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News
NGA BANS
SHIPMENT OF GREYHOUNDS TO JUAREZ
Abilene, KS (October
6, 2006)—The Board of Directors of the National Greyhound
Association (NGA) has adopted a total ban on the shipment of
greyhounds to Juarez Greyhound Track in Mexico, according to
NGA Executive Director Gary Guccione. NGA
members have been cautioned not to sell, transfer or give
greyhounds under their ownership or care to individuals
acquiring those greyhounds for the purpose of sending them to
Juarez. The organization established a policy of discouraging such
shipments in June 2005, but had not banned them completely
until now.
There are no
greyhounds at the
Juarez track today. Even if the track resumes live racing in the
future, NGA board members say they want no more U.S.
greyhounds sent there. They believe the Juarez track now
presents an “at-risk” situation for greyhounds because of its
failure to establish acceptable animal welfare and adoption
policies, its lack of cooperation with U.S. adoption
organizations, and the legal problems of its owner, Jose Maria
Guardia, who has been accused of drug trafficking and money
laundering.
Guccione emphasized
that all the greyhounds originally shipped to Juarez have been
returned to the U.S. for adoption. However, he
noted that the recovery of the greyhounds was not easy because
the track reneged several times on its original agreement to
turn the dogs over to Greyhound Pets of America (GPA) when
they finished racing.
“Largely through the
determination and diligence of Pat Roberts and her local
GPA/Lone Star Chapter in El Paso, and GPA President
Rory Goree, all the Juarez greyhounds were finally
brought back stateside,” Guccione said. “All of them have
been placed or are awaiting placement in adoptive homes.”
NGA’s initial
“discouragement” policy came more than a year ago, immediately
after eight greyhounds died of heat stroke after being driven
from Tucson Greyhound Park
to the Juarez track in a manner later found to be
in violation of Arizona Racing Commission regulations.
Lengthy delays at the Mexico border also may have
contributed to the greyhound deaths.
At that time, NGA
officials stated that the policy would remain in place until
the issue of border-crossing delays was resolved, and the
track was able to document that it had established credible
animal welfare and adoption programs to ensure the health and
safety of the greyhounds during and after their racing
careers. The track never fulfilled those conditions, so NGA
declined to rescind its discouragement policy. After all the
greyhounds were safely back home in the U.S., the
NGA enacted the total ban.
Guccione noted that
the other Mexican border track, Caliente, is not affected by
the Juarez ban because Caliente has a good record
of cooperation on animal welfare and adoption efforts.
Mark
your calendars and start making plans. The National
Greyhound Adoption Conference 2006 will be held in San Diego,
California September 7 - 10.
The
2005 Annual Convention will be in Tampa Florida, September 2- 4,
2005.
Wyndham Westshore Hotel - Tampa
4860 West Kennedy Boulevard,
Financial District, Tampa, Florida 33609, USA
Rooms: $99.00, there will be a $50 pet
deposit per room (if there is a dog) that is refunded at the end of
the conference as long as no damage has been done. When booking,
mention the GPA Conference or North American Greyhound Conference
for the special room rate.
Registration: $85.00, includes 3
continental breakfasts, 1 lunch at Derby Lane, cocktail party Friday
eve., dinner Saturday eve. until August 1st After August 1st it is
$100.00
Saturday only: $60.00, includes full
day activities, including continental breakfast, lunch at Derby
Lane & dinner Saturday eve.
All day Saturday events include leaving the hotel at 9 AM for
Derby Lane Greyhound Track. Transportation will be provided and
greyhounds welcome. The day includes pet sitters for greyhounds
attending, tour of the kennels at the track, pick up your
greyhound from the pet sitters, blessing of the hounds, Q & A
panel with trainers and owners, lunch, other speakers topics to be
announced. Leave Derby Lane at 4 pm for hotel. Vendor hours will
be off on on and will be specified soon. Hotel main convention
dinner - Sat. evening 7:30 PM.
Agenda specifics later, however right
now speakers include, Cynthia Branigan, Lee Livingood, Cindy Hanson,
Rory Goree and Gary Guccione. There will be a doctor of
acupuncture speaking and doing demonstrations, a speaker talking
about the Night of Stars and how it benefits adoption groups, there
will be role playing training in PR and running a proper
and productive board meeting, panel discussions and
brainstorming and more
For more information visit the
conference website
http://www.gpaconvention.org
Sept 22, 2004
Pensacola was hard hit by Hurricane Ivan. Twenty-one greyhounds
were sent to GPA Louisiana on Sunday and ten more are heading that
way. Pensacola is without power, gas, water and had no place for
these to go. GPA - LA cannot absorb all 31 into their program. They
are currently being boarded in Louisiana until other groups can be
found to take in some of these dogs,
Sept. 11, 2004
GPA
Central Florida evacuated with 65 greyhounds and 8 personal pets from
Melbourne to the kennels at Sarasota, Florida. They decided to
leave, when Francis was packing 145 mph and heading straight for
Melbourne. The buildings and kennels are only rated for 110 mph. It
took two trips to get everyone moved. The traffic was a nightmare but
they all survived.
