TUCSON DOG TRACK KILLS GREYHOUND AND SUSPENDS KENNEL OWNER WHO TRIED TO SAVE HER LIFE

Sept 05, 2007 -

Greyhound Advocates Mount Major Protest at Dog Track – Tuesday 5:00 PM – Concurrent with Kennel Owner’s Hearing

Tucson, Arizona – A two-year-old female greyhound named Pa’s Mismakamess (Missy) came up lame after the sixth race on Friday evening at Tucson Greyhound Park (TGP). She finished the race, but had sustained a commonplace injury to her hock. Kennel owner David Blair observed her being carried into the office of the track vet. And although Missy was not a dog from his kennel, he entered the office to assist.

Seeing that Missy had sustained only a minor injury and was not experiencing excessive pain, Blair offered to see to it that Missy got to a greyhound adoption group so that she could be treated and adopted out. The track vet, the state vet, and the dog owner all insisted that the dog was going to be euthanized in spite of Blair’s offer to save her life. Most shockingly, this assertion was echoed by track manager Tom Taylor, who was recently appointed president of the Tucson chapter of Greyhound Pets of America, which serves as the track’s in-house adoption program.

This is when things turned ugly. Blair, who by his own admission, states that he had a few beers, insisted that he was not going to let them kill the dog. Taylor called the police who escorted Blair outside and the track summarily killed the dog. In an effort to cover-up this shameful, irrevocable act, state officials suspended Blair’s license and shut down his kennels in both Tucson and Phoenix.

“The track is trying to divert attention away from the dog killing and make this a case about Blair’s creating a disturbance – an offense for which Blair is more than willing to take appropriate punishment,” said Greyhound Protection League (GPL) President Susan Netboy. “This hearing is a transparent attempt to wash Missy’s blood off their hands and punish someone for expressing his concern for the life of an innocent animal.”

“Given the laundry list of scandals and offenses that TGP has had to defend itself against, one would think that more dog killing would be off the table,” said Netboy. “But they are arrogant and think they are untouchable.” Netboy predicts that the protest will send a clear message that the reign of the ‘Teflon Dog Track’ is over. “Scores of people, who until now have been afraid to speak out, will be in attendance to show their support for David Blair and to let it be known that dog killing at TGP will not be tolerated,” said Netboy.

GPL is calling for Tom Taylor’s resignation from Greyhound Pets of America. The League claims the position represents a conflict of interest and is, in reality, little more than a public relations ploy designed to cover up what goes on behind the scenes.

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