Anthony has been caring for Lucy the greyhound since October of 2014, when he welcomed the former racing dog into his home.
When the pair first met, Lucy had run 99 races in her career and given birth to 23 puppies. She had a costly intestinal problem and a prey drive that needed addressing. Anthony helped her work through all of this, paying for acupunture to treat her health problems, gradually training her for a life outside the track and creating a bike that allowed Lucy to safely ride with him. After several months of TLC from Anthony, Lucy turned into a loving, playful and tender pup.
The greyhound’s life took another dramatic shift this August when she went missing on a vacation in the woods of Minnesota. Anthony, his family, friends and neighbors immediately started searching for the dog. The owner also posted signs, alerted local law enforcement and animal control and contacted the Greyhound Pets of America, who sent out members to help with Anthony’s search.
After an extensive sweep of the area, Lucy was found stuck in a hole underneath the cabin Anthony and his friends were staying in. Overjoyed by the news, the owner contacted the GPA to let them know Lucy was safe and that he was taking her to a vet clinic at the University of Minnesota. The GPA board member who they spoke to, Shawn Yeardly, suggested a closer emergency vet clinic in Duluth instead. Trusting GPA’s advice, Anthony took Lucy to the Duluth vet where he found several GPA members waiting, who had already spent time telling the vet Anthony was a neglectful owner. Surprised by the group’s accusations, Anthony talked about what happened to Lucy, which seemed to clear up any issue with the vet.
While somewhat leery of these “friends” at the GPA, Anthony agreed to let Shawn pick up the dog from the clinic in the morning, after her care was complete, and drop her off at Anthony’s house in St. Paul, where he was planning to return that night. Sadly, that’s not what happened.
Instead of returning Lucy to Anthony, Shawn took the greyhound to the GPA. Her owner discovered this startling fact when he received a call from GPA president Curt Carter on the day Lucy was supposed to be dropped off, telling him they were taking the dog away because she was allowed off leash and was injured as a result.
“Since we had signed an adoption agreement that Lucy was to be on leash at all times unless at a fenced in dog park, we were clearly in the wrong. Family and friends volunteered to write letters attesting to our diligent and caring dog ownership … but we were clearly in the wrong,” Anthony wrote on the Facebook group dedicated to Lucy’s return, We Love Lucy.
The owner met with the GPA’s Minnesota board, hoping to admit his wrongdoing, clear up the situation and return home with his loyal pet. Again, that did not happen.
“From the tone of Curt Carter at the meeting, we knew from early on that the issue had already been decided and that Lucy would not be coming home to us. We felt powerless, as if we were standing in front of a war crimes tribunal,” Anthony wrote in the same post. “Curt tried to assure us again that it wasn’t personal but we feel it is very very personal – for us and for Lucy who had been our companion for almost two years. While we understand that we broke GPA’s rules, and that Lucy would not have gotten lost had she been on a leash, it is totally unreasonable to take her away and to now place her with another stranger.”
Now, Anthony is left to fight for the dog he has spent months dedicating his life to, because he trusted the GPA to return his dog, instead of taking her away. It’s a set of circumstances that has left him understandably confused and hurt.
“The way that GPA treated us – acting like they were there to help us, assisting us in our search, convincing us to bring Lucy to Duluth after she had been found, agreeing to pick her up the next day and deliver her to us – and then taking her away from us and never giving us an opportunity to even discuss it with them – we felt like they were a wolf in sheep’s clothing and their practices in Lucy’s search were deceitful and disrespectful to us as Lucy’s owners,” he wrote.
He also added, “We think that their conduct had nothing to do with justice or what’s best for the dog. They did not interact with us in an honest and respectful way. They did not even give us the opportunity to say goodbye to Lucy. Perhaps their adoption agreement ultimately gave them the right to take Lucy away from us, but they did not have the right to treat us, the owners of Lucy, poorly. We feel cheated and wronged.”
In an effort to reunite with Lucy, Anthony has created the Facebook page We Love Lucy, which shares her story and encourages those moved by the events to contact the GPA. The owner is asking all animal lovers to also share the story with others, and promises to keep the group updated.
