Timeline to Florida Victory!

• Beginning in the early 2000’s, GREY2K USA files the first “decoupling” legislation to repeal the state mandate requiring a minimum of 100 days of live dog racing per track. Bills pass in the House and/or the Senate, but never make it to the governor’s desk for signature. State Senator Dana Young, State Representatives Jared Moskowitz and Carlos Guillermo Smith champion the measure each year.

• October 31, 2017 - Senator Tom Lee of the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) files Proposal 67 to repeal the authorization for dog racing in the state constitution. The measure looks to decouple and to prohibit commercial dog racing in Florida.

• March 20, 2018 – GREY2K USA forms the Committee to Protect Dogs, a Florida political committee to fight for passage of Proposal 67. The Yes on 13 Committee is sponsored by GREY2K USA, the Doris Day Animal League, The Humane Society of the United States and Animal Wellness Action.

• February – March 2018 – CRC takes public comments at six open hearings throughout the state. Over 100 proposals are considered but the “greyhound amendment” elicits the most testimony. GREY2K USA Executive Director Carey Theil and HSUS State Director Kate MacFall lead the charge.

• March 13, 2018 – GREY2K USA President and General Counsel Christine Dorchak, one of the drafters of Proposal 67, presents a petition to the CRC with over 100,000 signatures in support of the measure. Within days, a quarter of a million people add their own signatures online.

• April 16, 2018 – Florida Constitution Revision Commission votes 27-10 to approve Proposal 67, now Amendment 13, for the November ballot. Attorney General Pam Bondi argues passionately for the greyhounds.

• May 17, 2018 – Greyhound breeders file legal action to block greyhounds from the ballot.

• July 27, 2018 – Doris Day endorses the greyhounds and donates $1.5 million to the Yes on 13 campaign.

• August 1, 2018 – Lower court strikes down Amendment 13 for 24 hours, our appeal stays the order.

• September 7, 2018 – Florida Supreme Court upholds Amendment 13 as proper for the ballot. Hundreds of volunteers sign up to GOTV.

• October 5, 2018 – Our Greyhound Friendship – Yes on 13 Bus begins a ten-day tour of the state, visiting key cities to spread the word that dog racing is cruel and inhumane and must end. Longtime greyhound advocates and campaign organizers Carla and Brian Wilson welcome their fellow volunteers on board the bus at each stop.

• October 5, 2018 – Lush Handmade Cosmetics hosts one week of in-store promotions for Amendment 13 in each of its 13 Florida shops.

• October 15, 2018 – Committee to Protect Dogs launches statewide TV campaign. Sonia Stratemann of Elite Greyhound Adoptions reveals the truth about the killing of greyhounds at Palm Beach and other tracks across the state.

• October 31, 2018 - The Protect Dogs - Yes on 13 campaign receives 500 endorsements - from celebrities like Ellen Degeneres, Bette Midler, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Scholz of the band Boston, from the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times and every major paper in the state, from candidates for Congress, a local church, civic groups, 100 local animal shelters, veterinarians and veterinary clinics, animal welfare organizations, local and national magazines such as Fido Friendly, E-The Environmental Magazine and the New Barker, philanthropists like the NFL’s Eddie DeBartolo, attorneys, current and former state lawmakers, greyhound adoption groups and two celebrity cats!

• November 6, 2018 – Florida citizens vote to prohibit dog racing 2-1. Tracks will wind down over 26 months, allowing greyhounds to be absorbed by waiting rescue groups all across the country. You can sponsor a hound here.

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Dog racing is now illegal in 42 US states and it is time for us to end it everywhere. Please sign our international petition and then make a campaign donation today. With your gift of $75 or more, you will receive a campaign kit including a t-shirt, button, bumper sticker and tumbler in a canvas tote bag. For $90 or more, we will include a stylish enamel greyhound pin!

100% of donations support our mission to end dog racing, pass greyhound protection laws and promote greyhound adoption. We are grateful for personal and corporate contributions. Because GREY2K USA lobbies for greyhound legislation, contributions are not tax deductible.