Alana Wade's rescued greyhound Sugar flinched at her touch when she was first adopted.
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She would hide behind the couch and recoil from her new owners.
"It was really evident to us that she had never been treated well," Ms Wade said.
"Ultimately the dogs are treated as commodities, they're not animals. It's all about the making of the money," she said.
Sugar is one of the many dogs that rescue groups say have been left traumatised by their treatment in the racing industry.
Now, Ms Wade and Canberra's primary support base for ex-racing greyhounds, the ACT Greyhound Support Network, is calling on the ACT government to end its $1 million in annual funding to the local racing industry.
The RSPCA's chief executive Tammy Ven Dange used her evidence to warn that NSW trainers who had links to the practice of live baiting were coming to the ACT to race.
She urged the government to end its funding support to the industry, noting that last year only 12 trainers were registered as belonging to the ACT.
That, she said, should cause the government to question whether its funding was benefiting the local community.
Greyhound Support Network co-founder Gabrielle Openshaw has helped rehome 300 greyhounds from NSW to families in the ACT.
She said she fears the community has been left in the dark about the nature of the industry.
"I think [the government funding] should stop, there are a lot of places that that money could go and be better spent," Ms Openshaw said.
She said the cost of rehoming the dogs needed better government recognition. She said at least 18 greyhounds had been rehomed in the past five months, and combined vet bills had cost more than $10,000.
As part of the RSPCA's evidence to the estimates committee, Ms Ven Dange said that the activity at the ACT's greyhound club largely involved interstate trainers, dogs, and officials.
She said the ACT was helping the NSW industry make a profit.
Ms Openshaw supported those comments, saying they called into question why the government continued to fund the ACT industry.
"We're propping up an industry, the track is in Canberra, but it's essentially a NSW track. It's got 93 per cent of trainers from NSW, it may as well be over the border," she said.
Ms Wade said her dog Sugar, and her second greyhound Tiffany were both now happy in their new home, and had blossomed into loving, friendly animals.
"Something that's been really special for us is to watch her blossom into a happy and trusting dog that's loving life," she said.
"It's really, really special."
