At first glance, Tucson Greyhound Park appears more worn out than
wildly controversial. Over the past half-dozen years, annual attendance
at this track has slid by more than 10,000 people, while bets have
fallen by millions of dollars. And it shows.
As dog tracks go, Tucson is considered a dead-ender, or nearly so.
For racers that have reached this point in their downward spiral, the
next stop is typically something even worse in Mexico. However, worse
may be hard to fathom: In October, state inspectors discovered
horrendous conditions at a kennel here. (See “Kennel No. 1,” April
23.)
More recently, track manager Tom Taylor was fined by the Arizona
Department of Racing after a follow-up inspection found syringes in one
of the kennels. Syringes are prohibited on track grounds unless wielded
by a veterinarian.
But perhaps even more troubling is that this rundown track is left
to police itself with regards to a ballot initiative passed in November
by the voters of South Tucson.
Among other things, the freshly minted Tucson Dog Protection Act
requires that the track either enlarge its greyhound cages or allow the
dogs to remain outside of them for at least six hours each day. It
forbids the dosing of female greyhounds with anabolic steroids, which
contain hormones to keep them from going into heat. The law also
prohibits feeding greyhounds “4-D” meat, so called because it comes
from livestock that’s “dead, dying, diseased or down” at the time of
slaughter. The flesh is stripped from carcasses and frozen raw, and
then fed to the dogs, still raw.
Last spring, track officials were defiant as the ballot initiative
gained steam. “It’ll be too harmful to the dogs to follow these
measures,” park manager Tom Taylor told the Tucson Citizen in
May 2008. “These people don’t know the breed.”
Regardless, the measure passed in November, 402 yays to 373 nays.
But as the dust settles from that electoral fracas, Tucson Greyhound
Park may have the last laugh: It seems that no one is actually
enforcing the new law.
Theoretically, the Pima Animal Care Center should be keeping tabs,
since South Tucson contracts with the agency to provide overall animal
management. “All of the South Tucson ordinances related to animals and
fowl, they have empowered us to enforce,” says PACC manager Kim Janes.
That includes the Tucson Dog Protection Act.
But it’s not quite that easy, since PACC staffers do not monitor
compliance with the new law. “Our workload is such that we only respond
to complaints,” he says. “Only if a complaint comes in will we go and
make sure what’s happening.”
This seems a rather remote possibility, however, since Tucson
Greyhound Park refuses to allow the public—including me—to
see conditions inside its kennels. So it appears that PACC will respond
only in the unlikely event that kennel operators report themselves.
“That is part of the challenge,” Janes says.
But should such a freakish thing actually occur, PACC inspectors
still couldn’t enter the park’s kennel compound at will. “Another
challenge we have is that, without probable cause, we don’t even
approach the owners,” he says. “Then once we approach the owners, only
if the owners will allow us inside the facilities will we look.”
Which raises this query: Why did the City of South Tucson farm out
enforcement of a brand-new ordinance to a notoriously understaffed
agency that’s legally shackled in its ability to police the
kennels?
According to City Manager Enrique Serna, South Tucson simply doesn’t
have the resources to monitor the track. “And I think that’s why
(proponents) of the ordinance decided to do it here,” he says. “But if
they think we’re going to stand at the ready, we’re not.”
The track is owned by Florida businessmen Joseph Zappala and Robert
Consolo Jr. Neither returned phone calls from the Tucson Weekly seeking comment. Nor did track manager Tom Taylor. However, in an
earlier interview, we did ask Taylor who was monitoring the new law. “I
have no idea,” he said. “I don’t have to do it. I don’t have to turn
the dogs out six hours a day. The kennel owners have to do it. It’s
their law that they have to follow, and they tell me they’re doing
it.”
All of which doesn’t sit well with Susan Via, chairwoman of Tucson
Dog Protection, the group behind the greyhound law. A career federal
prosecutor with the U.S. attorney for Arizona, Via retired in 1998.
Then next day, she went out and adopted a greyhound.
Via may have been thrilled with the passage of the law, but words on
paper are far different than boots on the ground. And she doesn’t buy
Taylor’s contention that compliance is simply up to the kennel owners.
“After all, it’s Tucson Greyhound Park’s property,” she says.
