Greyhound Racing
Saving Retired Racing Greyhounds
Jacque Lynn Schultz, C.P.D.T., Companion Animal Programs Adviser. National Outreach
In Minnesota, 98 retired racing greyhounds from Wisconsin are illegally sold into research. With just days left to live, will they—can they—be saved?
When Sherry Cotner, a North Carolina greyhound advocate and a member of the Greyhound Protection League, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on February 16, 2000, she could not have foreseen the Pandora’s box she was opening.
Cotner was searching for information regarding retired racing greyhounds used in medical experiments at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) in Minneapolis, MN. She had been through similar processes four times since the spring of 1998 and was instrumental in winning the release of eight greyhounds from a research lab in Alabama. But this time her search revealed something much more damning than even she could have imagined.
An Accidental Discovery
When racing greyhounds reach the end of their careers, the kennel
operators to whom the owners of record—typically the
dogs’ breeders—leased the animals usually turn the
dogs over to a reliable adoption group or have them euthanized.
Only greyhounds who are exceptional racers and, hence, prime
breeding stock are retired to breeding farms. Past investigations
revealed greyhounds who had been sold to universities and
research facilities by kennel operators, trainers and, in one
instance, even a track security guard. However, Cotner had
uncovered something even more disturbing.
Cotner’s standard protocol is to identify the greyhounds who have been sold into research and then follow up with their owners to determine if they are aware of the dog’s situation. When notified that their dogs have been sold to research laboratories, the owners are often surprised. Some retrieve their dogs, while many sign them over to an adoption group that rescues the dogs and places them in good homes. Rarely will an owner mandate that his dogs be left in the research facility.
Although Cotner was searching for greyhounds purchased by the VAMC, her FOIA request turned up a transit form from another facility, noting the purchase of a greyhound named Johnny Blades from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-licensed Class B dealer—a dealer who purchases “random-source” animals for resale to research laboratories—called ShoDan Enterprises.
Cotner enlisted the help of fellow greyhound advocate Cynthia Cash of Baton Rouge, LA, who had worked with Cotner before on her medical research inquiries. Cash contacted the owner, who told her that she must be mistaken. He had given his dog to a compatriot at the St. Croix Meadows (Hudson, WI) greyhound track, a kennel operator who “runs a big adoption agency in Iowa with lots of satellites”—one Dan Shonka of Cedar Rapids. Were the similarities between ShoDan and Dan Shonka coincidental? No. Cash and Cotner had uncovered Shonka’s shady sideline—selling retired greyhounds into research.
Unlike most other racing states, Wisconsin doesn’t allow the euthanasia of healthy retired racers. They must either go back to the breeders/owners’ farms or to adoption groups for placement. Shonka’s ruse filled a need.
Twice a month since 1996, Shonka would pick up 15 to 18 retired greyhounds from St. Croix kennel operators or trainers, who were under the impression he was taking them back home to his adoption group, Greyhound Adoption of Iowa. In fact, he was driving them across the St. Croix River to research labs in the Twin Cities area, where he allegedly sold them for $400 each. As soon as Cotner and Cash discovered the deceit, they blew the whistle, notifying the USDA and the Wisconsin Division of Gaming (WDG), who on March 30 began a joint investigation. Representatives of both agencies went to Shonka’s Iowa farm to examine his records to verify the validity of his adoption group. As it turned out, the group was revealed to be a phantom operation, and the pipeline of dogs into research was halted. But were dogs from recent shipments still alive?
Releasing the Hounds
While Cotner was locating the facility that Shonka sold to, Cash
was busy trying to find trainers who had recently turned over
dogs to Shonka. Her efforts were hampered by the WDG’s
refusal at first to supply her with a list of the dogs in
question. Time was critical—the dogs’ lives hung in
the balance. Through a tip from a government source, Cotner and
Cash discovered that over the course of three years, Shonka had
sold more than 1,200 greyhounds to Guidant Corp.’s Rhythm
Management Group, a pacemaker research laboratory in St. Paul,
MN. While Guidant’s pipeline of dogs was currently cut off,
the women were afraid for the lives of any dogs still at the
facility.
