Dear Friends of REGAP

In 1989, we began our involvement in greyhound rescue efforts through a Michigan based adoption group. We found homes for many greyhounds. At the same time, we continued to receive calls from around the country, begging us to save more from certain death. It wasn’t long before we realized the number of greyhounds needing to be rescued was by far exceeding the number of adoptive homes we could find.

The dogs we saw brought up questions about the racing industry’s practices: Why were the dogs’ coats and teeth in such poor condition? What caused the strange, and sometimes numerous, scars? Why were these greyhounds coming off the tracks with internal parasites, ear infections, and, in some cases, untreated injuries? Were the claims of dogs being fed 4-D meat (dead, dying, diseased, or decayed), living in cramped, unsanitary conditions, and being given drugs and hormones to enhance performance true?

The racing industry swore the dogs were well cared for and few were killed. Who were we to believe? We decided to investigate for ourselves. Unfortunately, we found all these things were not only true, but much more common than the industry was letting on. The evidence we found only helped in explaining the reasons for the awful condition of these gentle animals coming off the track.

As if all that information wasn’t bad enough, there were also suspicions that more greyhounds were being destroyed than the National Greyhound Association (NGA) admitted to. Greyhound Protection League calculations using NGA statistics showed literally thousands of greyhounds left unaccounted for each year. Where were these greyhounds ending up once they "retired"? Case after case showed greyhounds being sold for medical research or inhumanely "disposed of". Although these instances evidence only a portion of dogs unaccounted for, we can only assume the others met the same horrible fate.

With this information giving us a better understanding of the complex and controversial issues behind greyhound adoption, we came to a disturbing realization. By simply finding homes for retired greyhounds and not speaking out about the information we found, we were perpetuating the cycle of over-breeding and killing. We weren’t helping the situation, we were only helping trainers get rid of some of their unprofitable racers. We were giving them more kennel space to breed more greyhounds.

It was for this reason we formed Michigan REGAP. Our goal is to educate every person we can about the abuse and destruction caused by greyhound racing. Our hope is to stop greyhound racing in its tracks.

Other relatively new adoption groups in Michigan claim REGAP is too "political", and more greyhounds can be saved working together with the racing industry. Sadly, these groups have not been involved in rescuing greyhounds long enough to fully understand. Even when faced with the increasing evidence of abuse and destruction, they defend the industry. They claim these abuses and practices are "isolated incidents". It is our hope that these groups will soon become more educated coming to realize that silence enables the destructive cycle to continue.

As the founders of REGAP, we realize we cannot do everything ourselves. We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our wonderful, caring volunteers. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to place over 700 greyhounds in loving homes nor help greyhounds in other ways.

REGAP promises you we will find you a lifelong friend, but we also make a bigger promise:

We promise to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Thank you for your interest in REGAP and your concern for these wonderful, gentle dogs.

- Lenka & Leslie

Founders, Michigan REGAP