Race Foes Fear Dogs Doomed But Greyhound Track Official Says Adoptions Going Well

Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park is working with a half-dozen Northwest dog adoption groups to place 250 racers after the track closes Dec. 31.

But dog-racing opponents fear many of the remaining 500 dogs destined for their owners’ farms will be killed because of their expensive upkeep.

“That (farm) is a euphemism for k-i-l-l, nine times out of 10,” Susan Netboy, founder of the Greyhound Protection League in Woodside, Calif., said Friday.

The track, which has been plagued with allegations of cruelty and mismanagement, announced last week it was ending its seven-year run due to $21 million in losses.

Al May, Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park’s operations manager, has assured the dogs’ welfare.

Some of the greyhounds, he said, will qualify to race at other tracks, but most will be returned to their owners or adopted out.

May said he has adoption commitments already for 55 dogs and has been “inundated” with calls from people eager to help find them homes.

“We’re heartened by the response,” he said. “There’s going to be an evaluation process as we go through December. Some of them have racing in front of them. If not, we’ll need to find homes for them.”

The track also is working with the National Greyhound Association in Abilene, Kan., to place the dogs.

“We’ve been through (track closures) enough times now to know that it works,” said Gary Guccione, executive director of the national group. “If there are any hitches, we’re just patient and will hold things up. We’ll get it done.”

A Post Falls citizens group critical of the track is calling for unlimited access to the kennels and a complete inventory of the dogs.

One of its leaders, Lloyd Moser, said he appreciates the track’s public commitment to the greyhounds but wants oversight to ensure they are cared for properly and don’t start disappearing.

Meanwhile, Moser and other critics denounced the Idaho Racing Commission for moving its planned Nov. 20 meeting from Kootenai County back to its Meridian headquarters near Boise. Commissioners agreed last month to move their meeting to Kootenai County because of the public outcry over track conditions. Then the track announced the shutdown.

“It’s denied us an opportunity to meet directly with the commission without great expense or inconvenience,” Moser said. “Just because the track’s closing doesn’t mean dog racing has been repealed in Idaho. All they have to do is open it up again.”

He noted that the meeting agenda still includes a discussion of the Post Falls track.

Racing Commissioner Dick Cade said the track’s shutdown announcement makes it unnecessary to move the meeting north.

“We felt it was a moot situation at this point in time,” Cade said.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = J. Todd Foster Staff writer Staff writer Betsy Russell contributed to this report.