The crackdown on animal abuse continues with South Carolina hitting the public right in the face with 10 billboards that will feature an image of a dog with a scarred face and missing an eye and a hotline number for people to call; (888) CRIME-SC.

“The message is, if you see something, say something,” Attorney General Henry McMaster said.

Dogfighting can be associated with crimes including gang violence, drug trafficking, serial killings and child molestation, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.

“If someone will abuse an animal,” Lott said, “they will abuse a human.”

Anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction in an animal-fighting case can receive a reward up to $5,000 from the Humane Society of the United States and distributed by CrimeStoppers.

McMaster established a statewide Dogfighting Task Force in 2004, which has made more than 50 arrests, authorities said. More than 300 dogs have been seized.

Dogfighting comes with some severe penalties.

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For as horrific as the Michael Vick dogfighting debacle was, it had some positive ramifications. The awareness of this bloodsport is now at an all time high and the public as well as lawmakers are demanding changes, higher penalties, stronger prosecution and harsher sentences.

One of the scariest things about dogfighting is that is goes beyond the terrible abuse and cruelty to the  dogs. Usually there are drugs, guns, vast quantities of money and gangs involved and all these ingredients add up to make an untenable situation for dogs and people alike.

More and more states and passing more laws when it comes to dogfighting. It’s now a felony in Idaho and Wyoming, finally! Virginia’s gotten tougher on dogfighting and now Georgia is following suit.

Five months after Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for his involvement in dog fighting, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed legislation Tuesday stiffening Georgia’s dog-fighting laws.

Georgia has had among the weakest dog-fighting laws in the country, according to the Humane Society of the United States. The new law makes it illegal to train, transport, sell or own a fighting dog. It also will be illegal to promote or advertise a fight and to attend a dog fight.

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WARNING - CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES!!

Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the federal Animal Welfare Act prohibits the interstate transportation of dogs for fighting purposes. Forty-eight (48) states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have made dogfighting a felony offense. Forty-seven (47) states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands prohibit the possession of dogs for fighting. And 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands prohibit being a spectator at a dogfight.

What is Dogfighting?

Dogfighting is a sadistic “contest” in which two dogs — specifically bred, conditioned, and trained to fight — are placed in a pit (generally a small enclosed area) to fight each other, for the purpose of entertainment and gambling by the “spectators”. Fights can average nearly an hour in length and often last more than two hours. Dogfights end when one of the dogs is no longer willing or able to continue. Dog fighting is prevalent EVERYWHERE… from the most urban of neighborhoods to the deep backwoods.

Dog Fighting - Animal Cruelty

The injuries inflicted and sustained by dogs participating in dogfights are frequently severe, including deep puncture wounds and broken bones, and some are even fatal. Dogs used in these “events” often die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, or infection hours or even days after the fight.

Other animals - besides the actual fight dogs - are often sacrificed as well. Some owners train their dogs for fights using smaller animals such as cats, rabbits, or small dogs. These “bait” animals are often stolen pets or animals obtained through “free to good home” advertisements.

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We can only hope that a day will come when these faces will be no more, when people will have heart and compassion and empathy enough to never let these things happen to these innocent and defenseless creatures.

Not for the faint of heart but then again the harsh side of reality seldom ever is!

We Will Never Dance with the Devil Again

This is far overdue but I guess better late than never as Wyoming has now joined the other 49 states in signing legislation into law that makes dog fighting a felony crime.

With enactment of Wyoming’s new law making dog-fighting a felony, all 50 states now have criminalized the bloodsport, a move that the Humane Society of the United States ushers in as a new era for man’s best friend.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed the legislation Tuesday to up the penalty for participating in dog fighting from a misdemeanor to a felony. Wyoming followed Idaho, whose governor signed similar legislation last week.

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On Monday, the VA Senate approved tougher laws for dog fighting, the legislation passing unanimously. Virginia, the state brought to the forefront with Michael Vick’s dog fighting notoriety, is just one of the states to toughen its laws since then.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine supports the legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously on Monday and previously had cleared the House of Delegates. It’s unclear when he would sign it.

Several states have toughened their animal-fighting laws after the high-profile Vick case.

The bill would make attendance at any organized animal fight, not just dogfights, a felony.

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Dogfighting, the cruel bloodsport that gained national attention with Michael Vick’s arrest and conviction has had only two hold out state where it was not a felony; Idaho and Wyoming. All the remaining 48 states have had felony charges on the books and many of those are even upping the stakes, making ever attending a dogfight a felony and the penalties are getting stiffer!

