Shelter Crisis Tests Wharton’s Mettle Immediately

ANDY MEEK | The Daily News

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr.’s first full day on the job began with a major crisis before the sun came up.

It started with a 5:15 a.m. raid of the Memphis Animal Shelter by Shelby County sheriff’s deputies. By the end of the day, the facility was closed to the public. And some shelter employees had been put on leave with pay while an investigation into alleged animal abuse and cruelty continued.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Shular said the shelter could reopen as soon as this morning.

Deputies took control of the shelter and shut it down Tuesday morning at the request of Shelby County Dist. Atty. Bill Gibbons’ office. A tip had been called in alleging a variety of problems, and prosecutors decided it warranted an investigation.

Asst. Dist. Atty. Bill Bright declined to provide details about the tip. But Gibbons released a statement suggesting one or more people may face criminal charges once the investigation wraps up.
Body of evidence

When deputies arrived at the animal shelter near Memphis International Airport, they found extreme conditions that corroborated information from Gibbons’ tipster. Animals starved to the point of requiring euthanasia were among the things they encountered.

Wharton already had brought Memphis City Council members up to speed on everything he knew and could share with them by mid-day Tuesday, the day after his swearing-in. Mayoral aide Robert White would not identify the shelter employees put on leave, but they reportedly include city animal services administrator Ernest Alexander.

The raid was expected to leave the shelter closed for a few days while law enforcement and animal investigators – some of whom had sterling credentials and were brought in from out of town – sorted out the problems.

“At the request of law enforcement, I have directed Janet Hooks, director of the Division of Public Services and Neighborhoods, to work with Human Resources in taking necessary steps to ensure investigators have free access to all sources covered by the search and warrant,” Wharton wrote in his e-mail to council members. “These actions will include placing certain supervisory employees on ‘leave with pay’ to guard against any appearance that their presence might impede the investigation.

“I should note that at this point ‘leave with pay’ is the action taken, given that no one has been charged and no indictments or criminal complaints are currently in place.”
Under the microscope

Investigators from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and emergency responders from the American Humane Association were on hand Tuesday helping deputies.

Part of the team included two women involved in the dog-fighting investigation that ended in NFL player Michael Vick’s 2007 indictment: Catherine Desteza, an ASPCA animal investigator, and Dr. Melinda Merck, senior director of veterinary forensic services for the ASPCA.

Merck, a consultant on animal cruelty cases, is routinely is tapped as an expert witness.

The ASPCA also brought its Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation Unit to the shelter to help collect and process evidence. The unit includes state-of-the-art forensics tools and has medical equipment for animals that need care.

Law enforcement officials combed through the shelter a month after Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery and other city leaders broke ground on what will become a new animal shelter near Bartlett. That facility is being built at 2350 Appling City Cove.

The $7.6 million facility will include extra cage and kennel capacity and is scheduled to open by the middle of 2011, according to information from the city. The current shelter holds 341 cages and kennels, and the new shelter will have 546 cages and kennels.
Not new news

Meanwhile, meeting minutes of the animal shelter advisory board over the past few months reflect a belief by some board members that lingering problems with basic animal care have plagued the existing facility.

In response to an e-mailed complaint from someone who adopted a shelter dog last month that had to be euthanized after showing signs of distemper, shelter advisory board member Cindy Sanders said she sympathized with the loss.

“Unfortunately, your story is not unusual,” Sanders wrote to Barbara Standing, who had adopted a puppy named Carmen. “I am a newly appointed member of the Shelter Advisory Board and receive at least an e-mail every week or so regarding the poor medical condition of adopted shelter animals.”

The correspondence proved somewhat prophetic, as it came a week before the shelter closure Tuesday.

Standing’s e-mail to shelter officials cited several problems at the facility.

“It is doubtful that the ‘new shelter’ will solve many of the current problems, such as inadequate ventilation, as well as several additional problems inherent in poorly funded shelter situations, including poorly trained employees, insufficient protocol and a lack of post-adoption follow up,” she wrote.

At the shelter advisory board’s Aug. 11 meeting, board member Michelle Buckalew said overcrowding remains a problem and some “smaller, less aggressive dogs” are being held in cages without food and water until they are euthanized.

Keenon McCloy, Hooks’ predecessor as interim director of the city’s Division of Public Services and Neighborhoods, was asked at that August meeting about the possibility of combining the city’s animal services with Shelby County’s.

“The city favors this, as it makes financial sense, but the county only wants to contribute, not consolidate,” the minutes read.

Meeting minutes from previous months depict an animal shelter whose resources are stretched thin. Alexander said at the board’s July meeting that “55-75 dogs are being destroyed every day.”

After animals are held at the shelter for a minimum of 72 hours, they become the property of the city of Memphis, according to the Web site of Friends of Memphis Animal Services, www.petfinder.com/shelters/memphisanimalservices.html.

Animal abuser sentenced. But was justice served for Katrina dogs?

November 6, 2:37 PMNew Orleans Pet Rescue Scene ExaminerTeresa Rowell


Tammy Hanson was sentenced in Arkansas' Baxter County District Court on November 4, 2009 for 20 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. The judge imposed a 1-year sentence in the county jail and $10,000 in fines.

So who is Tammy Hanson and what significance does she have to Louisiana?

The name tracks back five years to animal rescuers of Hurricane Katrina.

Hanson's Arkansas property, where she operated Every Dog Needs A Home (EDNAH) animal sanctuary, was raided by the Baxter County Sheriff's Department in 2005.

400 to 500 dogs were found in deplorable conditions; some that had been rescued during Hurricane Katrina and transported there only to be left in the cages they arrived in for days covered in urine and feces.

Some dogs were found dead in the pens as pictured above. (Source: For Pit's Sake)

Hanson and her husband, William, were convicted of animal cruelty and released on bond.

Tammy Hanson then fled authorities but was found in Vermont in September of 2009 using another name.

Checking on the history of this abuse case revealed the following.

In a story written on the For Pits' Sake website, founder Kris Crawford says she was contacted on October 5, 2005 and asked to take in the remaining 300 rescued pit bulls left at Lamar Dixon in Gonzales, Louisiana where animals were being housed during rescue efforts.

When Crawford responded that she did not have the facility to properly handle them, she was told that she would receive a "significant amount of money to build a sanctuary."

Due to the time factor involved in finding property and building a shelter, Crawford asked Christine Penrod, the caller who was organizing charter flights out for the rescues, if Crawford could, instead, contact her colleagues in pit rescue to try to relocate them to already established places.

The next day, Penrod called Crawford back and said that Tammy Hanson, supposedly a pit bull expert who operated Every Dog Needs A Home (EDNAH) in Gamaliel, Arkansas, would accept the dogs.

Not recognizing EDNAH, Crawford made a call to Tammy Hanson, introduced herself, offered her help and asked Hanson for references. To which Hanson replied, "I don't give a f... who you are, I am getting a million dollars to take these dogs and I don't have to answer to you or anyone" and promptly hung up the phone.

Crawford's web site says some dogs were sent to EDNAH before she and others could complete their investigation in to conditions there.

According to a 2005 news article, Pasado's Safe Haven, with annual revenues of over 2 million dollars according to www.charitynavigator.org, also sent 50 dogs to EDNAH before even checking to see if it was a reputable shelter.

Questions still remain as to whether Hanson received money from animal welfare groups for taking in these animals.

Can we say that animal welfare groups "saved" these rescued animals by bringing them to EDNAH?

Was the sentencing just and fair?

The whereabouts of the animals from the property has not be discovered as yet.

Memphis, TN shelter raided after dogs reportedly starved to death

On October 27, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies executed a search warrant at the Memphis animal shelter. On Tuesday, the Sheriffs' department released a search warrant and photos detailing the extent of the cruelty and starvation.

The photos were taken by an employee whistle-blower. Volunteers had also sent "numerous" e-mails to officials who are no longer employed by the city.

According to the Commercial Appeal, ten shelter employees and an Animal Services administrator were relieved of duty. It is unclear whether or not these same employees returned to their jobs when the shelter re-opened. Possible charges include: Aggravated cruelty to animals, official misconduct and tampering with or fabricating evidence.

The Pit Bull puppy shown in photos released to the news media was to be held for a court case, but died of starvation after being impounded at the shelter for three weeks. Pit Bulls seized on suspicion of dogfighting simply disappeared prior to hearings.

The Commercial Appeal reports that death rates of animals being kept at the shelter have risen sharply, from 75 in 2006 to 119 in 2007 to 193 in 2008.

Today, Mayor AC Wharton halted all euthanizations at the shelter until the investigation has been completed.

For more information see Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Suspected Macon Dogfighting Ring Busted

* Tacoma Newsome
* Edited By: Leigha Baugham | myfoxatlanta.com

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ga. (MyFOX ATLANTA) - Montgomery County police said Wednesday that they broke up a dogfighting ring near Macon. Investigators said dogs that were living and fighting in deplorable conditions were safe and recovering at a shelter.

Police said they suspect the dogs were used in a dogfighting ring near Macon. When police and private investigators found the animals, they were chained in a wooded area.

In police video, the dogs are seen with scars and injuries consistent with being used to fight other pit bulls.

The chains used to hold the dogs weighed more than 20 pounds.

"They've been chained there a long time, so long that as they made a circle around the tree that they had worn the ground down about five inches around each tree they were chained to," said Charles Simmons of Norrad & Associates, INC.

On Tuesday, Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies and Norrad & Associates, a private investigation firm, removed 16 dogs and six puppies from the property.

"One of them had severe should wounds on his back and shoulders with maggots in them, [they had] gotten in the gum and was infected," said Simmons.

One dog had a swollen leg, and several dogs were infested with fleas.

Forty-six-year-old Kenneth Jordan and 26-year-year-old Terrill Adams were charged with various crimes in the case, including cruelty against animals.

The dogs were taken to a Jackson County rescue shelter for treatment.

"No sign of aggression with humans. They seem to be very happy to be out of the conditions," said Kathy Motter, of the Grover Run Rescue.

Although the dogs took well to humans, the dogs will have to be separated from other dogs.

Investigators and caregivers said that not all of the dogs will survive. Some of the injuries and aggression may be too great. Of the dogs that do survive, they might not ever recover from their injuries.

"People who say, 'I love my dogs, they're like my family.' Who treats their family like that? Who chains 16 dogs in the woods to logging chains and then says, 'I love my dogs?' What fool would believe that?" said Simmons.

Jordan and Adams were also charged with failure to inoculate animals against rabies, dogfighting, criminal trespassing and criminal damage to property.

2nd Montgomery Man Charged With Dogfighting

A second Montgomery County man now faces dog fighting charges.

Sheriff Clarance Sanders says Terrill Adams was arrested Tuesday afternoon and 18 dogs were seized from his property. He is also charged with cruelty to animals.

This happened about a mile away from where authorities arrested 45-year-old Kenneth Jordan and rescued nearly two dozen dogs Tuesday.

Sheriff's deputies say Jordan was charged with trespassing, cruelty to animals and dogfighting after the raid in rural Higgston.

Sixteen adult dogs and six puppies were chained to trees in woods across the road from a trailer park.

Many had scars and gashes and appeared emaciated. No food or water was found in the area.

Deputies said Jordan was charged with trespassing because he didn't own the property where the dogs were kept.

"I love my dogs. I don't fight my dogs," said Jordan.

Jordan told 13WMAZ that he fed the dogs every day and took good care of them. He said some were injured because he lent them to a friend, but took them back when he heard they were being used for dogfighting.

The Atlanta Humane Society and the Georgia SPCA treated the dogs at the scene. They said the dogs would be held at an undisclosed location until Jordan's case is resolved.

The raid was based on tips to Norrel & Associates, an Atlanta firm that investigates dogfighting complaints, according to a news release from the company.

Norrel says that anyone who has information about dogfighting can call their anonymous-tip line at 1-877-215-2250.

Two Raids on Suspected Dog Fighting Operations

Jerry Carnes

MONTGOMERY CO., Ga. -- Authorities in Montgomery County, Georgia, were busy seizing animals in one raid on a suspected dog fighting operation, when they got a tip about another one.

It's an area of Georgia where they grow sweet Vidalia onions. Now, 45-year-old Kenneth Jordan of the town of Higgston is accused of cultivating cruelty.

Investigators found twenty-two pit bulls in the woods off of a dirt road. They confiscated the animals, including a mom and her nine pups, one of them near death.

Some of the animals are malnourished, dehydrated, and carry the scars of a fighter.

In addition to the dogs, authorities found what look to be about a dozen graves.

"He (Jordan) says he loves his dogs and never fought them," says Chuck Simmons of Norred and Associates, the private security firm that checked out a tip about the dogs. "Look at this place. Who has a pet with a 40-pound logging chain? Who has dogs chained in the woods, emaciated and dehydrated?"

The howling of the animals could be heard through the woods at a nearby trailer park.

"Pine trees is all it looks like," says neighbor Michael Helms. "You have to look hard to see. It's pretty gruesome."

It's the first time Sheriff Clarence Sanders has seen anything like it. He suspects it's going on in other parts of his county.

"I suspect some are less than five miles from here," says Sanders.

Less than two hours after saying that, someone tips the sheriff to another possible dog fighting operation. A half-mile away, authorities find eighteen more dogs. Sheriff Sanders is looking for the owner.

It's at least the fourth time in two months that authorities in Georgia have raided suspected dog fighting operations. Chuck Simmons says the number of tips to their toll free tip line is increasing.

The hotline number is 1-877-215-2250.

Kenneth Jordan faces multiple counts of dog fighting and cruelty to animals. There's been no arrest in the second raid.

Rescued pit bull diagnosed with heartworms: Mendocino County a high-risk area for pets

By CAROLE BRODSKY
Updated: 09/14/2009 12:00:20 AM PDT

For the Daily Journal

The saga continues for pit bull Zena, one of two dogs transferred to the Humane Society of Inland Mendocino County in July. Zena and Jett were two of hundreds of pit bulls rescued from a Missouri dog fighting ring and have been recuperating from their ordeal.

"When Zena and Jett were spayed they were tested for heartworms. Zena came up positive," explains Leslie Dodds, Humane Society volunteer. Dodds has been working extensively with the dogs in preparation for their adoption.

Heartworms, according to Dr. Katy Sommers of Mendocino Animal Hospital, are a life-threatening disease transmitted by mosquitoes and affecting both dogs and cats.

"They can affect any animal at any age that is bitten by mosquitoes carrying heartworm larvae," explains Sommers.

Mendocino, Lake and areas of Sacramento County are high-incidence areas for the disease. What is most unfortunate, according to Sommers, is that simple prevention can save lives and eliminate the enormous treatment costs once a pet is infected.

"Mosquitoes travel up to three miles, so you don't have to live near a water source to be in an infectious area," says Sommers. The disease - which affects dogs and cats very differently, is often not noticed by pet guardians until permanent or even fatal damage occurs.

"Severe symptoms may be the first symptom you notice," explains Sommers. "Cats have breathing problems resembling an acute asthma attack, which can become fatal very quickly.
Advertisement
In cats it presents as an acute respiratory disease." In dogs, a pet owner may notice coughing, weight loss and lethargy, all of which can lead to heart failure.

The heartworm larvae take six months to grow to adulthood, and the 6- to 10-inch long worms can live for many years in an animal before dying a natural death. Once an animal like Zena is infected, treatment will be long and expensive.

"With dogs, we give a series of intramuscular injections in their back over several months," said Sommers. The medication will kill off the worms, but it must be administered gradually, according to Sommers, so that deadly embolisms are not formed.

Dogs are easily tested for heartworms, and Dr. Sommers recommends that pets be tested annually, along with providing monthly heartworm prevention medication. Cats, which are sensitive to very small heartworm infestations, often have false or inconclusive test results, so Sommers encourages cat guardians err on the side of caution and provide preventive medication.

