Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: Media-Newswire.com – ALBANY, N.Y. — The Humane Society of the United States, on behalf of its more than 800,000 supporters in New York, commends the state Senate for unanimously passing S. 3926a, legislation to strengthen the state law against animal fighting.

A.6287b was introduced by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, and S. 3926a was introduced by Sen. Toby Stavisky, D-Flushing. These bills would provide misdemeanor penalties for spectators at these organized events. Presently, offenders can receive only a traffic ticket-style citation, which does not provide an adequate deterrent against chronic violators.

Spectators who attend animal fights do not stumble upon them accidentally. These criminal activities take place at clandestine locations.

“We commend Sen. Stavisky, and Assemblyman Lentol for championing these anti-crime bills,” said Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The Humane Society of the United States. “Now that the legislation passed in the Senate, we look forward to its passage in the Assembly.”

Facts:

Animal fighting spectators, with their admission fees and gambling wagers, fuel these undeniably cruel and criminal industries. Under current law, dogfighters or cockfighters can claim they were only present at an animal fight as spectators, thereby avoiding any meaningful punishment.
Law enforcement officials have documented a strong connection between animal fighting operations and narcotics distribution, illegal firearms and other illicit activities.
While dogfighting and cockfighting are felonies in New York, possessing animals for the purpose of fighting is only a misdemeanor, and attending an animal fight is just a traffic-ticket style violation.
New York has the nation’s fifth-weakest dogfighting laws, making it a magnet for spectators from surrounding states where penalties on spectators are significantly more severe.
According to news reports, in June 2008, authorities raided a Bronx, N.Y., building that housed a dogfighting ring. Seven people were arrested and two additional suspects fled from the scene during the raid. Of the seven who were arrested, four were New Jersey residents. New Jersey is currently ranked as having the nation’s strongest dogfighting law, punishing spectators with three to five years of imprisonment and/or a maximum $15,000 fine.

Source: al.com, June 22, 2010

The confiscation of 26 pit bull terriers in a suspected dog-fighting operation Friday has left the Mobile County Animal Shelter crowded with dogs, authorities said.

Animal control officials said the shelter’s adoptable pets may be in danger of being euthanized because the pit bulls must be isolated and kept until a judge determines what should be done with them.

The 26 dogs were confiscated from the home of Bruce McDonald on Red Fox Road in far north Mobile County, Mobile County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lori Myles said.

McDonald is yet to be charged in connection with the dogs. He was arrested May 22 on multiple charges related to a methamphetamine operation at the same address, Myles said. Mobile County Humane Officer Carmelo Miranda said the shelter’s adoptable pets suffer when suspected fighting dogs are brought in.

“These dogs must be sheltered one dog to two kennels for at least seven days, because a door separates the kennels back-to-back,” Miranda said.

He added that strays, which also must be kept isolated for seven days, end up moving in to kennels meant for the adoptable pets, adding to crowding problems.

So far since the seizure, Miranda said, no dogs have had to be put down. He said 80 to 90 adoptable dogs reside at the shelter on average.

Since Saturday, Miranda said, rescue groups and individuals have taken in 72 dogs, but at least 37 adoptable dogs remain, and that number could increase.

Miranda said sheriff’s deputies noticed the pit bulls June 16, and animal control officers confiscated them Friday along with treadmills, medications, scales and other paraphernalia associated with dog fighting.  Miranda said anyone interested in adopting a dog can visit the shelter’s Facebook page online or call 251-574-3230 or 251-574-3647.

Source: PRNewswire.com, June 15, 2010

The nation’s first criminal dog-fighting DNA database has been established by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) and the Louisiana SPCA (LA/SPCA), and will be maintained at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) Veterinary Genetics Laboratory.  Known as the Canine CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the database is designed to help the criminal justice system investigate and prosecute dog fighting cases and address the growing problem of dog fighting using 21st century technology.

“Dog fighting is a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise that leads to the cruel treatment and deaths of thousands of dogs nationwide every year,” said Tim Rickey, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Field Investigation and Response. “This database is an unprecedented and vital component in the fight against animal cruelty and will allow us to strengthen cases against animal abusers and seek justice for their victims.”

