would laugh or just shake his head in disbelief at Dorchak's response." (2)

Numbers Don't Lie...

The reality of Florida greyhound racing, and the attendance/wagering on greyhound racing has been very consistent!

Greyhound Totals Are Blue

Grey2K would have you believe differently but per the Annual Report from Florida's Division Of Pari-mutuel Wagering, for years 2010 - 2013, the pari-mutuel wagering activity on greyhounds is almost unchanged.  Yep....  UNCHANGED.

The wagering numbers back from 2004 to 2009 were from more races and more tracks, so they do not represent today's greyhound racing circuit.  But the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 are representative and they show consistent greyhound wagering numbers. The numbers they show could hardly present a sport described as 'in decline', as some animal rights lobby groups would have you believe.  Keep in mind that these totals DO NOT INCLUDE all of the millions of dollars wagered online through Oregon call centers and online betting portals.

To put it into perspective, here are the quarterly totals on monies wagered in Oregon for 2013 on pari-mutuel sports (incl horse racing, greyhound, trotters, etc).  These dollars, the Quarter Totals, do not show up in Florida greyhound pari-mutuel reports.

Q1 2013 wagered: $555,867,090.08

Q2 2013 wagered: $685,399,584.70

Q3 2013 wagered: $667,369,996.70

This means is that various special interest groups, animal rights zealots, have been misrepresenting the numbers in an effort to make it appear that wagering and interest in Greyhound racing is on the decline.

If you buy into their lies, I have a bridge in Death Valley to sell you.

---

1.  Mark Twain (1906-09-07). "Chapters from My Autobiography". North American Review. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2007-05-23.

2.  American Greyhound Council, Press Release, 2014-02-03

Florida Political Candidates... Tied to AR Groups

Grey2K Supported Candidates in Florida

This fall, several anti-greyhound candidates will appear on the ballot in Florida. These candidates will be running for either the Florida State House or Florida State Senate. We need your help in defeating them as they have been endorsed by the rabid animal rights group, Grey2K USA.  We and the greyhounds need your help.

For those who do not know, Grey2K USA is affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Humane Society of the US (HSUS), and also PeTA.  The President of Grey2K, Christine Dorchak, participated in PeTA protests at the New England Aquarium and she was a keynote speaker at an ALF event.

Dorchak's mentor, Ingrid Newkirk, stated at a press conference following the 2005 arrest of two employees, Hinkle & Cook, in North Carolina"PETA believes euthanasia is the kindest gift to a dog or cat..." Newkirk has personally stated that she's killed "thousands" of pets at the PeTA facility. (New Yorker Magazine; "The Extremist: The Woman Behind the Most Successful Radical Group in America" by Michael Specter; April 14, 2002)

Christine Dorchak in Foreground

GREY2K USA Endorsements

Florida State Senate and State House

Brevard County
John Tobia (R) State House (District 53)

Broward County 
Eleanor Sobel (D) State Senate (District 33)
Jared Moskovitz (D) State House (District 97)
Louis Reinstein (D) State House (District 98)

Duval County
Audrey Gibson (D) State Senate (District 9)

Hillsborough County
Joe Wicker (R) State House (District 59)
Betty Reed (D) State House (District 61)

Miami-Dade County
Gwen Margolis (D) State Senate (District 35)
Kionne McGhee (D) State House (District 117)

Orange County
Tom Goodson (R) State House (District 50)

Osceola County
Mike Horner (R) State House (District 42)

Palm Beach County
Joseph Abruzzo (D) State Senate (District 25)
Mark Pafford (D) State House (District 86)
Dave Kerner (D) State House (District 87)

Polk County
John Wood (R) State House (District 41)

Sarasota County
Ray Pilon (R) State House (District 72)

Seminole County
Scott Plakon (R) State House (District 30)

Volusia County
Frank Bruno Jr. (D) State Senate (District 8)

State Senate District 1
Don Gaetz (R)

State Senate District 3
Bill Montford (D)

State Senate District 14 
Darren Soto (D)

State Senate District 34
Ellyn Bogdanoff (R)
Maria Sachs (D)

State House District 20
Marihelen Wheeler (D)


State House District 55
Randy Johnson (R)


State House District 100
Joseph Gibbons (D)

Please note that these are candidates running for the state legislature in Tallahassee, not the US Congress in Washington D.C.