"Oral and topical therapies are available for dogs and cats," says Sommers. The medication is administered monthly and in some cases is included in topical flea treatments. The medication must be used every month, or else the animal runs the risk of becoming infected during the lapse.

Sage Mountainfire, adoptions coordinator for the county's animal control division, recently adopted out a dog that the shelter successfully treated for heartworms. "You can have a wonderful dog with no symptoms, but that doesn't mean the worms aren't there," she said.

Every dog at the shelter is tested prior to adoptions.

"This is done as part of a whole evaluation process for our shelter dogs," explains Mountainfire. She stresses that all treatment costs are taken out of a private donation fund, at no cost to taxpayers.

"We really try to educate people about the need to do heartworm prevention. We encourage adoptive families to buy their prevention medication at their free exam," she said.

Mountainfire uses the heartworm problem to illustrate the hidden costs of accepting a "free" dog from a friend or family member.

"Free dogs aren't really free," says Mountainfire, particularly if a dog becomes stricken with a life-threatening disease, which is expensive to treat and could have been prevented.

Zena begins treatment Sept. 15, and will be lying low for about 60 days, to reduce the possibility of complications. Dodds encourages volunteers to come to the Humane Society and spend time with Zena while she is recovering. The Society will bear the brunt of the treatment costs, which may be as much as $600 to $800.

"We always appreciate support to help with the costs of maintaining our animals," says Dodds, who points out the Society's kennels and the county shelter are near capacity.

As pet owners struggle with the stagnant economy, Dr. Sommers encourages families to speak with their vet about reducing costs while providing the best possible care. She stresses the importance of providing Heartworm prevention, as well as scheduling annual exams.

"Wellness checks are important in maintaining pet health," says Sommers. "Talk to your vet about individualizing vaccine protocols. Not all animals need every vaccination, so together you can base vaccine choices on individual risks."

Like their human families, Sommers emphasizes exercise, maintaining a lean body weight and providing pets with the highest quality nutrition families can afford.

Happily, according to Dodds, it looks like Jett has found a real home at last. Dodds is working closely with the adoptive family to make certain it is a solid match, but she is very confident. Zena is available for adoption consideration, and Dodds hopes the perfect family will find a place for Zena in their home and hearts.

For information for the Humane Society, visit www.humanesocietyimc.org or phone 485-0123.

To contact the Mendocino County Animal Care and Control, call 463-4427.

For the Mendocino Animal Hospital, visit http://mendocinoanimalhospital.net or phone 462-8833.

Eldon Man Pleads Guilty to Dog Fighting

By KSPR News

Story Created: Sep 14, 2009 at 9:15 PM CDT

The ASPCA in New York says four men from Missouri have pleaded guilty to federal dog fighting charges. The men were arrested during the nation's largest dog fighting raid in U.S history in July.
Jack Ruppel of Eldon pleaded guilty earlier this month
He was one of 26 people arrested in eight states when rescuers seized more than 400 dogs.



FULL PRESS RELEASE:

Four Missouri Residents Plead Guilty to Federal Dogfighting Charges; ASPCA Responders Remain in St. Louis Caring for Seized Dogs

NEW YORK—The ASPCA(The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has confirmed, through the Humane Society of Missouri, that four defendants in Missouri pled guilty today to federal dog fighting charges stemming from the largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history, which took place last July 8.

Four eastern Missouri men--Robert Hackman of Foley, Teddy Kiriakidis of Leasburg, Ronald Creach of Leslie and Michael Morgan of Hannibal--pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges connected to the dog fighting raid. Another man arrested in connection with the raid, Jack Ruppel of Eldon, pled guilty to charges on September 4 in federal court in Jefferson City.

The ASPCA assisted the Humane Society of Missouri and federal and state agencies in conducting the raid, which resulted in the rescue of over 400 dogs and the arrests of 26 people accused of organizing dog fighting rings. Arrests were made in eight states, including Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

Dogs rescued from the properties associated with the persons who pled guilty exhibited numerous wounds and scars; one was missing lips; another was missing a leg. Many had internal parasites, ear infections and broken, worn or missing teeth.

“The ASPCA is determined to protect its nation’s pets from dogfighting and other forms of brutality” said ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres. “Animal cruelty cannot be tolerated, and we are pleased that the five Eastern Missouri defendants are taking responsibility for the pain and suffering that they inflicted.”

Members of the ASPCA’s disaster response team, in addition to 22 other organizations from around the country and under the direction of the Humane Society of Missouri, are in St. Louis caring for the 407 dogs that were seized, which now include more than 100 puppies born since the raid. In addition, behavior experts from the ASPCA assisted HSMO in evaluating the dogs to determine their suitability for possible adoption or placement with rescue groups. Information from these evaluations was provided to the U.S. District Courts, which will decide the ultimate fate of each dog. Forfeiture of the dogs is a separate federal court process and is expected to take place over the next few weeks.

The ASPCA was also responsible for the collection of forensic evidence, which will be used to aid prosecutors in bringing to justice those involved in the brutal dog fighting rings. Dr. Melinda Merck, the nation’s premier forensic veterinarian, was on the scene with the ASPCA’s “Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit,” a critical tool in the collection and processing of evidence at crime scenes. The CSI unit brings both state-of-the-art forensics tools and expertise to crime scenes and is outfitted with medical equipment tailored for animal patients.

“The ASPCA is proud to have had its expert staff be a part of this important case,” said Laura Maloney, Senior Vice President of Anti-Cruelty Initiatives for the ASPCA. “These dogs suffered terribly in the hands of dogfighters, and our hope is that the evidence collected will help bring justice for all of these animals.”

Sentencing date for the four defendants who pled today has been set for December 8, 2009.

Fighting dogs show scars from the ring

By Robert Patrick
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/15/2009

With no lips and layers of fighting scars, Dog 118 lapped her tongue across bare teeth at the Humane Society of Missouri.

She's now called Fay, and she's a heartbreaking first look at the results of a massive dogfighting ring authorities broke up two months ago.

Fay used to live behind a red trailer with an ominous warning — "What you see here, hear here, stays here" — before Humane Society workers and state and federal investigators swooped in on July 8 to rescue the animals.

The 5-year-old American pit bull terrier was just one of 407 dogs — some of which may yet be adopted or euthanized — seized in raids at sites across Missouri and Illinois, the Humane Society says.


About 100 more were seized in raids in six other states — the largest dogfighting raid and rescue in U.S. history. The Humane Society has another 100 puppies born since the raids.
bullet GALLERY: See more images of the rescued dogs
bullet VIDEO: Footage shows condition of rescued dogs


The raids followed an 18-month investigation and resulted in charges against more than two dozen people in Missouri, Illinois and other states. Tim Rickey, director of the Humane Society's Animal Cruelty Task Force, said more may be charged.

Four of those charged pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Louis on Monday to dogfighting-related charges and agreed to forfeit the dogs, training equipment and any weapons found.

Teddy "Teddy Bogart" Kiriakidis, 50, Michael "Missouri Mike" Morgan, 38, Robert Hackman, 56, and Ronald Creach, 34, all pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate federal animal fighting laws. They joined Jack Ruppel, 35, who pleaded guilty Sept. 4.

Morgan, Hackman and Ruppel also pleaded guilty to an additional animal fighting charge.

With the guilty pleas, all of those indicted in the eastern half of Missouri have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. The men charged in Illinois, western Missouri and other states have pleaded not guilty and await trial.

KILLED FOR FAILING

Hackman, of Foley, operated Shake Rattle and Roll Kennel; Ruppel, of Eldon, operated Ozark Hillbillys Kennel; Morgan, of Hannibal, operated Cannibal Kennel; and Creach, of Leslie, operated Hard Goodbye Kennel.

Each of the men admitted breeding, training and giving away or selling the dogs. They also admitted attending or participating in dogfights in Missouri and the Metro East area.

In his plea, Ruppel admitted that at an Aug. 11, 2008, practice fight, or "roll," at his home, he said he killed dogs that would not fight or fight hard enough, prosecutors said.

In their pleas, Hackman and Creach said that after a Jan. 3 fight in Leslie, Kiriakidis helped electrocute the losing dog, a female pit bull named Roho.

In his plea, Creach admitted that he said he killed a dog named Shady because she didn't perform well in a practice fight earlier that day.

Hackman boasted of being one of the Midwest's most recognized dogfighting figures, with contacts across the country.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, each man is likely to face from probation to six months in prison, although proof of animal cruelty and other factors could increase that sentence.

Outside the courtroom, Hackman's attorney, Joel Schwartz, said that notwithstanding the use of the dogs for fighting, Hackman's dogs were "incredibly well taken care of" and most were very healthy when seized.

Schwartz said Hackman began as a breeder and only later became involved in dogfighting. Schwartz declined to allow Hackman to be interviewed. In court, Hackman told U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson that some of his dogs were sold as pets.

Attorneys for Ruppel, Morgan and Creach declined to comment. Kiriakidis' lawyer did not return messages seeking comment.

SECRET LOCATION

The Humane Society would not say where Fay, or Julie, a 2-year-old pit bull with scars on her face and legs, were taken until the court formally seizes them from their owners.

They and the other dogs among the 500 seized are now being held in a secret local facility.

Specialists have evaluated all the dogs. Their report, which will determine which dogs must be euthanized and which can live a life of special care and attention, will be filed in court in coming weeks.

Many of the dogs showed battle scars typical of fighting dogs — missing ears, legs, scars on top of scars, said Debbie Hill, the society's vice president of operations and head of the shelter.

Nellie and Belle, two 8-week-old puppies born to fighting dog parents, competed for a reporter's attention in their first public showing Monday. Hill said even the puppies need special care because they are the product of generations of breeding for aggressive traits.

The adult dogs are a danger to virtually any other animal but generally people-friendly. Julie never stopped wagging her tail or trying to leap into Hill's lap during a visit Monday with a reporter. Fay, whose muzzle looks like she could star in a horror movie, "is a licker," Hill said with affection.

Hill and Rickey said that the same men who kill dogs that don't fight hard enough also kill those that are aggressive toward people.

The dogs' handlers want to make sure that they are safe in the ring.

Dogs seized in 2008 raids are gone Animals euthanized or adopted out before cases of owners were settled

By Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.13.2009

In early 2008 Pima County authorities conducted a series of raids on alleged illegal dog breeding or fighting operations, seizing about 1,000 dogs and 36 birds.
In the ensuing 18 months, four of the nine people arrested have been acquitted or seen their charges dropped, two pleaded guilty to reduced charges and three are still awaiting trial.

But regardless of the outcome of their cases, their animals are gone — euthanized or adopted out to new owners long before the charges ever got to court.

In several of the cases, the dog's owners have filed multi-million-dollar claims for their unreturned animals, which the county has not responded to.

Pima Animal Care Center officials say they found new homes for as many of the animals as they could. But many, they say, were in such poor health or so vicious they couldn't be adopted — although a Star reporter who accompanied deputies on one raid said some of the dogs, which have since been destroyed, were wagging their tails and licking the hands of the handlers who were taking them away.
They said the owners could have saved their dogs by posting a bond and paying an unspecified daily board, but none did.

Series of tips
Sheriff's deputies said the February and March 2008 raids were the result of a series of tips, as well as monitoring of dogfighting Web sites, chat rooms and underground magazines. Among the cases:

• The county seized 110 dogs from Mahlon T. Patrick and Emily E. Dennis in February and charged the pair with two counts of dogfighting and 21 counts of cruelty to animals.

The case went to trial and a judge acquitted them of the charges. However, less than two weeks after the seizure — and eight months before their acquittals — most of the dogs were euthanized. The county said the animals were aggressive or injured and could not be adopted.

Patrick, who has a kennel license, filed a $1.1 million claim against the county for the value of the dogs. Dennis later filed a $2 million claim for the value of property, including the home, which was also seized.

• The Pima Animal Care Center was familiar with Robert C. Smith long before he was arrested, on the same day as Patrick and Dennis, during raids at multiple locations, on suspicion of dogfighting.

Over the previous 10 years they had cited Smith, who also has a kennel license, four times for having his dogs on illegal tie-outs. All four times the charges were dismissed by a judge who found his operation legal, or dropped by prosecutors before they went to court.

His 22 dogs were impounded, and a few months later they were euthanized.

Smith's former attorney, Roberta Jensen, said his dogfighting charges were dismissed in January before being refiled later. He is still awaiting trial. Charges against his co-defendant, Terry L. Williams, have been dismissed.

Jenson filed a $5 million claim against the county on Smith's behalf in June, but said she withdrew it last month because the County Attorney's Office wouldn't consider a plea agreement as long as the claim was still on the table.

"I did not want to jeopardize his criminal case and dogfighting charges," Jensen said.

• Juan R. Verdin and his wife Zenaida Y. Verdin were also arrested in February 2008 and indicted on two counts of dogfighting, 10 counts of cruelty to animals and 16 counts of failing to obtain dog licenses.

In October Zenaida Verdin pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation. Juan Verdin pleaded guilty to one count of attempted dogfighting and received 18 months of probation. The couple also had to pay fines of less than $1,000.

The couple filed nearly $3 million in claims against the county for the value of the dogs and lost wages because of the publicized seizure.

• In March 2008 investigators seized 851 dogs and 36 birds from a Marana property. In July 2008 Billy R. Jones and Wanda L. Jones were indicted on 41 animal cruelty charges and one count of a fraudulent scheme or practice. The case is scheduled to go to trial in January. Their son, Robert A. Jones, was also charged, but his charges were dropped last month.

None of owners' claims paid
None of the claims have been paid, Finance and Risk Management Director Tom Burke said. Superior Court records show none of the owners have followed up the claims with lawsuits.

The Pima Animal Care Center takes care of seized animals until it knows what it can do with them, and does not adopt out or euthanize the animals until they legally become county property, said center spokeswoman Jayne Cundy.
"In those cases we have to be told, because we're just holding them. It's up to the Tucson Police Department or the Pima County Sheriff's Department, because they're evidence," she said.

If an owner wants their animals back, the person must appear in court at a bond hearing, Cundy said. By the time a hearing is held, caretakers at the center usually have a good idea about the animal's temperament and adoptability, she said.
"We go in front of a judge and explain why we don't think the animal should go back. The judge will make a determination. If the judge orders them back to owner then we have to comply with the law," she said.

The hearing is a chance for both sides to say what should happen with the dogs. But upon seizure of the dog, the owner is given a notice that he or she must pay for at least 15 days of the animals' care, according to Pima County Code.

"If the bond is not posted within ten days of the notice, the animal shall be deemed forfeited to the Pima Animal Control Center to be placed by adoption in a suitable home or humanely destroyed," the code says.

But the hearing process isn't as straight forward as it seems, lawyers say.
"If somebody could afford $200, they can have a hearing. It's the only type of case where you have to buy your way into court," said Mark Resnick, Patrick's lawyer in his criminal case.

In some cases, including Patrick's, the owner's assets are also seized, leaving them no way to pay any bond, much less $200 for each of his 110 dogs — or $22,000.

Lower legal standard
Resnick, who has defended a dozen animal cases in the past decade, calls these dogfighting cases "mini-death-penalty cases."
The burden of proof for the forfeiture of an animal is much lower than for convicting a person of a crime, he said. A person has to be proven guilty of a crime "beyond a reasonable doubt." But the government has to prove an animal is dangerous "based on a preponderance of evidence," a lower legal standard.

"In this case they killed 95 dogs because they claimed them to be dangerous when in fact my client was acquitted," he said.

The dogs were the sole source of income for Patrick and Dennis and were sold as part of a legal breeding business, Resnick said. "I've never had a meeting with Mahlon where he didn't come into my office and cry because he lost those dogs."

