capologist 13,646 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 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."This is the biggest problem and the toughest to actually stop. The gang level streetfighting that's attached to everything that comes along with gangs. It's got to stop and if you don't care about dogs then I'm sure you have to care about gangs, afterall, it affects people... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thesouphead 3,913 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 yeah right......there were several huge busts that happened in the Chicago area around the same time the Vick stuff went down.....I just happened to come across it while doing dog-fighting research and whatnot.......never heard it mentioned on televised news and have heard nothing about it since. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Self Made Soul 120 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 DEY JUST DAWGZsorry... I miss the Vick forum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bam_19 1 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 My question is why didn't vick just set up his operation in Wyoming or Idaho, ##### why do it illegally when you can do it legally. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ak Falcon 2 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Eh, this is something that was cool to pick on a while ago, but now its nothing more than a afterthought... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
capologist 13,646 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 bam_19 (1/10/2008)My question is why didn't vick just set up his operation in Wyoming or Idaho, ##### why do it illegally when you can do it legally.It's not legal in Wyoming or Idaho, it's a misdemeanor and not a felony but I imagine that will be changing fairly soon.Of course, since Vick took his "enterprise" across state lines, he'd still be in the same hot water with the Feds... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
capologist 13,646 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 ak_falcon27 (1/11/2008)Eh, this is something that was cool to pick on a while ago, but now its nothing more than a afterthought...Maybe for you but there's a lot of us that care about it far beyond Vick... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gritzblitz56 0 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 They even had an episode of CSI centered around dogfighting. The ring was run by a rich, white woman of all people. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpepp4prez 0 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 capologist (1/11/2008)ak_falcon27 (1/11/2008)Eh, this is something that was cool to pick on a while ago, but now its nothing more than a afterthought...Maybe for you but there's a lot of us that care about it far beyond Vick...I'm just curious Cappy, how much did you post about this topic before Vick? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
capologist 13,646 Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 jpepp4prez (1/11/2008)I'm just curious Cappy, how much did you post about this topic before Vick?I've post quite a few times on animal abuse here (specifically off the top of my head--the two kids that put the puppy in the oven, the kids here in Macon that set a dog on fire just for kicks and the Babineaux case as well). More importantly, I've been involved off the boards a lot more than on in fighting animal abuse. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nobkowski 404 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Way to go Caps, keep up the good work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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