1,000 People Nationwide Attend Memorials for Greyhounds Slain in Alabama

On Saturday, July 27, 2002, more than 1,000 greyhound adopters and hundreds of their dogs participated in vigils held in 23 cities from coast to coast in memory of the thousands of Florida greyhounds found shot to death on an Alabama farm earlier this year. The nationwide vigils were the brainchild of Kevin and Sherry Neuman of Kansas City REGAP. The Greyhound Protection League (GPL) and GREY2K USA coordinated the events.

Many of the memorial events included a reading of "Blood Sport - A Greyhound's Last Words," a poem written by Juliet Law Packer. The poem ends with these lines: "My heart howls out . . . Let my dying matter, Let my dying be the last. The light dims out. Remember. Remember. Remember." One of the most visually moving tributes for the slain dogs was the one created by Arizona Greyhound Rescue in Tucson. Volunteers strung a 750-foot-long, 3,000-link chain made with multicolored paper to symbolize the passage of so many souls crossing over the Rainbow Bridge.

The states, cities and greyhound rescue, adoption, and advocacy groups participating in the events were: Arizona - Animal Defense League of Arizona and Greyhound Network News (Phoenix), Arizona Greyhound Rescue (Tucson); California - Operation Greyhound and Greyhound Adoption Center (San Diego), and two chapters of Greyhound Friends for Life (San Francisco and Soquel); Connecticut - Compassion in Entertainment (Bridgeport); Florida - GPL, Greyhound Adoptions of Florida, and GREAT (Orlando) and the Pensacola Humane Society; Georgia - Adopt-A-Greyhound Atlanta; Idaho - Greyhound Rescue of Idaho (Boise); Indiana - USA Defenders of Greyhounds; Kentucky - Shamrock Greyhound Placement (Louisville); Massachusetts - GREY2K USA (Boston); Michigan - Retired Greyhounds as Pets (Southfield); Missouri - Kansas City Retired Greyhounds as Pets; Nebraska - GREY2K USA (Omaha); Nevada - Greyhound Rescue and Adoption (Las Vegas); North Carolina - Greyhound Friends of NC (Oak Ridge); Oregon - Defenders of Greyhounds (Portland); Pennsylvania - GPL, Citizens Against Dog Racing, New Jersey Greyhound Adoption Program and First State Greyhound Rescue (Doylestown); Vermont - Save the Greyhound Dogs! and Greyhound Rescue of Vermont(Essex ).

[To read the poem and view photos, go to www.kcregap.org]