Cundy said the decision of whether and when to euthanize or adopt the animals in these types of cases lies with the legal system, based on when they think the evidence can be released.

"I don't know at what point the attorneys and county attorneys came up with the decision. We were just told at some point they were signed over," Cundy said. But "signing them over" implies the owners had a choice, Resnick said.

"They're taken. They sign them over in the same way that when the IRS comes and seizes your house you've signed it over," Resnick said.

Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at 807-7790 or akelly@azstarnet.com

Eldon man pleads guilty to dog-fighting charge

By Newsdesk KRCG
Friday, September 04, 2009 at 4:39 p.m.

ELDON -- An Eldon man plead guilty Friday for his role in a dog-fighting ring.

Jack Ruppel admitted to killing dogs that wouldn't fight and dropping ones that didn't meet expectations down a sepctic tank.

He admitted in federal court that he was part of a conspiracy to buy, sell and train bull terriers to fight.

Ruppel told the court he attended, or participated, in 10 dog fights between July of 2008 and April of this year. One of those fights took place at his Eldon home.

He faces up to 10 years behind bars along with a $500,000 fine.

OHS volunteers help out in Missouri

by Jacques Von Lunen, Special to The Oregonian

Thursday September 03, 2009, 6:31 PM

Teams from the Oregon Humane Society will travel to Missouri next week to help out with hundreds of abused dogs seized there.

Over 400 dogs used by a dog-fighting ring were seized in a multi-state raid by federal and state officers in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, said OHS spokesman David Lytle . This reportedly was the largest dog-fighting raid in U.S. history.

Starting Sept. 8, a total of eight OHS volunteers who are experienced in working with abused dogs will assist the Humane Society of Missouri.

OHS has no plans for re-homing the dogs in Oregon.

Donations to offset the cost of caring for the dogs can be sent to the Humane Society of Missouri.

-- Jacques Von Lunen; pets@jvonlunen.com

Cruelty to animals: the human connection

Cynthia Boyd

Cruelty to animals: the human connection
A "pissed-off" homeless man in St. Paul allegedly throws his puppy eight feet into the air earlier this week, according to St. Paul police reports, injuring the animal so badly a vet has to euthanize the animal. Just one more sad story?

No, so much more, says Randall Lockwood, a psychologist who's spent more than 25 years studying the connections between cruelty to animals and cruelty to humans. The incident is a "red flag," Lockwood said, because people who abuse animals are "about four or five times more likely to be involved in crimes against people.''

Read that as: child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, illegal drug use.

It's that connection that caused Minnesota and 45 other states to raise cruelty to animals to the felony level and why Steven David Strachota, 27, has been charged with felony animal cruelty and Tuesday had bail set at $1,500. That could mean two years jail time and/or a $5,000 fine, though there are other possibly mitigating issues in Strachota's case. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, there have been five cases filed in Minnesota to civilly commit the man for mental illness in as many years and he apparently was discharged this spring.

Given incidence of mental illness and the recession, is the incidence of animal cruelty on the rise?

"Unfortunately we don't know,'' said Lockwood, senior vice president of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animal cruelty, even felony animal cruelty, is not something the Department of Justice tracks, though ASPCA staff members come across one to three stories a day in media around the nation. Each state defines animal cruelty differently, which also makes tracking difficult.

Horrific examples
The cases can be horrific, as evidenced by these examples. A couple of years ago two young men, still in prison in Atlanta, wrapped a puppy in duct tape, put it alive in a community center oven and forced children to come see the puppy. Two boys in Baltimore recently set fire to a pit bull.

Reporting of animal cruelty is increasing among the public, law enforcement and veterinarians.

"It might have been ignored a few years ago,'' Lockwood said.

Police are taught when responding to domestic violence calls to also be alert to pet violence. They're asking children in such cases to "tell me about your pets.'' That gives youngsters the chance to talk about a dog's broken leg, a cat's injuries caused by a family member.

Now there are a dozen states where vets are mandated to report cases of suspected animal and human abuse and taught to be alert when "the dog-fell-off-the-bed" story doesn't match up to an animal's extensive physical injuries.

In fact, the connection between domestic violence and animal abuse is so great that growing numbers of veterinary clinics post information in women's bathrooms listing phone numbers for women's shelters. About 70 percent of women who flee to shelters to escape an abuser report their pets have been threatened, injured or killed by their abuser. In child abuse cases, about 90 percent of the abusers have also injured family pets. More states are including family pets in protection orders.

Lockwood calls the Minnesota incident a "serious case" that five or 10 years ago would not have been responded to, but is being appropriately responded to now.

But it involves one animal, a pit bull that Strachota, according to police reports, had traded his bicycle for.

"Sometimes the allegedly sweet little old lady with hundreds of cats is causing more injury and death,'' the "animal hoarder" having dozens of injured, sick and dying animals, Lockwood said. So-called puppy mills keep animals living in unhealthy conditions, endangering many.

Then there's the massive dog fighting ring brought down in Missouri last summer, involving eight states, more than 500 dogs and 20 arrests. In such dog fighting operations up to half of animals typically die of injuries, said Lockwood.

Lockwood lives with his family and their 17-year-old cat in Falls Church, Va.

Sports Illustrated pit bull cover model dies

August 27, 12:41 PMPet ExaminerTeri Webster

Jasmine, the Sports Illustrated poster girl for rehabilitated pit bulls, has been hit and killed by a car, according to the animal rescue group Recycled Love.

“Our hearts are heavy with sadness over the loss of our sweet Jasmine,” a blog for Recycled Love reported. “She was recently killed by an automobile in an unfortunate accident. Jasmine touched so many lives in so many ways. Her family is devastated by her passing, but they would like everyone to recognize and celebrate the unmistakable love Jasmine received and the priceless gifts she has given to everyone.”

Further details of the accident were not disclosed. Jasmine was owned by Catalina Stirling, president of Recycled Love, according to the blog.

"Please understand that Catalina, along with the rest of Jasmine's family, are just beginning to process this loss," the blog states. "Thank you for allowing time for all to heal."

Recyled Love could not be immediately reached for comment.

One of 51 pit bulls seized from the Michael Vick dog fighting ring bust in April 2007, Sweet Jasmine was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The accompanying article detailed the lives of the pit bulls that were placed in foster care and adoptive homes.

The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah took in 22 of the dogs. Best Friends described them as “suffering from serious psychological and emotional trauma, similar to what you see in children from situations of abuse and neglect.”

Sweet Jasmine was described by Sports Illustrated as gentle but skittish around people and obviously traumatized.

Vick, 29, is preparing for his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles, marking his first NFL game since 2006. The Eagles signed Vick earlier this month. He completed a 20-month prison sentence on a federal dog fighting conviction.

The Humane Society of the United States has been working with Vick, who is now speaking out against dog fighting. Vick also appears in a new video on the Humane Society’s YouTube page.



More About: Vick dog dies Sweet Jasmine · Jasmine Sports Illustrated Vick

Pit bull backers: Euthanize breed ban

Group rallies at state Capitol calling for end of breed-specific ban
Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 26, 2009

About 100 pit bull advocates yesterday stood in front of City Hall to bark their displeasure over the city’s ban on the breed.

The group calls a proposal by Councilwoman Carla Madison to establish a permitting process for some pit bulls a “compromise,” but added that it is a step in the right direction.

In the meantime, the group — led by a California-based pit bull advocacy organization — is calling for a full repeal of the city’s 20-year-old ban.

“This is the hot spot, this is the most brutal breed ban that I’ve ever seen in any city,” said Paula Terifaj, leader of California-based pit bull advocacy group ROVERlution, while holding an empty dog leash to symbolize lost pit bulls. “The way they have enforced it, the way they’ve gone after dogs in back yards — they’ve gone into private residences and apprehended good citizens and taken away their dogs and killed them. That is egregious, it is wrong.”

More than 2,000 pit bulls have been killed by animal control since the ban was reinstated in 2005 following a court challenge of the ordinance. One of those dogs was Petey — just like the pit bull in the “Little Rascals.” He was owned by Aurora resident Rita Crockett. Petey was stolen out of an Aurora apartment and brought to Denver where he was picked up by animal control officers. Crockett found Petey through a microchip in the dog’s neck.

But when she approached animal control to take Petey home, she was told she needed to prove that the dog was not a pit bull. That was impossible and Petey was killed.

“It devastated me,” said Crockett. “They killed my dog and he’d never hurt anybody.”

Madison, however, believes she has an alternative. Rather than a sweeping ban, the councilwoman would like to permit pit bulls if owners take the dog through temperament testing, muzzle it, and pay special licensing and insurance fees, to name a few proposed restrictions.

But she has little support amongst her colleagues — in fact, Madison has almost no support from city officials.

Councilman Charlie Brown believes that unlike other dogs, when pit bulls attack they are lethal weapons, latching on and mauling their victims. He points to the 1989 mauling of Rev. Wilbur Billingsley, who was left with more than 70 bites and two broken legs. The incident resulted in the City Council banning pit bulls from the city.

“I wish they would visit some of these victims lying in hospital beds trying to recover from pit bull attacks,” said Brown.

He also objects to the fact that the movement is being led by residents from outside the city.

“With all due respect, I don’t want people from California telling me how to run the City and County of Denver,” Brown added.

Madison identifies herself as a “dog lover” who has owned pleasant pit-bull mixes in the past. She says the burden of responsibility should be placed on the owners, not the dogs themselves.

“I love pit bulls, so I’ve been a sucker for this,” she said at the rally yesterday.

“I want the bar raised so that all dog owners have to be more responsible for their actions,” continued Madison.


Is Denver safer?

Animal control officials for the past four years have been unable to tell the Denver Daily News with any certainty whether a ban on pit bulls has made the city safer.

In a recent interview with the Denver Daily News, Meghan Hughes, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Health, said the success of the ban remains unclear.

“I don’t know that there’s one single answer to that,” she said recently. “I think it all depends on the way you look at it.”

Despite the ban, Denver still has a higher than normal rate of dog hospitalizations than any other area of Colorado, according to the National Canine Research Council.

Mayor John Hickenlooper offered only this statement yesterday, “Any move to change the law should be carefully considered and preserve our ability to maintain a safe and fair community.”

The Denver Daily asked the mayor’s spokesman, Eric Brown, to address why animal control officials can’t speak to any success of the ban. But the follow-up request for comment was not returned.

Three former Denver residents have filed a lawsuit to overturn the ban. The group hopes the city will look for a compromise as it is facing a $120 million budget shortfall and likely won’t want to spend money defending a costly lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Terifaj hopes that after four years of efforts she will one day be allowed to visit Denver with her pit-mix Brad Pit in-tow.

“Denver will always be remembered as a city cloaked in darkness — hiding under home-rule status to impose its own laws; its own sense of justice; its own punishment,” she wrote to her “comrades.” “(Today, as I leave Denver,) I solemnly wave goodbye to the Wild Wild West of Denver and its sketchy pursuit of justice.”

Last pit bull in animal case now healthy and awaits adoption

By BRIAN HAWKINS
sdneditor@bellsouth.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The last of eight pit bull terriers found emaciated and malnourished by Starkville animal control officers at a vacant house in the Clayton Village area in mid-June is awaiting adoption at the Starkville Animal Shelter.
The pit bull, who has been named Elma, was originally scheduled to go an animal rescue group in Louisiana, but could not be sent with the other dogs after complications arose with a skin condition that required additional treatment, said Anita Howard, Animal Shelter manager.
“Her treatments are complete, and ... she is beautiful. She is the sweetest, most loving dog I have met in a long time, and I have met a lot of dogs,” said Howard. “She does not meet a stranger and wants to say ‘Hi’ to everyone. She gets along well with other dogs and is curious about cats, but does not try to hurt them.”
The Animal Shelter staff is seeking a good home for Elma, Howard said.
“Elma is a great dog and would make a perfect addition to any family because she is very gentle and does not jump. She is not a barker, either. To me, she is the perfect dog,” Howard said.
Anyone interested in adopting Elma can call the Animal Shelter at 338-9093 for a consultation and home visit, Howard said.
The Animal Shelter, located on Industrial Park Road, is operated by the Oktibbeha County Humane Society under a contract with the City of Starkville.
Elma and the other pit bulls were discovered at an Oktibbeha County man’s former home at 1429 Boyd Road on June 18.
McKee and Hankins went to the home after receiving a call from a concerned citizen.
The dogs were all chained and had gone without food or water for several weeks, each weighing about half the weight that a healthy pit bull would weigh, the animal control officers said. A ninth dog was found dead on the premises.
The dogs were taken to the Starkville Animal Shelter and cared for by the Oktibbeha County Humane Society until they were healthy.
Homes for the dogs have been found locally and in Louisiana and Arkansas, said Hankins and McKee late last month
The man who owned the dogs, Wheeler Crawford, 44, was found guilty of three of the nine counts of animal cruelty in an Oktibbeha County Justice Coury hearing and was sentenced to serve 60 days in the Oktibbeha County Jail for each of the three charges, but the three terms will be served concurrently.
The man was also ordered to pay a combined total of $676.50 in fines and court costs.
Both Hankins and McKee expressed disappointment in the outcome of the case, primarily since the animal cruelty charges were not felony offenses since state law does not classify the offense as a felony.
The two have recently been made aware of an effort by the Mississippi Coalition Against Animal Cruelty in circulating a statewide petition to have the state Legislature pass a bill making animal cruelty a felony offense. The group is seeking to generate 240,000 signatures on the petition.
Mississippi is one of four states where animal cruelty is not a felony offense.
Copies of the petition are available for signing at the Animal Shelter on Industrial Park Road and at the Starkville Daily News offices on Lampkin Street. The petition may also be signed online by visiting the Web site at http://www.ms-fact.org.

SPCA exec's dog dies after being left in hot car

The 16-year-old dog dies of kidney failure after being left for four hours

RICHMOND, Virginia - An executive for an anti-animal cruelty group says her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog died after she accidentally left him in her hot car for four hours.

Robin Starr, the CEO of the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says she didn't realize "Louie" was in the car until noon. Starr's husband, Ed, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he put the dog in her car as she got ready for work Aug. 19. She often took the dog to work with her.

Robin Starr took the dog to two clinics, but he died of kidney failure.

The National Weather Service says the temperature had reached 91 degrees by noon that day.

The board of the SPCA says it still supports Starr, who has been CEO since 1997 and does not plan to resign. It was unclear whether she would be charged.

Dogs seized from Indiana fighting ring face hard rehab

* By The Associated Press
* Posted August 26, 2009 at 11:06 a.m. , updated August 26, 2009 at 11:06 a.m.




BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — More than 100 dogs that Indiana officials seized after they were allegedly bred for fighting face an uphill road to rehabilitation before any can be released to new owners.

The 109 dogs, mostly pit bulls, have been taken to kennels and foster homes since they were seized in Orange County Aug. 11 during raids by the Indiana Gaming Commission and other agencies.

Chris Schindler, manager of animal fighting law enforcement for the Humane Society of the United States, said the animals are now being evaluated to determine if any can be placed in new homes after their owners didn’t post bond money for their care. The Humane Society is helping state officials pay for the dogs’ care and rehabilitation.

“All of these dogs are victims of animal cruelty and they will need time to recover and settle into a regular life,” he said. “It is possible some will not survive this process. It’s very possible. They have been victimized by cruelty, and for some, it may be hard to come back from that.”

Officials say many of the dogs had scars, chains embedded in their necks and other signs of neglect when they were seized. Some were underweight. Two men have been charged with possessing animals for fighting and animal cruelty, and investigators are looking for additional suspects.

One of the dogs last week attacked a Bloomington animal control worker, tearing off the end of the woman’s thumb.

Jeff Franklin, a spokesman for the commission’s 16-person gaming control unit that investigates illegal gambling, said one of the dogs got loose within the last year, and a sheriff’s deputy shot at the animal when it charged at him.

