No Killings At Dog Track Greyhound Park Manager Says Kennel Will Stay Open When Track Closes Next Month

Racing dogs that could become house pets won’t be killed when the Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park closes, according to the track’s operations manager.

One or more 60-dog kennels will be kept open to house the dogs until they are all adopted, Al May said on Friday.

That may ease the minds of dog advocates who have feared mass killing of greyhounds when the unprofitable 7-year-old track closes in December.

“We’re working on developing liaisons at the track,” said Susan Netboy of the California-based Greyhound Protection League. “We’re going to put our best foot forward to prevent the bloodbath that often ensues at a track closing.”

Norman Smith, who helps place dogs in Western Washington homes, is afraid that adoptions would be hampered by lingering ill will over allegations of abuse at the track.

That’s because Spokane greyhound advocates haven’t been going to the track since they raised questions about treatment of dogs this fall. They’ve said they were told by track managers that their personal safety could not be guaranteed if they continued to visit kennels there.

But on Friday, May said: “All people are welcome, and all people are safe. We need to work together.”

There are more than 700 dogs at the track. Some will go on to race elsewhere, be returned to their owners, or be destroyed because they are too unhealthy for adoption.

Up to 500 dogs may need homes, Netboy said. It’s impossible to know exactly how many until racing ends at the Post Falls track, May said.

“We do think there will be a substantial number to be adopted,” he said. “We won’t know until we do an inventory of the kennels.”

There is disagreement among adoption groups about how many adoptive homes can be found in this area.

John Hern, founder of Greyhound Pets Inc. of Coeur d’Alene, is optimistic that enough local pet lovers will step forward. Last year, his group handled 450 of the 766 dogs adopted from Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park.

With May’s commitment to hold adoptable dogs after the track closes, Hern thinks he can eventually find homes for all of them.

Netboy thinks homes will have to be found outside of the region.

“I’m working with local adoption groups in Seattle, Southern California, Northern California … We’re all gearing up to take in a large number of dogs.”

To make matters worse, a Kansas racetrack is unexpectedly closing this weekend. That means little chance of dogs being sent east of the Rocky Mountains, said Smith, who lives in Bellevue.

“Every adoption group in the Midwest will be busting their butts to absorb those dogs,” he said.

Karen Hawley of Issaquah visits the Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park to get adoptive dogs every six weeks. She worries that too many dogs will be sent back to their owners, who will have no use for the greyhounds and will kill them.

“That’s almost the scariest (possibility) of all,” she said.

Inquiries about adoptable dogs have increased since news of the track closure. Hern is pleased, but says Greyhound Pets Inc. won’t relax its standards for adoptive homes.

“We can’t take dogs out of one bad situation and put them into another,” he said.

People must agree to return the dog if the adoption doesn’t work out. Hern’s group charges $120 to provide a dog that has been spayed or neutered and has had necessary shots.

Prospective owners must have a fenced yard, because the dogs are born to run. They must want a house pet, because a greyhound’s thin coat and need for human companionship make it unsuitable to leave outside.

“They’re gentle, strong but fragile dogs,” he said. “Their skin is so thin you can look right into their bodies.”

The slender dogs usually weigh between 55 and 75 pounds. The breed’s amiable reputation is working in the favor of those who want to save them, said Netboy.

“Once they have a greyhound, a lot of families come in for a second or a third,” she said. “They’re such sweet animals, and they make such lovely pets.”

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MEMO: Adoption For information about adopting a greyhound, call 208-765-3115 in Coeur d’Alene or 509-927-8002 in Spokane.