January 1, 2008

Geoffrey Gonsher
Director, Arizona Department of Racing
1110 W. Washington – Suite 260
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Dear Director Gonsher:

The AZ Department of Racing seems to care about its financial side and rightly so.  Then it seems to care about whether or not the gamblers are being cheated and rightly so. But there seems to be very little to no mention of greyhound welfare. The greyhounds which make greyhound racing possible are just a commodity and so what if 16 greyhounds disappear or what if more than 150 disappear? It’s business as usual as the AZ Department of Racing promotes and encourages the breeding of greyhounds (and horses) so there is always a steady supply of dogs.

On December 19, 2007, an article appeared in the Arizona Daily Star quoting you as saying that your department would be looking into it in the next 30 days.

It’s the new year and we greyhound advocates are wondering what – if anything — has been uncovered?

In an Arizona Daily Star article dated December 20, 2006 you are quoted as saying that the AZ Department of Racing was looking into a database that would make Tucson Greyhound Park more accountable about its missing dogs. Has that happened yet? 

Has the greyhound database been installed and is it in use? If yes, then where are the 16 missing dogs? And worse, how could they go missing? One or two of those dogs were supposed to go to a local greyhound adoption group. So once again, Tucson Greyhound Park failed to enforce the statute R-19-329 (B) which states: “Every effort must be made to adopt the greyhounds not used for racing or breeding purposes.” Yet, another violation that goes unnoticed and not punished.  Violations and missing dogs seem to run amuck at TGP and the AZ Department of Racing just looks the other way; business as usual.

If the greyhound database has not be installed, then why not? What seems to be the problem? Why would it take a year to implement a database at Tucson Greyhound Park? I believe that I read in the audit report/sunset review that the Department of AZ Racing was implementing better technology. Is that to serve the Department, the bettor, or greyhound welfare?

K. Z.
Greyhound adopter and advocate – Tucson

Tags: Greyhound Racing - TUCSON (TGP), Speak Out Against Greyhound Racing by NoMoreRacing
3 Comments »

The article has generated some really interesting comments. Please continue to read the article and never forgive or forget about the hell hole known as the Tucson Greyhound Park.

Take action - Please write letters to the Governor Janet Napolitano and the other politicans. Writing to Geoffrey Gonsher,  Director of Arizona Racing, seems to be a waste of time and energy. Instead write to Janet Napolitano and your elected officials. Make your anger count.

Thank you

Tags: Greyhound Racing - TUCSON (TGP) by NoMoreRacing
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According to the Arizona Department of Racing’s home page – the Department of Racing promotes and encourages the breeding of horses and greyhounds in the State.

Scroll down to “Department Description” and read that shocking paragraph.

There are at least 600 greyhounds that file through Tucson Dog Track every year – many never get to legitimate adoption groups. Many end up as coyote hunters which translates into death. Hundreds are hauled to god knows where and are presumed dead by the Arizona Department of Racing, the government organization that encourages their breeding. Some are euthanized for broken hocks and legs. And some are taken to local veterinarians to be euthanized; they are never accounted for.  Some are given away unaltered to friends of handlers or free to track attendees and their fate is unknown yet they breed with other dogs, further increasing the unwanted pet population of Pima County, and that’s why there are so many greyhound mixes who usually end up at Pima Animal Control.

Common sense dictates that with the ongoing abuse and cruelty affecting greyhounds – the state of Arizona’s Racing Department would not “promote and encourage the breeding of greyhounds.” 

Looking at the “Department Description”, a few other fallacies come to mind:

–The Department oversees and supervises…greyhound… - We beg to differ. There is next to none supervision at Tucson Dog Track; if there was then perhaps bad things wouldn’t happen to greyhounds at the Tucson track and/or leaving the track suspiciously to parts unknown.

–The Department…enforces laws and rules related to racing and wagering to protect industry participants and the public. The Department’s veterinarians and track stewards did nothing to protect a dog (on the night of August 31, 2007) who broke her hock but finished the race. Tucson Dog Track failed to follow the statute regulation that “every effort must be made to adopt out a dog.” An adoption rep was on her way to pick up the dog.

No, the Arizona Department of Racing failed to protect the industry’s participants – its dogs.

And whether or not the Arizona Department of Racing is going to penalize the perpetrators who failed to adopt out the dog rather than kill her – is yet to be seen.

Nevertheless — let the greyhound breeding continue…

Tags: Greyhound Racing - TUCSON (TGP), Speak Out Against Greyhound Racing by NoMoreRacing
1 Comment »

We don’t know why the media is not exposing this crap about Tucson Greyhound Racing.

But hell, if they won’t — we will.

Here is the official complaint that the Greyhound Protection League sent to Geoffrey Gonsher, Director of Arizona Department of Racing; Janet Napolitano, governor; and Terry Goddard, attorney general/AZ.

As you can see once again TGP (Tucson Greyhound Park) has the audacity to carelessly hand off the dogs to an unscrupulous character who most likely sold unaltered dogs to low lifes for coyote hunting.

First the dogs race and live in abominable conditions then they get transported to god knows where to do god knows what and then they die a painful death. 

This is worse than cockfighting and dog fighting and they’re both illegal!  

Take action: Write the governor, Geoffrey Gonsher, contact the news media, write your congressional representative. Don’t just read this and shrug your shoulders.

We know about 16. How many more will live and die so inhumanely.

It’s time to END TUCSON GREYHOUND RACING.

Tags: Greyhound Racing - TUCSON (TGP) by NoMoreRacing
5 Comments »

Here we go again. Sixteen greyhounds are allegedly missing from TGP.

This happened in October.

In 2005 and 2006, over 150 missing greyhounds (actually 172) went missing and are presumed dead.

You would think heads would roll but nothing happened. TGP continues to exist despite the bad publicity. Has the scrutiny improved? Nope. Has anything improved? Nope.

The hauler, Rick Favreau, had his license suspended in Colorado and Arizona. He got paid $150 per dog to haul 180 dogs (8 were located). Do the math — $27,000. That’s a nice chunk of change even with gas prices as high as they are. I wonder if he reported that income to the IRS.

TGP never asked where the dogs were going and whether they got there. They trusted Favreau who already had a history of  hauling dogs to research labs in the late 90s.

Another day and more missing greyhounds from Tucson Greyhound Park. Business as usual.

Tags: Greyhound Racing - TUCSON (TGP), Greyhounds ETC. by NoMoreRacing
2 Comments »