Franklin said he is afraid that most of the dogs have been ruined by the aggression they were taught, but he held out hope for some.

“I have heard that even some of Michael Vick’s dogs were salvaged,” he said. “It just depends on each dog and how much they can take.”

The former NFL star was released from federal custody July 20 after serving 18 months of a 23-month sentence for his role in running a dogfighting operation.

Schindler wasn’t ready to give up on the southern Indiana dogs.

“They will be assessed, and then we will see where they go from there,” he said. “We always hope for the best possible outcome for them because they have suffered cruelty at the hands of humans and they deserve a kind and loving end. Hopefully, there will be dogs happy in new homes.”

Pit bull lover will help make breeds’ case at rally against ban in Denver

By AMY HAMILTON/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Sunday, August 23, 2009

There’s no denying that Margaret Csikos of Grand Junction loves her one-and-half-year-old dog, Sophie. The two are inseparable and travel together frequently.

But not to Denver.

Csikos, an interior designer and a grandmother who enjoys a vibrant cultural and arts scene, might like to move to Denver, but not while one of its laws remains in place. Sophie, a pit bull, is banned from the city, so trips to Denver mean Csikos has to stay in hotels outside the city for Sophie’s sake.

“I love all animals, but I’m particularly fond of pit bulls,” she said.

Csikos said she will attend a rally Tuesday in Denver to protest the ban.

She’s hoping her presence there will bring awareness to the breeds, which she says have unfairly earned a bad reputation. It’s the owners who abuse their dogs and make them violent, not the pit bull breeds themselves, that spur attacks, Csikos said.

Pit bulls were banned in Denver in 1989 after a minister was attacked and a boy was killed during separate incidents. It wasn’t until 2005 when the law was strictly enforced. The ordinance calls for euthanizing any pit bulls found in the city limits, and an estimated 1,100 pit bulls have been euthanized since 2007 in Denver.

Three former Denver residents who moved from the city with their pit bulls are refiling a claim in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They join a list of opponents who have challenged the law over the years.

Csikos said pit bulls face unfair stigmas in the media when other dog breeds are just as likely to bite.

“I take her to the dog park, and everybody knows her there,” she said. “She’s not penned up in the backyard. They’re little gladiators. They have to run everyday. It’s very unfair that they’ve been stigmatized through the press.”

Kissing pitbull

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A Canadian news anchor takes a lickin', a tongue lickin', from a pitbull.

Taken our licks. Some at a very young age. But licked to death on live television?

"Oh get off this is crazy. Ha ha ha ha this is ginger," says Randene Neill the co-anchor of Global BC in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Ginger the up-for-adoption pit bull....make that kissbull. "Ginger just loves people. I love ginger."

"They need a wee bit of training. Really, you think?"
"Ouch, be nice! Stop that! Stop nipping. That's so not good. Don't jump."

Better to be kissed by a pitbull than clawed by a cat as this Fox 8 News Reporter in Cleveland was. The cat didn't get ginger's tongue, the anchor did.

"Ok ginger, ok oh ginger," says Neill.

All that licking didn't deter folks. The shelter got hundreds of
Calls from people interested in adopting ginger. An adoption was actually arranged, but later fell through. So Ginger is still available if you like your kisses wet. Getting a shower like this, no wonder the anchor called for the weather woman.

"Oh stop it stop it Wessla, Wessla laughter," says Neill.
The sports anchor wondered if Randene's husband got as much face time..."Really he doesn't," responded Neill.

You know, it's hard to watch anchor Randene Neill without
thinking of a watch, "you pick it takes a lickin and keeps on tickin."

"I've been loved by ginger. Ginger loves me," says Neill.
And none too gingerly.

At least three pit bulls euthanized

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009
At least three pit bulls euthanized
Dogs among 29 seized Aug. 19 by Talbot County Sheriff's Department
By Larry Gierer - lgierer@ledger-enquirer.com



Sometimes, there is no other choice.

Of the 29 pit bulls possibly used for fighting that the Talbot County Sheriff’s Department seized on Aug. 19, at least three have had to be euthanized.

“We try to save all the dogs but can’t give one away if there is a serious aggression problem,” said Joan Sammond, director of the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which now has the animals.



She said that, besides evaluating the health of each dog, the Georgia SPCA checks whether the animal is dangerous.

“We watch to see how a dog reacts to other dogs,” she said. “We study the dog for food aggression, looking to see it reacts to someone getting close to its food dish. The dogs are very strong and must have the proper temperament.”

There is nothing that can be done for the dogs that have gotten too mean, she said.

The dogs’ alleged owner, Antonio Monds, was arrested about 11 a.m. Wednesday, when he arrived at the wooded site where the dogs were kept. He was charged with five counts of dogfighting and 29 counts of cruelty to animals. The dogs ranged from puppies to full-grown pit bulls.

Monds made his $55,000 bond Sunday, said Talbot County Sheriff’s Maj. Jeff Sivell.

“We’re expecting some more arrests,” Sivell added. “At least one more.”

Besides the Georgia SPCA, volunteers from the Atlanta Humane Society were on hand to take the dogs.

The animals were found thanks to a tip sent to Norred and Associates, a private corporate security firm. The dogs were found about 500 feet north of South Howard Road, where it runs into Sizemore Road. The dogs were confined by 3-foot chain leashes connected to metal stakes in the ground. Water was supplied solely by rain. No fresh food was found. Several dogs had scars.

“We will be taking several of the dogs into our Suwanee adoption facility,” Sammond said. “The rest of the dogs, we need to find eligible rescue and humane organizations to take them because our facility does not have the space for this many dogs. We have been contacted by Mariah’s Promise, a pit bull rescue in Colorado, but they are not sure how many of the dogs they would be able to help out with.”

Sammond said the dogs can’t stay where they are for too long because of expenses, which the Georgia SPCA is having to take on. This means that those dogs not placed into other rescues within the next week to 10 days also may have to be euthanized.

In an effort to stop that from happening, the Georgia SPCA is seeking donations to help with the rescue effort.

Donations can be made online at www.georgiaspca.org.

Rescue groups interested in the dogs may call the Georgia SPCA at 678-765-2726.

At least three pit bulls euthanized

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009
At least three pit bulls euthanized
Dogs among 29 seized Aug. 19 by Talbot County Sheriff's Department
By Larry Gierer - lgierer@ledger-enquirer.com



Sometimes, there is no other choice.

Of the 29 pit bulls possibly used for fighting that the Talbot County Sheriff’s Department seized on Aug. 19, at least three have had to be euthanized.

“We try to save all the dogs but can’t give one away if there is a serious aggression problem,” said Joan Sammond, director of the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which now has the animals.



She said that, besides evaluating the health of each dog, the Georgia SPCA checks whether the animal is dangerous.

“We watch to see how a dog reacts to other dogs,” she said. “We study the dog for food aggression, looking to see it reacts to someone getting close to its food dish. The dogs are very strong and must have the proper temperament.”

There is nothing that can be done for the dogs that have gotten too mean, she said.

The dogs’ alleged owner, Antonio Monds, was arrested about 11 a.m. Wednesday, when he arrived at the wooded site where the dogs were kept. He was charged with five counts of dogfighting and 29 counts of cruelty to animals. The dogs ranged from puppies to full-grown pit bulls.

Monds made his $55,000 bond Sunday, said Talbot County Sheriff’s Maj. Jeff Sivell.

“We’re expecting some more arrests,” Sivell added. “At least one more.”

Besides the Georgia SPCA, volunteers from the Atlanta Humane Society were on hand to take the dogs.

The animals were found thanks to a tip sent to Norred and Associates, a private corporate security firm. The dogs were found about 500 feet north of South Howard Road, where it runs into Sizemore Road. The dogs were confined by 3-foot chain leashes connected to metal stakes in the ground. Water was supplied solely by rain. No fresh food was found. Several dogs had scars.

“We will be taking several of the dogs into our Suwanee adoption facility,” Sammond said. “The rest of the dogs, we need to find eligible rescue and humane organizations to take them because our facility does not have the space for this many dogs. We have been contacted by Mariah’s Promise, a pit bull rescue in Colorado, but they are not sure how many of the dogs they would be able to help out with.”

Sammond said the dogs can’t stay where they are for too long because of expenses, which the Georgia SPCA is having to take on. This means that those dogs not placed into other rescues within the next week to 10 days also may have to be euthanized.

In an effort to stop that from happening, the Georgia SPCA is seeking donations to help with the rescue effort.

Donations can be made online at www.georgiaspca.org.

Rescue groups interested in the dogs may call the Georgia SPCA at 678-765-2726.

Calls Grow for Repeal of Breed Ban

Submitted by Jim Willis on August 18, 2009 – 5:58 pm

Bull terrier breeds were in existence long before the Boston Tea Party, and they were popular at the time Thoreau wrote his famous treatise on “Civil Disobedience.” The American Pit Bull Terrier is as American as apple pie and was used to symbolize the US on a World War II propaganda poster. An APBT was cited for service and bravery during the Civil War and received a tip of the stovepipe hat from President Lincoln. Lately, Pitt Bull Terriers have received increased media attention when a famous loser/quitter in the national spotlight suggested applying lipstick to them, and then the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles gave a notorious animal torturer-murderer a job.

Now the city Pit Bull lovers love to hate and economically boycott, Denver, Colorado, will play host to protesters who will descend on City Hall, August 25, and demand the end of the City’s breedban. Denver is considered a worst-case example of the scientifically and statistically baseless, useless breed-specific legislation (BSL) that violates human and animal rights, and breaks taxpayer hearts and public funds.

Opponents of BSL are hoping for national media attention on Denver, and the cast of players and participants promises to command scrutiny.

The playbill includes:
- a Denver Assistant City Attorney who hasn’t confined his hatred of Pit Bulls and murderous campaign to Denver, but has sometimes taken his show on the road to other cities;
- a woman who suffered a 5-second “attack” by a Pit Bull in another state, who now solicits donations for her for-profit effort and holds herself up as an authority on dog bites, all the while quoting suspect “statistics”;
- a scrappy California veterinarian, herself a survivor of a vicious dog attack that might have turned lethal – who instead of blaming a breed, founded anti-breed-specific-legislation efforts, has ranted and raved effectively against BSL, and who is owned by one of the world’s sweetest and most unflappable rescued Pit Bull boys, named “Brad Pitt Bull”;
- a Denver Councilwoman who is working on a compromise to allow Pit Bulls back into Denver. However, some activists are critical of any compromise that includes special requirements or fees for any breed, or “temperament testing” conducted by laypeople – an ill conceived practice that is regularly condemned by the world’s most qualified animal and canine behaviorists.

Will protesters show up with Pit Bulls, or only empty leashes and collars meant to symbolize the almost 2,000 dogs Denver has murdered under its breedban?

Will protesters clean up any dog poo from the lawn of City Hall, or be tempted to throw it at a mayor or city attorney? Will media do a good job reporting on the issue, consult with true experts, and help expose Denver’s ignorance and baffling disregard for the Constitutional rights of its citizens? Will every animal lover urge a total economic boycott of Denver, until the municipal government stops terrorizing humans and persecuting dogs? Will every animal lover who can descend on Denver City Hall, August 25?

And for those who can’t attend, will you take a minute and civilly express yourselves to Denver public officials?

doug.kelley@denvergov.org; milehighmayor@ci.denver.co.us; michael.hancock@denvergov.org;

Pressure mounts to euthanize Denver's Pit Bull ban

August 18, 2009
By: Jennifer Fiala
For The VIN News Service


There’s a showdown brewing in Denver with its 20-year-old Pit Bull ban at the center, under attack from all sides, even from within the city’s own government as well as critics in veterinary medicine.

Renewed pressure to kill what some consider America’s harshest breed ban can be contributed to several factors, including new veterinarian-backed dog-bite statistics, lawsuits and political unrest. The impetus to rewrite or repeal the ordinance that’s spelled death for thousands of dogs in Denver also comes from costs tied to enforcing the law and fighting its legal challengers. Such spending — a total that city officials say hasn’t been tallied — attracts scrutiny as Denver faces a $120-million budget deficit.

Various Pit Bulls restrictions have cropped up in cities from California to Florida in recent years, with supporters arguing that such laws protect residents from dogs that are capable of killing people, especially children.

But perhaps nowhere in the United States has a breed-specific ordinance been more polarizing than in the Mile High City, where animal control officers reportedly have seized and euthananized nearly 2,000 Pit Bulls — or dogs considered to be Pit Bulls — since the ban’s enactment.

While Denver city councilwoman Carla Madison says she’s looking to relax the ordinance by providing loopholes for owners, a group of protesters gear up for an Aug. 25 demonstration in front of the Denver City and County Building.

Their goal: to push for change and fight breed-specific legislation.

“What I’m looking at doing is putting in place a responsible Pit Bull ownership act,” Madison tells the VIN News Service. “I would just like to see something happen.”

So would veterinarians like Dr. Susan Barden, a Denver practitioner and Veterinary Information Network (VIN) member who notes that with Pit Bulls migrating to the city’s Metro-area communities, there’s been no reported surge in suburban attacks.

“I was surprised when the city did this,” she says. “I’m a strong advocate for writing laws that hold owners responsible for their animals and don’t ban breeds.

“There are rare individuals in Denver who still have Pit Bulls or Pit Bull-type dogs, but I never see them in practice.”

Denver’s resolve to rid the city of Pit Bulls was born in the mid-1980s, following a brutal attack by a Pit Bull on a 54-year-old minister and the fatal mauling of a 3-year-old boy. Despite some resistance, city lawmakers passed an ordinance in 1989, that made it illegal to own, posses, keep, exercise control over, maintain harbor, transport or sell any dog found to posses “the majority of physical traits” associated with Pit Bulls — a brand often applies to the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier as well as American Bulldogs, in some cases. A later amendment to the ordinance implemented a grandfather clause, which allowed some banned dogs to remain in the city if their owners carried additional liability insurance that covered the animals.

Almost immediately, the legality of Denver’s ordinance came into question with a lawsuit that claimed the ban was too vague, unconstitutional, an abuse of the city’s police power and irrational. After all, categorizing a dog as a Pit Bull is at the city’s discretion.

For two years, the case traveled through the Denver’s legal system, stopping at the Colorado Supreme Court, where on Nov. 12, 1991, justices ruled in the city’s favor.

The ordinance held strong for more than a decade before Colorado legislators passed a law in 2004, which prohibited breed-specific restrictions statewide, effectively suspending Denver’s ban.

The reprieve proved to be short-lived. Almost immediately, officials challenged the new law with Kory Nelson, senior assistant city attorney, leading the fight to keep Denver's ordinance.

Nelson, who could not be reached for comment, has repeatedly asserted his belief that Pit Bull's are dangerous, even comparing them to grenades. In a recent interview with the The Denver Daily News about the effectiveness of the city's ban, he made the following statement:

“I don’t know anyone who argues that Pit Bull bans or restrictions are designed to prevent all dog bites. It’s designed to prevent maulings and death attacks by Pit Bulls. ... Once a grenade goes off, the damage is already done."

On April 7, 2005, Denver District Court Judge Martin F. Engelhoff ruled from the bench in the city’s favor, finding that the state could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no rationale for Denver’s Pit Bull ban, meaning they couldn’t prove that such dogs didn’t have a higher propensity to bite or attack humans.

It also was verified that Colorado’s constitution supports a municipality’s home-rule rights, upholding Denver’s authority to impose local control on Pit Bulls despite the state's new law deeming otherwise.

By May 2005, city animal control officials had warned residents that they would seize any Pit Bull found within the city’s limits and started rounding up outlawed animals. While Denver’s animal control authorities did not return VIN News Service interview requests, local media reports state that to date, authorities have euthanized roughly 1,800 dogs branded with the Pit Bull tag.

