Our Story

For first hand accounts of the rescues taking place in Guam go to: Notes from the Front Lines
For photos of the greyhounds go to Northcoast Greyhounds' Guam Photo Diary

Update!

Over 120 greyhounds have arrived to safety on the mainland – 10 more to go!

Since mid-January, over 100 greyhounds have made the long trip from the island of Guam to Los Angeles. This unprecedented rescue mission would not have been possible without the hard work of Guam Animals in Need and the dedication of dozens of greyhound rescue volunteers on the mainland. To date, 15 greyhound adoption groups from New Mexico to Canada have supported this effort by taking Guam greyhounds for placement into forever homes. Others extended their generosity through sponsorships, fund raisers and major donations. This, together with the warm welcome extended to the Guam greyhounds by hundreds of individual donors around the world, has gotten us well beyond the halfway point of our mission.

However, there is still much work to be done. At the beginning of April, there were approximately 40 greyhounds remaining at the Guam track and GAIN is still finding the occasional stray. Although the mission has been plagued with multiple challenges, each has been overcome through the magic of people working together for a common goal.

Ohio State article showing DonStack unloading Guam greyhounds.

In March, Don and Suzanne Stack joined the rescue team and provided transportation for eight greyhounds to the Northwest and eight to New Mexico. On April 23rd Don met five adoption groups at Ohio State University to relocate 19 Guam greyhounds. Go to the Available page to see the dogs on the midwest haul.

On April 15th Christine Johnson, from Greyhound Rescue and Rehab of New York, picked the first shipment of four Guam greyhounds to Newark, New Jersey. The dogs are being absorbed into groups from Boston to New York. Four more shipments to Newark are scheduled. There are still ten greyhounds on Guam waiting to come to safety. Getting them here and caring for them is not cheap. Please Help!

On November 7, 2008 the 32 year old Guam Greyhound Park, with approximately 250 greyhounds at the racetrack, abruptly closed. The closing was in response to the results of a failed initiative on the November 4 ballot which would have permitted casino style gambling on the racetrack property. John Baldwin, owner of the racetrack, who had tried to get similar initiatives passed three times in the past six years, claimed the racetrack was losing $100,000 a month.
On November 24,the Guam Greyhound Park started a public giveaway of 150 of the racetrack’s greyhounds. Dogs were given away free to anyone who came to the track. None of the greyhounds were spayed or neutered. No record was kept of who got the greyhounds, how many each person took and no legal transfer of title was made. Obviously, no standard adoption process was in place: no home check and no information about greyhound behavior or care.
It has been reported that many people took the free greyhounds believing they would make good guard dogs. Some of the islands dog fighting “fans” took greyhounds to bait fighting dogs or to breed, thinking it would make the fighting dogs faster or quicker. It didn’t take long for the greyhounds to show up stray or in very bad circumstances. The following updates from Guam Animals In Need (GAIN) volunteers, Dave and Noni Davis, tells a vivid story of this immense tragedy. GAIN (the only animal rescue on the island) has now found these giveway greyhounds starved and even dead.
Around December 10, an agreement was reached with the track in which the remaining greyhounds would be adopted or relocated in accordance with GAIN policies and procedures. Exact numbers have been difficult to ascertain due to the lack of access to all of the greyhounds housed at the racetrack. It appears, however, that GAIN has received or picked up 49 greyhounds that are in their care, another 71 at the track have been sterilized are are waiting for relocation and there is an unknown number of unaltered dogs at the track whose future is dependent on decisions made by the track management. Most of these greyhounds need to come to the mainland for adoption in their “forever” homes.
So far GAIN has adopted 18 greyhounds locally and six are in foster care. As of February 19th, 42 greyhounds have been shipped via Continental Airlines to Los Angeles and are being cared for by Homestretch Greyhound Rescue and Adoption in Fillmore. Plans are in place for continuing shipments every three to five days until all of the greyhounds needing homes are safe. As dogs arrive they will be relocated to greyhound rescue groups throughout the west coast.
The enormity of this emergency and the heroic efforts of the GAIN volunteers is clearly evident when you consider the the size of Guam. The island, a U.S. territory, is about three times the size of Washington D.C. with a population of 175,000 people. Imagine a hundred greyhounds running loose. Imagine the future ecological catastrophe and public health problem when even a few surviving females come into heat.
For first hand accounts of the rescues taking place in Guam go to: Notes from the Front Lines
For photos of the greyhounds go to Northcoast Greyhounds' Guam Photo Diary
NEWS STORY Listen to the NPR affiliate KCLU news segment on the Guam Greyhounds in California.