A Bill for the Dogs

Two years ago the state passed legislation to keep track of injuries to the dogs at the racetrack.

It is on the strength of those numbers that supporters now say lawmakers should ban the sport in New Hampshire.

T.3
3:03 2005 and 2006 we have 700 injuries...drops big book....now these records are filled out by state employees and are signed under the penalties of perjury.

That's former state Representative Paul LaFlamme- who sponsored that bill to keep statistics on injuries.

He was speaking to legislators in Concord at a luncheon sponsored by the advocacy group Grey2K.

T.3
3:28 of those 700 dogs that are injured, a whopping 22% suffer a career ending injury, die on the racetrack or are euthanized. Of the remaining 80% or so, they average a 4.4 week recovery time. We are not talking hang-nails people. We are talking serious injury. 4.4 weeks.

Supporters have initiated an aggressive lobbying campaign to inform lawmakers about the issue.

They argue most people simply don't appreciate how grim life is at the Lodge at Belmont, and Hinsdale, and Seabrook racetracks.

Representative Peter Schmidt says he didn't know anything about the situation either...until he saw pictures.

T.5
7:35 the row upon row of cages. One over another. Small so the dogs can hardly stand up and turn in them. Shreds of newspaper in the bottom. Muzzled. And then the bin, or tray of the meat, that is fed to these animals every day. The so-called 4-D meat, dead, diseased, dying and downed animals...I said, 'that's what they get? That's it?'

3:19 I spare no expense on what I feed my animals...

William Francis McGee is the general manager of the Lodge at Belmont.

....The Purina High-Pro. The racing beef, which is probably 75-80 cents a pound. It isn't like hamburger you buy at the grocery store, but it's a step below.

McGee says supporters have completely mischaracterized the life of dogs at his track.

He says not only do they receive visits from a state veterinarian several times a week and the animals are let out at least four times a day.

He also says the dogs are muzzled only when they are off to race.

No matter how bright McGee describes the lives of racing greyhounds, Ronald Willis still has his share of nightmares.

The one-time trainer says he was witnessed everything from someone beating the tar out of a dog to death on the track.

Willis says the public doesn't realize what is happening to the animals.

Take for example, what happens when a dog that's supposed to race is accidentally fed a meal.

29:47... you know how they cure that problem? They will take the dog, and I've seen it done numerous times. Throw down a handful of salt down the dog's mouth, you put it out in the turnout until it vomits it all up. And if they don't use salt, they will use a bottle of peroxide. And they shove it down the dog's throat. They call it puking the dog....

30:30...to see that actually done, will turn your stomach. Then to listen to the dog in the turnout pen for 15-20 minutes. It's unbelievable, it is.

One of the most difficult tasks lawmakers will face is trying to tease out just how poorly the dogs are treated.

Anecdotes on each side abound.

Supporters and opponents slice the injury statistics differently.

Also legislators must weigh the potential economic impact of banning dog racing.

Right now, the tracks deliver a little more than one million dollars to the state in revenue.

And live dog racing represents a very small piece of that action- accounting for only about $115,000 in 2006.

But the bill's critics point out that the three facilities do employ about 320 full-time people.

:44 my name is Brandi Nadeau. I am 36. I have three children. I live here in Laconia. My husband is a machinist in Laconia...I have a 17 year old, a 12 year old, and an 11 year old.

Nadeau- who works at the Lodge at Belmont- says she makes less than $25,000 a year.

But the job includes benefits that cover her children's medical expenses.

Lodge lobbyist Rick Newman feels sorry for Brandi Nadeua and other track employees.

He says this legislation puts dogs before people.

T.13
13:30....it offends me when someone can callously say we don't really care about the office worker at the Lodge at Belmont, who's got a good job with health insurance. Racing itself is cruel, so that person should go somewhere else and work. I think they ought to give some thought to people that work up there, that have families....
T.15
:20 I don't think we are putting dogs before people....

Grey2K lobbyist Nancy Johnson.

...we have in this bill a committee that is going to address the economic impact this will have. If we didn't put that committee in this bill, I would say the argument could be made that we are putting dogs before people. we recognize that some people may lose their jobs.

While usually very pro-business, Representative Fran Wendelboe admits she's on the fence this time.

She appreciates that people may lose their jobs, and that business would be closed down.

But she doesn't like the idea of a dog suffering, not at all.

T.8
1:35...It's man's best friend. Dogs give us comfort. They never lie to you. They are always there for you when you need somebody to listen to you. And my dog, my dog was sick recently, I spent $4700 dollars on a 12 ½ year old dog for a surgical procedure, b/c I love her.

Wendelboe says she would have preferred spending the money on something else.

But the point, she says, is that she didn't.

For NHPR News, I'm DG.