July 27, 2007|By Lynn Anderson | Lynn Anderson,SUN REPORTER
The four pit bulls were kept in a cramped backyard and tethered with heavy chains. As animal enforcement officer Ricky Martin approached the yard, the dogs barked and growled. Two of them had open wounds, evidence, Martin said, that they had been used in an organized dogfight. He also noted smears of dried blood inside the dogs' shelters.
It was not the first time authorities had visited the East Baltimore rowhouse. Police raided it in May and found seven dogs, including four puppies, and a gun. They suspect that the vacant rowhouse is being used to shelter fighting dogs and that those responsible are involved in other illegal activities. The investigation remains open, police said.
City officials say it is this connection between dogfighting, drug dealing, illegal gambling and other criminal activities that has led them to take a more serious look at the cruel matches, which are often staged in rowhouse basements out of sight of neighbors and police. Losing dogs are sometimes shot or hanged because their owners don't want to weaken the breed.
Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the city health commissioner, and Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the acting police commissioner, are expected to announce the creation of a multi-agency dogfighting task force today. A police detective will investigate dogfight rings and will collect evidence against organizers, trainers, breeders and spectators. The effort could stem violence in the city and animal abuse, officials say.
"People who are destroying animals and engaging in this criminal conduct are ... also associated with drug culture and drug dealing," said Bealefeld, the former head of a police narcotics unit. "This is absolutely an easy integration into our gang enforcement efforts and our overall goal to reduce violent crime in the city."
Children interviewed at the East Baltimore rowhouse where police found fighting dogs said they were caring for the animals for adults. Bealefeld said he worries that caring for the dogs will lure children into a world that includes drug dealing and violence.
"There is a subliminal indoctrination into the thug world," said Bealefeld, adding that youths who feed fighting dogs are not unlike youths who sell drugs on city corners for adult drug dealers. They are both pawns in a large criminal organization. "It is the same thing," he said.
Sharfstein, who oversees animal control issues as the city's health commissioner, said he wants to make Baltimore a safer place for animals and people, some of whom are terrorized by neglected beasts and their owners.
Last month, Ruby Pulley, 53, of East Baltimore was bitten over 90 percent of her body by two pit bulls that had escaped from a backyard. There was no evidence that the dogs had been used for fighting, but their 17-year-old owner said he was breeding the dogs - two males and two females - so that he could sell their puppies. The boy said he couldn't say what the people who bought the puppies would do with them.
"This relates directly to community safety," Sharfstein said. "If we can break up rings of dogfighting, it will have a impact on neighborhoods."
The task force announcement was made a day after Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded not guilty to dogfight-related charges in federal court in Richmond, Va. Vick and three co-defendants were indicted this month on a single count of conspiracy relating to dogfighting. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to six years in prison and fined $250,000 in fines.
The indictment says Vick and others staged fights in Smithfield, Va., on property Vick bought in June 2001. Federal authorities uncovered the dogfighting ring during an April 25 drug raid. Prosecutors say the defendants, who ran Bad Newz Kennels, crossed state lines to participate in dogfights in Maryland and other states.
In Baltimore, dogfighting has been popular for years, police say. Many of the animals that wind up in the city's shelter are pit bulls, which have been bred to fight other animals but are not generally aggressive toward people. Pit bulls are extremely popular, in part because of their reputation as tough street dogs.
The Humane Society of the United States estimates that more than 30 percent of dogs in animal shelters nationwide are pit bulls, up from 2 percent to 3 percent 15 years ago.
Pit bulls and pit bull mixes are common in city neighborhoods. Most of the dogs are pets, but some are trained from the time they are puppies to be vicious fighters, animal control officers and police say. Dogs in training are often tethered with heavy chains and locks to build up neck muscles, said Martin, the city animal control officer, and also to prevent them from being stolen.
Martin said some dog owners use old tires to train dogs to latch on to an object. They also use cats and small dogs to encourage aggressiveness in dogs.
