Mountaintop Natural Pets

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.

Source: STLToday.com, Nov 24, 2009

Source: King5.com, October 6, 2009

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible dog-fighting operation in the 9200 block of 292nd Street East in Graham. It may be the biggest the county has ever seen.

Monday night, 22 pit bulls are in custody at the Tacoma & Pierce County Humane Society. Many show signs of abuse and mistreatment, like a ripped lip on one dog and a wounded untreated leg on another.

“She’s obviously a dog that’s never seen a veterinarian,” says Kathleen Olson, Humane Society Director.

“They all have scars and have all been stitched up. There some dogs out there deceased in the bushes clear down to the bone. So obviously they were just discarding them by throwing them in the woods,” says Detective Ed Troyer.

The investigation started Saturday when deputies responded to a domestic violence call coming from the home. They discovered a marijuana grow operation and arrested a 36-year-old man who lives there. Then they found the dogs and evidence they were being trained to fight.

“There were treadmills and leashes on them and cages built on them forcing the dogs into exercising and getting stronger, and there was veterinary medicine around, but it was not being administered by a veterinarian. They were doing their own medical care for these dogs,” Troyer said.

Neighbors say they have seen traffic in and out of their home all the time, and that the residents often display firearms walking around the property. Those same neighbors wouldn’t talk on camera for fear of retaliation.

The Humane Society says a handful of dogs could be adopted out, but the rest will likely have to be euthanized.

Even if the dogs are friendly toward humans, they could already be trained to attack to other dogs – a behavior that is difficult to unlearn.

The 36-year-old man was arrested for first-degree domestic violence assault and for growing marijuana. Police say animal cruelty charges and more arrests could follow.

Source: SBSun.com, August 13, 2009

Three Adelanto teens are accused of fighting pit bulls in a vacant home this week, authorities said.Residents on Villa and Sandstone streets called the Sheriff’s Department late Tuesday to complain about the noise emitting from a vacant house. When deputies arrived, they caught one boy trying to run away.

Inside they found a pit bull with a bloody face, two boys and two more injured pit bulls tied up.

Two 15-year-old boys were booked into the Apple Valley Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of dog fighting. The 14-year-old boy was cited and released. The boys were not named because of their age.

Animal Control was called to pick up the injured dogs.