Daniel Shonka, who ran a racing kennel and who told people he ran a rescue program, would offer to take greyhounds near the ends of their careers from other kennel owners, race them until their careers were over and then say he was adopting them out to good homes.

Yet, instead of placing the dogs in good homes, Shonka apparently sold them to a research laboratory.

Shonka was a football scout for the Philadelphia Eagles who raced dogs in Wisconsin.

An investigation by the Wisconsin Division of Gaming revealed he had sold about 850 greyhounds to Guidant Corp., which used the dogs to test pacemakers and other cardiac devices used by humans.

It is legal for people with USDA licenses to sell dogs to laboratories for medical research, but not without the owner's permission.

"They said that a lot of dogs that he took in never even raced," Wiseman said. "He took them right across the river to a lab."

The lab paid $300 to $400 for each dog. Researchers there inserted wires into the dogs' necks, and after several months of testing, the dogs would be killed and new dogs would be moved in for use as test subjects, according to several news articles.

When investigators discovered that Shonka apparently had been selling dogs to the lab, there were only about 100 dogs still alive.

Update 4/5/00:  State and federal authorities are investigating allegations that instead of enjoying retirement in families' homes, some Wisconsin racing greyhounds illegally were diverted to research facilities.

Acting on a tip, the state Division of Gaming began investigating Daniel Shonka , a Cedar Rapids, Iowa resident who operates a greyhound-adoption service and also holds a U.S. Department of Agriculture license to sell animals to research facilities.

Shonka, operates a state-licensed kennel at St. Croix Meadows Greyhound Racing Track in Hudson, said Scott Scepaniak, Wisconsin's top gambling regulator.

Animal-rights activists say the dogs at research facilities may be subjected to painful experiments that sometimes last for years.

The number of dogs involved has not been determined, but public documents indicate that Shonka began providing dogs to research facilities at least three years ago. It would be illegal to sell such an animal to a lab if the owner had intended it for adoption.

"If these allegations are true . . . we will not tolerate it," Scepaniak said in an interview.

Violators could face civil and criminal penalties plus banishment from the racing industry, said Scepaniak, who added that the case may become the most serious since Wisconsin's greyhound tracks opened a decade ago.

Dr. Steven Bellin, a USDA field inspector in Iowa, confirmed that he was assisting the Wisconsin gambling regulators. "I can confirm that it's racing greyhounds and Mr. Shonka is involved," said Bellin, who declined further comment.

The case threatens to tarnish the reputation of Wisconsin's nationally heralded greyhound-adoption program, which has provided post-racing homes for 5,000 dogs since Scepaniak helped create the program in 1990. The state guarantees owners of racing dogs that it will find a good home, rendering euthanasia unnecessary.

"This is very shocking because this is something that we have tried to police vigilantly, is the health, welfare and safety of the greyhounds," Scepaniak said.

Scepaniak, administrator of the state Department of Administration's Division of Gaming, was angered by a news release from the Greyhound Protection League (GPL), a national group based near San Francisco, Calif., that advocates a ban on greyhound racing and was the first to publicly disclose the allegations against Shonka. Wisconsin is among 15 states where pari-mutual wagering on such races is legal.

The statement by GPL director Susan Netboy calls it tragic that Wisconsin gambling regulators "apparently did not possess the resolve to enforce regulations to protect the canine athletes whose grace and speed allow them to collect a paycheck."

Scepaniak responded that Wisconsin is the only state in the nation with a system that tracks where every dog goes after it leaves a race track. That paperwork, long criticized as unnecessary, is being matched with USDA documents to determine how many dogs in Shonka's care ended up in research facilities, he said.

The investigation, which may be concluded within two weeks, also will determine whether dog owners, kennel operators or dog trainers who transferred dogs to Shonka should be punished, Scepaniak said.

The Greyhound Protection League provided the Wisconsin State Journal with copies of documents indicating that Shonka has worked with greyhounds for nine years.

"You've got excess dogs from the racing industry that are prized by the research facilities because greyhounds have such wonderful dispositions, they're easy to handle, their anatomy is very accessible, they have that large chest cavity," Netboy said.  "They're just so nice that the research facilities love to use them."

Update 1/3/01:  The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently charged licensed animal dealer Daniel Shonka of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

"USDA investigators have documented the activities of Shonka throughout a number of states," said W. Ron DeHaven, deputy administrator for animal care with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "Based on what we've found, we believe Shonka violated the AWA a number of times. We will pursue these charges to the fullest extent the law allows."