The Human Touch – Part II

By: Rory S. Goree’
Director Welfare and Advocacy
United Greyhound Racing

About the time that news that the Florida decoupling bill failed to pass, a Grey2K board member unleashed comments many found offensive, even racially based. It should be noted that as of today, the executive director and president of this organization have yet to offer any apology, nor clarification regarding the disturbing comments made by one of its board members on its own facebook page. Silence from the leadership of Grey2K can only now months later be regarded as supportive of these statements? As those who seek to eliminate greyhound racing are fond of saying - in silence there is consent.

The board member made a claim that “middle aged white people” do not bet on the dogs. Again, another comment that stuck with me so during my visit to Tucson Greyhound Park, on June 1, 2012, I paid particular attention to the patrons. I felt it was safe to stop counting after 110+ as I was already well above the "only" 20 attendees often claimed in attendance by those who are against racing. I noted a varied cross portion of ethnic backgrounds in attendance and yes, several middle aged white people.

I ask that you not listen only to me, or limit your knowledge to one blog - I ask that you spread your wings and search for the answers. After all to have a true answer the answer to the question must come from within.

Making a Dent...

Well, a couple of things happened on the way to the Grey2K Lies Forum...

We have recently discovered that Grey2K USA is buying up domain names, such as Grey2KLies.com and Grey2K Lies.org, and they are pointing them to the Grey2K USA website. That tells us that our little blog is hitting close to home, perhaps hitting them a bit in their deep pockets and getting their minions to think. Perhaps, it's time to investigate purchasing a domain or two and point them to this little blog. Perhaps, Grey2KLies.net and Grey2KLies.info? If they've already been purchased, I'm not averse to using a different spelling such as Gray2KLies. It's a thought.

It's a known fact that Grey2K USA plays dirty and engages in deceit. Here is more proof. Carey Theil (Grey2K) appears to be purposely trying to confuse and deceive the public by buying & registering the domain name - ngagreyhounds.org! That probably qualifies as trademark infringement and may leave them open to civil action. It may also be a violation of the Lanham Act - a Federal offense.

Another thing... For the past couple of weeks, there was a contest going on over at the Good Maker website. There were more than 400 entries in the contest, including an entry by Grey2K USA. We did our civic duty and attempted to discuss the issues 

in a civilized manner only to be met with the usual Grey2K bull. It is unknown if our discussion encouraged people to vote for any of the other entrants, but we hope it did.

The Grey2K idea of billboards to promote greyhound adoption was a worthy one. However, even tho' greyhound adoption is very near & dear to our hearts, we could not support the Grey2K effort. Why? Because, it was a blatant promotion of Grey2K and their lies. The entire greyhound community could NOT get behind it because of Grey2K's "history" of deceit, partial truths and disinformation. The billboard idea even showed their deception. At right, were the proposed billboards. Please note the URL - FLGreyhounds.org. That is a domain owned by Grey2K. There is NO such organization. It is YET ANOTHER DOMAIN NAME purchased by Grey2K and Carey Theil!!!

Several people offered suggestions to Carey Theil, who was participating in the discussion, to no avail. One such suggestion was made by Elaine S. in response to his comments that the billboards were about the dogs and to support the dogs.

