Dog Fighting

One thing I do hope is that innocent people's privacy isn't getting trampled in people's haste to claim a reward...false reports on this hotline could lead to a lot of stress and legal bills for folks who have a springpole, or treadmill they use...or simply have two pits who like to play loudly, or one pit with a scar.

As usual the premise is a good one..in practice..guess we'll see.

rwbeagles

One thing I do hope is that innocent people's privacy isn't getting trampled in people's haste to claim a reward...false reports on this hotline could lead to a lot of stress and legal bills for folks

 I have seen this happen with chaining. Great dog owners who happened to stake their dog in the backyard to allow for a workman to work in peace were reported as cruel owners leaving their dog chained in the backyard.

 And as for springpoles I am trying to get my DH to make me one and I do not even own a pit.

But the principle of this is good, hopefully people will think before they make a call. Let's get the badguys who actually fight their dogs.

IMO, I think if you're a good dog owner and you're not doing anything wrong people won't call the cops on you, nevermind this hotline. If you have a nosey neighbor who calls the cops and you're not doing anything wrong, why would you get in trouble?? Yes, the officers might question you but if nothing is wrong and all checks out OK you won't get in trouble...But, for people who see kids going in and out of a basement with scarred up pits, and are scared to file a report/complaint I think this line is good for.

I had the cops called on me because Apollo kept moaning/whining/crying when we went out and left him home. Our neighbor wasn't sure if he was hurt or not, but he sounded like it. So, the cops came left a note, later they questioned us and made sure he was OK....nothing bad happend. I was actually grateful that we have a neighbor and cops to come to check out our dog to make sure he was OK.

BlackLabbie

IMO, I think if you're a good dog owner and you're not doing anything wrong people won't call the cops on you, nevermind this hotline. If you have a nosey neighbor who calls the cops and you're not doing anything wrong, why would you get in trouble??

Be nice if the above were true. It's not IMO.

Some people hate certain breeds of dog...and will persecute those that have them regardless. Ask some pit folks here about the comments they get when walking their dogs....ask the folks in Denver how it felt losing their pits because of laws passed by the same kind of people.

Innocent people get put in jail and harrassed by law enforcement agencies all....the...time...

Not just dog related either.

I hope everyone here is aware that without a proper warrant no one has to allow any member of AC into their home...and doing so allows them to document anything they see, not just relating to the pet they are there to check on. That includes your parakeet cage that you were going to clean that very day but as of now looks "fe*ces contaminated".

As I said...good premise, admirable even...I hope it works...properly.

...end soapbox tirade...lol.

yup i agree with the above.. and also want to repeat the thing about allowing an ACO or cop into your house. you DONT have to let them. they bank on you not knowing that however... there was a news report a couple weeks ago about this very subject. it doesnt mean you are hiding something... just means you dont have to let that dude in your house because once you do... he sees you've "broken" some law, and your butt is in a sling.. 

and scarred pits doesnt always mean there is a dog fight ring. i have seen working hog dogs look pretty rough.... heck... my female bulldog is allergic to frontline. the first time i put it on her i couldnt wash it off fast enough. her face, neck, and shoulders looked like it had gone through a meat grinder... all from her trying to scratch it off and spreading it around more.. i was beyond scared of taking her out in public until she healed!

"no seriously! its an allergic reaction! 

"suuuuure it is.... "

And who is doing this investigation? We have a fighting population here, and it's no secret. Cops avoid that area of town because it gets NASTY. Dog fighters are cruel people, and they have no fears about going after YOU too.

We've broken up fighing rings before - court battles get rough, your word against theirs, etc. This is not fun stuff, folks. Not something to be taken lightly and just called out upon because you think something is going on.

