Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seized
Roosevelt, NY (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 17, 2005
County: Nassau

Disposition: Not Charged

Person of Interest: Marjorie Etheridge

Seventeeen scarred and emaciated pit bulls were rescued from a Roosevelt home where they were reportedly bred to fight The dogs, which have bite marks and exposed ribs, are being kept at the Hempstead Town Animal Shelter after animal control officers took them Wednesday from a house on Astor Place.

Officers, acting on a tip, discovered the 17 dogs huddled in the basement. The dogs with bite marks and matted fur were the lucky ones - the ears of a white pit bull appeared to have been bitten off.

Vitamins, supplements and treadmills - items associated with dogfighting - were found at the house.

The homeowner, Marjorie Etheridge, signed the animals over to the town, officials said. She was issued summonses for harboring more than three animals and having unpermitted structures in the backyard housing the dogs.

Murray said town attorneys plan to pursue animal cruelty charges based on the dogs' deplorable condition.

Behind the house, giant pens were set up. Several stray dog carriers littered the yard.

References

• New York Daily News - Feb 18, 2005

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