Cages at crux of fight over greyhound racing ban

Two sides dispute whether dogs are treated humanely

LYNN - The boxes are stacked, cage upon cage, filled with shredded computer paper and barking, excitable dogs.

Inside the North Shore Kennel, 84 greyhounds seem to bark in unison to greet a newcomer, excitedly scraping at the cages and yelping for attention. Then, just as unanimously, they quiet down.

These cages are the focus of a contentious ballot question that would ban dog racing in Massachusetts, based largely on the conditions that the dogs endure.

To one eye, the dogs look cheerful and comfortable. To another, the place might seem like a warehouse. One greyhound appears to stoop his head to fit in the cage; the others seem to have plenty of room to spare.

The kennel's owners welcomed a reporter, but no photographer, fearing how the cages might appear in pictures. Often, their fears are well-founded: The Committee to Protect Dogs has circulated pictures showing sad-looking greyhounds being hauled out of dirty cages.

"Thousands of greyhound dogs endure lives of terrible confinement," says the voiceover in the latest TV ad by a committee advocating for the ballot question to end dog racing in Massachusetts. "They are forced to live in small cages - barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around - for at least 20 hours a day."

The Committee to Protect Dogs - a coalition of the MSPCA-Angell Medical Center, the Humane Society, and Grey2KUSA - achieved that 20-hour estimate by subtracting from 24 the estimated number of times trainers say they take out their dogs for 45 minutes to an hour.

Like every assertion made in the debate over the ballot question, that contention is feverishly disputed by the other side. Trainers say their dogs get plenty of time outside, though they do have a hard time putting a number to it.

Here at the North Shore Kennel, the workers say that dogs' time spent exercising depends on the dog, the day, and the timing of their next race.

"These are athletes; they've got to run," said Bill O'Donnell, who owns the kennel. "As puppies, they get in on one side of the pen and the other, and they race each other."

The all-or-nothing dogs - who loll in the sun, then sprint as fast as the eye can see - gather in an outdoor pen, walking around or playing. One stands on long hind legs to give a trainer a muzzled kiss. Another two dozen or so greyhounds begin to line up at the gate, ready to return to their cages.

Cartoonishly lean and muscled, the racing greyhounds are taken to Wonderland Greyhound Park for sprints every few days, the owners say. On Friday, the first pair dashed around a quarter-circle of the track before doubling back to frolick and play. The next duo took off, racing one another. Others like them no longer get the chance to sprint. Dogs that are waiting to be adopted stay in the kennel or the pens outside.

In 2002, the State Racing Commission developed guidelines for "The Humane Handling, Care, Treatment, and Transportation of Racing Greyhounds," which outlined safe-keeping for the dogs. Those regulations state that crates must offer "ample space for the greyhounds to comfortably turn around, stand erect, sit, or lie down without obstruction, interference, or impediment." Cages must be at least 32 inches wide, 42 inches deep and 34 inches tall.

Though the State Racing Commission says that Grey2K, the Humane Society, and the MSPCA participated in an advisory commission on greyhound treatment, the dog advocates deny that. And though the MSPCA was given input on the guidelines, asking the state to set minimum standards for the size of dog crates, the agency never specified how big the cages should be.

Yesterday, the MSPCA's Kara Holmquist said the Racing Commission would not have accepted her agency's recommendations - the MSPCA's own cages are five times larger than the kennel's - so the advocates focused on the ballot question instead.

Added Christine Dorchak, cochairwoman of the committee to protect dogs, "We do not believe dogs should live in cages, period, so certainly we would not write language into law."