Fights don't happen in a basement - they happen in an outdoor ring, securred behind a thick fence. You can't see them - you just cannot. If you see it, it's abandoned, and they no longer hold fights there. Neighbors of fighters don't report them, they literally fear for their lives. We pulled up at a house with a pit chained up one night, said the neighbor complained, the owner new better - neighbors don't turn neighbors in - it's like a code they have. If you do - the neighbors friends will go after you. It's messy, and it's dangerous. I'm not saying don't report it - but make SURE you have proof, pictures, and concrete evidence. Busts don't happen all smooth like they did with Vick - we are going though a court case where we have had two dogs for almost a year now.

stuff like that makes me wanna napalm the area........ if not for the innocents involved i mean....

when it gets bad like that, when even the cops are afraid to get involved, it really does seem like BSL is a good idea. i hate it but its people like this, the fighter/dealers, that are the driving force behind the BSLers. and its not hard to see why!! they arent going after you or me JUST because we own bulldogs... they are.. in a sense... using legal napalm regardless of the innocents.

well, except it's not just the fighting that's bad in that area... it's drugs, gangs, crap like that. Also - most of the properties are owned by the area churches, making things that much harder....

 as was said before.. you got to be the change you want to see.... i wonder why the churches are allowing that to happen on their property. or if those are really churches and not just covers, you know?

They are covers, no doubt. The entire area is full of them. This is the area of town that parents tell their children to stay out of. The area that when kids start driving, mom tells them how to get around that area so you don't get caught in the middle. I've been through there, numerous times, it's not that bad during the day. But at night? You need to run, not walk, out of there.

I've seen a slight decline of pits coming in from that area... that means one of two things. They are getting a lot smarter, or fighting is not a prevelent in that area anymore. Animal services stays out of there, unless they have to be there. There are only a few ACO's (that I know) that will go in there and try to better things. Even more scary, was, for a while - we saw an increase of lab puppies coming out of there....

Here is a perfect example of why one has to be careful about making assumptions on whether a person is involved in fight or not. 

While the person involved isn't anywhere near a model citizen it shows that things are not always as they seem even when looked at by authorities and that hard proof needs to be required.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/120633090634950.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

I don't trust anything HSUS is involved in.

timsdat

While the person involved isn't anywhere near a model citizen it shows that things are not always as they seem even when looked at by authorities and that hard proof needs to be required.

I still get chills reading that story.... when there are so many out there actually commiting these horrible crimes against the animals, the authorities waste their time going after one who isn't.

As I said earlier (I think) I believe this hotline to be one of the worst ideas yet. I don't disagree with everything HSUS says (they do have some good stuff out there) but this has to be one of the worst and least thought out.

edited to ask: Do you, blacklabbie, have a link to where HSUS published this story? I haven't had a chance to look, and I do plan on doing so, I was just wondering if you had it off-hand.

timsdat

Here is a perfect example of why one has to be careful about making assumptions on whether a person is involved in fight or not. 

That is a fine example of why I no longer trust the authorities. I am a law abiding citizen with nothing on my record apart from traffic tickets and even I do not trust them.

 Things like this should never happen. What happened to inoccent until proven guilty?

 And our justice system stinks, how do you expect people with a background like this to ever do right? They cannot since they are guilty without proper trials and they are marked for life as criminals.

 You would think a probation officer would have enough crap to get after people on than to bother with what kind of dog they own. And the damn dog is not dangerous until he bites someone, there is nothing in this story that shows these dogs are dangerous and I am sure if they were the authorties would have not released them back to their owner.

 I am sorry to say it, but our goverment sucks. I love my country but I do not think I care much for the goverment regardless of what political party they are. It is always a question of picking the lesser of two evils, regardless of what office is being run for. I yearn for the day when real live human beings, regualr citizens with hearts start running for public office. I doubt I will ever live to see it.

 Stupid laws and stupid rules manufactered by stupid people.

  For instance last week there was a guy here in Albuq NM who was stopped twice for speeding in a construction zone on I25, he had to pay double the fines for both tickets. Last Friday he was coming home and was careful to only go the posted 45mph limit. No one else was going 45 and he was being passed by everyone. Low and behold he was stopped and cited for going to slow for the flow of traffic. He informed the cop why he was going the posted 45 but he still received a ticket, which because it is in a construction zone will be a double fine ticket.

 The cop informed him that he should have been going with the flow of traffic, and he responded saying if I go the flow of traffic could I be cited and the cop said yes, if you happen to be the one chosen to pull over.

 Is that stupid or what?