Naples Daily News
Bonita

Pari-mutuel agency says it is in 'difficult position' to protect greyhounds

By ANNE MARIE APOLLO, amapollo@naplesnews.com
June 24, 2005

Calling a fire that killed 17 dogs at the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track a "horrible accident," a state agency this week told a dog advocate group calling for sanctions at the betting facility that its hands in large part were tied.

"The Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering is often placed in a difficult position," wrote its director, David J. Roberts, in a letter to the California-based Greyhound Protection League. "While there is expressed legislative intent to protect the welfare of racing animals, we do not necessarily have the tools with which to carry out that intent."

Specifically, the division cannot search kennel compounds or make specifications for the dog's housing, Roberts wrote.

Nor is it able, he continued, to enforce or require tracks to have plans for dealing with emergency situations.

Meg Shannon, spokeswoman for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the division, said the letter is in response to the Greyhound Protection League's request that it look into conditions at the track.

Following the fire the division started its own investigation, independent of the group's concern, she said. That investigation is continuing to see if any administrative action is needed, she said.

According to the division, it is able to pursue cases of animal abuse, improper drugging or medication and kennel sickness.

Lenka Perron, speaking on behalf of the Greyhound Protection League, said she doesn't have high hopes the state will be able to satisfy her group, which has alleged conditions at the track are unsafe and inhumane.

Within days of the June 1 fire, which started then smoldered for hours in an air-conditioning unit, the Greyhound Protection League asked the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering and the State Fire Marshal for a thorough investigation into its origins and into conditions at the kennel where it started.

Track officials said an alarm system alerted a guard to a problem twice in the early morning hours the day of the fire, but because of human error the situation wasn't discovered until hours later when the kennel's owner arrived to find the dogs surrounded by choking smoke.

The fire had extinguished itself.

Perron said after determining the blaze to be accidental, the fire marshal's office pointed her toward the division, an agency the group had approached unsuccessfully in the past with its concerns about the track.

"I had to go through the motions anyway," Perron said.

Susan Netboy, president of the Greyhound Protection League, said the group is considering engaging a lobbyist to help it fight for changes in Florida laws that would better protect racing dogs. It also is pursuing other routes to resolve concerns with the Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track, Netboy said, though she declined to be specific about the group's plans.

Larry Baldwin, spokesman for the track, said some changes already have been made there as a result of the fire.

When an alarm is received for one kennel at the track now, all are checked to ensure the dogs are safe, he said. Modifications to the track's alarm system may also be made.

Baldwin said the track is working with the state in its investigation and would make any changes it recommends, if any, once the look into the fire is complete.