 Dog-fighting - 22 seized
Columbiana, AL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005
County: Shelby
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Charges: Misdemeanor
Abusers/Suspects:
» Eric Ray Haggins
» Bobby Peeples
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More than 40 pit bulls have been confiscated and seven people arrested in a two-year effort to crack down on dog fighting in Shelby County.
Donald Kendrick, the county's animal control officer, picked up a scarred 50-pound male pit bull November 3, 2005 in Columbiana on Egg and Butter Road and took him to the Shelby County Humane Society.
Over the past two years, Kendrick, along with deputies and city police officers, have broken up dog-fighting operations in the neighborhood where this dog was found as well as in the Aldrich-Almont area.
Most fight pits are deep in the woods, with plenty of man and dog security teams when fights are going on, Kendrick said, so he has yet to raid an actual dog fight. He still wants to get inside, so officers can nab owners in the act of fighting their dogs.
Besides dog-on-dog fights, which can result in maimed or killed competitors, Kendrick said, the owners sometimes use "bait" dogs to prepare their pit bulls for fights. Another wrinkle, he said, are reports he has received recently of dog-on-hog fights.
"I'll do anything I can to run these guys slam out of the county," Kendrick said. "I'd like to put every one of them in jail. This needs to stop."
He is proud of two recent guilty pleas. Eric Ray Haggins, 43, of Almont and Bobby Peeples, 33, of Alabaster pleaded guilty to attempting to fight dogs, a misdemeanor. Kendrick said they initially were charged with dog fighting, a felony.
"They pleaded to the lesser charge to avoid jail time, but it was the first time we got to charge someone with a felony. In the past, the charge was cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. As far as I know, these are the only dog-fighting convictions in Shelby County."
The two men were given 365-day suspended jail sentences, said Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Alan Miller. "They also lost thousands of dollars worth of dogs," he said.
The 22 dogs seized in that case were euthanized, Kendrick said. "Once they've been fought, that's all you can do with them."
A lethal injection is to be the fate of the dog Kendrick picked up Thursday, although it seemed to be trying to get out of the fight game when it was apprehended.
"My guess is he ran away," Kendrick said. He hit the neighborhood Thursday, trying to find the dog's owner, "but nobody would claim him."
"This is a shame for the dogs; it is a shame for the people who can't live peacefully in their neighborhoods, and it is dangerous," Kendrick said.
Eighty percent of the people who die of dog bites are children, he said. "And the No. 1 dog in those fatalities is the pit bull. Although they are very loyal and could make good pets, they have the capability to inflict serious injury in just seconds."
Although dog fighting is against the law, Kendrick said, owners and breeders are open about dealing in the animals.
Thursday's classified ad section of The Birmingham News carried five advertisements for pit bulls, four of them listing ADBA registration. Kendrick said that is the American Dog Breeders Association, formed to keep track of the fighting champion bloodlines descended from dogs such as Razor's Edge, Red Boy, Eli and Cowboy. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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