Category: Grrr

First-Ever Greyhound Racing Report Says Nearly 12,000 Dogs Injured

More than 900 Greyhounds have died and nearly 12,000 have been injured while participating in races from January 2008 through November 2014, according to a report released today by GREY2K USA and the ASPCA.

And those are only the deaths and injuries that have been reported. “The vast majority of the 80,000 greyhounds born into dog racing can’t even be accounted for,” GREY2K USA and the ASPCA note on Change.org. Neither Alabama or Florida report Greyhound injuries.

“High Stakes,” the humane groups’ first-ever report on Greyhound racing, is being emailed to state lawmakers and opinion leaders.

“For the first time, both the humane and economic costs of this cruel industry are documented for all to see,” said Christine Dorchak, president of GREY2K USA, in a news release. Founded in 2001, the non-profit is the largest Greyhound protection organization in the United States.

“Taxpayers are losing money, states are doling out millions in annual subsidies and gentle Greyhounds continue to die as pawns to this antiquated industry.”

Greyhound racing is banned in 39 U.S. states, “but this cruel sport continues to exploit Greyhounds despite public outcry and overwhelming financial losses from a dying industry,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations.

The 80-page report documents the cruelty and neglect in the industry, including the training of young dogs on unregulated breeding farms; the administration of illegal drugs (including cocaine); poor kennel conditions; lack of veterinary care; and a diet based on diseased meat.

Fortunately, the Greyhound racing industry has been on the decline in recent years. During the past decade, gambling on dog racing has dropped by 66 percent, and Greyhound breeding has dropped by 57 percent.

Along with the report, GREY2K USA and the ASPCA have started a Change.org petition urging governors of the seven states that continue to operate dog racing tracks — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Texas and West Virginia — to end this cruel sport. The petition currently has about 2,000 signatures. [Update: As of April 15, the petition has more than 193,000 signatures!]

“The ASPCA is proud to stand with our partners at GREY2K USA to shed light on the wanton cruelty inflicted on the thousands of dogs that enter the racing industry each year,” Perry said. “We hope state lawmakers will agree that it is time to end dog racing once and for all.”

How to Help End Greyhound Racing

  • Make a donation to GREY2K USA. “A generous supporter has offered to match your donation in celebration of the release of the U.S. report,” according to the website.

Photos via Facebook

NFL’s Terrence Cody ‘Intentionally Tortured’ and ‘Cruelly Killed’ his Dog, Indictment Says

MARCH 24, 2016 UPDATE: Terrence Cody was sentenced today to nine months in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Disturbing details were released today regarding the Baltimore County grand jury indictment against Terrence Cody. The NFL player, who was cut from the Baltimore Ravens last week, is facing 15 charges, including two felony aggravated cruelty charges involving his dog.

Monday’s indictment, published today by the Baltimore Sun, alleges that between Dec. 19, 2014 and Jan. 19, 2015, Cody “did intentionally torture” and “did intentionally cruelly kill” his dog, resulting in the two felony counts. (His dog, named Taz, is referred to as a Presa Canarios Mastiff, not a Bullmastiff, as previously reported.)

The five misdemeanor animal abuse counts are for inflicting unnecessary suffering or pain on his dog; not providing his dog with nutritious food in sufficiency quantity; not providing proper drink; not providing proper space; and not providing necessary veterinary care.

Cody’s agent, Peter Schaffer, insisted last week that Taz died from worms. “If the dog was being treated cruelly, why take it to a vet?” he said, according to TribLIVE Sports. “When the dog passed away, Terrence was in tears.”

But an unidentified source told Aaron Wilson, who covers the Ravens for the Baltimore Sun, that Taz was severely underweight.

“Dog that died owned by Terrence Cody was roughly 50 pounds, should have had a body weight at least twice as high, per source,” Wilson tweeted today.

The source said a bone was discovered in Taz’s stomach, which may have been causing him not to eat. Taz died shortly after he was finally taken to a veterinarian.

If Cody is convicted, he faces a maximum of six years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine for the felony animal cruelty counts, and up to 90 days in prison and a maximum $5,000 fine for the five misdemeanor counts. He is also charged with misdemeanor animal abuse and neglect counts related to his pet alligator.

Cody could also be disciplined with a suspension or fine under the NFL’s recently toughened-up personal conduct policy. “If another teams signs him, he would be held accountable under the policy,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email to the Baltimore Sun.

Cody is free on $10,000 bail. He has not commented on the charges, and has not yet been assigned an arraignment or court date.

Photo via Twitter

Former Baltimore Ravens Player Terrence Cody Indicted on Felony Dog Abuse Charges

MARCH 24, 2016 UPDATE: Terrence Cody was sentenced today to nine months in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Terrence Cody, who was cut from the Baltimore Ravens last week while he was under investigation by the Baltimore County State’s attorney’s office for animal cruelty, was indicted today on 15 charges, including two felony charges for aggravated cruelty involving his dog.

These are the charges announced by the Baltimore County Police, according to the Baltimore Sun:

  • Two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty related to the death of his dog, a Bullmastiff from Spain he bought for $8,000. If convicted, Cody faces a maximum of six years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
  • Five misdemeanor counts of animal abuse or neglect involving the same dog, punishable by up to 90 days in prison and at most a $5,000 fine.
  • One misdemeanor illegal possession of an alligator charge and five misdemeanor counts of animal abuse or neglect of the alligator. These charges are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
  • The remaining misdemeanor charges are drug related.

Further information about the nature of the abuse wasn’t provided. According to Maryland law, aggravated animal cruelty is to “intentionally mutilate, torture, cruelly beat or cruelly kill an animal.”