At the same time, she contends that Taylor’s policies on who can
visit his kennels are a bit fluid. “The night that (the Tucson Dog
Protection Act) was discussed in the South Tucson City Council,” she
says, “he invited anybody who wanted to come back to the kennels.”
Either way, it appears that enforcement of the Tucson Dog Protection
Act is left up to Tucson Greyhound Park. But the park’s record doesn’t
necessarily lend much confidence. Besides the October discovery of
filthy conditions, Taylor was recently fined for the syringes found in
a vacant kennel used for adoptions.
According to Luis Marquez, director of the Arizona Department of
Racing, the syringes “had canola oil in them, because that’s used to
increase the weight of the dogs and supposedly doesn’t damage them.”
Taylor was initially fined $500 for the incident. But that amount was
reduced after he argued that no dogs were present in the kennel, and
those that had been there were no longer used for racing. Apparently,
the canola oil was meant to plump up skinny dogs for adoption.
“He raised enough questions to where I lowered the fine to $300,”
says Marquez. “But I still found him in violation—that he was
responsible for the kennel and the syringes found there.”
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2009.
Susan Via and her protection group have offered a $2,000 reward for anyone to get Tucson Greyhound Park convicted of violating prop 401. Why is Tim assuming the worst. It appears that the Dept of Racing is all over these guys at the race track.
Give me a break, South Tucson Citizen. This park is a pathetic excuse of a business. Besides outright cruelty to animals and filthy conditions, injecting female greyhounds with steroids? Ugh!
I’d like to see Tim Vanderpool expose any board-certified
vets who are involved with this sick practice.
CLOSE IT DOWN!
Tom Taylor is an embarassment to his breed. Ditto for the owners of TGP, who seem to prefer to remain in Florida rather than come to South Tucson to be sure their track complies with the provisions of the law. I think they all need to be served a nice plate of frozen 4 D meat! Along with the greyhounds. Then they can all go back to their nice beds of ripped, pea-soaked carpet and chew on their delightful wire cages, if they aren’t wearing their muzzles. I’ve seen all this at TGP personally. Tom, why not invite me back to the kennels and show me all this no longer happens. I’m anxiously awaiting your response.
First of all, thank you Tim and Tucson Weekly for your coverage of the problems at the TGP.
There needs to be a way for the inspectors to make surprise inspections at anytime – just like inspectors in other industries involving animals.
But the best solution of all is to close the track. It’s all about the gambling and the dogs are the unfortunate victims.
The article says:
But should such a freakish thing actually occur, PACC inspectors still couldn’t enter the park’s kennel compound at will. “Another challenge we have is that, without probable cause, we don’t even approach the owners,” he says. “Then once we approach the owners, only if the owners will allow us inside the facilities will we look.”
It’s a good thing that the Department of Health doesn’t have those same shackles or else we would all be dead.
The city of South Tucson is also being investigated by several federal agencies because of an ongoing internal theft of $560,000 in its Police Department. No stimulus package for them.
To be fair, injecting the females with hormones to keep them out of heat is a reasonable thing to do, and is routine at all tracks, not just dead-enders like Tucson.
But injecting dogs with canola oil? Dear god. Shut the place down already.
Why can’t PACC appoint some volunteers to help police kennels and perhaps take a look every so often at the track? Pima County Sheriffs Office has volunteers, so does TPD. Why not animal control?
Doug D The canola oil was not injected> It was corn surup and no needles were ever found because the corn surup was shot into the greyhounds mouth. THis is also how the greyhound get lots of their vitamins. The reports don’t tell you all they know, just what they want to FEEL.
South Tucson Citizen: Give citatons for your assertions, or risk getting your comments deleted. The canola oil info comes directly from the Arizona Department of Racing.
Vitamins from corn syrup? WTF? South Tucson Citizen, you are clearly uninformed. Corn syrup has lots of calories but zero nutritional value.
Here’s a link to FDA document on corn syrup – http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/facts/hhpfacts…
Sounds like the “council” that passed the “law” barely passed anything, just enough to get the public and press off their agenda for a short time.
Guess it is the gamblers (bettors) themselves who are making this nasty business profitable. Shame on any who patronize this track!
