Dog-fighting - 7 dogs seized
Houston, TX (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
County: Harris
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
Five men were arrested after police broke up an illegal dogfight involving pit bulls in the front yard of a southwest Houston home, authorities said.
A Houston police officer was working a routine traffic stop about 3 p.m. Tuesday when a neighbor alerted him of a dogfight in the 13400 block of Townwood Drive, officials said.
As the officer approached, the men fled. The men, 17 to 25, said they were standing outside the home with their dogs when two animals began fighting.
"That's a defense we always get: 'We were just standing there and our dogs got into a fight,'" said animal cruelty investigator Lt. Mark Timmers. "Dogs get in fights sometimes, but you don't see citizens running down the street when they see a police officer."
Two men were charged with dog fighting, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years of incarceration. The three others were charged with being spectators at a dog fight. The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in prison.
Police had not released their names by Tuesday night.
Two of seven dogs at the property were injured in the fight, officials said. The Houston Humane Society seized the animals. The agency will evaluate the dogs for temperament and disposition, Timmers said. After that, the agency will decide if they can be placed into a household.
Timmers said the men may have been "bumping" the dogs - a type of sparring - to test their toughness.
Police seized several types of fighting paraphernalia, including a pry bar used to pull dogs off each other during fights.
Residents told police the men had fought the dogs in the front yard in the past. Residents never reported the men, Timmers said, because they feared retaliation.
"Neighbors see young men like this fighting dogs and they don't report them out of fear," he said. "People think, 'If they can do that to a dog, what can they do to me.'" References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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