Earlier this month, Idaho passed a felony dogfighting bill that is waiting only on the governor’s signature to become law and now even more good news, Wyoming is stepping up to the plate!

A bill that would make dogfighting a felony has cleared the House and is on its way to the Senate.

The dogfighting bill in Wyoming cleared the state House 52-2 on Thursday. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rosie Berger, R-Big Horn, said she expects the measure to do well in the Senate in part because of strong public support.

“We have had just terrific input from our citizens, making this such a high priority,” Berger said after the House vote. (Billings Gazette)

Now this is what I call excellent new for dogs in Virginia!! A bill that will crack down on both puppy mills and dog fighting passed! I spoke about it at the end of January and it looks like although it may have just squeaked by the House of Delegates to a 9-8 vote, there were no problems in the General Assembly.  Now if more states would just get the ball rolling and push it through the live of so many dogs could be saved and improved.  Humane treatment is a bare minimum of standard but to many dogs in these puppy mill environments, even a that bare minimum would be a tremendous improvement!

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) It was a good day for dogs at the General Assembly.

Without debate, the House of Delegates passed bills on Tuesday cracking down on dogfighting and so-called puppy mills.

The dogfighting bill makes it easier for authorities to investigate people who engage in the blood sport. The measure was prompted, at least in part, by the Michael Vick dogfighting case. The suspended Atlanta Falcons star is serving 23 months for a federal dogfighting conspiracy.

The bill applies to all forms of animal fighting and makes cockfighting a felony for the first time in Virginia. The vote was 93-2.

The puppy-mill measure passed 91-6. It would regulate and license large commercial dog breeders, whose operations would be subject to inspection by animal control officials. (WJZ)

Way overdue but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Meet Oogy. His story will rip your heart out but it is one you will never forget, just like everyone who has ever met him, this incredible survivor from hell.

If you care, take the time to read, it will be worth those few minutes. After you finish I think you will understand what you need to do. Please, do it!

When Oogy was four months old and weighed thirty five pounds he was tied to a stake and used as bait for a Pit Bull. The left side of his face from just behind his eye was torn off, including his ear. He was bitten so hard a piece of his jaw bone was crushed. Afterward, he was thrown into a cage and left to bleed to death.

I am not a religious man, but I can only conclude that at that moment God turned around and paid attention. The police raided the facility, found Oogy, and took him to Ardmore Animal Hospital, where Dr. Bianco stitched him up and saved him. This coincided with the last weekend of life for our cat, Buzzy, who was 14 at the tine. My sons and I had taken Buzzy to AAH for his last visit. The staff had gathered Buzzy in when out comes this pup to be walked that looked like nothing more than a gargoyle. He covered us with kisses. The boys and I fell instantly in love with him.

Life goes out one door and in another.

“This is one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met” Dr Bianco said. “I can’t imagine what he’d be like if half his face hadn’t been ripped off.” Then, Dr. B said, “I am not going to tell you the things this dog has been through”. Dr. B’s assistant, Diane, took Oogy into her home for several weeks to foster him and make sure he was safe and to crate train him. Once Oogy came into our house, for my sons, then 12, it was like having a little brother. Whatever they did and wherever they went, there was Oogy. Oogy had to get involved in whatever the lads were doing. He became known as The Third Twin.

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Lately I haven’t written much on dogfighting in part because the stories have gotten so prolific that I would almost have to create a whole new website to keep up with them. Ever since the Michael Vick debacle brought dogfighting into the spotlight, media coverage of these horrific crimes has escalated to the point that you can find almost scores of them everyday.

Where was all the coverage just a year ago? This is not something new!! I guess animal advocates should be happy for at least ‘better late than never’ since these horrific crimes are now being taken more seriously and stronger laws are being enacted all over the country against dogfighting and those who participate and attend these ‘events’.

Every now and then though I’ll come across a story that so graphically shows again the horror and total disregard that those who participate and organize these events have for the innocent victims, the dogs, and the law. That was the case when I came across the story about dogfighting in the New York suburbs. The image was so graphic it just brought tears to my eyes and made me so angry that anyone could have such total disregard to living creatures.

Here’s the story in completion from Associated Press

Dogfighting Evidence in NYC Suburbs

By JIM FITZGERALD

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — 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.

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