Let’s see, what might be effective? Deeper exposing of the profits? Making public the names of all staff and concessionaires? Tax investigation? Photograph the patrons? Picket the place some more? Greater presence by police (hah!) or by the county sheriff?
This is not a victimless crime. It hurts the dogs of course but also harms the community. Keep after it.
Tim Vanderpool and the Tucson Weekly: You are what the First Amendment is all about! Thank you for continuing to inform us all about this subversion of the recently passed Proposition 401. There is something inherently wrong with this situation. Tim, Tucson Weekly: please make this a cause celebre to force TGP and the City of South Tucson to follow the law! Thank you once again.
Canola oil, corn syrup,WHATEVER!!! you want to REALLY KNOW what the DOPES and MORONS are trying to get away with.Plain and simple they’re trying to get away with feeding the PET OR ADOPTION kennels with the LEAST AMOUNT OF MEAT OR MEAL AND TRYING TO SUPPLEMENT IT WITH CANOLA OIL.How bizzare is that,also why are syringes in the kennel that houses greyhounds that are up for adoption!!! All of this is that continues to go on at TGP borders on CRIMINAL, and if PIMA COUNTY or SOUTH TUCSON,or whoever doesn’t want to take responsibility then maybe people should inform the State Attorney General with what is going on and look into the possibility of filing crimal charges against TGP.
To correct “South Tucson” and some South Tucson administrators:
The Arizona Department of Racing is not in the business of enforcing city ordinances and they don’t enforce the Tucson Dog Protection Act.
If you don’t believe me, you can call ADR Director Luis Marquez and ask him yourself.
Tim Vanderpool
I have to believe in karma. What goes around comes around.
How can we get the PACC inspectors to gain access at will?
Thank you Tim Vanderpool for this additional article further shaming Tucson Greyhound Park. Leaving the Park in charge of ‘policing itself’ is a pathetic joke. One day, hopefully soon, this miserable place will be closed down for good! Tim, PLEASE keep these stories coming. It is this very kind of exposure that the general public needs to know how disgusting dog racing is.
This is getting unbelievable! Tucson Greyhound Park is an embarrassment to Tucson. Taylor is an embarrassment to human-kind and the ADOR, PACC, City of South Tucson and the Attorney General of Arizona should all be ashamed of themselves. Why don’t we all ignore the laws, because they are inconvenient and difficult to enforce. We are becoming a 3rd world country, thanks to our “elected” officials. Shame on you for getting paid to do a lousy job. How do you sleep at night– you take drugs?!!
I, too would like to thank Tim Vanderpool for stepping up to the plate on this one. Greyhound racing is a dying business. Another track is in turmoil and looks to be at it’s proverbial end, Twin River in R.I. Too bad the industry isn’t learning that dog racing doesn’t pay anymore. The over breeding and poor treatment of the dogs is still a HUGE issue, despite the industries attempts to sugar coat and make dog racing more appealing to the public. In the end, it is only filling the owners pockets. TGP is a failing track and Tom Taylor is a failing example of a human being trying to keep his bosses happy and his job intact. The ADR does have the power to enforce the laws governing racing. The state of Arizona has the power to enforce the laws of the land. Apparently they are being pressured from forces unknown to the common public, otherwise they would be doing the jobs that they are being paid to do. The public need to do its job by not permitting this issue to go away quietly. Support the people who can do the most good for the dogs, the media and Tim Vanderpool, the governor of the state, your locally elected officials as well as state officials. Isn’t it time to close down this disgusting, pathetic, flea infested thing they pass off as a racetrack and put Tom Taylor out of a job?
When I was a trainer at TGP it was like “THE WILD WEST”,no rules, booze prostitutes,your DRUG OF CHOICE it was like living in ANOTHER WORLD!!!But as long as you didn’t break any ADOR rules and statutes and had a racing license you had a FREEHAND to do pretty much whatever you wanted to.Abuse, neglect, cruelty were the NORM at Tucson Greyhound Park and Nobody did a thing about because they didn’t want to lose their booking at the track.Keep up the pressure on these CROOKS because sooner or later they WILL!!! do something criminal enough to get them shut down for GOOD!!!