News Release
The Greyhounds get their day in court
PORTLAND, Oregon, October 29, 2008
Greyhound Pets of America Northwest will come face
to face with their ex-treasurer in court, on Tuesday, November 4th
at 9:30 am. The hearing and sentencing will take place in the
Justice Services Building, 150 N First Avenue, room 202C, Hillsboro,
OR 97124.
On September 25th, GPA Northwest announced that Kristie Van Nuland,
a former volunteer and ex-treasurer had been arrested on two felony
counts of aggravated theft. With over $20,000 in missing funds, the
all volunteer organization has been working diligently to raise
funds to support their adoption program and recruit additional
volunteers.
Most of the GPA Northwest volunteers have not seen Mrs. Van Nuland
since her resignation from the organization in May. This
confrontation will allow the hard working volunteers to voice their
thoughts and concerns to the judge before the sentencing of Mrs. Van
Nuland. While GPA Northwest will continue to pursue restitution, it
may take many years (if ever) before the stolen funds are returned
to the spectacular ex-racing dogs. The organization continues to
hold fundraising events regularly to rebuild their finances. All
income is used solely to support their Greyhound Adoption Program.
“While this is a terrible tragedy, this crisis has heightened the
public’s awareness of the need to help retired racing Greyhounds”,
said Janice Jones, GPA Northwest President. “We thank the
community for responding so generously to help our program – the
more funds and volunteers we bring to our program, the more retired
racing Greyhounds we can help place into loving homes”.
“It’s heartbreaking that the entire organization has been put
through this; hundreds of volunteer hours were spent dealing with
the fallout from the theft, hours that should have been spent
helping the dogs”, said Board member Kathy Jones, “Oregonians who
thought that Greyhounds were no longer available locally have been
awakened by the media coverage. Now the public knows GPA Northwest
fosters and places retired racing Greyhounds from Oregon and various
other US locations. Just this month our sister chapter in Wisconsin
sent us a plea for help; two tracks are closing and at least 150
dogs will be available. Now, more than ever, we need the public’s
help.”
About Greyhound Pets of America - Northwest
GPA Northwest is a non-profit corporation and a 501c3 tax-exempt
organization. It is a chapter of Greyhound Pets of America, a
national network of Greyhound adoption groups. The mission of GPA
Northwest is to find responsible loving homes for Greyhounds, which
fail to qualify or no longer qualify for the racetrack. GPA
acquaints the public with the desirability of Greyhounds as pets and
informs them of the availability of these dogs for adoption.
Whenever the opportunity arises, GPA Northwest works to place dogs
that began their lives in Oregon. GPA Northwest is staffed entirely
by unpaid volunteers; all donations and other revenues are dedicated
entirely to supporting its Greyhound adoption program. Learn more by
visiting http://www.gpa-nw.org
SOURCE: Greyhound Pets of America -
Northwest
October 29, 2008
CONTACT: Kathy Jones 503-784-1285