Thank heavens for cell phones and a network of contacts. Former GPA
MD
volunteers who relocated to Sarasota took in Claire and Dennis Tyler
when their hotel accommodations fell through. They also helped get
them vet support and some kennel help. Greyhound folks are amazing.
The return to Melburne was delayed because the kennel compound at
Melbourne is without power; however, the clubhouse building does have
power. Since there is no live racing at Melbourne, they have all of
the pets in the track paddock 'jinny pit' area. Dennis came up with
some temporary fencing and they are improvising and making due. They
will be using this until power at the kennels is restored. Right now
they are worried about generators on the trailer. They are having
problems and both are in the shop for repairs. This could impact
future shipments until they are repaired.
The Melbourne area was heavily hit with rain and wind. Roofing,
fencing,
downed trees and power loss seemed to be prevalent. At the Tyler
house, they lost their fence, some trees and the cap/flashing on the
fireplace chimney. Power was off for 36 hours.
July 1. 2004
Greyhounds Make Great Pets WebRadio Program-
Assignment for the internet radio show -
Greyhounds Make Great Pets - The voice of greyhounds, heard every
Friday at 11:00am PST on Voiceamerica.com.
Kari and Rory want to hear from you and have a very special assignment
for you:
We would like to hear how your greyhound has changed your life, or
funny stories about your greyhound. Each week Kari and I will pick one
or two stories to read on air. After 10 weeks we will have a poll for
our listeners to vote for their favorite of the stories read on air.
The winner of the vote will receive a "Hounds of Royalty" print, and
the adoption program you represent or adopted your greyhound from will
also receive a print to use in fundraising.
Send your stories to
radio@greyhoundpets.org
Please include your name, address, phone number, and the group you
represent or adopted from in the e-mail: Only your name and the group
will be read on the air or posted on the web site for voting.
Thanks for listening and we look forward to hearing from you,
If you have ideas or a specific subject you would like us to cover in
our 13 week trial run, please e-mail your suggestion to:
radio@greyhoundpets.org
February 24, 2004
National Greyhound Adoption Conference Update
Join your hosts-GPA and GPA
Richmond--at the North American Greyhound Adoption Conference. We are
looking forward to seeing you all in Virginia for an outstanding
conference filled with great speakers, entertaining social activities
and outstanding hospitality. While you will be hearing more about
conference specifics, as we get closer...we can tell you that we are
honored to feature author and Greyhound Guru, Cynthia Branigan as a
speaker! Cynthia’s presentation is titled Why We Do It, How We Can Do
It Better, Who We Do It For"
Cindy Victor Author of "Leo A Greyhound's Tale" will also be speaking
at the conference. Title of her presentation: "Finding Leo: A New
Breed, a New Life"
Rory S. Goree’ President of Greyhound Pets of America will be opening
up with an address titled Our Identity
Lee Livingood author of Running with the Big Dogs and Retired Racing
Greyhounds for Dummies, will also be on hand with two different break
out sessions where hands on and discussion will be mandatory. The
first will be on Home visits and adoption applications. The second
session will be on fostering.
From sessions on fostering to fundraising, events to public relations
and first aid to selecting the best care for your Greys when you are
out of town...this is adding up to be a great conference. And, of
course, there are plenty of vendors lining up to bring us the latest,
greatest and showiest of Greyhound merchandise found at any conference
anywhere.
It is not too early to make your hotel reservation. The conference is
Being held at the Sheraton Richmond West at 6624 West Broad Street.
The hotel is very convenient to I-64...so whether you are coming in
from the airport or driving into the city from just about any
direction, the location is easily accessible. Not only is the Sheraton
ready to greet you...but your Greyhounds as well. Yes, the hotel is
dog friendly. There are wooded walking trails adjacent to the hotel
and plenty of green space outside the doors for doggie breaks.
