Pit bulls stolen from shelter, fighting suspected Conway, SC (US) Incident Date: Friday, Feb 9, 2007 County: Horry Local Map: available Disposition: Open Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case ID: 10756 Classification: Theft, Fighting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

Horry County police are still trying to figure out who stole two pits bulls from a shelter. One of those missing dogs has health officials concerned because it may have rabies. The pit bull bit a Little River man after the man broke up a fight between the pit bull and his own dog. The animal would have been under observation for 10 days to make sure it didn't have rabies, but it and another pit bull were stolen from the Horry County Humane Society sometime Feb 9 night.

The man is working with the Department of Health and Environmental Control to decide if and when he should get treated for rabies.

Pit bulls are known for their strong jaws making them ideal for dog fights.

Horry County Humane Society takes in dogs that need a good home but they also get their share of dogs that cannot put up for adoption, like dogs they know have been used for fighting.

"Old scars, new scars, wounds, and typically when we see those kinds of marks on an animal, we know that they've been used in dog fighting," said Cindy Ott, Horry County Humane Society.

Horry County Police and Animal Control got 11 reports of dog fighting in 2006. Still, they say it's difficult to prove and prosecute dog fighting rings, so it's hard to know how big of a problem it really is.

"I'm sure our numbers are off, because we only get in on the tail end, after the dogs have been abused, and have the indicators of the of the dog fights," said Captain Saundra Rhodes, Horry County Police Department.

Still, police say it's enough to know that the pit bulls taken from the shelter are valuable to someone.

"In most cases, I'm sure that the gambling is a lucrative business for them," said Rhodes.

Captain Rhodes says sometimes dog fighters will try to steal even a sick dog from the shelter because it could still be an asset to them.

"That would be a good reason for someone to break in and steal them, versus having to pay for them themselves," said Rhodes.

Ott says they keep those types of dogs out of public view as much as possible they pay close attention to everyone coming into the shelter and now they're looking into increasing security.

Horry County police say it isn't necessarily the dog's owners who stole them. They say whoever took the dogs was at the shelter on Friday, looking for a dog they could use to fight.

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WPDE - Feb 13, 2007

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