Whistleblower: 150 Greyhounds Kept in Squalor, Bled for Profit

PETA to Minnesota Veterinary Products Distributor: Pull Plug on Sale of Blood From Captive Dogs, Fund Rescue of Canines From Shocking Conditions

For Immediate Release:
September 21, 2017

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

PETA has obtained photographs and video footage of approximately 150 greyhounds—most if not all of whom were bred for racing—suffering in squalid conditions ripe for disease at a Texas kennel doing business as The Pet Blood Bank, Inc., which sells dogs’ blood to veterinary clinics across the U.S. through Patterson Veterinary Supply, Inc., part of St. Paul‒based Patterson Companies, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. PETA is calling on Patterson to source blood exclusively from dogs who live in private homes and to fund the greyhounds’ urgent rescue.

Dogs were denied veterinary care for severe oral infections, painful and infected wounds, an apparent broken leg, and other health issues. Most dogs at the facility—a converted turkey farm—are solitarily confined to barren dirt kennels. Video footage shows dogs pacing and spinning in circles—severe stress-induced behavior—cowering, and even urinating on themselves in fear when approached. The animals are allegedly bled up to twice a month—with about 20 percent of their blood taken each time—and for up to three hours before and after the procedure, they’re locked inside crates outside, without shade or water, some muzzled. Conditions expose the dogs to ticks, fleas, and other parasites, endangering their welfare as well as that of recipients of their blood via transfusions.

“These dogs were used, abused, and discarded by the ruthless racing industry, and now they’re imprisoned in squalor, denied even basic veterinary care, and bled over and over again,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “It’s time for them to be rescued and given a chance to experience joy, love, and respect; to run and play; and to get to be dogs at long last.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—has asked San Saba County, Texas, authorities to investigate the facility for violations of the state’s cruelty statute and is urging The Pet Blood Bank’s operators to turn the dogs over to reputable rescue agencies for urgent veterinary assessment and care.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.