Pit bull puppies being housed at the emergency shelter.

Linda Campbell plays with dogs at an emergency shelter.

In July the largest dog fighting raid in US history took place, hundreds of dogs were rescued.  Sadly 160 of the rescued dogs had to be put down due to illness, behavior, or injuries. The good news is that 120 of the dogs are now going to foster homes, and hopefully the remaining ones will get to do the same.

Here are the details from the Associated Press.

They are not a vicious animal. They are the victims of abuse,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations for the Humane Society of Missouri. “That face and their eyes tell the story. They only want to be in someone’s home, on a couch, or sleeping at someone’s feet, maybe chew up a rug or two for entertainment. They’re learning for the first time how to be a dog.”

Once at the Missouri shelter, dogs were tested by a national team of certified animal behaviorists, taken on walks, and allowed to chew on bowling balls stuffed with peanut butter. Some finicky eaters were treated to home-cooked chicken breasts to supplement meals of dog food.

The Human Society offered The Associated Press first access to the site Tuesday. During the tour, puppies born since the raid took turns playing tug of war with a chew toy in a play room. Humane Society staff members pulled a catering cart down a long row of dog cages, calling animals by name as they slid them bowls of food.

This is such a great story because usually all the dogs involved in dog fighting get put down, they’re never even given a chance.  Maybe this is the foreshadowing of changes that are going to be put into place so the victim, the dog, isn’t the one punished for the perpetrator’s crime.

*Courtesy AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Here are the details from The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The two beloved family pets- a 1 1/2-year-old German short-haired pointer named Emma and a 2-year-old mix of the same breed called Luna – had gone missing Sunday morning from a farm in Pocopson Township. That same afternoon they were found shot between the eyes approximately six miles away.

Watch the report from 6 ABC Action News .

If you can’t see the video click here.

Rich Britton, spokesman for the Chester County SPCA, said the reward has grown from $500 to $11,000. Anyone interested in contributing to the reward fund may call the Chester County SPCA at 610-692-6113, Ext. 215. Checks made out to CCSPCA can be mailed to the agency at 1212 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester, Pa. 19380.

What a sad story, hopefully with the now sizable reward someone will be ‘motivated’ to turn in whoever committed this horrific crime.

She is currently being fostered at a wonderful home but needs her own permanent loving forever home.

Hope was neglected and abused until, as a 6-8 month old puppy, being thrown into a rock quarry in an attempt to drown her. Her spirit and determination allowed her to fight for an indeterminate amount of time, acquiring significant injuries to her feet and legs as she tried desperately to free herself. Somehow, she found a small ledge, where she huddled for another indeterminate amount until Fire and Rescue rock climbed and rafted her out. By this point, she was totally catatonic and responsive due to her fear.

The reason my home was chosen for foster care was because of the very special pack of rescued animals who lives here. There is a rescued fighting dog who was used as bait and subsequently lost a rear leg and underwent 3 surgeries, another dog that was abandoned twice before the age of 3 months who is now a Therapy Dog for humans and other animals, and three elderly cats who were abandoned at various stages in their life. They now work together to help other animals adjust and recover from bad situations. One of these cats keeps all arriving foster dogs company by spending the night sleeping in front of their crates, as well as by engaging in boxing matches with the dogs regardless of their size.

The other two cats perform grooming rituals on the foster animals, washing faces, ears and paws. The dogs patiently engage the newcomers, coaxing them out of their shells, educating the traumatized dogs about how to join a pack.

Within hours, this group had enticed Hope to let her guard down and engage in a bit of play with them. In a few days, she began to initiate interaction with me. In a week, she was allowing select strangers to approach her. In just a matter of a month or two, Hope transformed from catatonia into a happy, playful, engaging dog who has adopted the philosophy of “I’ve never met a stranger”. People are shocked to hear of her past when they meet her….they see her as a typical puppy.

We all knew that the magical pack could bring Hope around. We assumed that because of her public story (she was in the newspaper, and has her own journal on our website) she would find a home quickly. But despite the fact that Hope loves people–including kids, other dogs, and cats, and despite her good manners in a home environment, she has had little to no interest from potential adopters.

Unfortunately, in this tough economy, many people have chosen to forgo the added expense of a pet. Not only are people not adopting, many are actually dropping their family pets off at the pound to cut costs.

This is not a good time to be a dog without a home. But Hope is a fighter, and a survivor, and we continue to fight for her. We have spread the word about this wonderful girl in as many ways as we could think of.

Thank you to Amy, the volunteer at the shelter who sent me the letter as well as Hope’s  foster, for showing her that people are good. Let’s see if we can’t help find this beautiful girl a home in time for Christmas, what a gift that would be. If you are interested in Hope please contact the North Mecklenburg Animal Rescue for further information. You can also read Hope’s daily journal and see a video of this amazing girl, you’ll fall in love when you see her playing with the other pups.

Please tell everyone you know about Hope, send out emails, post and crosspost.  If we all work together we can find her the home she deserves. After all, where there’s faith, there’s HOPE.

Here are the details from the Metro.co.uk.

When the owner returned, the dog – named Pip – was unresponsive and had its tongue hanging out.

‘Pip’s just a little drunk right now,’ Colony is reported to have said.

