New Page 1

"The Violent Underworld of Dog Fighting"

by James M. Lewis

DVM, July 2007 Vol. 38 Issue 7 page 24

To some people, it's an exciting sport.

To others, it's a harmless gambling enterprise.

But to most Americans, it's a shady, repugnant business they'd rather not hear about.

Opinions aside, dog fighting is a crime that seems to be on the increase, and veterinarians are joining hands with law-enforcement officials and animal-rights groups nationwide in a sweeping new effort to bring it to heel.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) went on the offense, posting a new policy statement on its Web site specifically addressing animal fighting and urging its members to cooperate with law enforcement in curbing the practice.

Congress, too, joined the fray recently by passing the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act providing a three-year prison term and fines up to $250,000 for interstate and foreign animal-fighting activities. Dog fighting is a felony in all states except Wyoming and Idaho, although state penalties vary widely, from modest fines to serious jail time.

Introduced in the United States more than a century ago, dog fighting has long operated in seedy, underground venues, but some recent highprofile cases - particularly one involving an investigation at a Virginia property owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and major raids and several arrests at nine locations in southern Ohio - are shining a light on its methods and business side as never before.

"It's definitely on the upswing," says John Goodwin, an investigator for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). That group estimates 20,000 to 40,000 people participate in what it believes is a multibillion-dollar industry each year nationwide.

The HSUS says the majority of fighting dogs are pit-bull terriers bred specifically for the blood sport and that top breeders command up to $5,000 each for a pit-bull puppy. It says an average dog fight carries a $10,000 purse, but when highprofile figures get involved the payouts can be many times that.

Veterinarians "can and do play a critical role in many of these cases by providing expert testimony on dog-fight injuries, equipment and the drugs that are used. They also help just by reporting what they see: Good veterinarians will report animal injuries and abuse from dog fights in the same way good modical doctors report suspected child abuse id the proper authorities," Goodwill says.

Reporting obvious light injuries is always the ethical thing for veterinarians to do, whether required by law to do so or not, says Gail Golab, PhD, DVM, the AVMA's associate director for animal welfare.

Seven states - Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and West Virginia - require DVMs to report dog-fight injuries, with varying penalties for noncompliance, Golab says.

In states where reporting is not mandated, treating a suspected fight injury "can put a veterinarian in an uncomfortable predicament at times," Golab says. "A fight-dog's owner might bring it in for treatment believing the doctor won't recognize or suspect the source of the wounds, and if there is no mandate to report, or it's unclear to whom one is to report, the doctor has a predicament. But the profession has taken a position on it, as outlined in the new (AVMA) policy statement."

Few members call the AVMA for advice on dog fighting, but attorneys, law-enforcement and other regulatory officials sometimes do, Golab says.

There seem to be three separate groups in the dog-fighting world, Golab says.

"At the top, there are the seniors, or so-called professionals, involved on a naiional or even international scale, who selectively breed and condition dogs tor fighting. They may seek a veterinarian's help if they think they can get away with it, but often they'll selftreat the animals. The dogs are of some value to them."

The second group, says Golab, are "the hobbyists, those who are in it for gambling, for the financial reward. Their animals tend not to he well-bred, and they are not well cared for, if at all."

So called "street lighters" make up the third group, says Golab. "Usually they're gang-affiliated, the animals they use might come from shelters or rescue groups, and they're the most abusive to their animals. They don't care for injured animals at all."

The street-fighting group in cities has been growing rapidly of late, Goodwin believes. "The boom is due largely to pop-culture influences," he says.

Golab says veterinarians in some areas, particularly urban, "are becoming more aware of fighting and better able to recognize injuries, which typically occur to a dog's face, front legs, abdomen and groin areas, usually deep puncture wounds in various stages of healing."

While dog owners might be reluctant about consulting DVMs, "sometimes another person indirectly related to fighting, a relative or someone who notices a badly injured dog, might bring the animal in for treatment. Besides obvious wounds, vets sometimes check bloodcell chemistry or run toxicology tests for evidence of steroids, diuretics or other drugs, or check for elevated muscle enzymes, all of which can help in prosecutions," Golab says.

This doesn't mean, however, there aren't DVMs and veterinary technicians who turn a blind eye to dog fighting or even are present at some rights, Goodwin says. "A winning dog is a valuable asset to its owner, and those owners are more likely to want professional treatment for their animals, either right on the spot or shortly after. I know of instances where vets were present at fights, but more often it's technicians who are paid to be there to treat the wounded."

Still, "the majority of veterinarians I've talked to will do what they can to stop dog fighting," Goodwin says. "One practice I heard about but can't recall the name even advertised the fact that it would not accept any dog-fight patients; word of that quickly got around among the criminal clement."

Goodwin explains that DVMs are a major help to prosecutors, "because they are credible experts on fight injuries - they know a fight injury from one that occurred when a dog crawled under a barbed wire or thorn bush or whatever else a defense might concoct - and they know what the drugs that are confiscated are used for."

One veterinarian who has testified in or consulted on numerous dog-fight prosecutions is Dena Mangiamele, who operates a private consulting service in San Diego - Animal Legal and Veterinary Consulting Services. She formerly served as chief veterinarian tor the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation, and as animal-control director for San Diego County.

Helping collect evidence at raids, preparing a thorough case and then testifying "is dangerous business," Mangiamele tells DVM Newsmagazine. "Going to some of these places is scary; it places you in danger. Besides the animal abuse, there often are weapons, gambling and drugs involved."

