Dog-fighting
Lake Charles, LA (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Feb 28, 2011
County: Calcasieu

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Sylvester Gobert

Calcasieu Parish Animal Services is enforcing laws related to "dogfighting" after a Lake Charles man was arrested on cruelty to animal charges.

Sylvester Gobert, 41, of Lake Charles was arrested on Monday on 10 counts of cruelty to animals and 2 counts of dogfighting.

Animal Control began investigating Gobert's case in October 2010. Since then the office has received several calls on other cases related to dogfighting.

"Dogfighting is a bad thing," said Nathan Areno with Animal Control. "By the time everything is over with we find dead dogs in trash cans and abandoned dogs."

Dogfighting is a form of gambling on dogs who are trained to fight until their death.

"They do what they call bumping and they bump into each other and once these dogs are provoked then they actually start fighting," said Areno. "The fall out and the aftermath of this is either severely injured dogs or dead dogs."

Areno said when they investigate a case they search for bike sticks, treadmills, and weights.

"Sometimes the owners tie them to weights to strengthen them up basically like any athlete's condition," said Areno.

Individuals caught in the act will be charged with dogfighting and could face no less than one year or more in prison. Those caught will be fined no less than $1,000 and no more than $25,000.

To report someone that may be taking part in dogfighting, contact Calcasieu Animal Services at (337) 721-3730.

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