APHIS investigators found that Shonka:

--Sold at least 341 random-source dogs to a registered research facility after obtaining the dogs through deception,

--Acquired each of the random-source dogs from prohibited sources,

-- Provided each of the random-source dogs to the research facility without the required certification that the person from whom the dog had been acquired had been informed that the dog might be used for research purpose, and

--Provided each of the random-source dogs to the research facility without having held the dog for a period of not less than five days.

APHIS inspectors conduct inspections of licensees to ensure compliance with the Act. Any violations that inspectors find can lead to civil penalties. The AWA requires that regulated individuals and businesses provide animals with care and treatment according to standards established by APHIS. The standards include requirements for record keeping, adequate housing, sanitation, food, water, transportation, exercise for dogs, veterinary care, and shelter. The law regulates the care of animals that are sold as pets at the wholesale level, transported in commerce, used for biomedical research, or used for exhibition purposes.

Update 8/9/01:  Wisconsin regulators, who had prided themselves on having the nation's most stringent greyhound documentation, were stung in April 2000 by revelations that Cedar Rapids, Iowa, adoption agency owner and Hudson kennel operator Daniel Shonka had transferred about 1,000 greyhounds from the St. Croix Meadows track at Hudson across the river to a Twin Cities research lab testing cardiac devices that were being developed for human use.

About 900 of the dogs, which were supposed to be headed for adoption, died in the experiments at Guidant Corp., while about 100 were rescued and adopted into homes, Scepaniak and his agency's investigators report. Scepaniak said Shonka sold the dogs for between $300,000 and $400,000 but failed to obtain owners' permission for their use in research.

The new adoption rules, Scepaniak said, are intended "to prevent another Shonka-type incident." Shonka remains under investigation by three agencies.

Shonka is the subject of a USDA administrative complaint, filed in December, accusing him of at least 341 violations of the Animal Welfare Act for selling animals after they'd been obtained by deception. In the case, set for an April 2002 hearing, Shonka faces fines up to $2,750 per day for every violation, USDA spokesman Jim Rogers said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has compiled "quite a lot of documentation" in a criminal probe of Shonka and the evidence is being reviewed, but a decision hasn't been made whether to file charges, said Mitch Henck, spokesman for Attorney General Jim Doyle. Henck said the case has been delayed because the assistant attorney general overseeing the investigation accepted a job elsewhere.

Scepaniak said the Division of Gaming will file administrative charges against Shonka, but it's withholding action until the Department of Justice completes its investigation. He said Shonka, who operated at kennel at the St. Croix Meadows track in Hudson, will face "very substantial fines" and revocation of his racing license.

Stephen Morgan, a Madison attorney representing Shonka, said it was improper for Scepaniak to discuss the case before the state has filed charges.  "I question a state agency making that kind of comment to you and you printing it," Morgan said.

Morgan, who previously said that he has evidence clearing Shonka, said he still believes that is true. However, Morgan said he had little information about the USDA case against Shonka because it's being handled by another attorney.

Wisconsin's new dog-adoption standards, Scepaniak said, make it the first state to check up on adoption agencies. He said that although some agencies have objected to the rules, 25 from across the country have applied. That, he said, is enough to handle the 250 greyhounds needing homes after today, the last day of racing at the Hudson track. An additional 225 dogs will be transferred to the state's two remaining tracks.

The Hudson facility lost $32 million since its opening in 1991, its owners have said. It was the last of five Wisconsin greyhound tracks to open and is the third to close. The only remaining tracks are in Kenosha and Delavan.

But three private dog-adoption officials sharply criticized Wisconsin's rules.  "For adoption groups that have been helping the racing industry all these years clean up their mess, it's awfully intrusive," said Cynthia Cash, an independent greyhound advocate in Louisiana who said about half of the adoption groups are upset about Wisconsin's rules.

Cash said the rules, while they pursue a legitimate goal, fail to recognize how hard adoption agencies work - usually with financial support from greyhound lovers and few resources. The state could accomplish the same goal, she said, with a streamlined, five-question application and by automatically approving the operations of all agencies already working with the state for at least five years.

Lee Lavery, president of Greyhound Guardians in Indiana, said her group won't fill out the Wisconsin paperwork because it's "ridiculous."

Susan Netboy, director of the Greyhound Protection League in California, said the state rules are "not totally unreasonable" but many groups decry them as "punitive and unjustified."

