HSYC In The News

BLOOD SPORT: Day 1
A look at dogfighting in York, Chester and Lancaster counties

By Tim Eberly The Herald
(Published February 16‚ 2003)

The cameraman zoomed in as one pit bull clamped down on the other's snout, creating the sound of teeth grinding into bone.

"Ooh, that sounds nasty," he said as blood poured from the gash.

The 10-minute dogfight, held in a McConnells barn off U.S. 321 in December 1997, was not broken up by police. But five men were later arrested and convicted after someone mailed the videotape to a York County Humane Society employee in June 1999.

A York police officer recognized one of the suspects, and four others were identified later. Four pleaded guilty to charges, including animal fighting and ill treatment of animals; the fifth was convicted in a May 2000 trial. The tape, which documented two fights, was played in court.

"Half the people on the jury turned their heads -- they couldn't watch it," said Detective Greg Maggart of the York County Sheriff's Office.

None of the men served prison time, but instead received other sentences, including probation, community service and fines.

The first bout featured two mocha-colored pit bulls named "Red" and "Gus." Within a minute, one drew first blood when it clamped down on the other's right front leg. The spectators egged on the beasts, and in return, the dogs wagged their tails as they took viper-like snaps at each other.

During a break, a close-up of a blood-stained wall and carpet accompanied the narrator's comment, "That's what it's about."

Afterward, as one man hosed blood off the dog's nose, the cameraman admired the wound. "That's a good hole, ain't it?"

Growing industry

Imported from Europe in the 19th century, dogfighting has mushroomed into a multimillion dollar trade. It is illegal in every state and the District of Columbia. It is a felony in 46 states, including South Carolina, where the charge carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Despite the risk of prosecution, the heartbeat of the subculture is strong. More than 40,000 people nationwide are involved in the blood sport, often associated with drug-dealers and gangs, said renowned dogfighting expert Eric Sakach, director of The Humane Society's West Coast office.

"To get any kind of joy watching two animals fight to the death... it's a sad statement about our society," said Robert Reder, West Coast office coordinator. "We as a society need to recognize what this is -- a gross, terrible, inhumane thing. It's awful, and it'll exacerbate into some kind of human violence."

There are 10 underground dogfighting publications, including the N.Y.-based Sporting Dog Journal, and the Humane Society has identified at least 100 Web sites.

Dogfighting has invaded parts of York, Chester and Lancaster counties, local authorities say. Yet most officers interviewed for this story concur with Great Falls Police Chief Mike Revels.

"We've got it," Revels said, "but we can't find it."

During the past two years, law enforcement agencies in the tri-county area have busted six dog fights, resulting in 16 arrests, according to reports. Four were in Chester County; two occurred in Lancaster County in 2001.

A trail of evidence

Still, area officials have plenty of circumstantial evidence that dogfighting is a bigger problem than arrest records show.

Hannah Snow, York County Animal Control director, estimated her department in 2002 euthanized 200 abandoned or stray pit bulls -- the canine used almost exclusively in dogfighting. About 30 percent of them bore fresh wounds or scars typical of dog fights, she said.

Snow's counterpart in Chester County, Vicky Land, has found pit bulls chained to stakes in remote wooded areas and, suspecting their owners were dogfighters, took the dogs and left her business card taped to trees. She also fields frequent complaints from residents about neighbors fighting dogs.

A half-dozen times since 2000, York County drug task force agents have searched drug houses and found dogfighting equipment and paraphernalia, said task force commander Marvin Brown.

According to Sakach, dogfighters fall into three categories: Serious (professional), hobbyist and street fighters. The latter comprises the majority of offenders, but all three exist in the tri-county area.

Great Falls police broke up a street fight in May 2001 in a restaurant parking lot, reports said. Two Great Falls men were arrested after police found fresh blood splattered on the ground in a 10- to 12-square foot area and a pair of injured pit bulls. A brown pit bull had cuts on its throat, and a white pit bull suffered from puncture wounds and scratches.

The business of dogfighting

In high-stakes matches, however, dog handlers sign fight contracts outlining the animals' sex and weights, the size of the wager and fight rules. Promoters can charge admission fees, and sometimes arrange for liquor and food vendors, according to Humane Society documents.

Some promoters hire armed security and referees, known locally as "regulators," for multifight events or conventions. Similar to boxing, conventions may have as many as 10 contests on a fight card. In the tri-county area, they're referred to as derbies -- a term more commonly used in cockfighting.

Payoffs can be "phenomenal," said Sakach, who attended more than a dozen fights in 19 years as an undercover agent.

Tony Gregory, formerly a Chester narcotics officer, heard a story from an informant about a professional boxer who came to Chester County and made a $1 million bet on a dogfight. He won, reportedly.

Gregory, who died in an off-duty motorcycle accident in August, also knew of purses as high as $110,000. In Great Falls, Revels learned of a $20,000 payday. A local man involved in dogfighting, who asked to remain unidentified, said he knows that $15,000 wagers have been made in Rock Hill. Standard bets, though, range from $200 to $600.

The career of a fighting dog, if it survives, usually lasts three years, typically between the ages of 2 and 5. A 46-year-old Rock Hill man and former handler, who asked not to be identified, fought his dog once a week when it was in its prime. He never bet more than $3,000.

