Seized greyhounds looked like 'RSPCA cases', kennel owner says

Kennel owner 'shocked' by condition of dogs received from Greyhound Racing SA Wed 10 Jun 2026 at 6:25am In short: A South Australian dog kennel owner says she is demanding answers from Greyhound Racing SA over two dogs temporarily placed in her care. Eva Sherriff says both appeared underweight and had unbandaged open wounds, but she has not been able to ascertain how the dogs came to be in that condition. What's next? GRSA says it seized the dogs as part of an ongoing animal welfare investigation and both received appropriate veterinary care. Warning: This article contains images and content, including open wounds on animals, which some readers may find distressing. Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) is facing questions from a kennel owner about two allegedly underweight and injured dogs that the controlling body placed in her care. The greyhounds were seized from a trainer in January as part of an ongoing welfare investigation and temporarily rehomed with Eva Sherriff, the dogs' previous owner. The ABC contacted Ms Sherriff, who operates The Vines Pet Boarding Facility in the Riverland, after she shared photos of the dogs named Sally and Ellen on social media. The photos appeared to have been taken the day GRSA's animal welfare team dropped them off in March. 'Didn't really offer any explanation' In addition to the dogs' weights, she was concerned about a partially exposed desexing incision on Sally's belly, which she believed was susceptible to infection. Ellen also had an unbandaged wound on her hind leg, which "you could stick your finger into", according to Ms Sherriff. "I burst into tears with the first one. She was skin and bone," she said. "When they got the second one out, she too had lost a lot of weight, but at that stage, I was just in shock. "I took the dogs and told [GRSA staff] if I were back vet nursing, these would be RSPCA cases with the state they were in." In the following weeks, Ms Sherriff spoke with a member of GRSA's welfare team who apologised for the stress the situation caused. However, she said GRSA was unable to clarify what happened to the dogs in the preceding weeks. Ms Sherriff said she had previously seen them in their owner's care and they "always appeared in good condition". The ABC understands Sally and Ellen were at another kennel for three to four weeks before being transferred. Ms Sherriff believes Ellen may have been attacked by another dog. Dogs 'closely monitored', GRSA says A GRSA spokesperson said: "Each of the seized dogs was treated and closely monitored over a number of weeks at veterinary boarding facilities." They were assessed for suspected "heat stress" and "some of the greyhounds being underweight". "In February, it was determined that these two dogs were in a suitable condition to undergo standard veterinary checks … and so both were desexed and provided with dental treatment, vaccination and a general health check," they said. "On arrival, Ms Sherriff raised concerns with GRSA regarding the condition of the dogs. GRSA advised Ms Sherriff that both greyhounds had just undergone veterinary treatment and … shared aftercare instructions that had been provided by the veterinarian. "Ms Sherriff was also advised that she could take both dogs to their local veterinarian at GRSA's expense, and GRSA understands that she took one dog for further advice." They went on to say that "GRSA has been in regular communication and has offered to cover additional veterinary checks", although Ms Sherriff said she had only been contacted once in May. "I think their communication isn't good with the people who have the dogs," Ms Sherriff said. "It got to the point where I didn't know if these dogs had been dumped on me." Ms Sherriff said both dogs were "doing really, really well" three months on, and urged potential adopters to contact Greyhounds As Pets. "They've both put on weight, everything's healed up nicely, they're happy girls," she said. "I'm so glad they were brought here because I don't know how much longer they would have lasted." No findings of wrongdoing have been made against the industry participant from whom the dogs were seized. Industry's moment of truth Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds spokesperson Elle Trahair said she found the photos "deeply worrying". "We are told by the industry that they have reformed, that they do best by the dogs, yet evidence like this continually keeps coming into the public space and undermines those promises," she said. SA's greyhound racing industry has been under increased scrutiny from animal advocates since the 2023 Ashton Inquiry, which put forward 86 recommendations for improving welfare and governance. The RSPCA, which said it was aware of Ms Sherriff's photos but could not comment at this stage, last month called on the state government to enact a "managed transition plan to phase out" the sport. It pointed to data that showed SA had the highest number of "catastrophic or major" on-track injuries of any state last year, with 1,064. Five dogs died as a result of on-track injuries last year, a figure which has been matched this year, according to GRSA's quarterly injury reports. GRSA said it "maintained professional engagement with the RSPCA, including transparent provision of information, referral of welfare concerns, and formal meetings every two months". It said: "The results of these changes will be measured and are meant to be measured over the longer term." The state government is set to review the greyhound industry's reform process in July.