Her idea was, "If it is truly about the dogs and not the Grey2K message, remove all references to Grey2K and FLGreyhounds.org from the billboards. Put info on the billboard to Adopt-A-Greyhound.org, a more complete page with adoption information. The only states with no listing on Adopt-A-Greyhound.org are both Dakotas & Hawaii. It's much more complete and inclusive.. Funny thing... when I put FLGreyhounds.org in the URL space, it takes me directly to Grey2K Education. Remove the Grey2K message and then, and only then, will it be about greyhound adoptions. Elaine S"


Since both URLs on the billboard lead to Grey2K homepages and NOT even to Grey2K's "adoption" page with its few anti-racing "rescue" groups, we can only assume that the dogs and adopting the dogs is secondary to Grey2K's goal with the billboards, which is to get more people to the Grey2K site to bilk more people out of money and to spread more lies about greyhound racing. Anyone who has visited the Grey2K "adoption" page knows that the only groups featured on it are those that support Grey2K and it's hate mongering message. Pro racing people suggested that Grey2K do the right thing and take their logos off the billboards so that EVERYONE could GET ONBOARD AND SUPPORT the initiative. This was the perfect opportunity for people on all sides of the racing fence to get together to support greyhound adoption. But would Grey2K remove their logo and the logo for FLGreyhounds.org? Nope. We in racing were willing to work with Grey2K on this effort. Grey2K, however, was not willing to work with us and refused to put aside their POLITICS to do what's right for the dogs.

In the discussion, Carey Theil stated, "The dog racing supporter who is using my name is completely wrong. GREY2K USA supports greyhound adoption in many ways. We make adoption referrals to non-profit groups all over the country. We also make dozens of grants to adoption groups to support their efforts. CTheil"

On the discussion board, in response to his statement about "dozens of grants to adoption groups", Elaine S went and looked at the Grey2K 990 Form. She commented, "If Grey2K makes so many "grants to adoption groups to support their efforts", why have they not been reported to the IRS on the Grey2K 990 Form? They should be reported under "Expenses", Line 13-Grants and similar amounts paid (Part IX, Col A, Lines 1-3). Line 13 has an entry of $0.00. In looking at page 10, which is where Part IX is found, Line 1 (grants & other assistance to governments and organizations in the US) - $0.00; Line 2 (grants & other assistance to individuals in the US) - $0.00; and Line 3 (grants & other assistance to governments, organizations and individuals outside the US) - $0.00. Elaine S"

Lies... Lies... Lies.... Later Theil said he used the wrong word and that he should have said "contributions" to other charities rather than "grants". Hmmm.... We know of no "grants" or "contributions" given to ANY adoption group. Theil refused to provide the names of any such group for confirmation of his statement.

Here's some quotes from the Grey2K supporters during the discussion. They are very helpful - NOT!

"You are incredibly arrogant to keep assailing the protectors of Greyhounds in an attempt to continue the destructive industry of Grey racing. Stay on topic, or go home to your miserable cruelty. JoeyTWunderhundt"


COMMENT: They are calling the greyhound community arrogant for telling the truth? Whatever...


"OHMYGOD!! Will you people STOP using every greyhound topic on the web to bitch and moan about Grey2k? Grow up and find something productive to do with your life. I, for one, am sick of it!  Spira9"


COMMENT: Because we will not lay down & go away, we are told we are children and non-productive. Huh.


"Too chicken to give your real name "NotGrey2K" - you talk the talk but you sure do not walk the walk!!!! I am sure now you only talk to hear yourself talk, you never supported anything but your own hot air and you never did a damn thing for the greyhounds but since you chose to hide behind the user name I guess we will never know - better for you if no one does know because than more people will know you talk out of both sides of your mouth and in the end nothing really of any importance comes out of you!!!! couchracers"


COMMENT: With Grey2K's history of being a schoolyard bully... I'd not give my real name either! That's not being chicken... that's being SMART!


Carey Theil implied that Elaine S was an NGA greyhound breeder. She is not. Her only association with the NGA is that she has had retired racers. However, since Carey "Walks On Water" Theil said it, it must be true!

Elaine S & Litter of AKC Greyhound Pups

"Thank you for letting me know that "Elaine S' is a breeder - that would make sense for her to be for the cruel greyhound racing industry, to fight against them would be cutting her own throat. But if she and her misguided buddies think their bitching and complaining will ever change my mind!!!! couchracers"


COMMENT: Elaine S clarified that she has no vested interest in greyhound racing and that she breeds AKC Greyhounds for show. This came in reply.