Asked if handlers feel remorse for profiting from animal fighting, he said, "You know they feel guilty, but they ain't going to talk about it."

A regulation dogfighting ring is 16 square feet, usually carpeted and bordered by 2- to 3-foot plywood walls, Sakach said. Another Rock Hill man, who also asked not to be identified, said a ring in Chester County is hidden on the second floor of a barn and drops like an elevator to ground level.

Dogs are separated into weight classes. Average fight attendance ranges between 15 and 20 people -- mostly male -- of all ages and races. A panel of judges awards trophies for the fiercest fighters. Organized fights also are used to display show dogs or for peddling puppies that could one day become "prospects."

Drugs, weapons and dogfighting paraphernalia, including syringes and painkillers, frequently are sold.
Winter is the preferred season to fight dogs. Warm weather invites heat exhaustion and infections.

The fight

Many dogfights end when a pit bull gets a "lock" on its opponent, forcing it into submission or killing it. Pit bulls maintain their death grips on foes, dragging them around triumphantly until the dogs are pulled apart with a "breaking stick." An essential tool of dogfighting, a breaking stick resembles a large pencil; it is used to twist a pit bull's jaw out of a hold.

Matches can end in other ways. Handlers throw in the towel for an injured dog, or animals are disqualified if they jump out of the pit. Also, a referee will declare a winner if its opponent refuses to fight.

Periodic breaks occur in an organized fight when a dog turns its head or shoulder away from its opponent without remaining on the attack. The dog that committed the turn loses if it fails to record a "scratch" -- an aggressive maneuver --immediately after the pause in action.

Average matches last 45 minutes, sources say. As an undercover agent, however, he attended a fight in Model, Colo., that lasted 5 hours, 22 minutes.

Some end in a matter of seconds.

"It's a lot like boxing," Gregory said. "Some are KOs (knockouts); some go the distance."

Losing dogs are killed sometimes. The former handler from Rock Hill reported seeing owners shoot their dogs and toss them in the bed of a pickup truck. The phrase "kill him out" means an embarrassed or angry owner wants his dog to die in the fray.

In the testosterone-drenched sport, the pit bull is viewed as an extension of the handler, Reder said. "If the dogs fail, the handler has failed."

Fisticuffs between spectators are shrugged off, the former handler said, but pit bulls that attack people at matches are punished swiftly. He has seen animals shot for that reason, too.

Wounded dogs are treated on-site. It's not uncommon for a handler to stitch up a deep gash or administer a shot of penicillin. Taking a wounded dog to a veterinarian would be risky because injuries may be reported to the police, the handler said.

Becoming a 'match dog'

Gambling and violence are essential ingredients to dogfighting, but there is another draw.

"That (machismo), just wanting to beat somebody else," the former Rock Hill handler said. "To see who can train the best dog."

Training begins in puppyhood. Handlers aggravate puppies by putting a sock in their mouths and yanking them around. They keep their dogs on heavy chains, in close proximity to each other but not within striking distance. An owner won't show affection to a dog for fear of detracting from its aggression.

When a dog exhibits ring-like behavior, an owner will "bump," or stage a sparring match, with another dog. The outcome determines whether the dog will begin "schooling," a rigorous program that occurs between 16 and 18 months of age. In this stage, a master introduces a dog to a variety of fighting styles.

What follows is pivotal in the development of a match dog.

Called the "game test," the trainer pits the dog against a string of opponents in 5- to 15-minute fights until it is exhausted.

The handler then puts a larger, well-rested dog in the ring. If the prospect, at the brink of fatigue, rushes the new opponent, it passes and becomes a match dog.

Torture tactics

Physical stamina is almost as important as its "gameness," or willingness to fight under extreme fatigue and possible death.

A common training method includes tying a tire or heavy weights to a dog's collar and making it pull the objects around. Another includes making an animal swim for a prolonged period.

Makeshift treadmills are used to keep fighters trim, ideally at 12-percent body fat. The unidentified former Rock Hill fighter said a brisk 20-minute run is sufficient. Other handlers make their dogs run alongside a moving vehicle.

Stray or abandoned pit bulls are found wandering Rock Hill streets weekly, animal control director Snow said. Often they're found with thick chain collars -- a technique to strengthen a dog's neck.

"Sometimes I have chains up here I could hang an elephant on," Snow said.

Street fighters have been known to steal pets to use as bait, acquainting their killers with the taste of blood.

A pinch of gunpowder or amino acids added to a dog's food once a month "brings the meanness out of them," the former handler said. Another option is injecting a dog with illegal anabolic steroids.

Handlers hoping to gain an unfair advantage sometimes put toxin on a dog's coat -- the equivalent of boxers rubbing eye irritant on their gloves. To prevent such cheating, suspicious handlers will insist that the dogs be bathed prior to a match.

To beef up a dog's jaw muscles, the unnamed former handler beheaded chickens and poured blood on a rope knot. Then he hung the rope over a swing and made his pit bull hang by its mouth.

Muscles become so overdeveloped, "it'll look like they got two apples in their mouth," he said.

Contact Tim Eberly at 329-4063 or teberly@heraldonline.com.

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