Cathy Munro

With the passage of Amendment 13 in Florida, greyhound racing will end in Florida.

The Amendment allows the cessation of racing as early as December 31, 2018. No racing for wagers will be permitted after December 31, 2020. There is no money in the amendment to support the greyhounds, the care of the greyhounds, the loss of wages by so many, or the phase out. The phase out is still being determined track by track, kennel by kennel, farm by farm, owner by owner.

The numbers vary, but we are told there are approximately 8,000 greyhounds in Florida currently in the racing circuit. There are approximately another 7,000 greyhounds at breeding farms, in training, and waiting to move to the tracks.

Rest assured, the dogs are all fine. And there is no need to panic. Folks are adjusting to the changes and slowly figuring out a direction and action items. The tracks are making decisions on whether they will reopen (seasonal tracks) and how long they will continue racing. Some dogs are needing to move over the next few months and more will need to move in 2019 and 2020. GPI and many other adoption groups are ready to help as needed. We are working with other groups to coordinate hauls and dog movements.

In addition to the Florida related dogs there are also the Macau, China dogs looking for homes as a result of the Canidrome closing last July. There are still over 400 dogs looking for a forever home.

We have had a lot of interest in adoption and fostering. We are working through the applications and home visits as fast as we can. But bear with us – we are all volunteers!

As of this evening, we have 9 dogs heading our way on Nov. 20. We have another 48+ dogs heading our way before the end of December from Florida, Kansas, Alabama, S. Korea, the UAE, and Macau. Please realize that the numbers and dates may very well change and have a habit of doing so.

Most of these dogs will need vetting (spaying/neutering/dental, etc.) upon arrival, so won’t be immediately available for adoption/movement to foster. But we will make them available as quickly as possible.

We will move dogs to foster homes as available space at the kennel is needed. Thank you for your patience as we figure out how many dogs we need to move into foster and when we need to move them. It is unlikely that we will need foster homes for the first load arrival.

We still have many wonderful dogs waiting in the kennel for their forever homes, so don’t forget about them as you consider adding another 4-legged companion to your family.

We are recommending that you not donate to random GoFundMe requests or other on-line fund raisers, but rather donate directly to or volunteer with your local greyhound adoption group so you know your donations and volunteering will directly help the greyhounds.

We can’t thank everyone enough for all the offers of help and donations. Please keep them coming – working together we can help the dogs find their forever homes.

Ways you can help:

• Donate cash, kibble, biscuits, kennel supplies, bedding, or items from our Amazon Wish List
• Volunteer to do turnouts at the kennel, walk the dogs, or help at a booth
• Do a bedding drive – we always need lots of stuffed and non-stuffed bedding for the dogs
• Adopt
• Foster
• Promote GPI and the greyhounds. We are working on a fact sheet for volunteers to use/handout at booths
• Carry GPI Business Cards on you and hand them out on your walks and when chatting to friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances (if you need cards, just message us)

Thank you for helping us help the dogs. Let us know if you have any questions.

877.468.7681
[email protected]