A Dogs Legacy

By Christine A. Dorchak, Esq. President, GREY2K USA Worldwide

It feels like yesterday that I brought Brooklyn the greyhound home from one of the deadliest racetracks in the world.

Born on December 10, 2008 in New South Wales, my white and brown-spotted boy was a poor racer. So at the age of twenty-four months, he found himself shipped across the ocean to race in Macau. No dog ever got out alive from the infamous Yat Yuen Canidrome, the only legal dog track in China.

In 2011, his luck changed. Our board member Charmaine Settle travelled to Macau to gather evidence about what was happening at the Canidrome. She learned that approximately 650 greyhounds were living in a prison compound behind the grandstands. Each dog was kept in a barren and solitary concrete cell with metal bars. The greyhounds had no beds and no toys and were fed a noxious gruel that caused their teeth to rot.

According to the track website, thirty Australian dogs were shipped in each month and thirty more were killed to open space inside the crowded kennels. This cruel calculation meant that nearly 400 young dogs were destroyed each year, a practice that had started in 1963!

Greyhounds who did not “place” (win money) in five consecutive races were given the needle, as were all injured dogs. There was no adoption program at all. The bodies of dead dogs were left out each week with the trash.

Watching the greyhounds as they were led to race, Charmaine took a photo of a particularly stunning pup. His dirty, makeshift collar read “Brooklyn.” It was this beautiful face, peering beyond a wire muzzle, that inspired an international campaign to #ClosetheCanidrome.

Grassroots rallies were held around the world. It took eight years, but we convinced the Chinese government to cancel the track’s license and allow us to airlift all the surviving greyhounds to safety. Brooklyn was finally free, and made his way home to me on New Year’s Eve 2018.

But no sooner had Brooklyn arrived, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. His front leg was amputated, the surgeon saying that his bones literally disintegrated in her hands as she operated. One year later, he suffered a spinal stroke and my husband had to carry him up and down the stairs several times a day so he could go out. And yet, through all this, our sweet hound remained one of the happiest dogs I have ever known.

Brooklyn’s early suffering and weakened medical condition are not the exception, but the rule for dogs who find themselves bred into the racing industry. But following twenty years of intense advocacy, dog racing is now illegal in 42 American states and soon there will only be two tracks, both in West Virginia. Sadly, 10,000 greyhounds have been injured at the Tri State and Wheeling Island racetracks since 2008. In 2021 alone, 627 greyhound injuries were reported and 12 dogs died.

Even as greyhound advocates continue to push for change in West Virginia, lawmakers in Washington DC have joined in to help as well. Representative Tony Cárdenas of California is working hard to pass the US Greyhound Protection. This humane measure is designed to shut down the business of greyhound gambling and prohibit live lure training nationwide. Live lure training or “blooding” refers to the use of small animals to excite and enhance a chase instinct in young greyhounds. Innocent animals, most commonly rabbits, suffer cruel and miserable deaths.

The Cárdenas bill now has one hundred co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle and has earned the endorsement of nearly 300 shelters, animal protection groups and civic organizations from across the country and around the globe. Once passed into law, Americans will no longer be able to bet on dog races taking place here or in foreign jurisdictions, as they once did on the cruel races held in Macau. The miraculous rescue of Brooklyn is a reminder that dog racing is an international problem and that the greyhounds now racing in Australia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam are crying out for help.

Recently, Brooklyn’s seeming immortality was challenged once again when his bone cancer returned. He died in my arms at the age of 13 years, six months old. It was the second day of summer and a few days after we had paid a happy visit to Plymouth Beach. I will always remember my boy’s astounding resilience and most of all, his forgiving nature. He taught me that change is possible and that every dog deserves a home.

CHRISTINE A. DORCHAK, ESQ. Christine is the President and General Counsel of greyhound protection group, GREY2K USA Worldwide. The grassroots non-profit works to end dog racing and promote the adoption of ex-racers across the globe. To learn more about dog racing, please go to GREY2KUSA.org or visit @GREY2KUSA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can help by sending a message to your congressional representative to co-sponsor H.R. 3335, the Greyhound Protection Act. Just go to grey2k.org/stopusadogracing today.