Protect dogs like Emma: Deny kennel license to repeat offenders

Urgent: Sign the petition urging the Selectmen not to reinstate the kennel license. Tip: Please personalize your message. 

Greyhound Friends of Hopkinton neglected the care of sick and injured dogs —including a dog named Moe who was left untreated for two months for an aggressive form of cancer. 

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office also reported that Greyhound Friends founder Louise Coleman breached her fiduciary duty of loyalty to the charity through the misuse of funds, and that the Greyhound Friends Board of Directors failed to ensure management and operational decisions were made in the best interest of the organization.

In September 2018, Greyhound Friends also failed its kennel inspection for not meeting sanitary and humane standards, and failing to account for two of its dogs. During the hearing, the Director of Law Enforcement for the Animal Rescue League, two former Greyhound Friends insiders/volunteers, an animal evaluator, and a veterinarian/epidemiologist, as well as a former captain of animal law for the MSPCA spoke out against relicensure.

>> Watch the testimony.

Many shared firsthand witness accounts of animal neglect, including an adopter who received a very sick dog from Greyhound Friends months after the kennel license was rejected, who stated that she had to spend thousands of dollars to help him get well because Greyhound Friends did not properly treat him.

However, the organization is still fundraising and trying to get relicensed.

In light of the inhumane conditions uncovered at the Greyhound Friends kennel by the Mass Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animal Rescue League of Boston Law Enforcement, and Mass Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR); statements from former employees, volunteers, and adopters who expressed grave concerns about the care of the dogs -- as well as the kennel's DECADES of violations of animal welfare regulations, we do not feel this organization should be entrusted with the care of animals.

Another MDAR report found:


• Dogs with serious illnesses being left untreated, including a dog named Emma who was left untreated for advanced heartworm disease


• Dogs mentally deteriorating after years of confinement and dogs confined in cages that were too small 


• Dogs denied medication to protect against life-threatening illnesses


• Dogs being sent into our community with diseases that can infect people and animals


• Dogs suffering from internal and external parasites

MDAR reported that "the Greyhound Friends Board of Directors appears unwilling or incapable of providing proper oversight." 

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Additional reports:

You can find additional reports as well as photos and videos from inside the kennel here.