John Cox, deputy state attorney for Baltimore County, told the Baltimore Sun that Cody was not involved in dog fighting.

Cody’s agent, Peter Schaffer, said last week that Cody’s Bullmastiff had died from worms. He said when the dog became seriously ill, Cody had taken him to a vet.

Schaffer was upset with the Ravens for canning his client. “This young man’s dog has died and the Ravens were so worried about possible ramifications from the league that they took a preemptive strike,” he told the Baltimore Sun. “The fact that the NFL has created such an atmosphere of hysteria that tramples on due process rights, the right of law and common decency is a tremendous problem in our league and our society.”

The “atmosphere of hysteria” is in reference to the NFL’s personal conduct policy, which was toughened up last year after the suspension of another Ravens team member, running back Ray Rice. In that domestic abuse case, an elevator camera captured Rice punching his fiancée in the face, knocking her unconscious. Rice later won his appeal of the suspension and it was overturned. Last week ESPN reported that the NFL Players Association had filed a grievance against the NFL to challenge the new personal conduct policy.

Schaffer insisted that Cody loved his dog. “If the dog was being treated cruelly, why take it to a vet?” he said, according to TribLIVE Sports. “When the dog passed away, Terrence was in tears.”

Cody has not yet been assigned a court date.

Photo via Twitter

GoDaddy Pulls Offensive Puppy-for-Sale Super Bowl Commercial

GoDaddy — you know, the internet service provider whose former CEO bragged about shooting an elephant (a story I broke in 2011) — announced this afternoon that, due to growing social-media outrage, it has pulled an offensive commercial it planned to air during Sunday’s Super Bowl game.

The spot was apparently a bone-headed parody of a tear-jerking Budweiser commercial that is also airing during the game. (Budweiser is on a roll with tear-jerking commercials featuring dogs. Have you seen “Friends Are Waiting“?) The Budweiser spot features a lost puppy.

So did GoDaddy’s commercial, which was deleted from YouTube this afternoon. As it begins, three Golden Retriever puppies are in the back of a pickup truck. One of them jumps from the moving vehicle. As violin music swells, the puppy manages to walk all the way back home, through a rainstorm and across highways and train tracks.

“It’s Buddy! I’m so glad you made it home!” his dog mom says, happily scooping Buddy up into her arms.

“…Because I just sold you on this website I built with GoDaddy.”

What the hell?

According to the New York Times last July, GoDaddy was switching to the ad agency Barton F. Graf 9000, which created the spot, in an effort to change its image.

“The desire to alter brand perceptions was prompted by factors that included changes in ownership and the executive ranks at GoDaddy, a growing backlash to the sexy ads and a realization that more women were becoming part of the company’s target audience of small-business owners,” the Times reported.

Barb Rechterman, chief marketing officer of GoDaddy, told the Times, “We are for the entrepreneur, we are for women, we are for women entrepreneurs.”

Wait, so women and entrepreneurs want to see commercials supporting the online sale of dogs?

What the hell?

Bad, bad move, GoDaddy. Maybe no one shot an elephant this time, but you sure shot yourselves in the foot.

The internet provider Namecheap.com is offering to make a donation to the Humane Society of the United States for every account transferred over from GoDaddy (use the code PUPPYLOVE). Namecheap was also one of the first internet providers to donate account-transfer proceeds to elephant-welfare organizations after the news of the elephant killing broke. This is not a paid endorsement, but i Still Love Dogs is powered by Namecheap, most certainly not GoDaddy.

Photo via YouTube

No Charges yet for Shooter of Dog Playing ‘Too Rough’ at Houston Dog Park

MARCH 10, 2015 UPDATE: Diesel’s shooter, Joseph Potts, has been arrested and charged with one count of felony cruelty to a non-livestock animal.

A man at the Bay Area Dog Park in Houston yesterday morning thought a 2-year-old, black-and-white Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Diesel was playing too roughly with his own dog.

So the man kicked Diesel, knocking him down, then pulled out a handgun and shot him three times at close range in the back and leg. Diesel was rushed to a local emergency animal hospital, where he had to be euthanized a few hours later due to the extent of his injuries.

“I just can’t believe somebody would do that when the dog wasn’t even being aggressive,” Melanie Merritt, who saw the shooting, told KHOU.

Another eyewitness told KPRC-TV the dogs appeared to have been playfully tussling at the Bay Area Dog Park. “His dog was not in danger,” he said. “I witnessed everything. No one was in danger.”

No charges have yet been filed against the man, who has not been identified.

While it’s legal to carry rifles and shotguns in Texas, handguns require a permit. Using one to kill a pet dog, in an area filled with families on a weekend morning, seems not only cruel but downright dangerous.

After being questioned by Harris County sheriff’s deputies, the shooter — who, according to KHOU, told them he did it in self defense when the “Pit Bull” tried to attack his dog — was released. The Sheriff’s Office issued a statement this morning that it will bring its completed investigation of the case to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for further review.

“He doesn’t have any remorse,” the eyewitness told KPRC-TV. “He’s angry. All of that aggression. We’re all telling him, ‘I hope you go to jail.’ I don’t understand how they are not pressing charges.”

Last night KPRC-TV reporter Bill Spencer said he spoke via phone to Diesel’s pet parents, who plan to press criminal charges against the shooter today.

“They’re absolutely heartsick and they are sick to their stomachs,” Spencer said. “And they are confused as well — shocked that the man who shot their dog is not behind bars tonight.”

Photo via Twitter

 

 

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