P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan09/0,4670,DiscardedDogs,00.html
Dogfighting Evidence in NYC Suburbs
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Maybe the dogs had lost a bout before a frenzied crowd
in a basement. Maybe they had been used to whet the bloodlust of other dogs.
But dead or alive, the two shredded pit bulls were no longer of any use to
their owners.
The crippled, bloodied terriers were thrown into a trash bin at a gas
station late Saturday or early Sunday and left to die, police said. One
survived.
The discovery Sunday by workers at the Yonkers gas station was the latest of
several recent signs of dogfighting in Westchester County, just north of New
York City.
In October, six scarred dogs trained for fighting were found alive in a
Yonkers garage. Two months earlier, five Rottweilers and a pit bull were
rescued in Mount Vernon, not long after an injured pit bull was found in a
pool of blood on the street.
Experts say the gruesome discoveries reflect the pervasiveness of
dogfighting, which has gained attention with the sentencing of suspended NFL
quarterback Michael Vick, who was convicted on federal charges of operating
a dogfighting ring at his property in rural Virginia. Dogs that did not
perform well in test fights were killed by electrocution, drowning, hanging
and other means.
"It's everywhere," said Martin Mersereau, spokesman for People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals in Norfolk, Va. "It's urban, it's rural, it's
suburban. As long as there are cowards and there are pit bulls available to
them there is going to be a dogfight."
Ken Ross, police chief for the Westchester County Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, said there likely has not been an increase in
dogfighting in the county, but people have become more aware of it because
of the Vick case.
Dogfighting is a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho, punishable
in New York by four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Ross said he sees a link between dogfighting and gang activity in
Westchester County.
"Sometimes it's just the status thing with gangs, and gangs will battle each
other's dogs or two guys meet in somebody's basement to see whose dog is
tougher," he said.
The dog that survived the weekend mauling was doing much better Tuesday,
responding to intravenous fluids and antibiotics, Ross said.
But he noted that if the animal was trained as a vicious attack dog, it may
have to be euthanized as a public safety risk once it recovers.
"You may save the dog," Ross said, "but then you may have to put down the
dog."
Dogfighting Evidence in NYC Suburbs
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Maybe the dogs had lost a bout before a frenzied crowd
in a basement. Maybe they had been used to whet the bloodlust of other dogs.
But dead or alive, the two shredded pit bulls were no longer of any use to
their owners.
The crippled, bloodied terriers were thrown into a trash bin at a gas
station late Saturday or early Sunday and left to die, police said. One
survived.
The discovery Sunday by workers at the Yonkers gas station was the latest of
several recent signs of dogfighting in Westchester County, just north of New
York City.
In October, six scarred dogs trained for fighting were found alive in a
Yonkers garage. Two months earlier, five Rottweilers and a pit bull were
rescued in Mount Vernon, not long after an injured pit bull was found in a
pool of blood on the street.
Experts say the gruesome discoveries reflect the pervasiveness of
dogfighting, which has gained attention with the sentencing of suspended NFL
quarterback Michael Vick, who was convicted on federal charges of operating
a dogfighting ring at his property in rural Virginia. Dogs that did not
perform well in test fights were killed by electrocution, drowning, hanging
and other means.
"It's everywhere," said Martin Mersereau, spokesman for People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals in Norfolk, Va. "It's urban, it's rural, it's
suburban. As long as there are cowards and there are pit bulls available to
them there is going to be a dogfight."
Ken Ross, police chief for the Westchester County Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, said there likely has not been an increase in
dogfighting in the county, but people have become more aware of it because
of the Vick case.
Dogfighting is a felony in every state except Wyoming and Idaho, punishable
in New York by four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Ross said he sees a link between dogfighting and gang activity in
Westchester County.
"Sometimes it's just the status thing with gangs, and gangs will battle each
other's dogs or two guys meet in somebody's basement to see whose dog is
tougher," he said.
The dog that survived the weekend mauling was doing much better Tuesday,
responding to intravenous fluids and antibiotics, Ross said.
But he noted that if the animal was trained as a vicious attack dog, it may
have to be euthanized as a public safety risk once it recovers.
"You may save the dog," Ross said, "but then you may have to put down the
dog."
