News In Brief Spring 2005

NATIONWIDE: An outbreak of kennel cough swept across the country from January into May, sickening thousands of greyhounds and killing 22. Quarantines failed to stem the spread of the disease at tracks in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

A virulent strain of the disease killed three greyhounds at the Daytona Beach kennel compound in February. Six young greyhounds at Lincoln Park in Rhode Island died in April. Thirteen greyhounds died suddenly at Wonderland May 10, from what is now being described as a mystery disease. More deaths are expected at the Massachusetts track, according to state veterinarian Dr. Alex Lightbown. "I would say the track is closed indefinitely until we get a handle on this situation," she said.

Sources: Daytona Beach News-Journal;
Brockton Enterprise: Terence J. Downing;
The Providence Journal: Deepa Ranganathan;
The (Texas) Daily News: James Freemont;
Boston Herald: Scott Van Voorhis

ALABAMA: Dog track mogul Milton McGregor, owner of VictoryLand and the Birmingham Race Course, is a board member of Global Trust Partners, a consortium of business leaders promoting economic development between the United States and Russia. Global Trust is financing a $300 million project to im-plement a Russian electronic lottery system, with as many as 50,000 terminals throughout the country. Organizers hope to launch the lottery by March 2006.

Source: Montgomery Advertiser: Tiffany Ray

COLORADO: An early morning fire April 30 at a remote breeding farm in Adams County killed seven adult greyhounds and six puppies. Firefighters rescued a mother and two puppies from inside the burning barn before it became too unstable to enter. An additional 74 greyhounds in crates outside the barn were carried to safety. "I'm amazed that any dogs were saved," said Wendy Krajewski, spokeswoman for North Metro Fire Rescue. "When the fire crew arrived, the barn was completely engulfed."

Source: The Denver Post: Kirk Mitchell