Cover Stories Fall 2000

Heat Stroke Kills 53 Racing Greyhounds in West Virginia Kennel

Brooke County: Fifty-three racing greyhounds died at the ZEZ kennel July 27, one day after the air-conditioning system allegedly malfunctioned. A total of 60 dogs were housed in a trailer that had been converted into a kennel. The condition of the surviving seven dogs is unknown.
Assistant County Prosecutor Frank Fitch found no criminal intent on the part of Ed Zeroski, the kennel's owner. Zeroski races dogs at the nearby Wheeling Downs track and at the Shore line Star track in Bridgeport, Connecticut. "After our investigation, it didn't appear that anything rose to the level of criminal activity," Fitch said. "It appears as though an accident happened and accidents do happen."
Donna DeJaro, the county dog warden, also investigated the incident. DeJaro said that Zeroski told her the air-conditioning had malfunctioned the night before and he was unwilling to turn it on again until it was checked by a repairman. According to DeJaro, the temperature during the night of the 27th was 65-degrees; if Zeroski had only turned on the fan and opened the windows, the dogs would have been cooled.
Teri Kraft, a greyhound breeder in Abilene, Kansas, lost 13 greyhounds at the ZEZ kennel; most of her dogs were 17 months old. Three of the dogs, including Shaughnessy Gold, were racing in grade AA. Kraft is calling upon the National Greyhound Association (NGA) to pass a mandatory review system to keep racing dogs protected.
"At greyhound kennels, they almost always have air conditioning. If it gets hot, the dogs can't keep themselves cool. If it's hotter, they die of heat stroke," Kraft said, adding that only two of her dogs were supposed to be housed at the kennel and the other 11 should have been at Wheeling Downs. She said she is still not sure why all of the dogs were being housed at Zeroski's facility.
A complaint was filed against Zeroski on an unrelated violation and the Wheeling Downs Board of Judges fined him $500 Aug. 9. The ruling included a stipulation that further violations will result in the suspension of Zeroski's license. DeJaro said that the board requested her report in early September, indicating that the case remains open.
Kraft said alarm systems should be mandated and other steps should be taken to reduce the number of deaths. "It's not regulated, but it should be. Kennels should either have a backup generator or an alarm system to notify people of problems." Acknowledging that nothing is fail-safe, Kraft added, "We are getting a petition to the NGA to regulate it in some way to have a backup or manual checkup program on cooling systems. We are hoping they will pass it when they meet in October."
Kraft said that while she was angered by her dogs' deaths, she does not want to give the dog racing business a black eye. Instead, she hopes to make an improvement. "I want people to know about it so they can put pressure on [the industry] and make sure it doesn't happen again. It's a big business . . . but they need to take care of the dogs."

Source: Wheeling Intelligencer. Amy Gareis