Rickey, the former Animal Cruelty Task Force Director at HSMO, Kathryn Destreza, the ASPCA’s Southeast Regional Director, Field Investigation and Response and formerly Director of Humane Law Enforcement for the Louisiana SPCA, and Dr. Melinda Merck, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Veterinary Forensic Sciences and the nation’s premier forensic veterinarian, collaborated to create the database, working with Dr. Randall Lockwood, the ASPCA’s Senior Vice President of Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and Training.

“This database will connect investigations across the country and internationally, creating multi-jurisdictional collaboration,” said Ms. Destreza, who presented on the Canine CODIS at the recent Veterinary Forensics Conference in Orlando, Fla. “It’s another tool we can use toward the elimination of dog fighting.”

Dr. Merck, who testifies as a forensic veterinary expert for animal cruelty cases around the country, added, “Juries expect forensic science to support the evidence that’s presented to them, and animal cruelty cases are no exception. This database breaks new ground in supplying that evidence for dog fighting investigations.”

The Canine CODIS contains individual DNA profiles from dogs that have been seized during dog-fighting investigations and from unidentified samples collected at suspected dog-fighting venues. The HSMO provided the 400 original and initial samples of dog DNA collected from dogs that were seized last July during the nation’s largest dog-fighting seizure ever, a multi-state raid led by Mr. Rickey that followed an 18-month investigation by federal and state agencies.

The database is similar to the FBI’s human CODIS, a computerized archive that stores DNA profiles from criminal offenders and crime scenes and is used in criminal and missing person investigations. DNA analysis and matching through the database will help law enforcement agencies to identify relationships between dogs, enabling investigators to establish connections between breeders, trainers, and dog-fight operators. Blood collected from dog fighting sites will also be searched against the Canine CODIS database to identify the source.

“The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory has one of the largest sample databases in the world,” said Beth Wictum, Director of the Forensics Unit of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory in UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine. “This is important for estimating the rarity of a DNA profile. The Canine CODIS database is unique because it includes many more DNA markers than are normally tested, and that provides greater power when calculating match probability or assigning parentage.”

“When these cases come to trial, it’s important to make your strongest case,” she adds. “DNA evidence not only establishes links between owners, breeders, and dog fighting sites, it tells a story. We can tie blood spatter on pit walls and clothing, or blood trails found outside of the pit, to a specific dog and tell his story for him. We become the voice for those victims.”

How the Canine CODIS Database Works

DNA samples from animals have been used in forensics investigations for over 15 years to help solve criminal investigations. In some cases, the animal may be related to the suspect, the victim or the crime scene.  In other cases, the animal itself is the victim or perpetrator.

In dog-fighting investigations, the dogs’ inner cheeks are swabbed to collect DNA in their saliva at the time they are seized.  These swab samples are then submitted to UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory for DNA testing. Law enforcement agencies also collect DNA at suspected dog-fighting venues in samples of blood, saliva, tissue, bones, teeth, feces and urine. These unidentified DNA samples can be submitted to the laboratory at UC Davis for analysis and archiving in the database.

When an agency submits a sample to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, the DNA is analyzed and the Canine CODIS database is then searched for corresponding DNA profiles. In the event the database search locates a match for the submitted DNA, the lab will notify both the agency that submitted the new sample and the agency that submitted the existing sample.  The Canine CODIS database is only available to law enforcement agencies; analysis is part of the cost of testing.

Dog Fighting Statistics

Although there are no official statistics, the ASPCA estimates that there are tens of thousands of people involved in dog fighting in the United States. Dog fighting is a federal crime, as well as a felony offense in all 50 U.S. states. For more information, visit http://www.aspcapro.org/dog-fighting-faq.php.

Source: ketv.com, June 8, 2010

Kody Connick said he was never much of a student, let alone a writer. He hated English and got into trouble at school.

“It was just seeing friends and trying to get by through the day,” he said.

But the 14-year-old teen from Lincoln recently put fingers to the keyboard and is now selling his story.  Connick got sick last winter and something sparked an unrealized passion. He sat down and began writing about dogfighting.  His narrator is a pit bull.

Through the dog’s eyes, the reader is witness to the horror, Connick said.”Fighting and chomping on Shadow’s neck, I tasted blood. I tasted madness, then I tasted sorrow,” the teen read from the book, which has sold 60 copies and is in its second printing.  “My owner Jake shouted, ‘Go get him, be the king you’re meant to be tonight. Tear his heart out,’” Connick read.