It’s an estimate that is corroborated by leaders in veterinary medicine.

“At one point, they killed around 1,200 in one year,” says Ralph Johnson, executive director of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA).

Reflecting on the initial Pit Bull seizures, Denver practitioner Barden says: “The sad thing is there was no recourse. We couldn’t help them.”

Those opposed to breed-specific legislation, including the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), have long argued that attacks by Pit Bulls are rare. Furthermore, breed bans are an inappropriate and ineffective approach to protecting public safety, says Dr. Gail Golab, head of AVMA’s Division of Animal Welfare.

That’s now corroborated by recent statistics from the Coalition of Living Safely with Dogs, a group backed by CVMA.

The coalition supports the view that Pit Bulls are victims of bad public policy based on false stereotypes. In fact, when it comes to the 2,000 dog bites studied in Colorado between July 2007 and June 2008, research shows Pit Bulls are not top attackers.

That title goes to Labrador Retrievers.

“It makes sense, seeing how widely represented the breed is,” CVMA head Johnson says. “So without a census of the composition of dog breeds, it’s unfair to any breed to identify it as a dangerous biter until you compare it to the census.

“To our knowledge, nobody has done that.”

Not even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has that kind of information. For more than a decade, CDC has reigned as the nation’s premier source for dog bite information, tracking dog bite reports and fatal cases. The agency purports that by age 12, nearly half of all children will have experienced a dog bite, and that dogs bite 4.5 million Americans each year.

In 2006, more than 31,000 dog-bite victims underwent reconstructive surgery to repair their injuries. Children between ages 5 and 9 are most at risk of being severely injured, CDC contends.

But it’s the CDC’s study on fatal dog attacks from 1979 to 1998, that points the finger at Pit Bulls and Rottweilers as the breeds most responsible for fatal attacks.

“That’s what happens when you try to extract breeds and not look at the study as a whole,” contends AVMA’s Golab, who co-authored a related CDC report. “People extracted one sentence and ran with it.”

What got lost, she says, is the fact that dog bite numbers largely correlate to a breed’s popularity, hence the more dogs of one breed, the more bites attributed to them.

While that detail has failed to convert backers of Denver’s ordinance, dog owners now suing the city hope to change that.

Last May, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals breathed new life into Dias v. Denver, a case filed by two Pit Bull owners who were forced to sell their homes and leave the city to avoid losing their dogs, and one owner whose dog was seized by animal control authorities.

The three-judge appeals panel gave the go-ahead to proceed with the case, following a federal judge’s dismissal of it in March. A trail date has not been set.

Sonya Dias, the plaintiff for whom the lawsuit is named, describes her dog as lovable with Pit Bull-like characteristics and recalls racing to sell her turn-of-the-century loft in 2005, when Denver’s ban was reenacted.

“For nine months, I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to walk him; I had to hide my dog,” she says. “I had a contingency plan for if I ever ran into an animal control officer.

“In Denver, owning a Pit Bull is about the equivalent of someone running a meth lab. They are quite literally knocking on people’s doors rounding up good family dogs.”

Dias estimates that the lawsuit, funded by donations, has cost more than $100,000 in legal fees to date. The civil rights action calls for an unspecified amount in damages and attorneys fees, including compensation for “emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life and other pain and suffering ...”

“I just can’t believe that in 2009, this is as far as we’ve come; that Denver says this is the best it can do,” Dias says of the ban. “It’s crazy.”

One dog dies, others rescued from hot cars

SEATTLE -- Seattle city officials said animal control officers responded to at least four separate reports of animals left in hot vehicles on Sunday.

One pit bull died while left in a car parked on Western Avenue. A police report said officers found the pit bull in a hot car with scratch marks throughout the interior "as if the animal was trying to escape" along with saliva, blood and vomit.

"These are all signs of animals that really suffered from heat stress," said Don Jordan with the Seattle Animal Shelter. "When it gets to be that hot that's when an animal will start suffering from heat frustration. Their organs start to shut down and then brain death and then they die."

Meanwhile, Jerry Gresham had just parked his motorcycle on his way to Hempfest when he saw the pit bull locked in another car and flagged down a nearby police officer, who tracked down the dog's owner.

"The police officer told me that (the owners') response was, 'Oh we left plenty water for him.' That was just a stupid statement in my opinion," Gresham said.

Officials said in all of the Sunday incidents the pet owners were from out of the area and attending Hempfest.

Another dog was rescued when police officers broke into an SUV Sunday evening after people reported seeing a dog overheating inside.

The SUV was parked under the Alaskan Way Viaduct near the Seattle Aquarium, and officials said the dog was left inside for quite a while.

After police broke out a window, animal control officers took the dog to a vet. Officers also found a cat inside, in addition to a bowl of water and some food.

Three dogs and two cats that were rescued from the vehicles are in the care of animal control officials. We're told they are expected to be OK and will be returned to their owners, who will likely get a warning.

White County Commission refuses to ban pit bulls; matter under study

By Associated Press

3:02 AM CDT, August 17, 2009
SPARTA, Tenn. (AP) — The White County Commission has encouraged residents to suggest ways to reduce the pit bull population.

The commissioners declined to ban the breed on the advice of County Attorney Gary Dodson, who said it would not be legal unless the county was zoned properly.

Sheriff Oddie Shoupe had asked the commission to address the matter because of recent attacks on citizens and officers.

According to the Cookeville Herald-Citizen, commissioners acknowledged that there is a vicious dog problem needing attention.

They will review the situation at their next meeting.

___

Information from: Cookeville Herald-Citizen, http://www.herald-citizen.com/

Pit Bull Fighting Makes Adoption Difficult

Many watched the 60 Minutes interview Sunday night with Michael Vick. The football player opened up for the first time about an elaborate dog fighting operation he ran, and ultimately, served prison time.

"I thought it was cool. I thought it was fun," Vick said.

On 60 Minutes Vick came clean about an interstate dog fighting ring he ran on his Virginia farm. During a 2007 raid, investigators discovered 66 dogs there - many of them abused.

"Beating them, shooting them, electrocuting them, drowning them, horrific things Michael," the 60 Minutes reporter said.

"It's wrong man," Vick said.

Vick's story highlights a national problem, which includes Middle Tennessee.

"We estimate there are 40,000 professional dog fighters in the country, and perhaps 100,000 street fighters. We're talking about something that's occurring in every part of the country," said Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society President.

Pit bulls are bred for fighting, but have a short shelf-life.

"A lot of those dogs are abandoned very quickly, they end up in shelters," said LeAnn McCullough with the U.S. Humane Society.

Hundreds of pit bulls pour into Metro Nashville's animal control every month. It's estimated these dogs make up 60 percent of the animals they take in monthly.

"On top of that you have this image that dog fighting creates of these pit bulls, and it's an image of a violent dog that's a weapon instead of a companion. It makes people scared to adopt them," McCullough said.

Because of their violent background, these dogs are just about un -adoptable.

"Can we really safely put them out in the neighborhood, would you want them next door? Most people would be very fearful for their own pets," said Judy Ladebauche with Metro Animal Control.

So at Metro Nashville Animal Control, the hundreds of pit bulls that come every month, just about all of them are euthanized.

"The fault lies with the people who had them to begin with, and created a dog that can be deemed dangerous," Ladebauche said.

Experts said those pit bulls have little chance for rehabilitation -unless a rescue group works with them. Then they can make great pets!

Champion of underdogs saves pit bulls, parolees

LOS ANGELES -- Pit bulls and parolees. Tia Maria Torres has opened her heart and home to the unwanted.

On 17 acres in the rugged terrain of Canyon Country, Torres provides a place to live or work for six parolees, 225 pit bulls, 204 volunteers, two French bulldogs, 19 cats, a husband and four kids.

Torres, 49, started Villalobos Rescue Center - the largest pit bull rescue in the United States - 14 years ago. She added ex-cons three years ago with prison pen pal and tattoo artist Aren Marcus Jackson, who would become her second husband.

But the rescue's been a money pit requiring creative financing. She tried to open a brothel to pay the bills, but it burned down. So now she's turning to reality TV - Animal Planet's "Pit Bulls and Parolees," which airs next month - to help cover the $20,000 in monthly bills (including a ton of dog food a week) and an ever-growing $25,000 vet tab.

If it had worked out otherwise, she jokes the show would have been called "Pit Bulls, Parolees and Prostitutes."

"I was almost a madam," Torres said. "Somebody told me then that I was trying to open a cathouse to support my doghouse."

10 adoptions a month

Adoptions average 10 a month recently, but they are running close to their 250 capacity. "If I took every dog I got a call on, I'd be taking in 100 a week," Torres said.

Producer Michael "MikeyD" Dinco was a student in a pit bull class Torres taught years ago. During a visit after the parolee program started, he knew he had to film a TV pitch.

The show was developed around the time NFL quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting case showed how pit bulls had become victims of humans who electrocuted, drowned, beat and hanged them.

"As horrible as it was, it changed everything for the pit bull. Shelters are looking at the dogs differently, the public has a lot more empathy and adoption rates are going up," Torres said. "The dogs that died at his hands were the sacrificial lambs. Almost like war heroes, they died for the rest of the dogs."

Even so, about 13,000 pit bulls were euthanized in Los Angeles County last year, city and county statistics show.

To some, the dogs will always be better off dead. Torres has been targeted by "haters" who picket her home, jam her e-mail and hound her.

They are outnumbered, though.

Parolee Armando Galindo, 39, has been with Torres for 16 months, after serving 3½ years for forgery. A counselor referred him - it didn't matter there was no pay.

"I had given up hope basically," Galindo said. "All I needed was somebody to give me an opportunity and tell me I still had value and could do something with my life."

The television show will focus on the interaction of the dogs and men. "The dogs bring out the best in these guys," Torres said. Her daughters, - Tania, twins Kanani and Keli'i and Mariah - also star.

Animal Planet bills the show as "a chance at redemption, rehabilitation and rebirth for both man and man's best friend."

The parolees work for food, shelter, gas, cigarettes and the dogs. "We call them the baddest good guys in town. They are polite, thankful. They are two-legged versions of the dogs we take in," Torres said.

Only two of 20 have had to go back to prison.

Each episode will feature one dog, one rescue, one adoption and the drama and chaos at the center, located 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Torres' main dog, Lefty, is no stranger to show business. He appeared with Justin Timberlake in "Alpha Dog," the story of Jesse James Hollywood.

Playing out in court

"Pit Bulls and Parolees" will also spend time in court, where her husband is fighting a possession of stolen property rap.

He and Torres became pen pals in 2001 while he was serving a 14-year sentence for a shootout with Orange County sheriff's deputies. They married on Halloween 2006 after he was paroled on the assault with a deadly weapon conviction. But he was arrested a year later and blamed when one of the parolees was found with a pair of driver's licenses, Torres said.

Bills have been harder to pay with him in jail. Last year, she refinanced her house and used grants, donations and her pay from training and boarding dogs.

Volunteers helped too - they come every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Carol Mallet, a Marie Callender's server from Lancaster, has been going every Saturday for 18 months.

"I didn't think I'd go back after the first time," she said. "But they get in your heart. They love you. There's no reason they should love human beings because they've been so horribly abused. Yet they do, unconditionally."

Torres said she grew up in an affluent neighborhood but ran away at 17, ending up in the San Fernando Valley living with friends. Her gangbanger boyfriend (her oldest daughter's father) was shot by rivals on his mother's doorstep, and although he survived, he disappeared when his daughter was 3.

Torres turned to youth counseling, spent six years in the Army and worked for Juvenile Hall. She also got her first pit bull, a 3-year-old she named Tatanka.

She learned about pit bulls from Tatanka and about parolees from Jackson. About the same time, Tatanka died and Jackson was jailed.

"It's tough," she said, "and if it's hard for me, I can imagine how it is for these dogs and the guys."

Posted in News, National on Saturday, August 15, 2009 1:30 pm Updated: 9:45 am.
Share This Story

Dog attacks as unpredictable as they are rare

By CHRISTIAN BOONE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



What caused a generally docile pack of dogs to maul a UGA librarian and her husband, a former professor at the university, will never be known, but slight changes to routine may have precipitated the onslaught.

“One possibility could be that the animals perceived an invasion of territory,” said Bonnie Beaver, a professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University.

Sherry Schweder, 65, was looking for one of her six dogs when she was attacked, presumably by 14 mongrels who roamed the rural strip of Oglethorpe County where the deceased couple lived. The canines were fed by her former neighbor, who had only recently moved away due to health problems.

It’s believed Schweder and her husband, Lothar Schweder, 77, had been dead for at least 12 hours by the time their bodies were found around 9 a.m. Saturday by pair of visiting Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Predatory behavior tends to take place usually around dawn or dusk,” said John Ciribassi with the American College of Veterinary Behaviors.

The Schweders often walked the dirt road where they were attacked. The dogs were familiar to them and others who lived in the area, neighbors say.

“We never had a problem with them,” said Lanier Bridges, who lives on Elberton Road in Lexington.

But canines are keen to even the slightest changes.

“In a wild group of animals, members of the pack will spend different parts of the day in different territory,” Beaver said. “If their walks normally came at a different time of day, this may have been perceived as a threat by the dogs.”

Packs are considerably less predictable than individual canines. If one dog acts irrationally, the others are likely to follow.

“Often it takes only one or two dogs to spark the kind of attack you’re describing,” Ciribassi said. “It doesn’t take much.”

The pack that killed the Schweders was unusually large. which was attributed to the feedings administered by the neighbor. He was still feeding the dogs even after he moved away, and they did not appear malnourished.

“But if that normal food supply was interrupted only slightly, that might have caused them to get aggressive,” Ciribassi said.

August has been an especially deadly month for dog attacks in the U.S. Four days before the Schweders were mauled, a 20-year-old Virginia man was killed by pit bulls owned by his brother. And on Aug. 15, a 3-day-old infant was snatched from his crib in West Virginia by his parents’ pit bull.

The Schweders deaths were anomalies; most victims know the dogs who attack them, Beaver said.

According to dogbitelaw.com, there have been 21 fatal canine attacks so far in 2009, just two fewer than in 2008. However, there is no single clearinghouse that records such incidents.

“The data is fuzzy,” Beaver said.

If you ever find yourself on the receiving end of an attack, try not to run and avoid eye contact, experts say.

“That’s easier said than done,” Beaver said, “especially when you have a pack of dogs coming at you. You’re acting on instinct at that point.”

The dogs that killed the Schweders were euthanized Tuesday at the Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter.

Pit bull rescuer: Breed ban isn't the answer

Megan Trotter
Herald-Citizen Staff
Sunday, Aug 16, 2009

WHITE COUNTY -- Many people in White and surrounding counties rejoiced last week when the White County Steering Committee announced to concerned dog owners that steps could not be taken to ban the pit bull breed without zoning in the county.

Jodi Preis of Jackson County was one of those dog owners. As the owner of her own rescue organization, Bless the Bullys, Preis currently has 11 pit bulls that she cares for herself at her home. She firmly believes that breed specific legislation is not the answer.

"Dogs are a product of their owners. If you're a good owner, you're going to make sure your dog is cared for, it's always under your control, it's always in your yard," she said. "Pit bull owners aren't the only ones guilty of being irresponsible, unfortunately. I commend Sheriff (Oddie) Shoupe's desire to work with the citizens of White County in creating an animal control ordinance that is enforceable and effective and will ultimately result in a safer community for people and animals alike. The issue of 'problem dogs' cannot be tackled without first addressing the issue of 'problem dog owners.' We must invest time and effort to educate dog owners on responsible ownership practices, and hold those who choose to be irresponsible accountable for their actions or the actions of their dogs."

