How do you make a dog faster? Increase their “speed,” according to this trainer, who has been called out by animal rights groups for alleged abuse.
In a case that redefines “drug-sniffing dog,” a New Zealand greyhound trainer has been disqualified after her winning dog tested positive for meth.
Zipping Sarah had finished first at Christchurch’s Addington Raceway in November 2020, earning a NZ $ 4,000 stake for her trainer Angela Helen Turnwald, the New Zealand Herald reported.
However, the prize money was withheld after a post-race urine analysis revealed methamphetamine and amphetamine in the pooch’s system.
“The level of amphetamine (as it metabolized from methamphetamine) in the sample was particularly large,” said Warwick Gendall, panel chairman of the Judicial Control Authority for Racing. He noted that the potent stimulant “poses significant animal welfare issues.”
Despite the “crystal” clear evidence, the committee didn’t find Turnwald guilty of “deliberate wrongdoing” as they couldn’t determine when the drugs were administered.
Nonetheless, the racing authority wanted to make their anti-doping stance stick, so they disqualified the trainer for four months and slapped her with a NZ $ 3,500 fine.
The penalty came despite the fact that the JCA had received countless references in support of the trainer — as well as a personal statement.
The dog doping case, which is the third in six months, unsurprisingly drew the ire of animal rights advocate SAFE who called out animal abuse.
“Giving a dog methamphetamine to improve their race performance is depraved,” said SAFE spokesperson Will Appelbe, adding that the government should “halt racing” until conducting a review of the industry.