On April 9, the Greyhound Protection League hired animal-friendly Minnesota attorney Pamela Finamore to assist them in obtaining ownership of the greyhounds. (Finamore donated her services at half cost, which were paid for by donations and a charity auction benefiting the Greyhound Protection League.) In the harried four hours after Finamore was on board, frantic phone calls and faxes flew around the country. When the dust settled, the first two owners were located. They signed releases stating that as the owners of record, they did not give permission for research on their dogs, that research must stop immediately and that the dogs must be released to greyhound advocates for placement. Until that could be done, Guidant was to hold and house the dogs.
On April 10, Guidant’s chief executive officer received a cease-and-desist order from the WDG and the signed releases. Negotiations for how, when and where to release the dogs began.
Heading for Home
By this time, although some of the greyhounds had not yet been
touched or had merely been used as blood donors, the majority of
the 98 dogs had lead wires attached to their hearts. The wires
were fed in through a neck vein and screwed into the heart
muscle. Before releasing the dogs to Finamore and the adoption
groups, Guidant’s medical staff had to perform delicate
reversal surgeries, place the dogs on antibiotics and monitor
their recovery. To the staff’s credit, only two dogs did
not survive the procedure.
On May 2, the first group of dogs was released. It included the blood donors, dogs who had not undergone implant surgery and the first dogs to go through the reversal surgery. The remaining dogs were released in small groups after their surgeries and recovery were completed. Two local adoption groups, Rochester Retired Greyhounds as Pets and Greyhound Pets of America/MN, handled local fostering and adoptions.
With too many dogs to place locally, other options had to be considered. The dogs’ best bet was to be relocated to groups in nonracing states where they wouldn’t compete for homes with others retiring off the tracks each day. Cash and Leann Forister of Rescued Racers made hundreds of phone calls to coordinate the rescue hauls. The National Greyhound Adoption Program flew six dogs to their facility in Philadelphia, PA. The Greyhound Underground Railroad (GUR), a loosely organized group of volunteers, drove another 12 dogs to rescue groups in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area. And long-time anti-racing advocate Sally Allen, president of USA DOGS (USA Defenders of Greyhounds, Inc.), a rescue and anti-racing advocacy group, made three trips in her converted RV, the Rescue Express, to bring 50 dogs to Michigan and Indiana adoption groups. The ASPCA Greyhound Rescue Fund covered much of the costs incurred by these efforts.
By mid-October, five months after Cotner first learned about the dogs, the last of the “Wisconsin 98” were released.
Facing the Music
On April 3, Shonka surrendered his Class B dealer’s
license. On October 7, the board of directors of the National
Greyhound Association (NGA) revoked his membership and registry
privileges. (The NGA comprises greyhound owners, breeders and
trainers and is recognized as the U.S. racing greyhound
registry.)
As of January 1, 2001, anyone who conducts any greyhound business with Shonka will be subject to punitive action by the board. The Greyhound Review, the NGA’s official publication, reported that Shonka is only the fourth person in the last decade to be stripped of all privileges. For all intents and purposes, Shonka has been banned from the greyhound racing industry. In addition, the USDA has accused Shonka of violating the Animal Welfare Act, using deception to acquire at least 341 greyhounds from prohibited sources. If found guilty of the regulatory violations, Shonka will face administrative fines of up to $2,750 per animal. At press time, he’s still under investigation by the WDG and the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.
Jacque Lynn Schultz is director of special projects for ASPCA Animal Sciences and administrator of the ASPCA Greyhound Rescue Fund.
|
Where Are They Now? By Cynthia Cash
Saucy and Biscuit Today Saucy and Biscuit spend their winters on George’s horse farm in Florida and the rest of the year on her Indiana estate. George, whose family owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, is a longtime supporter of greyhound adoption. Her banner, “Race Cars, Not Greyhounds” often adorns the speedway. Hogan’s Hero During the auction, Hogan stayed beneath the tents, sniffing and greeting all prospective bidders, and showing off his surgery scar to anyone who stopped by. Today Hogan lives in New Jersey with Rose Donohoe and her growing pack of hounds. True to his name, Hogan leads the pack and is always into something. |
Cynthia Cash is an independent greyhound advocate from Baton Rouge, LA.
© 2001 ASPCA
ASPCA Animal Watch - Summer 2001
EMAIL
SHARE