"Good preparation is the key" to winning a case," Mangiamele says. "You always have to stay a couple of steps ahead of them (the defense)"

She has testified in dog-fight cases in California, Nevada and New York, and consulted on a case in Louisiana.

Good preparation, she says, includes visiting the site of the raid if possible, examining the dogs's injuries - typically on the head, neck, chest and front limbs, almost never the rear limbs looking at photographs taken when they were impounded, "getting to really know these animals - which might have been impounded eight or 10 months earlier. You can't be taken offguard or taken by surprise by the defense. You have to anticipate what they'll argue," Mangiamele says.

"They might say that it's an injured show dog or the animal was injured in a pull contest, was raked by a boar's tusk, or that equipment such as treadmills (used to strengthen lighting dogs' stamina) or substances like steroids were used in a legal context. I've heard it all and can rebut all of it."

Mangiamele says she prepares statistics on each dog in a case, then selects the two or three worst injuries that she can speak about in trial without notes. "I have as many specific facts and Hgures at hand as I can. I also advise the prosecution on pharmaceuticals that were confiscated, the amounts and what they're used for. Sometimes defendants have multiple cases of fluids, or a big store of staples or suturing material. It's the quantity that gives them away as fighters despite whatever creative excuses they come up with for having those large stores. This level of preparation almost always blows away the judge and jury."

Besides her trial work, Mangiamele also is a consultant for the HSUS and has helped train DVMs, particularly shelter vets, in several states to recognize and prosecute dog fighters.

Someone like Mangiamele - a DVM with good forensic knowledge - "definitely will be needed in the case in Virginia," Goodwin says. "Both sides will pull out all the stops."

It turns out that one of the nation's top forensic veterinarians - Dr. Melinda Merck of Canton, Ga. - has been assigned to the Virginia case as a representative of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), according to Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior vice president of Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and Legislative Services for the ASPCA in Washington, D.C.

Lockwood is Merck's supervisor at ASPCA, although she operates a consulting service on cruelty cases. (Lockwood, an animal behaviorist, also has worked with authorities during raids and has taught courses at veterinary conferences on animalcruelty issues and dog fighting. See related story on p. 34.)

Merck, who was unavailable for an interview with DVM Newsmagazine, will assist the Surry County sheriffs staff and (Virginia) Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindextcr on the case. She told reporters she couldn't comment on her specific role.

During an April drug raid on Vick's property in Surry, a small rural community in southeastern Virginia, investigators reportedly found 66 dogs - 55 of them pit bulls - in the backyard, some in kennels and some tethered with heavy chains.

Also reportedly found were a rape stand, used to hold non-receptive dogs in place for mating; a treadmill; a pry bar used to open the mouths of dogs when they have clamped shut while biting; and a bloodied piece of carpeting. Experts say carpeting is sometimes used to give dogs traction in a fighting arena.

Vick, a registered dog breeder, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "I'm never at the house. I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing." The house reportedly was put up tor sale shortly after the raid.

Vick is a native of Newport News, Va., and played college football at Virginia Tech. He has refused comment on the case on his attorney's advice, other than to state that he was unaware of any alleged illegal activity there.

ESPN.com, however, quoted a confidential source as saying that he'd seen Vick at dog fights, describing him as "one of the heavyweights."

At press time, federal authorities seemed to be taking control of the case, assisted by Virginia police in executing a search warrant at the property. A local search warrant expired before it could be executed.

That raised questions as to whether any prosecution that takes place would be handled at the federal level, or by Poindexter and local authorities. For the case to come under federal jurisdiction, there would need to be evidence of criminal activity across state lines. Goodwin says he believes that did occur.

Poindexter said he had not filed any charges to date because investigators so tar had not produced any solid evidence linking Vick to dog fighting. Under Virginia law, dog fighting is a felony that carries a maximum five-year jail term. Poindexter said some informants had come forward, and his investigation was ongoing.

"This process will not be driven by people who hate Michael Vick, people who love Michael Vick or by people who love animals," Poindexter told an Atlanta reporter. He questioned whether federal authorities would even look into the matter if the name of a high-profile personality were not attached to it.

Poindexter said some erroneous reports had surfaced, including one that the dogs found were malnourished and that many bore scars and injuries apparently stemming from fights. Actually, he told reporters, the animals seemed reasonably well cared for.

Animals seized at the Virginia property reportedly are being held in kennels around the area until the case is completed. After that, they are likely to be euthanized. Goodwin says that dogs captured in almost all fighting cases must be put down because their inbred or trained aggression makes them unfit for adoption as pets.

In a separate case, nine men were indicted in southern Ohio in late March in what was described as part of the federal government's largest-ever dogfighting bust, following a raid on nine locations in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas, Goodwill says. The nine lace 47 counts related to dog fights, gun-running and drug trafficking.

The case may help expose the growing incidence of dog fighting and crimes often related to it, authorities say.

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann was present during one raid, at a warehouse in Moraine, Ohio, where about 25 men, women and children showed up, expecting to see a dog fight. "It almost looked like a gambling casino," Dann told reporters. "There was a concession stand set up, and a fighting pit. It was really kind of surreal to see."

In the raids, agents arrested 24 people and seized 64 dogs as part of a 14-month investigation that also reached parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

The cases currently are working their way through the legal system, Goodwin says.

Dog fights "are so violent that dogs have had their jaws broken and have bled to death in the pit," Goodwin says, adding that fighters keep looking for ways to make them even more violent, citing the example of an underground video "that shows an owner using a rotating power tool like a sander to sharpen the canine teeth of a sedated dog. I don't know how common that is, but what these people dream up never ceases to amaze me."