Add cocaine to the dangers faced by racing greyhounds
August 24th, 2007 by admin
Just when you thought it would be tough for the greyhound racing industry to sink any lower, it has.
Today we learned that greyhounds racing at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club have tested positive for cocaine. When state investigators arrived at the track earlier this week to discipline the dog’s trainer, they found the bodies of three greyhounds. It is believed that these dogs died from heat exhaustion (it’s been in the 90s all week in Daytona Beach).
This is not the first time that racing greyhounds have tested positive for cocaine in Florida. In 2004, the Tampa Tribune reported that over 100 dogs had tested positive for cocaine over the previous three years! It’s unclear exactly why trainers give cocaine to dogs. The drug is not known to be a performance enhancer.
The trainer, Nelson Ulrich, may face animal cruelty charges.