He was compelled to write about the cruel way people treat pit bulls and the notorious reputation the dogs possess.”It’s how you train a dog and it’s how you treat it.  So there’s no bad dog, ever,” Connick said.  He said he drew upon his own experience with friends who own pit bulls, researched the issue and then began to write.

“In the first two days, I had 20 pages done,” he said.  Four months later, Wild Hearts was finished. It’s a story about a juvenile delinquent and a pit bull whose lives become intertwined.

Kevin Connick couldn’t believe what his son had written.”Very detailed, very good story — I was shocked,” the boy’s father said.

Kody said people see him as wanting to be a gangster, a bad kid. The book has changed the way people look at him and the way he looks at school, he said.”It actually opened my eyes that I could do something if I worked hard enough and focused,” Connick said.

He plans on writing another book in the future. He said he’s also paying more attention in school and wants to go to college.

Source:  wset.com, May 26, 2010

Bedford County authorities say they’ve dealt a huge blow to a national dog fighting ring by locking up one of its top breeders.

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that they arrested Jeffrey Denny, 36, of North Carolina in an undercover sting at the Exxon in Montvale Monday night.

Denny was there to sell a female pit bull and planned on driving to Charleston, West Virginia to sell another dog, authorities say.

He has been charged with two counts of transporting animals for the purpose of fighting.

Investigators say Denny has delivered dogs all over the country, and they believe he’s responsible for hundreds of dog fighting deaths.

The good news is the two dogs taken from him are now in an animal shelter, saved from a life of violence.

Deputies say he has a reputation for breeding good fighting pit bulls.

“Mr. Denny is a nationally known and admitted dog fighter,” Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said. “He’s acknowledged that he’s sold hundreds of game-bred dogs throughout the United States.”

Investigators seized Denny’s mini-van, rigged to transport multiple dogs. These dogs were going for $900 apiece. The business of dog fighting is reported to be a multi-million dollar industry.

“And not too many of them put in 1099s to the IRS,” Brown said with a laugh.

The US Humane Society says they’ve had Denny at the top of their watch list for months.

“He’s been a long-standing breeder of dogs that are for the purpose of fighting,” US Humane Society Cruelty Investigator Chris Schindler said.

They’re certain word of his arrest will get around.

“It’s this effort that’s going to send a ripple effect cross the country to other animal fighters that this crime is not going to be tolerated,” Schindler said.

And they say the goal is to save the lives of dogs.

“Save possibly hundreds and hundreds of other dogs from being maimed and killed in the most gruesome way,” Brown said.

Authorities in Randolph County, North Carolina also seized 16 pit bulls from Denny’s home. They’ve charged him with 16 counts of dog fighting and 11 counts of cruelty to animals.

Source: Action3news.com

27 dogs just rescued late last week- for some it’s too late. Dozens of dogs were found in an area of Mills County, Iowa just south of Glenwood. The Pit Bulls all with teeth filed off and infested with parasites.  Some suffering open wounds on backs of legs from being tied down and bred repeatedly.

Pit Bulls cower in corners. Some just skin and bones. One even branded on his back leg.  “Every single one of them has some health issue going on,”  says Kelly Nutter. She is one of many including the Mills County Sheriff to rescue the Pit Bulls from a tiny piece of property near Pacific Junction in Iowa.

“One dog showed aggression, rest were fearful and frightened,” explains Nutter. While snapping over one-hundred photos, Nutter didn’t find any food. “There was hardly any feces around, I assume the dogs were probably eating their own feces,” she says. Action 3 News’ Liz Dorland clarifies her statement, “Are you suggesting that they were eating it because they didn’t have any other food?” Nutter replies, “They didn’t have any other food yep.” Nutter doesn’t know why the owner would chain up the dogs, but has a theory saying ”I think it was basically they were breeding these pit bulls to possibly fund and add more dogs to a fighting ring.”

Every single Pit Bull was confined in to the property with half-inch heavy metal chain. To keep them there, the owner buried the chain attached to a car axle.

Action 3 News learns the property is linked to an Omaha man.  A man with a record of several animal violations in Douglas County. At this point, he’s not charged for anything.  However, Mills County Sheriff is investigating him for possible wrong doing. Dorland spoke with his mother in Omaha who claims he “loves dogs”.  She also confirms he is buying the land where the dogs were rescued.