One of her current rescues, JoeJoe, was found chained to a house that his owner set on fire. The dog was badly burned and still sports a hairless spot under one of his eyes. Preis took him in after seeing a photo of his injuries. Preis keeps all 11 of her dogs in separate cages large enough for a Great Dane, and lets one or two at a time out to play in her back yard. She says she rarely has a problem with aggression between dogs, and has never had a problem with her dogs being aggressive toward humans.

"You will very rarely run across a pit bull that is human-aggressive. If they are, it's a really good sign that the dog has been mistreated or it may have some really severe temperament issues," Preis said. "I hate talking about the dog-fighting aspect, but the dogs who had been raised to fight back in the early part of the century, they were still trained to be extremely human friendly. Because these people who were fighting them were fighting for money, fighting for dogs, and if the fight was not going the way they wanted, they wanted to be able to get into that pit and get in between the dogs and not be bitten."

Preis fell in love with the pit bull breed after adopting her first rescue, Tiffin, who is now 12 years old. She found him listed on an adoption Web site and knew right then that this was the dog for her.

"He looked pathetic. His backbone was sticking out, he had sores on his legs," she said. "I saw that dog and just thought, 'That dog needs me.'"

After bringing Tiffin home and introducing him to her family, Preis' mother started sending her Web pages filled with more homeless rescue dogs. Preis says that it became overwhelmingly obvious to her that more rescues were needed. After a while, she contacted a local rescue group and agreed to be the foster mom for two puppies.

"After you do it one time, you're hooked," she said. "There are times when I think, 'Holy cow, what am I doing? I've got all these dogs!' but I don't think I ever regretted anything I've done that would help an animal. You sacrifice a lot personally because you're always doing more for the dogs than you do for yourself. But you've helped animals to live and to find a better life and to find people who need them."

For more information about Bless the Bullys, visit www.blessthebullys.com.

Study: Chihuahuas most likely to bite

By Suzanne Sparhawk
Sunday, August 16, 2009

This country celebrates National Dog Bite Prevention Week every year in May.

During that time various organizations post helpful tips on how to protect yourself and your children from being bitten, along with a variety of graphic stories about individuals who had been attacked by dogs. Generally, we see nothing about the simple prevention methods of training and socializing dogs, or training children to interact safely with them.

For the last 20 years or so the most often selected dog bite prevention method has been to ban certain breeds or types of dogs. Anyone with any understanding of dog behavior will know that banning dogs has no effect on reducing bite incidents for the simple reason that all dogs, given the "right" set of circumstances, will bite. The only sure-fire way to prevent all dog bites is to eliminate all dogs from our society. But some are not satisfied with this method, and believe that there must be a better solution; one that solves the problem of poor communication between dogs and humans, and eliminates the risk of bites.

Since the majority of people do not want to live their lives without the company of dogs, it was deemed necessary to gather facts so that a more intelligent solution could be devised.

Colorado had instituted some of the most draconian laws that banned any dog that bore even the slightest resemblance to so-called "pit bull" types in a concerted, but failed, attempt to eliminate all dog bites. The Coalition for Living Safely With Dogs and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association joined together to conduct a two-year study about how likely any given dog is to bite, as part of their effort to overturn breed-specific legislation already passed in some states and many cities and prevent its imposition in additional places.

Their major finding so far is that all dogs will bite, and that circumstances under which the bite occurred are more pertinent than the breed or type of dog involved. This is good news for dogs, in that the study poked big holes in the theory that bites could be prevented simply by banning certain breeds or types of dogs. It also contained bad news in that the situation was shown to require far more sophisticated and far-reaching methods than simply banning one or more dogs.

Among facts discovered or confirmed are that the breed most likely to bite a veterinarian or groomer is the Smooth-Coat Chihuahua. It also confirmed that, refuting the myth that Pit Bull dogs can perform the most severe bites, the most damaging bites were administered by Lhasa Apsos. And to prove the egalitarian nature of dogs, about 40 percent of bites were inflicted by mutts and "designer dogs," slightly more than the percentage they make up in the general dog population.

The most common factor in dog bite incidents was that the dog was running loose and unsupervised, specifically while the dog was engaged in dog-on-dog aggression, or while exhibiting aggression protecting property, or during fear-based aggression.

So the true simple solution is not to ban certain dogs, but rather to require that no dog be allowed to roam loose.

New Hampshire has an exemplary dog control law, in that it requires all dogs to be confined on their owner's property and, when off its owner's property, to be under the direct control of an adult. This law was passed back in the early 1980s, and is a direct and major contributor to the relatively low number of bite incidents in this state, as well as to the reduction in litters of unwanted puppies.

Almost every municipality in the state has accepted this law. If yours has not, perhaps you should inquire as to why not? Most bites occur in the dog's home, and most involve aggression while the dog is protecting its property. Children are bitten more often, but much less severely, than adults.

Generally these bites occur because children are not taught how to interact with dogs, or are left alone and unsupervised with one or more dogs. Children must be taught not to attempt to remove their dog's food or toys, and not to physically abuse dogs while in play. Dogs need to be socialized and trained so that their behavior is reliable in all situations.

Arrested jailer denies pit bulls were used for fights

Pair charged with cruelty to animals in Whitehaven

A corrections deputy accused of dog fighting and animal abuse denied on Friday that he fights the 14 pit bulls taken from his Whitehaven home.

Jamario Taylor, 30, and Franchesca Morgan, 36, were arrested Thursday when Memphis police officers investigated a complaint at 5254 Whitworth and found the dogs either in the house or chained in the back yard.

Taylor and Morgan were charged with a dozen counts of cruelty to animals, 14 counts of keeping an unvaccinated dog and one count of animal fighting.

"I am not a dog fighter," Taylor said Friday evening. "They want to stereotype anyone with pit bulls as a drug dealer or dog fighter."

According to a police affidavit, a dozen of the dogs appeared to be malnourished, others were chained so that they were standing in mud several inches deep, and six had what appeared to be bite wounds.

Detectives also found a dog treadmill, weight sled, mattresses that appeared to be blood-stained, and break sticks, which are used to pry fighting dogs apart.

One of the sticks was inscribed "Screw PETA," apparently a reference to the animal rights group. Four dog fighting magazines were also found.

Standing outside his house, Taylor said he raises pit bulls and enters them in dog shows. He said he has been showing dogs since 2003 and showed off several trophies and ribbons. He also had a magazine that pictured him with a prize-winning pit bull on the cover.

"I don't have vicious dogs," he said.

Taylor also denied that any of his dogs were malnourished. He said the treadmill and weight sled were used to strengthen his dogs for shows.

The blood on the mattress was from his dogs, Taylor said, explaining that on Thursday he broke up a fight between two dogs, got blood on his hands and accidentally wiped the blood on the mattress.

"(The dogs) are part of our family," Taylor said. "They live in the house and they sleep in the bed with us."

Neither Taylor nor Morgan could supply documentation that the 14 dogs had been vaccinated.

Taylor has been a jailer since 2005. He has been relieved with pay, pending an investigation.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office will begin its own investigation to determine if any departmental policies were violated, said spokesman Steve Shular.

Taylor has had several disciplinary infractions since he joined the department for paperwork and attendance issues and not being in proper uniform when arriving for work, Shular said.

Morgan and Taylor have each posted $10,000 bond.

A police spokeswoman said she didn't know what connection the suspects had to each other.

Protesters Blast Decision To Euthanize Pit Bull

cbs4.com

The Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation held a protest in front of the Miami-Dade Animal Services Shelter to voice their disapproval after a pit bull that attacked a mail carrier was euthanized. The mail carrier, 53-year-old Georgina Pacheco, was making deliveries in the Shenendoah area of Miami when she was attacked by the brown and white pit bull named "Blue."

Miami police officer Jeffrey Giordano said the dog was a Staffordshire terrier, one of the largest varieties of pit bulls. Animal control officers took the dog away Wednesday evening.

Blue was to be quarantined for 10 days before officials would determine if it would be destroyed on grounds that it was a "dangerous animal." However, by Wednesday night, the CBS4 Newsroom received reports that the dog had already been euthanized.

Saturday's protesters said Fernandez was forcefully pressured by Miami-Dade Animal Services and threatened to forcefully take the dog and put Fernandez in prison.

Had the dog escaped death, the owner would have been ordered to remove it from the county. Pit Bulls are illegal in Miami-Dade.

The owner, Omar Fernandez, denies the dog is a pit bull, and says he is sweet and mild. He was furious Wednesday night, when he learned Miami-Dade Animal Services put his dog to sleep.

'UnderDawgz’ to reality stars

TheSignal.com

By Michelle Sathe

Her name was Tatanka and she was just another shelter dog with a sad story, until being adopted by Tia Torres in 1993.

"She loved my kids. I had no preconceived notions about her breed," Torres recalled.

Tatanka was a pit bull, Torres' first, but certainly not her last.

Since adopting Tatanka, Torres has taken in thousands of pit bulls at her non-profit, no-kill Villalobos Rescue Center in Agua Dulce, where more than 200 dogs currently await adoption.

"They're like Gremlins, they just keep on multiplying," she said.

Torres takes in her charges from all over the country - fighting dogs, shelter dogs, hurricane dogs. Like Tatanka, who was the only living thing left after a double homicide at a methamphetamine laboratory, they all have tales to tell. Soon, some of them will become stars on national TV.

Villalobos Rescue Center, staffed by Torres, her children, and six ex-convicts, will be the topic of "Pit Bulls & Parolees," a reality series based on her "UnderDawgz" program to air on Animal Planet in September.

Torres hopes the show will give people a new perspective on pit bulls, which have the unfortunate distinction of being the number one breed put down at shelters across the country, and the staff who care for them.

"This is a place of hope, of both people and dogs getting another chance," Torres said. "How can you condemn these dogs or these guys for trying to do right? To right their wrongs?"

Mouths to feed
Each day, Torres arises to the needs of 200 dogs, which includes 2,100 pounds of food a week.

Recently, they received a 3-ton donation of treats from Rachael Ray's Nutrish brand dog food. Ray, the famous Food Network star, cookbook author, TV show host and magazine publisher, has a pit bull of her own named Isaboo.

The donation is a welcome gift, said Torres, who will use the treats for training and as a food supplement. Her dog food sponsor has recently dropped off, citing the bad economy, and donations are way down.

Still, she trudges on. There are mouths to feed and kennels to clean.

"Sometimes I think, I am so tired, I can't do this anymore," Torres said. "But it's like being a mom, I have no choice. I have to get up and take care of them. It's not even a question."

Help comes from her six workers, parolees who often have a hard time finding work once they re-enter society.

"The Antelope Valley is filled with them," Torres said. "A lot of them write me from jail to see if they can work here."

The men are often referred to Torres through their parole officer and she has many names on a waiting list. Currently, she can only afford a small staff, though she dreams of having one worker per 10 to 20 dogs.

As she makes her rounds, Torres greets each dog by name. Scooby, a blind, massive red and white male, is a particular favorite.

"He's tough as nails," Torres said with pride.

When asked why she loves pit bulls, she doesn't hesitate to answer.

"I like their looks, they're just something so cool about them," Torres said. "But my favorite thing, ironically, is how disloyal they are. My dogs will go off with anyone. They love everyone. They're so friendly, it's comical."

The Vick contradiction
NFL star Michael Vick was indicted in July 2007 for sponsoring a grisly dog-fighting ring that included 55 pit bulls. Evidence of cruelty and the remains of seven dogs were found on the Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks' property in Virginia, sparking a wave of shock within the sports community and a nationwide outrage among dog lovers.

Surprisingly, according to Torres, the aftermath of the Vick case has been positive for the pits at Villalobos. Over the last two years, adoptions have increased from two per month to the current average of 10.

"I've seen a huge difference in the way people view pit bulls. Maybe they realize the problem is mostly with the owners, not with the breed," Torres said. "Even shelters, especially in Los Angeles, are getting proactive about how to deal with the breed. Pit bulls are becoming a favorite within that system."

Since 1999, Torres has partnered with Los Angeles City Animal Services to provide a free eight week training course for pit bull owners.

Conducted at the North Central Animal Shelter near downtown, Torres helps trains her human students to take charge of their dogs. Included are basics such as sit, down, and stay, as well as how to specifically deal with aggression issues - not towards humans, but towards other dogs.

"Pit bulls can get along with other dogs. It's just normal when they don't," she said.

Walking it off
At Villalobos, aggressive dogs are kept up in front of the 4.5 acre facility in 12' x 12' kennels, where there is less noise and more space for them to become acclimated.

Further up the hill, in the garage and other covered structures on the properties, most of the dogs are kept in 6' x 8' kennels close to one another.

A rotating roster of 160 volunteers comes to the remote location three times a week to walk and socialize the dogs.

Tyr, a large white male, is hanging out in the front open area with a volunteer approximately 10 yards from another pit bull.

"That amazes me," Villalobos said as Tyr casually observed his canine counterparts. "When he first came here, it took two people to walk him. There was no way could he be near another dog."

Jeremy Griffin of Saugus, a tattooed young man who works in a plastic injection molding shop, said he considers volunteering with the dogs a break from his every-day routine.

Griffin started volunteering at Villalobos after his parents adopted a 9-year old pit bull named Lucas from the rescue.

"His tail hasn't stopped wagging yet," Griffin said with a smile.

Today, Griffin has just finished walking a black female pit bull. The duo rested under a shade tree for a few minutes before the dog had to return to her kennel.

Griffin petted the pit affectionately. He is teaching her not to jump and how to remain calm in new situations. Anything to help make them more adoptable, Griffin said.

"Pits have so much more personality than other dogs, they just need a responsible owner that gets them," he said. "Pits are super cool."

For more information on Villalobos Rescue Center, visit www.vrcpitbull.com.

Dog fighting victim found barely alive in Southeast DC

DC Animal Welfare Examiner

On a routine trip to throw her garbage in the community dumpster, a female DC resident was horrified to find a mangled pitbull inside the dumpster, wrapped in a plastic bag. The dog’s head was outside the bag, and although bloodied from gashes and cuts, was clearly still alive and needed emergency help. The resident contacted the Washington Humane Society (WHS), who sent out an officer to evaluate the situation.

According to WHS, “Officer Eve Russell dug through the bags of garbage trying to find her body to pick her up and pull her out, when she realized she was sealed in the plastic bag, except for her head and left front leg, where it appeared as though she had chewed holes in the bag from the inside. The bag was wrapped tightly to her body with duct tape.”

This disgusting disregard for the still-conscious animal supports the findings of the Humane Society of the United States, which states that “often the owner of the losing dog will shoot or abandon the injured dog to die slowly from injuries.”

Thankfully this caring DC resident spotted the suffering dog and called authorities, who have since taken the dog to an emergency animal hospital where she remains in intensive care. The Washington Humane Society has named this survivor “Trooper,” true to her nature. Even as her body was lifted from the dumpster, the poor girl was too weak to stand, but attempted to wag her tail.

WHS is offering a $1500 award for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for this horrendous crime.


Photo of Trooper courtesy of the Washington Humane Society.

CNN, BBC, SKY News Media Giants Not Interested in "Bringing Bruce Home" or a Dog's Right to Live

"Is the United Kingdom losing the right to call itself a "Nation of Animal Lovers"- and is the United States right behind them? Major media giants CNN, BBC, SKY News fail miserably in covering a story that people want to hear"...

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated." Ghandi

Shame on you Northern Ireland
Shame on your bureaucracy
Shame on Northern Ireland for the neglect and cruelty inflicted on an innocent at the hands of a government agency
Shame on you Northern Ireland..your sadness as a nation for the whole world to bear witness...

These are just some of the hundreds if not thousands of comments, and statements being written in blogs, social networking sites, and feeds in support of this dog's tragic tale. The media attention is gaining momentum and starting to multiply at an alarming rate in aide of an innocent dog's life.

