Look, here’s a quick fact: dogs are innocent and happy creatures who are always only trying their best. We should treat every single one of them like angels, which includes not forcing them to take performance-enhancing drugs for our entertainment or financial benefit. Someone in Ireland apparently disagrees—because Clonbrien Hero, a greyhound who recently won one of Ireland’s top races, has tested positive for cocaine, according to the Independent.
The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) said the dog had traces of benzoylecgonine, the main compound of cocaine, in its system. The dog’s urine tested positive on three separate occasions. One of said tests was conducted after the dog had won the Irish Laurels competition in Cork, Ireland, a prestigious racing event.
BBC reports the IGB has withheld the £26,000 prize (just under $35,000), and banned the dog from racing until tests come back negative.
The dog’s trainer, a British man named Graham Holland, deflected blame, saying “We feel we are being victimized here for something we haven’t done.” He also had a pretty wild explanation for why his dog tested positive for cocaine.
"You can pass traces of cocaine by handling money," Holland said. "When a dog wins a race, people are walking up to the dog and patting it on the head. If they have cocaine on their hands, they can pass that to the dog and it can come out in a urine sample," he explained.
This is a pretty crazy story, and anyone who hears it is sure to have a pretty strong reaction—just like these people, who voiced their opinions on Twitter:
A greyhound testing positive for cocaine!!?? What ever happened to dropping a sausage into the favourite's stall just before the start?
Everything about this tweet is bonkers. https://t.co/nxtqGUpZ08
What a dog does in its spare time is its own business.. https://t.co/F9Gt53NVzE
They can't catch Russian Athletes doping but they caught this.... greyhound???!! https://t.co/NIxkYXRsaI
the cocaine greyhound is gonna get an Action Bronson song named after him lol
