Davis Square group pushes for a yes vote

By Patrick Connolly

Starz Voice, a 61-pound greyhound, sprinted out of the gates and into third place at the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park in Raynham. At the first turn, a dog bumped her, sending her and another dog flipping to the side of the track in a cloud of dust. Starz Voice fractured her elbow and was later euthanized at the trainer’s request.

Christine Dorchak, of the Davis Square-based Committee to Protect Dogs, would like to end such injuries with help from voters in November. Question 3 on the ballot will ask voters to phase out greyhound racing in Massachusetts, making it illegal by 2010. Greyhound racing is cruel for several reasons, Dorchak said, from poor food quality to bad living conditions.

“These gentle dogs are kept confined in tiny cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around,” said Dorchak, an owner of a rescued greyhound named Zoey. “On an average of 20 hours per day, these dogs live in confinement and this is no way to treat a dog.”

Dorchak also said the dogs face a high risk of injury and over 800 have been injured since 2002, when the tracks were first required to report such information to the public.

“Injuries include cardiac arrest, paralysis, seizures, and 80 percent of injuries, according to state vets, are broken legs,” Dorchak said.

But is an end to dog racing worth eliminating more than 1,000 blue-collar jobs?   

Glenn Totten, campaign manager for the dog racing parks, said most of the 833 people who work at Raynham Park and the 305 who work at Wonderland will lose their health insurance and end up on welfare.

‚ÄúThese are people who are hardworking, taxpaying, decent folks, who’ve been doing this, some of them, for 45 years. They’ve broken no law,‚Äù Totten said.

From 2002 to 2007, the number of injuries during the racing season, July to December, totaled 714, an average of 119 per year, according to a 2007 season injury report by the State Racing Commission. But none of those injuries were the result of abuse, Totten said.

‚ÄúWe’re trying to set the record straight. There’s never been a documented case of abuse at a Massachusetts racetrack ever, in 65 years,‚Äù he said.

Totten said Massachusetts kindergartens have a higher rate of injury.

‚ÄúThe rate of injury per greyhound is one of the lowest of any sport there is,‚Äù Totten said. ‚ÄúThere were 465,103 racing starts. That’s how many dogs ran around the track…The rate of injury per greyhound start is .0015.‚Äù

Totten also said the proponents of Question 3 exaggerated the claim of dogs being fed grade 4-D meat, which is from dying or diseased livestock.

‚ÄúIf you’re going to pay [$5,000 to $15,000] for a dog, and the only way that dog gets you your money back is to win, do you think it makes any sense to feed them garbage?‚Äù Totten said, adding most dog food found in grocery stores is the same quality.

Beyond 1,000 people without jobs, Totten said there would be a ripple effect in other industries if the state’s tracks closed.

“There are a whole lot of people who have jobs who depend on these tracks running who are not directly paid by the track,” Totten said. They include: beer distributors, food suppliers and printers who make track programs.

Totten said the proponents of Question 3 make a sensational and illogical argument.

‚ÄúOn one hand, they say [track workers] are just mercenaries who exploit the dogs for their own profit. Then on the other, they say they mistreat them so badly that it would be impossible to win and thus make any profit,‚Äù Totten said. ‚ÄúYou can’t have it both ways.‚Äù