The life and dog in question belongs to "Bruce", a young, once-healthy and fit Staffordshire Bull Terrier who was living happily with his family in Northern Ireland.

His crime? None other than being a victim of his own appearance and physical characteristics. Bruce has never shown aggression, attacked, bitten, or so much as growled at a human or animal.

His sentence? Bruce is condemned and scheduled to die at the hands of the Northern Ireland government agency regulating animal welfare and public safety, at a time of their choosing.

On September 19, 2007, A family's once quiet and peaceful world was shattered when council officials seized and confiscated Bruce, their pet, for being an alleged "pit bull type".

Bruce was taken and isolated to a government operated kennel, while his owner was taken to court for owning a banned type of dog under the Northern Ireland's Dangerous Dog Law.

Neglect, mistreatment, animal cruelty at the hands of a government agency
Since his incarceration in September of 2007, two years have now past and Bruce's owners have been granted only two visits during this time.

According to his owners and photographed evidence taken during these visits, Bruce's care is questionable and distressing, to say the least. His once healthy proportioned body is now dangerously underweight. Where he once had muscle mass, he now has bones showing. His once beautiful fur, now shows open skin sores, and scarring through out it. His nose and muzzle, show evidence of a large gaping sore festering with infection that will not heal.

But, most tragic of all is that this dog once had a lively, wagging tail so evident of his affection, sadly it is now amputated due to infection.

Tucson Dogs Examiner

American Bully the New Pit Bull?

NEWSCHANNEL9.COM



Menace or Mis-understood? That's the question a dog show in Dalton is raising about pit bulls.

Groups of people showed off their dogs at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center this afternoon.

The room was full with a new breed of pit bull called the American Bully.

"They are great around the kids, they are protective when they need to be, people give them such a bad rap," says dog owner, Aimee Jones.

The rap these dogs have, some would say is earned honestly.

According to a Center of Disease Control report on www.Dogbitelaw.com out of 1,000 dog bites in 2007, 33 of them were deadly.

In addition, 74% of those those deaths are from Rotweilers, Presa Canarios and pitbulls.

But the people participating in the American Bully Kennel Club says their new breed is all bark and no bite.

"Anything that has a touch of terrer in it and looks like a pit bull has become a nuisance and a problem in society and that's not what they are," says dog owner, Kris Santamarina.

"Those dogs are bread wrong, we've crossed pit bulls with a few other dogs and we have now what's called an American Bully," says Jaiy Bradie, event organizer.

Organizers of the American Bully Kennel Club hope shows, that highlights the bully's beauty will change their image.

During the show, kennels from all over the nation parade their dogs in front of crowds and demonstrate their gentle nature.

"We are trying to save the breed and part of saving the breed is changing the image and perspective of the breed. Peolpe have to see see that its not the dogs its the owners, the way they are trained and the way they are trained that makes them what they are," says James Cooper, Registrar of the American Kennel Club.

"You dont raise em to be mean a ferocious and attack people, they need love kisses and hugs," says dog owner, Paula Lowrance.

Guy Bilyeu with Chattanooga's Humane Society says smaller dogs like chihuahua's are actually responsible for most dog bites and the reason pit bull like dog bites result in death is because they are much bigger.

Pit bull ban repeal eyed

Madison works on ordinance OK’ing dogs, with stipulations

A City Council member is working on an ordinance change that would allow pit bulls in Denver.

But repealing the city’s 20-year-old ban on pit bulls would come with many stipulations, such as requiring temperament testing, muzzling the dog, and requiring special licensing and insurance fees, to name a few proposed restrictions.

Councilwoman Carla Madison — who identifies herself as a “dog lover” who is opposed to the city’s breed-specific legislation — said the idea is only in very preliminary stages, being discussed with fellow Council members, the mayor, animal control officials and city attorneys.

“For me personally, it’s not about the dogs, but about the people who own the dogs,” said Madison.

Being called the Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Act, support for the ordinance change is growing with a national pro-pit bull group based out of California called ROVERlution. Founder of the group, David Edelstein, said the city could help close its $120 million budget shortfall if it only repealed the breed ban.

“They’re spending about a quarter of a million dollars per year (on enforcing this ban). But has it alleviated dog bites in Denver? No, not even close,” said Edelstein.

City officials were unable to present the Denver Daily News with a cost analysis of how much it costs to enforce the ban, stating that there is no specific line item for the enforcement, and that the cost is part of overall animal control costs.

But Meghan Hughes, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Health, said ROVERlution never contacted her office in conducting its cost analysis. Records provided by Hughes show that 2,011 pit bulls have been euthanized by the city.

Regardless, Edelstein says the city can both save and make money by repealing the ban and then issuing fines and fees related to an ordinance change.

“Now is the perfect time to use home rule for something productive and in the name of public welfare,” he wrote to city officials. “This law and its authority has been abused long enough.”


Mayor considering it

Mayor John Hickenlooper told the Denver Daily News that his office is considering Madison’s proposal.

“This is something we will certainly look at carefully,” he said. “In the end, we want to do what’s best to maintain a safe city for everyone.”

Hughes was unable to say with certainty whether a ban on pit bulls has made the city safer.

“I don’t know that there’s one single answer to that. I think it all depends on the way you look at it,” she said. “Technically, there hasn’t been any serious bites since the ban was put into place; however, it’s hard to tell when you really don’t know how many dogs are out there.”

Denver actually has a higher than normal rate of dog hospitalizations than any other area of Colorado, despite the ban, according to the National Canine Research Council.


Does ban work?

Several other towns and cities in Colorado — including Englewood and Lakewood — have examined dog bite data and decided breed-specific legislation does not work.

Ban advocates, however, point out that there has not been a serious pit bull attack in Denver since the 1989 mauling of Rev. Wilbur Billingsley, who was left with more than 70 bites and two broken legs. The incident resulted in the City Council banning pit bulls from the city.

Local ban foes declined to comment on Madison’s proposal, saying it is too premature.

Meanwhile, three former Denver residents have filed a lawsuit to overturn the ban. In May, a federal appeals court in Denver gave the go-ahead to challenge the law in court. The three-judge panel overturned a March 2008 decision by a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit.


Looking to save money

Facing budgetary pressures, sources — who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press — said city officials have expressed an interest in finding a fast compromise to squash the lawsuit and stop mounting legal fees. A compromise could include fast-tracking the Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Act.

But supporters are sure to come across opposition, including from inside the city attorney’s office. Kori Nelson, a Denver assistant city attorney who led the city’s fight to re-enact its ban in 2004, has on numerous occasions told the Denver Daily News that pit bulls are a unique breed with inherently dangerous characteristics.

“It’s designed to prevent maulings and death attacks by pit bulls,” he said of the ban.

City attorneys are still trying to determine whether the ban must first be repealed before it can be changed, said Madison.


Madison seeks input

The councilwoman says she has been receiving letters concerning her proposal from across the nation, but very few from Denver citizens. She is asking for Denverites to send her their opinions so that she and the rest of Council can make an informed decision.

“I’m just a dog lover, and I have had pit mixes and have known pits that are great dogs, and I know people that have had to leave the city because of their dog,” said Madison. “But, ya know, people snap. Some people say that pit bulls have this internal negative thing that they can just all of a sudden be nice family dogs and then one day just snap. But I think that could happen to anyone at any time.”

Chained-up pit bull dies in 100-degree heat

KATU.COM



SHERIDAN, Ore. - A Sheridan woman was charged with animal neglect after Yamhill County Sheriff Deputies and Animal Control officers found her 3-year old pit bull, Zeus, dead in her yard.

Investigators said it was a 102 degrees outside on Monday when they went to Jeanette Bell's home on Monroe Street.

Deputies observed Zeus lying in vomit in a doghouse with a chain wound tightly around his neck, restricting him from access to water outside. Authorities also noted family members cooling off in an above-ground pool 30 feet from where Zeus apparently died.

Bell and her boyfriend, Chris Morris, claim Zeus was well cared for and given plenty of food and water daily.

"This ticket is wrong," said Morris. "The cops told me to keep him on a chain because he's a pit bull. I keep him on a chain. Now I'm getting a neglect ticket? This is (expletive deleted)."

The family believes Zeus was poisoned by a neighbor, given the blood they observed trickling from his nose as they buried him in a friend's backyard. However, they're not planning a necropsy to prove it.

Neighbor Beth Wolfe said she has fed Zeus scraps and reached over the fence to put pans of water out for him. "That's just torture, I think," she said, rolling her eyes at the idea that she poisoned Zeus. "I felt ashamed to think I didn't do something more for the dog and to let the dog die in this heat."

Authorities said they went to the home after receiving a call from a concerned neighbor. Yamhill County animal control has been to the home once before, on an unlicensed dog issue. Jeanette Bell has no prior animal neglect charges.

Hearing the details of the alleged incident, Andrea Kozil, co-founder of the non-profit organization Fences for Fido, said, "It just makes me want to scream to the whole world, please pay attention because we're suffering [in this heat] and they're suffering. They need water. They need a way to cool down, especially dogs that don't perspire."

In this case, Zeus was enclosed in the yard with a fence, but chained to his doghouse. Fences for Fido advocates against the chaining-up of family pets. The group builds fences at no-cost for dog owners who can't afford one, allowing dogs more freedom to roam in their yard and avoiding potential neglect. You can learn more about their organization at www.fencesforfido.org.

Best Friends Animal Society: Dog Fighting Crackdowns Emphasize Need for Laws to Protect Innocent Animals Thrust into Harm's Way

Laws in 13 states (Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) either label the victims of dog fighting as dangerous dogs and/or require their euthanasia.

Best Friends has for the last 19 months been in the national spotlight for its care of nearly half the animals seized from Michael Vick's dog fighting operation. Considered the most challenging cases, these dogs would have been euthanized if Best Friends had not accepted them at their 3,700-acre sanctuary in southern Utah.

Inside information led to dogfighting crackdown

ST. LOUIS

A federal crackdown on criminal dogfighting last week relied on informants who led undercover authorities to associates in their bloodsport — breeders, promoters, referees, gamblers and fighters.

Papers filed recently in federal court in Kansas City indicate that investigators began talking to an informant in October 2007.

The seasoned dogfighter, a 12-year veteran, provided names of associates in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. They were among 26 people arrested last week following federal raids in at least seven states.

Undercover agents captured the fights, conversations and tours of dogfighting operations on hidden audio and visual recording equipment.

Court papers say the fights drew as much as $5,000 in wagers. They said some participants burned the bodies of underperforming dogs to destroy evidence and avoid being busted like NFL star Michael Vick.

Foley man among those arrested by FBI in largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history

Lincoln County Journal

St. Louis- Officers from multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies arrested five Missouri men and seized more than 150 Pit Bull Terriers in an early morning raid last Wednesday on several locations involved in dog fighting ventures, Acting United States Attorney Michael W. Reap announced on July 8.

Before the raids were over, 26 men in five states were arrested and over 378 dogs involved in fighting were seized.

While they are being cared for, each dog will be evaluated by animal behavior experts from the Humane Society and other organizations to determine their suitability for possible placement with rescue groups or individual adopters. The Humane Society of Missouri will make recommendations about each animal to the U.S. District Court which will make the final decision for each animal.


"We are committed to giving dogs who have come from such horrible abuse the absolute best chance for a good life," said Debbie Hill, vice president of Operations for the Humane Society of Missouri and director of the temporary shelter. "It is a tragedy that because of mistreatment by humans for financial gain and so-called sport, many dogs used in animal fighting may not ever be able to be placed in a home situation."

Pit bull dogs rescued in raid face uncertain future

It was the most comprehensive dog fighting bust in U.S. history as law enforcement agencies from eight different states joined forces to raid multiple dog fighting operations on July 8, 2009. To date 30 people have been arrested and 400-plus dogs have been rescued.

The focus now needs to be on the uncertain future of the rescued pit bull dogs and the decisions the Humane Society of Missouri, who is sheltering the dogs, will make on their behalf.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is already making some disparaging comments about the future of the dogs, even tough the group has agreed to evalute each of the dogs to determine if they can be rehabilitated.

Pet Rescue Examiner

A second chance at life:Humane Society accepts rescued pit bulls

By CAROLE BRODSKY
Updated: 07/30/2009 08:23:42 AM PDT

for The Daily Journal

On July 8, federal, state and local law enforcement officers conducted simultaneous raids in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma following more than one year of investigation of what appears to be the largest dog-fighting ring in the United States. Nearly 400 pit bulls were seized, and the Humane Society of Missouri was faced with the heartbreaking task of evaluating which dogs could be rehabilitated and which would be euthanized.

Jett and Zena, two young pit bulls who were the victims of what the Humane Society of Missouri calls "a heinous blood sport," are now safe in the hands of compassionate handlers and volunteers at the Humane Society of Inland Mendocino County.

Leslie Dodds, a Humane Society volunteer, is specially trained to work specifically with pit bulls, and applauds the organization's board of directors for unanimously voting to accept Jett and Zena into their facility. "We worked with BAD RAP- Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls, who initially received 10 dogs from the raid," explains Dodds. The animals have been with the Humane Society for about one week.

"Jett has evidence of chemical burns on his back, and Zena has fur loss from being chained out," says Dodds, who is working one-on-one with the dogs. She has taken behavior academy courses, trained at BAD RAP and also works at the County's Animal Care and Control facility in its pit crew program. She is also a private dog trainer.

Dodds notes that many lessons about pit bulls were learned from the high-profile arrest and conviction of Michael Vick. As fans wrestle with their consciences about whether the former NFL player should be given a second chance, Dodds echoes the exact sentiment about pit bulls. Prior to the Vick case, dogs snatched up from dog fighting operations were routinely euthanized. "Some good came out of his case," says Dodds. Now dogs are evaluated to determine their level of damage and the possibility for rehabilitation. Jett and Zena are prime candidates for a happy life with loving owners.

The dogs will be great family pets, according to Dodds. Jett and Zena met for the first time when they were introduced at the shelter, and now they are inseparable. "Boy, are they in love!" says Dodds. "Jett loves the ladies. He is a little player," she laughs.

The pair, who were carefully evaluated by several agencies before being sent to the Humane Society, are not showing signs of aggression toward dogs. Pit bulls raised for dog fighting rarely show aggression toward humans, as they are trained to be "dog reactive."

Dodds will work extensively with the dogs, as well as with their future owners, to ensure a successful adoption. "They will be ready to go in a couple of weeks. I'm going to require the new owners to come in and train with us. We'll probably set up a foster with intent to own' situation for a couple of months, just to be sure it's a good fit."

Dodds believes from her own experience that the public is led to believe all dogs involved in fights are vicious. "That's just not true. The media sensationalizes stories regarding pit bulls. If Chihuahuas get into a fight, we don't read about it." Pit bulls, which were once labeled "America's Dog," brought over by immigrants and owned by farmers and families alike, were a revered family pet, and despite their controversial reputation, Dodds believes that like parents, pet owners are accountable for the behavior of their dog. "Dogs are very easy to read. Their body language is very clear. All you have to do is look. Dog owners know what faults their dog has. If you know your dog has an issue, it's your responsibility to pay attention to it."

She concurs that aggressive dogs are nearly impossible to re-train, but says Zena and Jett are cute, loving animals. "They are fantastic, balanced little dogs. They look at me and say, here I am, I love everybody.'"

It is very likely that both dogs have been infected with heartworms, which will involve a costly treatment. The dogs will also be spayed and neutered before being adopted. "The Humane Society deserves support," says Dodds, adding that she has received incalculable benefits from being involved with the organization. "For the 100 percent I give, I get 1,000 percent back in return." She encourages people to donate to help support these dogs and the other animals in the program. "Heartworm treatment costs about $800," says Dodds. Volunteers are welcome, and trainings are held on a regular basis. "We need all kinds of people: dog walkers and people to help with our cats. If you have time and passion, other people will follow."

