The HSUS/Paula Jaworski

A rescued greyhound takes a break.

In this installment of our series profiling the people making a difference for animals in 2008 ballot initiatives for animals, meet Anne Albanese, who is helping to shut down greyhound racing in her home state of Massachusetts. Visit protectdogs.org to get involved with the Massachusetts effort.

By Pepper Ballard

Our work was at turns grueling and tedious. We spent long hours pent in tiny cages. No one talked to us. No one visited us. No one rewarded us. And the food—it was miserable.

If retired racing greyhounds PT's Rattlesnake and Monkey Shine could speak out about their years working Raynham Park in Raynham, Mass., that's how they'd describe it, according to their adoptive mom, Anne Albanese.

On a Mission

For the past eight years, Albanese has made it her mission to close down the state's two greyhound racetracks—Raynham and Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere—by collecting signatures in support of a state ballot initiative that calls for such action. In November 2008, Albanese will find out whether her hard work has paid off: voters will decide on the Massachusetts Greyhound Protection Act, an initiative backed by The Humane Society of the United States that would phase out dog racing in the state by 2010.

A similar initiative made it to the ballot in 2000—when Albanese first began getting involved in the cause—but it was narrowly defeated.

"I feel a lot of people think that they're bred to race, that they're bred to run; People enjoy watching them race so therefore they should keep racing," she said. "I think people want to close their eyes to what's really going on. They don't want to know the truth."

So Albanese tells them—oftentimes with a greyhound or two at her side.

A Successful Signing

Her most successful signature gathering spot was at a grocery store about a mile down the road from the Raynham track. When she first got involved in the signature gathering campaign through Grey2KUSA, a national greyhound advocacy group, Albanese got a cold shoulder or two, but just chalked it up to her community's economic dependence on the track. In the years since, her neighbors have warmed up to the notion that greyhound racing is cruel, enough so that in 2007 alone, more than 100,000 Massachusetts voters decided to sign off on it—about 500 of them on Albanese's clipboard.

"No dog should live the life of a racing greyhound," the 51-year-old postal worker said in a recent phone interview.

Seeds of Change

Albanese has had a soft spot for animals since she was a youngster, but grew an affinity for greyhounds 13 years ago while sitting in her veterinarian's office. The licensed foster mother to children was waiting for one of her adopted pets to receive treatment when she saw a van pull up to the office, filled with greyhounds.

A gruff racetrack handler walked a greyhound into the office by the collar, without saying even a reassuring word to the dog, whose legs were shaking from fear.

"He was just passing over a possession," she said sadly.

Cause and Effect

Even after years away from the track, her dogs showed the effects of their former profession. Her first greyhound, Dawson, who was nearly 15 when he died, had arthritis in all of his joints and was very timid, a tell-tale sign he received little human attention. Albanese said Dawson raced at a few tracks throughout New England. Half of one of his ears had been torn off during his short career.

On the other hand, Monkey, whom Albanese adopted when she was 5½ years old, was a good racer, Albanese was told. But what the dog gained in attention from betters, she lacked in attention from her caregivers. Her teeth were worn to the roots from incessant gnarling, a habit born out of boredom in her lonely cage.

Her third greyhound, Snake, suffered a fractured ankle during his racing days. Since his retirement, Snake continues to suffer from back and neck pain, which Albanese’s veterinarian has said could be the result of an unreported spinal chord injury.

"It's a rough and tumble life for them and, of course, they're going to get injured," Albanese said. "They break bones quite easily. They're very delicate. When you have dogs running at speeds of upwards of 40 mph, it's a recipe for disaster."

No Looking Back

Despite their pasts, Snake and Monkey don't look back. Now living the spoiled life, the two hounds yowled for their mother's attention as she spoke on the telephone. They were impatient for their dinner, Albanese explained. Their meals—made with rice—had to cool before their black lips could touch them.

Albanese is hopeful that greyhounds, at least in her state, won't be subjected to the hard life of a high-dollar sprinter any longer.

"I really think (the ballot initiative) will pass this time," she said. "If people can get so enraged over Michael Vick, I really don't see a difference. People were so outraged by that, they should be outraged by this."

Pepper Ballard is a public relations specialist for The HSUS.