The Pit Bulls are still fighting for their lives but appreciative. Nutter says, “A blanket and a toy and a meal means a lot to them.”

If Mills County finds animal neglect the man will face misdemeanor charges.  It is a felony if they link him to dog fighting.  Loess Hills Humane Society needs your help in food, blanket and toy donations.  To help, call 712-527-0753.

Source: Reuters, April 20, 2010

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a U.S. law that makes it a crime to sell videos of animals being tortured or killed violated constitutional free-speech rights.

By an 8-1 vote, the court struck down the 1999 animal cruelty law for infringing on free-speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Congress adopted the law in an attempt to stop people from profiting by the interstate sale of depictions of torture and killing of animals. It was mainly aimed at “crush” videos in which women in high-heeled shoes step on small animals as a type of sexual fetish.

Opponents of the law had argued it was too broad and too vague, making illegal some videos of blood sports like bullfighting and even some documentaries. They said it should be struck down as a form of government censorship.

Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts agreed that the law was substantially too broad and therefore invalid under the First Amendment.

While the prohibition of animal cruelty has a long history in American law, there is no evidence of a similar tradition prohibiting depictions of such cruelty, Roberts wrote in the 20-page opinion.

The ruling was a victory for Robert Stevens of Virginia, who made and sold three videos of pit bulls fighting each other and attacking hogs and wild boars.

His 2005 conviction was the first in the country under the law. Stevens was sentenced to 37 months in prison, but he has yet to start his sentence while his case was on appeal.

Attorneys for Stevens said his sentence was 14 months longer than professional football player Michael Vick’s prison term for running a dog-fighting ring. Vick has served his sentence and has resumed his career.

Laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with various other federal laws, already ban animal cruelty.

U.S. Justice Department lawyers had argued animal cruelty videos should be treated like child pornography, not entitled to any constitutional protection. Usually, videos and other depictions are protected as free speech, even if they show abhorrent conduct.

Only Justice Samuel Alito dissented. He said the law could be validly applied to at least two broad categories of expression — “crush” videos and dog-fighting videos.

The Supreme Court case is United States v. Stevens, No. 08-769.

Source: FirstCoastNews.com, April 7, 2010

Sheriff’s deputies broke up what appears to be a dog fighting ring after arriving at a horrific scene Saturday night.

Deputies from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said they saw several agitated fighting dogs behind a home on Circle G Lane, one of which wasn’t chained to anything, right near an unattended 4-year-old child who was sitting at a picnic table.  The child was safely removed from the area.

The first deputy to respond to a call about a suspicious person walking around the house said he heard a noise behind the house, and found that it was from a mortally wounded dog in a kennel in the back of a pickup truck, bleeding from several wounds.

The deputy also heard barking from several dogs coming from a bit farther away, and heard people running away into the woods, but couldn’t see them.

A neighbor yelled at the deputy where one of the people was standing, and the deputy found the owner of the pickup truck with the dog in the back, 37-year-old Cletus Gaskins.

Gaksins told the deputy his dog had gotten loose and he had come to pick it up.  He said he had taken the dog to the house for breeding.

The deputy found a loaded 9 mm handgun on the front seat of the truck.

The child who had been taken from the area around the dogs was placed in the back of a patrol car.  Moments later, a deputy saw a man walk up to the patrol car and try to open it.

He was sweating and panting, and told the deputy he hadn’t run away.  He said the boy was his son.

The deputy asked the man, 29-year-old Omar Aldridge, why he left his 4-year-old son alone with all the agitated fighting dogs, and he didn’t answer.

The boy was given to his mother, and the deputy called the Department of Children and Families to initiate a report.

The deputies were able to follow a path behind the house to what they said was a dog fighting ring, with an extension cord that ran to the house for lighting.

The path from the ring to the truck was full of fresh blood.

Animal control came to the house to take control of the 14 pitbulls.  The severely wounded one in the truck had to euthanized on the scene.

Gaskins and Aldridge were arrested.

Gaskins, who continually told the deputies he had only stopped by and was unaware of the dog fighting, faces charges of violation of the animal fighting act and animal cruelty.

Aldridge, who told the deputies he wasn’t at the home until the deputies arrived, is charged with child neglect and violation of the animal fighting act.