Dodds is grateful that the public opinion about pit bulls seems to be shifting. "Five hundred pit bulls may not be able to be adoptable, but 100 of them will be. If we don't step up and help, who will? They deserve our compassion."

Humane Society of Inland Mendocino County: 485-0123 or humanesocietyimc.org

Seized pit bulls doing fine

Most sheltered in St. Louis area
By Rajah Maples
Friday, July 31, 2009 at 6:47 p.m.

The hundreds of dogs rescued in one of the largest dog-fighting rings in the U.S. are doing fine.

That's the word from an animal behavior specialist working with the animals, which are mostly pit bulls.

You'll recall about 500 dogs were seized from Missouri, Illinois and five other states earlier this month.

KHQA spoke with Dr. Randall Lockwood.

He couldn't be too specific about the dogs for legal reasons but says only a couple have had to be put down because of disease or injury.

The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering most of them in the St. Louis area.

The animals had temperament evaluations this past week, and the humane society is calling for help from rescue groups across the country.

Lockwood also helped assess the dogs of football pro Michael Vick.

But he says these dogs don't come with a dowry.

Lockwood said, "Vick had to allegate close to a $1 million for the dogs' long-term care, which made it more attractive for rescue groups. It's unlikely we'll have those kinds of resources available."

The raids resulted in the arrests of 26 men who face federal criminal charges.

One of whom is 38-year-old Michael Morgan from Hannibal, also known as "Missouri Mike."

Experts say dog fighting busts only scratch surface

"The 300 pit bulls seized in Wednesday’s raids are being treated at animal shelters. Experts doubt that most will recover from the trauma."

WHO are these fucking experts????!!!!!!??

Hannibal, MO —

Animal welfare experts call the multi-state breakup of a dog fighting ring just the tip of the iceberg.

A man from Hannibal and another from Foley are among 30 people arrested in six states Wednesday in what federal authorities called the largest bust of its kind in the nation.

As the Courier-Post first reported Thursday, an estimated 300 pit bulls were seized as part of the investigation.

“We hope this sends a very big message to people who participate in this so-called sport that dog fighting will not be tolerated,” said Jeane Jae of the Missouri Humane Society.

Unfortunately, observers said, that may be wishful thinking.

Even though it’s banned in all 50 states, dog fighting is a lucrative venture.
“There’s a lot of money involved,” said Kurt Groenda of the Northeast Missouri Humane Society shelter in Hannibal. “From what I understand, there’s thousands and thousands of dollars involved.”

Federal authorities estimate 40,000 people nationwide are involved in organized professional dog fighting.

Another 100,000 people are believed to participate in informal “street fights” that are harder to catch.

“Dog fighting is pervasive in the United States,” Jae said. “Our main concern is that we abhor that animals are used in this fashion.”

The Website www.pet-abuse.com keeps a database of animal abuse cases around the nation. It has logged more than 15,000 since 2001.

Dog fighting got national attention in 2007 when Atlanta Falcons football quarterback Michael Vick was indicted.

Vick is now completing the last two months of an almost two-year sentence for operating a dog fighting ring.

The 300 pit bulls seized in Wednesday’s raids are being treated at animal shelters. Experts doubt that most will recover from the trauma.

Groenda said the Hannibal shelter has seen only one animal in the last three years that showed signs of being involved in fights.

The shelter does receive a number of pit bulls, but doesn’t adopt them out. Instead, the animals are turned over to a rescue service.

“It’s really tough to find a place for pit bulls to go,” Groenda said. “You’re kind of taking a chance on them.”

Morgan, 38, and Hackman, 55, each are charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit federal offenses.

Morgan, whom authorities say was nicknamed “Missouri Mike,” also is accused of violating the federal law against animal-fighting ventures.

The U.S. Attorney’s office claims Morgan ran “Cannibal Kennel” along Columbus Trail just south of Hannibal and that Hackman ran “Shake, Rattle and Roll Kennel” near Foley to provide pit bulls for fights.

Court records show Hackman was arrested June 24 by Lincoln County authorities on five misdemeanor counts of animal neglect from incidents that allegedly took place on Aug. 26, 2008.

The case is scheduled for arraignment at 9 a.m. Aug. 4.

The Humane Society is accepting donations of large box fans, sheets, full-size towels, blankets, shredded paper, newspaper, creamy peanut butter and sturdy toys.
“Pet lovers are some of the most generous people in the world,” Jae said. “We’re really happy they are supporting us in this effort.”

More information is available by contacting the agency at www.hsmo.org or calling (314) 647-8800.

Hundreds of dogs rescued in historic dogfighting raid

Yesterday, authorities seized more than 400 dogs and charged 26 people from seven states in what Humane Society officials are calling one of the largest crackdowns on dogfighting in the United States.

State and federal agents staged raids in several states, charging individuals in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas following a more-than-year-long investigation originally tipped off by the Humane Society of Missouri.

In Missouri, prosecutors said members of a multistate ring routinely denied the dogs medical treatment and "destroyed" injured dogs who were no longer able to fight by shooting them "in the head, throwing them into the river or burning them in a barrel."

Although the arrests stem from the same investigation, the rings were not "one concentrated, organized conspiracy." United States attorneys in four districts will try the cases separately.

Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri called the raid the "largest coordinated rescue in U.S. history." "This heinous, heinous bloodsport is not going to be tolerated," she told the New York Daily News.

The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering more than 300 dogs — believed to be mostly pit bull terriers — seized in Missouri and Illinois raids. The dogs will be housed, cared for and evaluated at an undisclosed emergency shelter in St. Louis.

Jordan Crump, a spokesperson for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), said each dog will be assessed by behavioral experts in hopes of placing as many as possible in adoptive homes. This approach is in line with the treatment of the dogs that were rescued from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback's dogfighting case. The majority of the Vick dogs are now living with individuals and families around the country.

"The Vick case taught us to see dogs in these cases as victims," said Donna Reynolds of our own local pit bull rescue organization, Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls (BAD RAP).

This incident is the latest in a series of investigations that have taken place since President George W. Bush signed into law the 2007 Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, which makes dogfighting a felony in all 50 states. Under the law, each person charged could receive a maximum of five years in prison and be fined up to $250,000.

Posted By: Amelia Glynn (Email) | July 09 2009 at 01:41 PM

Raids in 6 states show dogfighting is widespread

By CHERYL WITTENAUER
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The arrests this week of a Little League coach, a registered nurse and a teacher during the largest coordinated raids on dogfighting in U.S. history confirm the shadowy blood sport is alive and well despite tough laws across the country.

More than 400 dogs, including some about to give birth to puppies, were rescued in the raids by federal, state and local authorities Wednesday and Thursday in six states: Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi, officials said.

U.S. attorneys in several states accused 26 people of cruelties that included shooting dogs in the head when they didn't fight well, then throwing their carcasses into a river or burning them in a barrel.

The sport, often carried out in back alley garages or rural barns, has come under renewed scrutiny after NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced to prison after his 2007 dogfighting conviction. Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states, and in recent years, the federal government made it a felony to train, possess or fight dogs.

But that hasn't stopped people from participating in the sport. Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said the public can "definitely expect more" arrests and raids, because "dogfighting remains a distressingly widespread activity."

During raids on Wednesday in Texas, federal authorities seized nine pit bulls in rural Panola County and charged nine people, including a 34-year-old Little League coach, with involvement in an interstate dogfighting ring.

Karl Courtney, of the eastern Texas town of Beckville pleaded not guilty, said his attorney David Moore, who described his client as a "well-respected business owner." His brother, Chase Courtney, 26, of the nearby town of Carthage, also was arrested, but a phone number or attorney for him could not be found.

Cris Bottcher, a 48-year-old registered nurse at a community hospital in Bethany, Mo., also was arrested Wednesday in western Missouri and accused of shooting underperforming dogs and putting their carcasses in plastic containers outside a garage, according to a federal indictment.

Six others were also arrested in that raid including Rick Hihath, a 55-year-old physical education teacher at a state school for the severely disabled, the indictment said. He is accused of working and promoting fights at Bottcher's farm, it said.

The Missouri men were due in court Friday, said Don Ledford, a spokesman at the U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas City, Mo. Their court-appointed attorneys did not return phone calls, and people who answered the phones at their homes declined to comment.

Randall Lockwood, an animal behaviorist working with some of the dogs in a St. Louis shelter, said the arrests illustrate dogfighting's prevalence.

"It's a very long battle and the battle will continue as long as people cause suffering and death for financial gain and amusement," said Lockwood, of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Authorities are closely guarding the condition of the rescued dogs because of the pending criminal trials. The Humane Society of Missouri said it is housing most of them at its emergency shelter in St. Louis. Groups in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa are taking care of another 75 to 100 dogs, the Missouri group said.

"We're seeing a lot of tail wags," said Janell Matthies with United Animal Nations, a California nonprofit rescue group assisting in the dogs' medical triage.

Associated Press reporters Betsy Taylor and Jim Suhr in St. Louis, Jeff Carlton in Dallas, Michael Crumb in Des Moines, Iowa and Holbrook Mohr in Jackson, Miss. contributed to this report.

26 arrested in Iowa, 5 other states in dogfighting sweep

McClatchy News Service

ST. LOUIS -- The fighting "pit" was a metal box, prosecutors say. The matchup was between a pit bull named Roho and another named Josey.

It was just after New Year's Day 2009, and a small crowd had gathered to watch this bloody spectacle at a rural residence in Leasburg, Mo., about 75 miles southwest of St. Louis, authorities say. A man with the nickname "Missouri Mike" acted as referee. Another man known as "Teddy Bogart" held the wagers.

Roho lost that night in the ring. And so the female dog was later killed.

The gruesome scene -- one of dozens that allegedly played out in recent years at hidden locations across the Midwest -- was painted in a federal indictment of a multi-state dogfighting ring described as the largest in the country.

Twenty-six men were arrested Wednesday, including five from Missouri and five from Illinois, plus others in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska. They were accused of participating in a conspiracy to operate kennels and training facilities to breed and condition dogs for fights, as well as to run the dogfights.

The arrests came just weeks after former NFL star Michael Vick was released from prison after serving nearly two years for his role in an East Coast dogfighting ring in the nation's most famous dogfighting case. The Vick case led to a renewed focus and a new federal law on animal fighting.

In this newest case, authorities described a secretive band of men who bought and sold pit bulls, sometimes using steroids and treadmills to prep the animals for their bouts, and who held dogfights in towns such as Washington Park in the Metro East; Leslie in Franklin County; and Gilman City in northwest Missouri. Thousands of dollars were bet on "contract" fights. Others were just "rolls" -- short bouts used to test dogs.

"Dogfighting is more senseless than the most senseless crimes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said.

More than 350 dogs were seized. Most of the animals were being treated and held by the Humane Society of Missouri at a temporary facility at an undisclosed site.

The investigation began with the state's Humane Society, which passed the information to federal and state investigators including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General, undercover Missouri Highway Patrol officers and the FBI.

Officials declined to describe how they learned about the ins and outs of dogfighting's hidden world, although one indictment refers to a confidential source and two undercover FBI agents -- all wired for sound and video.

Humane Society spokeswoman Jeane Jae said the wide geographic scope of the case and possibly the number of dogs seized made it the largest operation of its type.

Humane Society president Kathy Warnick said: "The way animals used in dogfighting are abused, at the hands of people for profit, is absolutely abhorrent."

The men accused of participating in the January dogfight in Leasburg had gathered for other dogfights in Hannibal, Mo., and Leslie, authorities said.

On Sept. 27, 2008, they met in Leslie for a bout between two pit bulls identified as Freak and Bo. The indictment does not make clear what happened to the dogs that night.

The five men indicted in U.S. District Court St. Louis were Michael "Missouri Mike" Morgan, 38, of Hannibal; Robert Hackman, 55, of Foley; Teddy "Teddy Bogart" Kiriakidis, 50, of Leasburg; Ronald Creach, 34, of Leslie; and Jack Ruppel, 35, of Eldon. They face at least one felony count of conspiracy to commit federal offenses. Morgan, Hackman and Ruppel also face at least one animal fighting charge.

Prosecutors say Hackman ran the Shake Rattle and Roll Kennel, Ruppel ran Ozark Hillbillys Kennel, Morgan ran Cannibal Kennel, and Creach ran Hard Goodbye Kennel.

On Wednesday, Creach waited for a ride home outside the courthouse after a preliminary hearing. He declined to comment, other than to say, "I guess it's still America. I'm innocent until proven guilty, right?"

Morgan told U.S. Magistrate Judge Audrey Fleissig that he is a self-employed contractor. His lawyer declined to comment after the hearing.

Hackman told Fleissig that he was unemployed and had been receiving disability benefits since 1995.

At Hackman's home on Highway 79 between Winfield and Foley, investigators hauled away boxes and crates of evidence. Neighbors said they knew Hackman kept dogs on his land, but never suspected he was involved in dogfighting.

"I cannot see him fighting dogs," said Billy R. Smith, 26, of Foley.

Five Illinois men were charged with conspiracy to commit unlawful activities of dogfighting: William Berry, 34, of Lebanon; Derrick Courtland, 42, of Cahokia; and John Bacon, 36, Julius Jackson, 40, and Joseph Addison, 40, all of East St. Louis.

Addison and Jackson co-own Back Street Truez kennel, the complaint says.

Berry arranged for a Nov. 15, 2008, dogfight behind his house in Washington Park that was attended by about 40 people, the complaint says. Berry charged $20 a head. Addison refereed and Bacon attended, the complaint says.

On April 18, 2009, Bacon, Addison, Jackson and Courtland fought their dogs at a series of fights on Lakewood Place in East St. Louis, the complaint says.

Diane Rainwater, who works at a horse stable next to the Lakewood Place property, said she was unaware of any dogfighting taking place there.

"The gentleman who owns it, his girlfriend told me they apparently pulled some boards out with blood on it," Rainwater, 45, of Belleville, said. "If I had known that I surely would have called somebody, because I don't believe in that kind of crap. It's a dirty shame."

The federal indictments provided a glimpse at the lengths that dogfight organizers go to keep their operations underground -- away from prying eyes of neighbors or the curious.

Back in January, minutes before a dogfight in Oklahoma, Jerry S. Chism, one of the men charged in Texas, met three men in a rural area near Talequah, Okla.

Chism gave the three the location of an initial meeting in a phone call, then led them down a private road, through a locked gate and then into a parking area by flashlight, the indictment says.

But Chism didn't know who his three guests were: an informer and two undercover FBI agents. All three were wearing hidden recording devices.

The first fight that night, between two 32-pound pit bulls, lasted 69 minutes.

The winning dog's owner made $3,000.

Green Country man charged with dogfighting

A Green Country man was charged on Wednesday for taking part in a dogfighting ring.

According to U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling, 57-year-old Jerry Matlock of Stilwell was arrested Wednesday morning in Cherokee County.

Matlock is charged with three felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison a $250,000 fine.

Count 1 is conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce to participate in a criminal dog-fighting enterprise, to sponsor an interstate animal fighting venture, and to buy, transport, deliver or receive a dog for purposes of participation in an animal fighting venture.

Counts 2 and 3 are for sponsorship or participation in an interstate animal fighting venture and transporting an animal for purposes of participation in an interstate animal fighting venture.

Matlock's arrest is part of a Midwestern bust that included 30 arrests in five states.

Animal welfare groups call it the largest simultaneous raid of dogfighting operations in the U.S.

Authorities said that the raids were conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma.

The raids followed a more than year-long investigation prompted by information from the Humane Society of Missouri, which says it reached out to others when it realized the scope of the operations.