PHOENIX GREYHOUND PARK closed 12/19/09 for live racing. Nobody expected PHOENIX GREYHOUND PARK to go first not even people in the racing industry.

That leaves TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK and – FYI  — the world is watching.

Last month there were 11 races each night of racing at TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK now there is 15 and  16 races are scheduled for 1/01/10.  More dogs means more accountability required, not less.

If you recall in 2006, 150+ dogs disappeared from TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK. It’s an incident that will be etched in my mind forever so I won’t let you forget either.

There’s a big problem in Arizona greyhound racing and it’s the lack of accountability regarding greyhound welfare. The problem is systemic nationwide but for now let’s focus on Arizona.

It starts with the honorable governor, the honorable attorney general, the ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF RACING, and the dog track.

There are no readily available disposition logs. Like the injury reports which are available to the public through a FOIA request, the disposition logs should be too.

You would think after the disappearance of 150+ dogs (bad news that went around the world and put a big black eye on Tucson/Arizona greyhound racing) that the ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF RACING or a higher power within the state would step up to the plate and ask for more accountability but that hasn’t happened. The ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF RACING is all about wagering with very little concern for greyhound welfare.

I’ll come back to that in a future post but in this post I want to talk about the injury report (in PDF format).

You may recall that the AZ Republic wrote an article about the 2008 injury reports.

A cursory glance and you are stunned by the number of recorded injuries and deaths at the TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK and PHOENIX GREYHOUND PARK. You are also flumoxed by the lack of pertinent information to back up the numbers.

You can read the injury report yourself but here are some statistics that will break your heart.

PHOENIX GREYHOUND PARK   438 entries of injuries, sick and lame involving 372 dogs  (some injured more than once)

PHOENIX GREYHOUND PARK   17 dogs euthanized at track; euthanized for 5 hock fractures, 7 leg fractures, 1 shoulder fracture, 1 pelvis/back, 3 spine

TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK   104 entries of injuries, sick and lame involving 97 dogs (some injured more than once)

TUCSON GREYHOUND PARK   11 dogs euthanized at track; euthanized for 7 hock fractures, 3 leg fractures, 1 information not provided

See blog post Tucson Greyhound Park – Run Dogs Run – part 2 for more information.

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