“The people will protect the dogs:” New campaign ad targets greyhound racing cruelty

Every three days, a greyhound dog dies on a Florida racetrack.

This is according to a new online ad urging voters to end the practice with a vote on the November ballot. The ad begins with an unidentified man in dark sunglasses and a dark shirt looking at the camera.

“They’re dogs, they’re not people,” he says.

Florida is one of 10 states where betting on live dog racing is still legal. Protect Dogs – Yes on 13 is the grassroots campaign urging voters to change Florida law and phase out the races by 2021 by voting yes on amendment 13.

The man in the campaign video walks around a sandy-bottomed enclosure where lithe dogs curl up in the shadows behind him.

“It’s not because they’ve been abused, you know what I mean?” he says.

“No, we don’t know what you mean,” a woman says in a voice-over.

The 65-second video goes on to say that greyhounds are locked up in cages for 20 to 23 hours a day, and that the dogs deserve to be treated humanely.

The ad will go on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The last ad the group released got nearly 150,000 views.

“And in November, the people will protect the dogs,” the voice-over says.