We’re Committed To Ensuring Decent Treatment Of Dogs

By now, those mostly old and resurrected accusations of animal abuse have sickened us all. We at Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park share the community’s outrage that anyone intentionally could harm an animal.

Although most of the accusations never were verified, the fact that any abuse happened at all is totally unacceptable.

Since the park opened in 1988, the state of Idaho has been responsible for aggressively enforcing regulations governing kennel owners and training. Nevertheless, five abuse cases were filed - none against the park.

Although the state’s recent investigation cleared the park of any wrongdoing, we want to do more.

To begin with, we need to use the community’s law enforcement resources to act as another set of eyes and ears. A law enforcement presence at the park offers a deterrent to abuse and an authority who can intervene when he or anyone on site witnesses abuse of animals.

With this in mind, I have asked the Post Falls chief of police to make regular visits to the park. He will have 24-hour access to the entire facility and be able to observe any area he chooses.

In addition, we are exploring the feasibility of hiring a compliance officer whose sole responsibility would be to ensure that kennel owners and trainers abide by the laws and regulations that govern them, particularly where animal welfare is concerned.

Having a compliance officer at the park full time would allow more-frequent kennel inspections and daily contact with owners and trainers about the health and disposition of their animals.

It is tragic that the actions of a few unscrupulous people, who no longer are here, have tainted the reputations of the good, hard-working people now at the park.

Another example of our commitment to the welfare of dogs at Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park is our greyhound adoption program. We are a national leader in the number of greyhounds we successfully place in adoptive homes. In the last three years alone, we have made more than 1,500 such placements, with the park contributing $50 to adoption agencies for each greyhound adopted.

Our policy is a “presumption of adoptability” for all dogs at the end of their careers unless serious injury or illness prevents that. When dogs must be euthanized, it is done at the humane society - and only by injection. Our greyhounds may never be given for scientific research.

To ensure that owners and trainers meet the park’s requirements governing adoption and euthanasia, we have tightened our monitoring procedures of the animals. We track the whereabouts of every dog on site, using the number tattooed on each greyhound’s ear when it’s registered as a puppy. Tracking the dogs by number helps us confirm which animals leave the park and why; it also gives us a record of when they return.

The challenges we face are not unlike those faced by our local high schools, which, in response to the intolerable behavior of a few students, had to put uniformed officers into their buildings. By doing this, they made a commitment to the community that unacceptable behavior would be discovered and punished and that school kids would be protected from harm. We must do the same for the protection of our “kids.”

At Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park, we’re determined to protect these wonderful dogs. And we’re determined to be a responsible neighbor among North Idaho businesses.

Right now, we provide 225 local jobs and have contributed more than $29 million to the local economy, $1.6 million to Idaho schools and $1.25 million to tourism. Meanwhile, we have paid $1.2 million in property taxes.

But our contributions to the local economy are only part of the story. Although we run a business, its success depends on healthy animals and responsible owners and trainers to care for them. We are determined to support the efforts of the caring, responsible people at the park and to weed out those who behave unacceptably.

These animals and this community deserve no less than that.

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