 Dog-fighting - 17 dogs seized
Decatur, IL (US)Date: Aug 23, 2006
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: man
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Decatur police officers serving a narcotics search warrant broke up a dog fight about 9:30 p.m. on Aug 23 in the 900 block of West View Street and seized 17 pit bulls, nine of them puppies.
A 26-year-old Decatur man was arrested for investigation of dog fighting, possession of 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver that amount of cocaine, possession of 10 to 30 grams of marijuana and possession of that amount with intent to deliver, said police Lt. David Dickerson.
Five men ages 27 to 39 were arrested on dog fighting charges and given notices to appear in court, Dickerson said. One of the men also was arrested on a charge of possession of 2.5 to 10 grams of marijuana, he said.
Besides the dogs, officers of the department's street crimes unit seized 17 grams of cocaine, 32 grams of marijuana, $3,000 and drug packaging materials, Dickerson said.
"When officers entered the house, they found two dogs fighting in the basement," Dickerson said. "There were 14 others inside the house, and one more dog was found outside in a cage in a vehicle. That dog had been brought to the house to sell."
Dickerson said Macon County Animal Control was called and took charge of the dogs.
"It was pretty brutal what they were doing," said Macon County Sheriff Jerry Dawson, whose office administers animal control. "Those dogs fight to the death. We want people in the area to know what is going on. Hopefully in the future, we'll be able to identify more of the players and get more enforcement done."
Under an agreement between the city and county, Decatur police handle investigation into animal complaints, Dawson said.
"If it's going on in the middle of the street, you can see it and do something about it," Dawson said. "If it takes a lot of investigation, it may be of a lower priority. The city police get a lot of calls for service."
Sheriff's Capt. Steve Jones, County Animal Control and Care Facility administrator, said three of the dogs were euthanized because of injuries, and one was dead on arrival. He said the puppies still have their eyes closed.
"Their mother is not in good shape. She has a lot of medical problems," Jones said, indicating she likely would be "put down."
At least 40 calls were received Thursday at the shelter from people claiming the dogs belonged to them, Jones said.
"I told them to come on out and prove it," he said. "I'll have a dozen tickets for each one of them if they do."
County veterinarian Shelly Stevens said all the dogs recovered in the raid will have to be euthanized, including the puppies.
"They are so closely line bred, they are dog- or animal-aggressive," Stevens said. "None of them bred for fighting can be adopted, but they aren't people aggressive."
Two of the older dogs were veteran fighters with scares and wounds on their heads and forelegs, Stevens said. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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