19 dogs euthanized after dog-training arrest (kitty, and dog alert)

Tampa BayNews9 ^ | 01/27/2006 | BayNews9

[devane617]

Nineteen of the 150 dogs found at a Polk County residence Thursday have been euthanized because they were too sick to recover.

The dog's owner, Hewitt Grant, 38, of 2335 Pump Road in Mulberry is charged with one felony count of maintaining and owning equipment and dogs for baiting or fighting, 19 felony counts of animal cruelty (due to the dogs who have had to be euthanized because of their poor conditions) and 54 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Polk County deputies said Grant was using cat mills on his property to train dogs to be aggressive. A cat mill is when a live animal, such as a cat, opossum or raccoon, is placed in a cage just out of reach of a chained dog. The practice teaches the dog to be aggressive as it strains to catch the caged animal.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described how one dog was treated.

"This chain was around this pregnant dog's neck," Judd said. "And she was staked out. And for her to move at all, she had to drag this chain with her collar."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd holds the chain a pregnant dog was attached to.

Detectives also said some dogs would chase other animals in a circle to train the dogs for endurance and aggression.

Because the dogs have been trained to be killers, most will have to be euthanized instead of put up for adoption. The puppies, if they do not yet show aggression toward other animals, may be adoptable.

"Dogs this age, the little puppies, maybe if we put them together and they don't show signs of aggression, then there would be a possibility [of adoption]," said veterinarian Dr. Joseph Ertel. "The dogs are basically friendly, but when you put them with another dog, all they know to do is to try to kill the other dog."

All the dogs have been taken to the Animal Control facility in Winter Haven and will be cared for and fed by Animal Control until a hearing determines who will gain custody of the animals.

Click on the image for a larger picture of one of the dogs. Any dogs determined to be fit for adoption will not be adopted out until after the custody hearing, which may not occur for several months.

Judd said his deputies will be looking for other cases of illegal dog training.

"We are going to come to your residence. We are going to come to your puppy mill," Judd said. "We are going to come to your dog-fighting mill and put you in jail and save these dogs."

[Rightfootforward]

"The dogs are basically friendly, but when you put them with another dog, all they know to do is to try to kill the other dog."

That sounds pernanent to me. Our rescued, formerly abused and aggressive dog has come a long way in the plus 7 years we've had her. She's come a very long way in terms of trusting kind human beings, but she is NOT to be trusted around other dogs, cats, or any other living creatures. Including a precious, wild baby duckling that had the grave misfortune to visit our back yard.

We don't know Chloe's exact history but the animal behaviorist who evaluated her said that she'd had a very rough and mean former life.

I loath the people who train dogs to kill for sport. It's disgusting. I wish the rescued dogs all the luck in the world. Truly hope that some of them will be able to live semi-normal lives.

[Darnright]

>That said... I already pinged the thread once... The whole thing is disgusting, and it makes me feel pretty powerless.<

Understood. I understand where you're coming from. That human beings can be so base, so brutal to a dumb beast strikes horror into those of us who love God's creatures. In addition, we are to love each other as we love ourselves, and I admit I find it very hard to love those who perpetrate such evil on their fellow man, not to mention animals who, if given the chance, love us imperfect humans with every fiber of their being.

[Emmalein]

There is one particularly horrifying scene in the video. A losing dog, exhausted, laying on the ground, panting in pain from its injuries, is connected to a battery by its "owner" and electrocuted. Heart-rending to see. :~(

I am not for more laws in general but when it comes to animal abuse I think there should be stronger laws. In too many areas of the country this type of abuse is a misdemeanor and it's a joke. I worked for a sanctuary that was involved with farm animals and the abuse and neglect cases that we used to investigate sickened and appalled us.