Boys, 10 and 12, charged wth dog-fighting
Orlando, FL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010
County: Orange
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Gregory McDonald
» Alphonzo Harris
When a deputy responded to a call about dog fighting at an Orange County home Wednesday, he found several emaciated, injured dogs, and one dead canine that had been cut open.
A brown puppy -- dehydrated and covered in fleas -- ran outside the front door. As the deputy stood nearby, one of the suspects grabbed the puppy by its neck and struck it in the head several times with closed fists.
The suspects are 10- and 12-year-old brothers.
The boys were both arrested on charges of cruelty to animals and fighting and baiting animals.
An Animal Services employee said she has been to the same home for dog fighting numerous times prior, according to records released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office records.
The Sheriff's Office report details the grave conditions uncovered by a deputy after he arrived at the home on Huppel Avenue.
A nearby witness told the deputy he found a dead pit bull on his property, and he told the boys they couldn't throw their dead dog there. He later saw the boys dig a shallow grave for the dog.
In the backyard of the boys' home, the deputy immediately smelled the strong odor of dog feces. Two dogs were caged.
One pit bull was spray painted and had wounds on its face, nose and legs. Another dog was sitting in its own feces and had a severe bite mark to its front paw and ears. Both dogs were under fed.
The cage had no appropriate cover from the cold.
One of the boys began to pull up a dead dog by its leash from a shallow grave.
The deputy asked the boys what they were doing. One replied, "We see dog fighting on YouTube, so we just do it."
One of the boys said he tossed the dog over the fence because he was scared. His brother then said, "When the dog stopped moving after they fought I put a knife to its stomach and that's when blood started to come out."
The boys' mother told the deputy they needed to go to jail.
"I'm sick of them two stealing dogs, bikes and having all the neighborhood coming by here looking to us," according to the report. References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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