Blood Sport Bait

 No pets are safe from theft; they become fighters -- or bait.

Their truck rolled up near the fenced yard. They quickly snared our friendly dogs. The wire bit into their necks, preventing air and sound from passing through. Hoisted over the fence, the wire slicing deeper into their flesh, they were flung into a waiting truck. Our stolen dogs entered the underworld of illegal dog fighting – a brutal, high-stakes sport where dogs are bred and trained to kill.

These thieves weren't after the usual televisions, VCRs, computers, camcorders or jewelry. They wanted bait to fuel the growing dog-fighting industry. Dog fights range from spur-of-the-moment masculinity challenges to professional-level rings drawing 100 or more spectators perhaps betting thousands of dollars. At that level, champion fighting dogs sell for $10,000 and more, and purses run into the $100,000 range. There are weigh-ins, referees, concession stands, and contests run by rules. It is the canine equivalent of a prizefight – if prizefighters had no say in the matter and were bred and conditioned to tear off each others limbs and fight to the death.

The felonious dognappers are devious in their site selection, using basements, garages, abandoned buildings, open lots where a house has been demolished and even school playgrounds after the children go home. Sometimes the fights travel from place to place in an evening to keep ahead of the authorities. (Dog fighting and cock fighting as well as attending a fight event are felonies.)

In dog fighting, roughly one-third of the combatants are killed, either in the battle itself or from the blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion or infection that follow. When the dogs are done, most don’t get the medical attention they need. They are tossed aside, tied up with a logging chain in the back yard, where they either make it or not.

Drugs flourish in the dog-fighting culture, in part because drug dealers often keep vicious dogs for protection, in part because of a general party atmosphere around the ring, and, of course the amount of cash on hand.

Illegal dog fighting has been on the increase over the past decade, largely because of the money involved, plus the ease of making contacts through the Internet. Experts from the Humane Society of the United States estimate 40,000 people across the United States now fight animals for profit.

Dog fighting is a revolting practice. There are films and photos of these events and they show parents bringing small children to watch animals kill each other. These images are enough to turn even the strongest stomach, not to mention what it does to society as a whole; with children learning life has no value other than the “entertainment” of watching something be killed.

These dogfights are not junkyard brawls, where dogs growl, snarl, bark and lunge before fighting. Those are acts that are designed to save face and life. Dogs in a fighting pit are bred and trained to attack even when their opponents surrender. They attack when they are wounded, when they have pierced through their own lips with their fangs, even when their front legs are broken and they have to push their bodies across the ring on their massive shoulders. If they do not do this, they lose.

After the fight is over, dogs are carried off. Some that lose will be shot, doused with gasoline and set on fire. The dog -- by virtue of trying to please its owner -- fights and having lost a fight some will ultimately lose their life because they let their owner down or embarrassed them.

Dogs in these sordid underworld circles are tested early in life for “gameness” – the tendency to fight unyieldingly to the death. Only pups that survive the first 12-18 months of their lives are conditioned and schooled for fighting.

Any dog – or cat – is welcome in the seamy world of dog fighting, not just the aggressive breeds. When a pet is stolen, it tends to be the friendlier types that won’t give a hassle. Most people think they won’t have any problems because their pets are so gentle and loving, but that is exactly the type of animals these monsters go after.

The smaller, meeker animals are generally snatched for “bait” and have one purpose – to turn the marquee fighters into killers. If an ordinary pit bull (the breed most commonly used in illegal fighting) is placed in a ring against a veteran fighter, it doesn’t stand a chance against the powerful snapping jaws of a well-seasoned opponent. The stolen family pet is used to teach the pit bull to attack another animal on command, a training process known as “blooding.”

This blooding process occurs by harnessing the dog to a treadmill and forcing it to run as much as 10 miles a day chasing after a cat, small dog or rabbit placed just out of reach of the dog on the treadmill. After hours of chasing the animal and going nowhere, the dog is rewarded with the opportunity to kill. People who breed dogs for illegal fighting also use “cat mills” and “jennies” – something like a miniature horse walker in which a dog is tethered to a rotating shaft, just out of reach of a caged bait animal. The dog runs to exhaustion, at which point he is usually given the bait as a reward. Not only is the dog physically stronger after these so-called training sessions, it is rewarded with blood.

The fighting match-ups can be even more one-sided. Like human prizefighters that work their way to the top of the sport by progressively fighting more skilled opponents, dog sparring sessions begin against less experienced, weaker and often injured foes. This is where the larger stolen pets come into the bait picture.

The owner of a fighting dog will pair their dog with a stolen retriever or shepherd and begin to taunt the fighter into a salivating rage. Sometimes, to make sure the sparring partner doesn’t put up much of a fight or run away, the “trainers” (who often call themselves dogmen) physically injure the bait dog, even going as far as breaking its legs. As the “training” progresses, the bait dogs increase in size, giving the fighting dog more confidence by allowing it to attack, bite and often kill a larger opponent. This “training” helps to determine their “gameness” or willingness to kill.

A Miraculous Ending to Our Experience

Our dogs are safely at home. Details of how they were recovered are being withheld to protect them from further risk. Broken bones, lacerations, bruises, missing chunks of flesh and nerve damage are some of the telltale physical signs that anything happened. Emotionally, the dogs seek constant attention and nighttime brings cries of remembrance of their horrifying ordeal.

Important Points

• Well-bred, well-treated, well-trained and humanely raised pit bulls are affectionate and loyal dogs. To the surprise of many people, they are also good with children. Only pit bulls bred and conditioned to fight become violent and dangerous animals.
• Cruelty to animals is a precursor to violence against humans.
• Dog-fighters and spectators often involve their children in dog fighting. Children who view this type of violence have a greater acceptance of aggressive attitudes and behavior. They are taught to believe that violence is entertaining, that it is okay to inflict the cruelties they observe and that dog fighting is an acceptable form of recreation.
• Fighting should be stopped because of the cruel imposition of violence and death on the animals involved, and for the mental health of children who may attend such fights.
• Everyone should report any knowledge of dog fighting or other animal fighting to authorities.
• Stolen pets are not the only animals used as bait. “Collectors” also look for “Free to Good Home” ads to infuse the illegal sport with new bait and fighting animals.

Reward

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS offers a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of pet thieves. If you have information about these or other pet thieves, please contact:  IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS at 1-800-STOLEN-PET (1-800-786-5367.)

Daniels holds certifications in Animal Behavior, Training as well as pet and veterinary nutrition. She has been training dogs for over 29 years and teaches dog obedience classes, helps rehabilitate “at risk” breeds, trains assistance dogs for the physically challenged and is the first to stand up for the rights of animals being targeted on a breed specific basis.


Punish the Deed - Not the Breed

Domino Dogs
Pet Planet
Red Ribbon Against Dog Hatred