‘There are no more greyhounds available’ – Bonita Springs rescue kennel closing its doors

A longtime greyhound rescue kennel on Longfellow Lane in Bonita Springs, is closing its doors. Silvana Rizzi-Cortella, founder of Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption, says the era of greyhound racing and rescuing is over.

“We have to close it down,” she said. “There are no more greyhounds available.”

Rizzi-Cortella said after the greyhound track closed, she originally planned to make it a shelter for all sorts of canines, but now says breed rescue is not possible due to a restriction in the property deed which states it is exclusively for greyhound adoption.

“It cannot be a kennel anymore,” she said.

Rizzi-Cortella and her husband Sergio started the original Hollydogs in 1995 in Hollywood Florida to save South Florida’s retired racers. It expanded to Bonita Springs in 2000. The Hollywood shelter closed in 2017 when they moved all the kennels to Bonita.

“The first greyhound we ever had was from Bonita Springs,” Rizzi-Cortella said when she originally opened the kennel on Longfellow Lane. “We’ve always had a place in our hearts for Bonita Springs.”

'We made a promise to all those greyhounds'

She recently said her goodbyes in a Facebook post.

“Back in the early 90s, we made a promise to all those greyhounds that had no place to go,” she stated. “We promised that we will make it our mission to rescue and find homes for as many dogs as we could till there were none left. And so, we did.”

She has mixed feelings about the end of the greyhound era.

“After shedding many tears and upon attorney’s advisement, we realized we had no choice but to be grateful for the 22 years we had use of the property and for all the lives we were able to save,” Rizzi-Cortella wrote.

Audrey Tezyk has two greyhounds from Hollydogs. She adopted Remy in 2019 and Fiesta in 2020.

“They are addictive dogs,” Tezyk began. “When you get a greyhound, you will find out they are like Lays potato chips and you can’t have just one.”

Tezyk said Hollydogs was a wonderful place to adopt from.

“I have never been in a kennel that was so immaculate,” she described. “You could literally eat off the floor. It was amazing. There were nice indoor runs, really nice outdoor runs and Silvana is the most loving. She genuinely loves the dogs. It was an all-around great experience to deal with her.”

Yamil Gamel has adopted nine Hollydogs since 1994 starting at their east coast location.

“In 1994 I was going to buy cat food for my cat at the pet store and Sergio and Silvana had some greyhounds there and I saw the dog and I fell in love with it right away,” Gamel said. “I filled out the application and a week later l had Electra in my house. We like the fact of adopting former racers and finding a good home for them after their life at the track. Nine dogs later, here we are.”

He is now the owner of Electra, Juggernaut, Comet, Eddie, Spartacus, Salvatore, Cyprus, Sabina and Anubis.

“We have always liked Hollydogs,” Gamel said. “They have always been family friendly. They have done so much for greyhounds. They have a wonderful heart. They take care of every greyhound they have taken off the track. They have given their whole life to the cause of adopting greyhounds.”

By the way: Wonder Gardens building sparks more debate during City Council meeting

Greyhounds in Florida

Rizzi-Cortella was not the first to operate a greyhound rescue from that site on Longfellow Lane. In the 1990’s, Helen Banks ran “Second Chance for Greyhounds” there. She was devastated in 1999 when the landowner, Ralph Richards asked her to leave. A month later Camp Greyhound, run by Colleen Jonas and Jay Araujo, opened, but six month later they were gone. Records from the Lee County Property Appraisers office show Hollydogs Greyhound Adoption bought the five-acre property, kennel and two-bedroom home for $205,000 in December 1999.

Greyhounds in Florida have been legally racing since the early 1930s. The Miami Kennel Club opened a greyhound track at Hialeah Park in the 1920s, even before dog betting was legal. The Naples-Fort Myers greyhound track opened in December 1957. In the more recent years there were typically 15 kennels there and each one had about 60 dogs. When those dogs were done racing, they needed homes. In November 2018,  69% of voters cast ballots in favor of Amendment 13, which banned greyhound racing by the end of 2020.

Rizzi-Cortella, who lives in Bonita Springs, says this is not the end of her dog rescue days.

“We are not closing the program, just the kennel,” she stressed.

For now, she will work with dogs that need rehoming and by helping anyone that needs assistance with their pets.

“We take it one day at a time,” she said. “I do it because I love them. l will be around. Everybody knows they can call us and we will help.”

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Bonita Springs rescue kennel closing its doors