National Dog Fighting Awareness Day

Welcome to the Bayou, I’m glad that you stopped by today.  It is a special day and thanks to my friends at Dogs ‘N Pawz and For Love of a Dog, who are the regular co-hosts of Tuesday’s Tails., a special blog hop.  Many of you help by joining the hop and/or sharing the adoptable pets each week.  Over the months, I have become a regular in the hop-sharing dogs currently living at my local PetSavers no-kill shelter.  One sad thing that you’ll see repeatedly is photos of beautiful Pit Bull dogs.  When I realized National Dog Fighting Awareness Day fell on a Tuesday, I contacted Lisa and Sue to see if they would like to join with me and two other bloggers to shine a spotlight on dog fighting.  Of course, they both enthusiastically agreed and we are all so thankful for their help.

The idea for this hop took root several months ago when I began talking with Jenna from Love is being owned by a Husky.  After becoming friends with Sarah from Lola the Pitty, we asked her opinion.  I have a Basset Hound and a Westie while Jenna has Huskies, so we wanted someone that has experienced breed bias, and she has rescued Pits.  The three of us threw some ideas for a blog hop around until we saw the NDFAD announcement from the ASPCA.  It was the perfect timing.  I appreciate all of these ladies' friendship and support.  Sarah did a great job on our badges so be sure to post it and share it.

Every day we are bombarded with the reality that there are just truly evil people in the world.  There doesn’t seem to be a day that goes by when we don’t see a report of

Angela Boone Photography via Pinterest

shootings, beatings, child abuse, rape, or some other horrible crime.  I don’t think it is giant leap to conclude these folks have something a little off kilter going on inside their brains.  The courts are full, the jails are overflowing, and yet there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of humans bent on inflicting unimaginable pain and suffering.  I am making a point to acknowledge that there are many humans suffering and today’s post is not a comparison to human vs. animal suffering.

I love animals and I can’t imagine intentionally inflicting pain on any creature.  (Okay, let me be clear, I will smash the dickens out of a spider, that doesn’t count)  It is hard for me to imagine how anyone can justify causing an animal pain.  I’m not talking about hunting and fishing.  That sport puts food on families' tables and is closely regulated.

I’m talking about humans putting dogs into an area to watch them fight until one is dead or hurt too badly to continue.  Seriously, I don’t understand how someone could stand to witness such a thing.  I realize there has always been some who enjoy blood sports.  Romans used to be really psyched over watching other men fight lions.  The crowds are still yelling for man vs. bulls in many places.  Cock fighting was legal in this state until 2008 and apparently, cock boxing is still legal.  Would I tease you about that?  Oh, how I wish that I were.

Lola the Pitty's Pinterest

Having said that, it should not be a huge shock to any of you when I say dog fighting is rampant in the south.  I experienced it firsthand.  Years and years ago, I had a dog that was supposedly a Cocker Spaniel, but he was a white lanky Terrierish Heinz 57.  I’m pretty sure that his parents had never even seen a Cocker Spaniel.  George was a good dog; I loved him, stinky farts, and all.  He never met a stranger and was just a big lovable goofball.  I lived out in the country and he ran loose most of the time.  He never went far and always came back after an hour or so of running the woods.  One day he didn’t come home and I went looking for him.  I found him in the backyard of a very weird house.  I’d noticed the people coming and going.  They had big Pit bull dogs that they sometimes loaded in the shabby truck.  Amid a bunch of junk that I now recognize as dog training equipment, there was poor little George looking out of their fence.  I took him back home with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.  George stayed at the house for about two more days, and then poof he was gone.  I searched everywhere, but I never found a trace of him.  I know in my heart that he was taken by those people down the road and used as a bait dog.  I try not to think about it very often because it is too awful.  I don’t have any proof, but you know how a mom’s intuition works.  I’m sure that is one reason why I am so adamant about people not letting their dogs run free.

There is no reason for me to post gruesome photos of dogs that lost their last fight.  We’ve all seen them, along with the ones who have been rescued.  Can these dogs all be rehabilitated?  Probably not, but a large majority of them can after some intense work.  One thing is for certain, if they had stayed where they were, they would have eventually been killed.  I am sure most of you get the same rush of fear when a strange dog rushes towards us when we are walking.  All I want to do is scoop Bentley and Pierre up to ensure their safety.  It’s the deal you make with your dog.  You protect and love each other.

I could write pages of rants and talk about the conditions of some of these dogs survive

Eatmisery.blogspot via Pinterest

in each day.  I could preach to the choir about how wrong the act of dog fighting is in every case.  It wouldn’t be hard for me to vent about what I think should happen to humans that fight, maim, torture, or kill dogs and cats.  The sad thing is that it will do absolutely no good.  You all already know these things and probably feel the same way.

I have no idea why people choose to become involved in dog fighting.  I would imagine money and reputation play a major factor.  Some dogfighting raids have had over a half of a million dollars seized.  The stud fees and puppy sales from good bloodlines, can being in thousands.  The thing is that I can’t believe the ones involved in this vicious blood sport are happy people.  Happy people don’t fight dogs, they just don’t.

We all need to know the signs of dog fighting.  It is estimated that tens of thousands of people are involved in the underground dogfighting world.  Someone knows something that can help these dogs, and can report anonymously to authorities.  If we turn our head and pretend dog fighting is someone else’s problem, the bad guys win and more importantly, the dogs lose.  Let’s fight together so they don’t have to anymore.

Links for more information through the ASPCA

1.     Dog Fighting Faq

2.    Get involved today by joining ASPCA on Google Hangout to see their experts and Dan Harris from ABC News is the moderator.

3.    Ways to help end dogfighting

Please share information, speak out against breed legislation, and share the adoptable Pit Bulls sheltered in a no-kill shelter or one with an expiration date on its head.

Please take the time to visit these other blogs in support of National Dog Fighting Awareness Day.  Thank you for being a voice to the voiceless victims of dog fighting.