“Fighting dogs now being
trained to love”
Last month
authorities were able to break up a dogfighting ring; however, this bust made
headlines because it was the second largest dogfighting ring in the nation.
Federal and state authorities in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia were
able to rescue over 371 dogs! This particular ring featured very harsh training
such as exposing the dogs to extreme heat or cold and they also forcing young
puppies to wear long heavy chains. They even started this process for 8-10
month old puppies; while regular dogfighters wait until the pups are at least
half a year old! The horrifying images featuring the amount of animal cruelty
shocked authorities and made news reporters mouths gape. Luckily the ASPCA and
Humane Society was able to take in all of these neglected animals.
Unfortunately,
there is a long road of recovery for many of these dogs. Many were not taken
care of and were skinny enough to see their ribs. While some of them had malnourished
wounds, others had severe injuries that they conjured up during a match. These trained
fighters not only had physical wounds, they also had psychological ones as
well. The cruelty these dogs faced changed them to be fearful of everything,
their minds seemed to always be in a panic like state. Some of the dogs were so
bad that they would cower at the sight of a human. The majority of the dogs
needed a behavior modification and needed to be trained on how to love again.
With the care, nourishment,
and training from the ASPCA there is hope that many of these neglected will
find a home. The ultimate goal is that each will find a loving family but some
may go on to become rescue/work dogs or even rehabilitation animals. There is
plenty of hope for these dogs that were saved from a life of fighting, however
the scary reality is that there are over 40,000 dog fighters in America who are
still abusing these poor innocent animals.
By: Merrilee Viguers
(Forgot to add this)
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose this topic/article is because I am strongly against animal cruelty and believe that animals should be treated humanely just like anyone else. It is awful for me to imagine someone hurting animals, especially dogs, so the fact that people find it entertaining to force them to fight one another sickens me. I feel that this is a very important subject as these dog fighting rings abuse multiple dogs everyday!
Merr,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reflection on dog fighting. Me, always being a lover for dogs am very touched by this. Fighting dogs have a very sad life and often it takes years for them to actually be a pet. For many, this may not even be possible. Thanks to the ASPCA, there is actually hope for these dogs! Maybe they can find a good home, I sure hope so!
Ali