How to Spot Dog Fighting in your Community; $5,000 Reward

[KurtNYC]

- An inordinate number of pit bulls being kept in one location, especially multiple dogs who are chained and seem unsocialized.
- Dogs with scars on their faces, front legs and stifle area (hind end and thighs).
-Dogfighting training equipment such as treadmills used to build dogs' endurance
- "break sticks" used to pry apart the jaws of dogs locked in battle
tires or "springpoles" (usually a large spring with rope attached to either end) hanging from tree limbs
- Unusual foot traffic coming and going from a location at odd hours.
- Heavy chains around a dog's neck is used to train it and build stamina for fighting.

http://www.hsus.org/acf/campaign/cruelty_response_and_reward.html

There is a reason why animal shelters are crammed full of pit bulls -- they are bred in large numbers for dog fighting. The losers are then turned out on the streets and wind up in shelters. Dog fighting is a multi-million dollar industry and is now going on nationwide in spite of the fact that it is a felony in 49 states (all except Wyoming). For example, a major dog fighting ring was based in Dayton Ohio and was operating in Kentucky and Michigan. Nike recently ran an ad glorifying dog fighting (a Rottie and a Pit facing off).

A 3-year study in Chicago found that of those arrested for animal crimes (eg. dog fighting) 70% had prior narcotics convictions. It is very common for small time drug dealers to have a pit bull to guard their stash. The police know that targeting dog fighters will lead them to drug dealers and vice versa.

There are 2 main types of dog fighting. One is staged in an enclosed area where 2 dogs will fight for as long as 2 hours. The last dog standing is the winner. This is the kind of dog fighting that Michael Vick made famous. The Pitties used in these fights can die from shock, exhaustion, blood loss and infection hours or even days after the fights. The second type is street fighting where pit bull owners challenge each other on the street and their dogs fight in full public view.

Organized dog fights, like the first type, can use smaller dogs as bait animals which enrage the larger dogs as the fight begins. Bait dogs are aquired by being stolen off the street or by dog fighters who respond to "free to a good home" ads. The snouts of bait dogs are often wrapped with tape to keep them from injuring the pit bulls.

Dog fighters collect from the bets made on the fights but also from stud fees as they breed successively more aggressive and durable fighting dogs. Michael Vick had been dog fighting since at least 2001 and used the garage of his family's home in Newport News to stage fights. He kept fighting dogs in the backyard including injured ones who were nursed back to health so they could be used to fight again. The Michael Vick case gives us a window into the selective breeding that goes on with pit bulls. Vick admitted that dogs which did not fight well enough were killed -- eliminated from the gene pool. Many of Michael Vick's fighting pits were not destroyed but rather were offered for adoption. Many well meaning people are adopting Pit bulls from shelters without any knowledge of the pedigree and selective breeding that may have gone into these dogs.

[flvegan]

1. You come across something like this:

[XemaSab]

7. I've seen that before

The dog was dead, and dumped in the middle of the road.

I also found dogs buried in shallow graves, and dogs dumped in canals.

There's a lot of dog fighting in the Valley. :(

[truedelphi]

2. Thank you for your attention to this issue

Not only are so many wonderful "pits" destroyed by these fights - innocent non-pits are stolen and used as bait dogs for purposes of training the "pits"

So. families lose their loved pets. Little kids go to bed crying. No one realizes the real reason why "Muffy" supposedly broke out of the fenced in back yard that one Saturday that no one was at home.

[KurtNYC]

3. My neighbor fostered a Maltese that had been rescued from a dog fighting

ring. It would growl if you looked at it. Even if you looked out of the corner of your eye. It had been used as a bait dog. It bit a couple of people who got down in its face telling it not to growl, etc. It made up to me but only while I was looking at the wall or ceiling. It would curl up in my lap -- it was all screwed up and starved for affection. It passed away after suffering a heart attack when someone knocked on her door loudly.

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. I think they throw cats in , too.

That whole scene is just awful. And so hard to prosecute.

[Withywindle]

5. kick

so as many people as possible can see the information and the link. Let's send some animal-torturing shitbags to jail!

[misanthrope]

6. That whole subculture and phenomenon indeed raises savagery...

...because it makes me want to see certain people die.