Netboy said she hopes that Scepaniak's prediction about the state's ability to find homes for the Hudson dogs comes true, "because all of these dogs deserve somebody's sofa."

Update 1/1/02:  In a case one Wisconsin official says is laced with "horrific" conduct, state authorities are pursuing eight felony charges Daniel Shonka, 49 and an assistant Heidi Dierks, 20 who are accused of sending retired racing dogs to their deaths in medical experiments.   Each face four counts of felony theft, three counts of felony theft by fraud and one count of racketeering in a criminal complaint filed by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The charges were mailed to St. Croix County Circuit Court from Madison.

If convicted on all charges, each defendant could receive up to 85 years in prison and $80,000 in fines, plus additional penalties for racketeering -- engaging in a pattern of illegal conduct -- including paying the state's expenses for the investigation.

"This shows the state is serious about the humane treatment of animals," Randy Romanski, a justice department spokesman, said.

The investigation, he said, exposed "the deceptiveness that the individuals used to take these animals, to basically steal them from their owners, and sell them for a purpose other than what they had indicated."

The dogs' owners thought the animals either were still racing out of Shonka's kennel in Hudson or had been adopted into loving families, the complaint says.

Shonka received at least $374,000 by selling dogs to Guidant Corp., a St. Paul, Minn., cardiac-research facility, from 1996 to 2000, the complaint alleges. Shonka received about $400 per animal. At that rate, the $374,000 would cover payment for about 935 dogs.

However, Scott Scepaniak, the state's top gambling regulator, said that records indicate Shonka sold about 1,050 greyhounds to Guidant. All died in the research, except for 100 who were rescued during the state investigation in spring 2000.

"His actions were just horrific," said Scepaniak, administrator of the state Department of Administration's Division of Gaming.

The defendants, Scepaniak said, violated a cardinal goal of Wisconsin's 11-year-old greyhound racing industry -- that retired animals should be adopted into homes where they'll be pampered. Administrative charges may be filed after the criminal case is nearly complete, he said.

Asked to characterize the role of Dierks, a former dog hauler for Shonka, Scepaniak replied: "She knew what was going on. She was a willing participant in the whole process. She was as guilty as Mr. Shonka."

Contacted at her home, Dierks indicated she was aware that many people nationally have been disturbed by the allegations that dogs were sent to their deaths in medical research. "I really don't want to talk about it," Dierks said, declining to answer questions about the case.

Scepaniak predicted that the case, the first criminal action involving the state's greyhound industry, will gain national notice for Wisconsin.

"Nobody has ever gone after an individual ... for these types of actions," said Scepaniak, who noted that nationwide, rumors of illicit sales of retired greyhounds have circulated for years. "So once again, Wisconsin is, I think, a leader in this area."

As a result of shortcomings uncovered in the investigation, Wisconsin in August became the first state to require greyhound-adoption agencies to register with state regulators.

The investigation, which took 20 months, was led by the state Department of Justice with assistance from the Division of Gaming and the USDA, where a separate civil action is pending.

Update 7/29/02:  Dierks was originally charged with felonys of 2 charges theft-movable property-special facts, 3 charges of theft-false representation-special facts, 2 charges of theft-movable property-special facts and racketeering-pattern of activity.  The charges were modified to 7 charges of felony party to a crime and penalty-racketeering activity.  She was found not guilty and all charges were dismissed.

Update 2/7/03:  A former greyhound kennel owner has been ordered to pay more than $110,000 in fines and restitution for sending hundreds of retired racing dogs to their deaths in medical experiments, a prosecutor said today.

Shonka was convicted of one count of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft after pleading no contest to the charges in a plea bargain, Assistant Attorney General Gary Freyberg said.

He was sentenced to two years in prison on the felony charge but that sentence was stayed and he was placed on four years probation, Freyberg said. Shonka was sentenced to nine months in jail on the misdemeanor conviction, which must begin within the next 60 days, the prosecutor said.

Freyberg said Shonka's kennel was also found guilty of six counts of felony theft in the dog-selling scheme.

Shonka is liable for fines and restitution totaling more than $110,000 for charges against his company and himself, the prosecutor said.

Shonka can have no further involvement with dog racing, either buying or selling of dogs.  He cannot apply or obtain dog license either Federal or State for buying and selling of dogs.

Reference:

Wisconsin State Journal

USDA APHIS

The Capital Times

Chapel Hill Herald