Case Details

Dog-fighting - 3 dogs seized
Columbus, GA (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Aug 25, 2007
County: Muscogee
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Charges: Misdemeanor

Alleged: Shawn Long

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 12180
Classification: Fighting
Animal: dog (pit-bull)
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Animal control and police were called to a home on 3rd Avenue Saturday after reports of a dog fight.

"We confiscated three dogs, pit dogs to be exact, one female, two males, all of which were on location investigated for dog fighting," said Drale Short, Chief of Special Enforcement with the Department of Public Services.

Through her department, Short is assisting with the investigation.

The evidence found at the scene led to the arrest of Shawn Long on charges of animal cruelty and dog fighting.

�He (the dog) had some evidence of being fought, some bites and scratches, things of that nature,� Short said.

Long�s dog remains at animal control. But the other dog in the fight was picked up by Long's girlfriend, Shanelia Holmes. She feels the charges are a mistake.

�I don't understand. I love my dogs,� she said. �That�s the last thing I would do is fight them.�

Holmes describes her dogs as gentle and playful. She blames the fight on a broken restraint.

Outside of court Monday afternoon, a family friend and witness to the fight said they did what they could to stop it.

�We jumped up, separated the dogs, and took the dog to the back of the property,� said David Battles.

Battles also said any heightened sensitivity brought on by Michael Vick�s recent dog fighting case should be focused on dog fighters, not pit bulls or their owners.

�The general nature of pit bull if trained right and taught right, they are not vicious dogs,� he said. �They are caring and very protective dogs.�

The charges against Shawn Long are state charges, which mean the Columbus Police Department will oversee the case.

Despite Long's not guilty plea, the judge found probable cause to go forward with the case.

A court date has not been set.

Case Updates

A Columbus man accused of dogfighting is free after posting bond Thursday.

Shawn Long, 32, of 3825 Third Ave., was arrested Saturday afternoon after a neighbor reported to police that she saw dogs fighting in his yard.

Long pleaded not guilty in Recorder's Court Monday to charges of dogfighting and animal cruelty. His case was bound over to Superior Court.

Long claimed he wasn't home at the time of the fight. His friend, David Battles, testified that what the woman saw was people in yard trying to pull the dogs away from each other.
Source: Ledger-Enquirer - Aug 30, 2007
Update posted on Aug 31, 2007 - 1:38PM 
A Columbus man accused of dogfighting is in jail without bond. Shawn Lee Long, 32, of 3825 Third Ave., is charged with dogfighting and cruelty to animals. He was arrested Saturday afternoon after a neighbor called Columbus Police.

The woman, whose name has been withheld, was returning home Saturday from a friend's house when she looked across the street and saw dogs fighting in Long's front yard, she said.

"They think they own the street with those bulldogs," she said.

She told Columbus Police Officers D. Odom and D. Whitley and animal control officers who arrived at the scene that she had seen the dogs fighting, police said. They checked the front of Long's home and found a brown pit bull tied up by the front porch.

The dog had no marks or injuries on it.

Officers then went to the backyard and found another brown pit bull. The dog's mouth was torn and bleeding on the right side, Odom and Whitley reported.

Long came out the back door of his house and told officers he didn't have any identification or paperwork for the dogs. He was arrested at the scene.

Long's neighbor said that Saturday was the first time she had seen the dogs fighting, though she's called authorities about the animals several times. She said she called a number of times about the smell coming from Long's house. Animal control made him clean up, and about a month ago he moved across the street, she said.

"I had seen the guy kick the dogs a few times out the front door," she said. At one point, Long had some 20 puppies and five adult dogs, she said.

Long is scheduled for a Columbus Recorder's Court hearing today.
Source: Ledger-Enquirer - Aug 27, 2007
Update posted on Aug 29, 2007 - 2:49AM 

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