"Guess I chose not to believe a single thing you claim either "Elaine S" - the facts are in front of your face about GREY2K USA and you chose to believe the lies of the racing industry instead. I am choosing to believe you somehow have a vested interest in keeping greyhound racing alive because if you didn't you would not be fighting so hard against billboards (and that was the topic - the billboards) that GREY2K USA wants to put up all over promoting adoption. As to being an angry soul - YES, I do get angry when I have to talk to block heads like you that would would rather see greyhounds suffer and die to keep an industry alive that no one wants anymore anyhow. Greyhound racing just like horse racing is disgusting, cruel and brutal and it needs to stop immediately, NO ANIMAL should ever have to race for their lives - no animal ever!!!! If I sound angry I am because even one dead greyhound, even one dead racing horse is one dead animal too many. If you think that this corrupt industry of greyhound racing does not and can not sweep things under the rug even from the IRS than you are the fool. Good lawyers can do alot of things that seem impossible including helping set murderers free so don't give me your BS it cannot be done - it can and it is. If you are so for the greyhounds and so not into the industry stop your bitching and do something useful - shutting down the remaining tracks. As I said before I do not give a damn what the money is raised for as long as I see the results that GREY2K USA is working for the greyhounds and everytime I see a track close I guess it is those dollars at work. I also agree there are abusive parents, educators, priests and attorneys and all of them need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But people like that "bastard" at Eubo are alot more common place than you want to believe. Not all greyhound track owners are bad, some are very caring and loving to their dogs but do not give me this garbage they chase away all the bad ones - if that was true than Eubo and other horror stories would not be happening in the racing industry!! Greyhound racing breds way more greyhounds than any group of adoption rescues can place and do not feed me your crap all the ones who do not race or are done racing go to homes - BULLSHIT!!!! No one knows the real number of greyhounds adopted out for sure, that is a well kept secret because to let that out would be to let out the number of greyhounds that are killed. How about the puppies that don't make the grade, where do they all go?? They DIE too just like the greyhounds who raced and now cost more to feed than they are making. And don't get me started on the shitty food greyhounds are fed at the tracks - it is 4D meat, dead, dying, downed or diseased meat. The list of reasons to close greyhound tracks is endless - the reason to keep them open, I cannot think of even one!!! couchracers"


Refusing to back down, Elaine S asked about Theil's position on the BOD of on the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. Theil's bullying was deployed and he accused her of intentionally trying to "defame" Grey2K. We can only think that Elaine S must have hit a sore spot with that question for him to pull out the "defamed" smoking gun!

His quote, "You are mischaracterizing our work, and you know better. At this point it's pretty clear that you are simply trying to defame us, with knowledge that what you are saying is not true. C Theil"

The more I read your comments "NotGrey2K" the more I laugh my ass off - you are unbelieveable!!!! I have talked to small children than have more common sense and can repsond with some degree of intelligent that far surpasses your IQ. Or maybe you can understand this better - opinions are like assholes - we all have one!!!! couchracers


COMMENT: OK... thanks for the anatomy lesson couchracers.


A long, long time greyhound adoption person, Sage Benoist, stated, "Oh dear heaven, promoting adoption is a good thing -- but Grey2K promoting adoption is a joke since they never do a single thing to take care of greyhounds or facilitate their responsible care or adoptions. This is obviously just another money making scheme by this questionable organization -- I honestly don't know why more people don't see through their hypocrisy--they should be ashamed of themselves!"


"And I cannot see why you "sage.benoist" cannot see the horrors of the racing industry but as you said more people don't see their own hypocrisy--they should be ashamed of themselves!! And as I have said before if you can do better than by all means please do better, don't just sit there and put the supporters of GREY2K USA down - do something for the wefare of the greyhounds!! couchracers"
"I must agree here. Sitting on your sofa, offering your philosophical blithering does not help the greyhounds. Get out of your own box and help the dogs. Bitching about an organization you may not like does not help. Schemsgreys"


Sorry about the length of this post. I really wanted you to see the lack of reasoning many of the minions employ. I wanted you to see the hatred that Grey2K has spawned from their effective use of "The Big Lie".

Yours in greyhounds....