To reserve your room, you may call the national reservations number,
which is 1-888-565-7654. Identify yourself as a part of the Greyhound
Pets of America group to receive the conference rate. Also let the
hotel know if you are planning to bring your dog with you. While the
conference dates are September 17-19, the hotel rates are good
beginning on the 16th for those of you who want to make sure and be
there in plenty of time to hear our featured speaker on Friday
morning!
Again, we look forward to hosting you in Richmond, Virginia!
K Alferio
Executive Director
citycelebrations
200 S. Third St.
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 788-6466
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December, 2003
For the second
consecutive year, Greyhound Pets of America has received a 4-star
rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent evaluator
of charities.
Receiving four out of a possible four stars indicates that our
organization excels, as compared to other charities in America, in the
area of strong fiscal management. This consistency in our
rating is an exceptional feat, especially given the economic
challenges all charities have had to face in the last year.
Greyhound Pets of America - Charity Navigator
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September, 2003
GPA National announces the Emily Griffin
Memorial Injury Fund. This fund is available to GPA Chapters and
Sub-Chapters to help with expenses incurred when treating injured
greyhounds.
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GPA National launches new program, Paws Across the Pond, to
help the sight hounds of Europe. For more information contact corrsec@greyhoundpets.org
-
Anne Finche's speech
from the National Greyhound Adoption Conference focusing on the
plight of Galgos and other sight hounds in Europe.
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National Greyhound
Adoption Conference sponsored by GPA was held Sept. 5 - 7 in
Birmingham, Alabama and was hosted by GPA - N. AL of Birmingham,
AL. Many thanks to all who worked so hard to make this year's
conference a wonderful success.
Click here for pictures of this year's conference
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Pet Greyhounds to
Descend on Tampa September 1-4
Greyhound Pets of America Hosts Greyhound Adoption Conference
*Tampa, Fl. *(August 22, 2005)-More than 200 greyhound adoption
leaders
representing 59 Greyhound Pets of America (GPA) chapters and 12 other
greyhound adoption organizations are expected to attend the Greyhound
Adoption Conference being held at the pet-friendly Wyndham Westshore
Hotel in Tampa from September 1 to 4. Sponsored by GPA, the largest
non-profit pet adoption organization in the United States, the
conference brings together leading experts to discuss the latest tips
and trends for owning a pet greyhound. It also provides the
opportunity
for people who own pet greyhounds to socialize.
"Adopting a greyhound is more than owning a pet; it's a lifestyle"
said
Rory Goree, president of GPA. "People love to get together, learn more
about this magnificent breed and boast about the prowess of their
pet."
Pam Iorio, mayor of Tampa and Mike Fasano, Florida State Senator who
will declare September, "Greyhound Adoption Month" will open the
conference. Other speakers include leading greyhound veterinarians who
will discuss greyhound health and the development of a vaccine to
prevent kennel cough, a disease that has plagued the greyhound racing
industry; animal behaviorists; and several leading authors of books
about greyhounds.
The conference is pet-friendly and many attendees will bring their
greyhounds with them. The pets listen attentively or sleep at the feet
of their owners, while speakers discuss everything from communicating
with your pet, to handling separation anxiety, to learning about the
advantages of greyhound acupuncture.
Attendees also will learn more about the former career of their
retired
pets by visiting Derby Lane greyhound racetrack in St. Petersburg.
There, they will tour the kennel, participate in a blessing of the
hounds, discuss the working lives of greyhounds with kennel owners and
learn more about the history of greyhounds from local expert, Louise
Weaver, Derby Lane historian and granddaughter of Derby Lane founding
president, Thomas Lee Weaver.
"What makes greyhounds such wonderful pets is their career as a
racer,"
Goree said. "They are used to being handled, they are mature and they
love to curl up and sleep much of the day. The more we can do to
facilitate the interaction between the greyhound racing industry and
people who adopt greyhounds, the more successful the adoption."
Tampa was selected from a number of cities to host the largest North
American greyhound conference that brings together greyhound owners
from
across the United States. It is estimated that there are more than
180,000 pet greyhounds nationwide.
Greyhound Pets of America (GPA) is a tax-exempt, non-profit
corporation
founded in 1987 for the purpose of finding homes for ex-racing
greyhounds and educating the public on the suitability and
availability
of greyhounds as pets. At the end of 2004, GPA placed more than 68,000
greyhounds in homes as pets. GPA has more than 10,000 members and 59
chapters across the country. To learn more about what wonderful pets
greyhounds make, call 1-800-366-1GPA or visit
www.greyhoundpets.org
<http://www.greyhoundpets.org/>.
Media Contact: Peggy Mackinnon (303) 320-6082
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