Dog-fighting - 9 dogs seized
Troy, NY (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Nov 20, 2010
County: Rensselaer
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Abuser names unreleased
The pit bulls seized by police over the weekend appear to have been given human supplements to bulk them up for dog fighting, police said, and one had both ears shoddily removed for the illegal sport.
Found in close proximity to three small cages that held the nine pit bulls "some puppies and some older; most bearing injuries consistent with fighting" were heavy chain collars, wound care products and muscle growth supplements like creatine, Cpt. John Cooney said.
"Without question they were directly related to the care, or lack thereof, of the dogs," he said. "It's not like we went into the medicine cabinet."
Police have yet to locate the individual who kept the animals in the basement apartment of 2275 Fifth Ave., where they were discovered Saturday, but they know his identity, Cooney said.
"It's a very active investigation," he said.
The individual faces likely animal cruelty charges. Brad Shear, executive director of the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society, where five of the dogs are now being cared for, noted that clipping the ears of a dog is illegal unless done by a veterinarian.
"They all have cropped ears. One of them is badly cropped, and all of them were home cropping jobs, not done by a professional," he said. "It's typical of dogfighters "they don't want to create veterinarian records because they don't want people to know they even have dogs."
The ears are cropped to keep them from being bitten or grabbed by another dog during a fight, Shear said.
Dog fighting, in which people place bets of the winner of a forced fight between the animals, is illegal in all 50 U.S. states. Troy police officials said they don't believe the crime to be widespread in the city and noted there are no ongoing investigations related to the activity besides the current one.
The animals were discovered by firefighters responding to the address early Saturday for a small fire police believe to be an arson connected with a domestic argument in the apartment. They had a number of injuries consistent with dog fighting but are expected to return to full health.
Shear said the humane society sees many dogs that were made to fight, but as most were ditched on the streets by their owners "presumably because they were poor fighters, he said" no one can be located for prosecution.
"In this case, it seems like we're going to find him," he said.
The animals are being held pending the results of the criminal investigation, and thorough behavioral and physical examinations need to be conducted, he said.
The other four animals not at the humane society were taken to Troy Veterinary Hospital. One of those dogs, a puppy, is being cared for in the home of Catskill resident Scott Semenick, who is part of a rescue organization called Out of the Pits.
"It's doing wonderful. There's not a mean bone in its body," he said. "I'm thinking about keeping it."
Cooney said the apparent abuse "disgusts" the police department. He noted that police have long had a close relationship with dogs.
"In law enforcement, we've come to look at the canine as a partner of sorts," he said. "To see them out there on a regular basis, not only maimed and tortured but fighting … I think law enforcement has a soft spot for the canine species." References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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