Dog-fighting - 12 dogs, 8 carcasses seized Atchison, KS (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 17, 2007 County: Atchison
Charges: Felony CTA Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: » Keith Gregory Allen, Jr. » Trenisha Thomas
An anonymous tip led police to the back yard of Keith Allen, where they reportedly found the remains of eight dead dogs. They also found 12 live dogs "in terrible shape".
Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson said what his detectives found on Keith Allen's property was stomach turning. Investigators shared photos of dog bones and a spring pole. Wilson said that's a tell-tale sign of a training operation for pit bulls fighting.
"Those who love dogs don't want to see dogs left in this type of heat, without water, without food, but more important than that they don't want to see them put in a situation where they're trained to fight and kill each other," Chief Wilson said.
"Common sense will tell you when you find this many dogs, housed in the back, they're not family pets," Chief Wilson said.
Police took the remaining 12 dogs to the local shelter. Most were emaciated and had skin diseases.
Because investigators believe all the dogs were trained to fight, none of them can be adopted out. It is likely that a judge will order all of them be put to sleep.
Keith G. Allen, 32, and Trenisha Thomas, 29, are both charged with dog fighting and animal cruelty.
Allen also faces 27 counts of animal cruelty in neighboring Doniphan County, where investigators reportedly found a treadmill which is often associated with training dogs to fight. References « More cases in Atchison County, KS
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