Pip was treated for alcohol poisoning at the local at Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails veterinary hospital, and survived.

Colony, who may have thought this was funny, probably isn’t laughing anymore after being charged with animal abuse and facing up to two years in prison.

*I didn’t have a picture of the actual dog drinking, so here’s Dogster Reba posing as a drink, a Mai Tai to be exact.

(AP) According to WHAM 13, officials at the Buffalo City Animal Shelter say they had to put 12 of the dogs down because they were extremely aggressive. Authorities say many of the dogs were covered in scars from fighting.

Out of the 13 surviving dogs 8 are puppies.  Hopefully all the others will be adopted into loving homes. Once again we see the victims paying the ultimate price for the abusers crimes.

* PIC NOT RELATED TO ARTICLE:  There was no pictures with the story so I put handsome TJ up to see if we could get him a home, he’s a very gentle and loving boy. He’s a lover, not a fighter. This cutie is being fostered in NY, check out his homepage.

Here are the details from The Associated Press.

“We understand Vick is trying to right his wrongs and is very interested in redemption, but you can’t find redemption without acknowledging your victims,” Racer said. “Making amends to the dogs themselves would have helped to create some closure for many of us, especially those people who worked so hard to keep them from being destroyed. It seems that Vick is not ready to go there.”

The visit would have taken place at a location where Vick could view the dogs from a distance so that it satisfied the conditions of his parole that bar him from being near animals.

Despite the fact that Vick claims he is trying to ‘right his wrong’  he declined the offer.  Maybe he was afraid the dogs would recognize him.

*Ollie is available for adoption, he’s on Dogster’s Adoption & Rescue Center.

In case you’re wondering what happened I have wonderful news to report, it was stopped. At least this time, we still have a lot of work to end the practice altogether.

Great news! Thanks to your immediate response and support, the dog cull in Qinhuangdao has been averted.

The details are still coming in – but it’s clear that the government in Qinhuangdao felt the pressure from IFAW supporters around the world. Public notices and government web site postings announcing the cull have been taken down.

If you ever wondered whether one person can make a difference – well, this is proof that you can! Every email, message, and dollar sent had a direct effect on averting a widespread, unnecessary and cruel slaughter.

We will be keeping a close eye on the area until we are convinced that no dogs will be harmed in the future. Many locals sent their pets away to friends and family in order to protect them, and we want to make sure Qinhuangdao remains a safe place for them to return.

You see, local government officials often resort to dog culls because China has no rabies prevention program or animal welfare legislation. A single case of rabies can create a panic – leading to calls for a mass dog slaughter at anytime.

That’s why it’s so important for IFAW to establish vaccination and sterilization programs within China to control overpopulation and disease – before more culls are called for.

Your donation is critical to developing these programs and ending dog culls once and for all.

I’m so proud of what we were able to achieve for these dogs. Thank you for helping to prevent such tragic and needless suffering, and for making today such a wonderful day for animals.

I want to thank Anthony for barking this update to me.

* Photo courtesy IFAW

It’s about Robert Stevens who was found guilty of violating  a statute by selling a commercial video that includes footage of dog fighting.

Here are the details of the case from The Washington Post.

United States v. Stevens

Robert J. Stevens produced videos he says were intended to show owners how to train their pit bulls to ward off predators, such as coyotes, or help in hunting expeditions involving wild boar. As part of his self-styled instructional videos, Stevens included footage — admittedly gruesome — of some of these endeavors gone terribly wrong, including one passage that showed a pit bull mauling a hog. The federal government charged Stevens with violating a statute that prohibits the sale or possession of material that depicts a live animal being maimed, tortured, injured or killed. The statute in question was passed during the Clinton administration, presumably to combat the proliferation of videos showing high-heeled women crushing small animals for the prurient enjoyment of viewers. Yet during the past decade, it has been invoked only three times in prosecutions involving those involved in some way with dog fighting.

Stevens was convicted of selling videos of dogs fighting each other and attacking other animals.  The law includes a provision stipulating that those who produce “serious” material with a journalistic or educational bent are exempt from prosecution. It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the law passes constitutional muster or whether it violates the First Amendment by prohibiting speech that may be offensive but perfectly legal.

There are supporters of Stevens who do not condone animal cruelty but are concerned about the conviction based on “freedom of speech.”  The American Humane believes this law is necessary and does not infringe on the true intent of the First Amendment.

“This is a case about animal cruelty, plain and simple,” said American Humane President and CEO Marie Belew Wheatley. “Every state has passed laws to protect animals from cruelty and neglect and has found this issue to be important in protecting communities. Animal cruelty should be a compelling government interest that overrides any attempt to intentionally harm animals under the guise of ‘right to free speech.’ While many parties may argue the technicalities and interpretations of the law, the real focus should be that it is immoral, it is inhumane and it should be illegal to exploit, torture and kill animals for someone’s twisted sense of ‘entertainment’ and someone else’s profit.”

I am obviously a proponent for ‘the right to free speech’ but I can’t possibly see a legitimate reason, or any redeeming value, to depict dog fighting in the video.  Subsection (a) of the law, U.S.C. Part I, Chapter 3, Section 48, states: “Whoever knowingly creates, sells, or possesses a depiction of animal cruelty with the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both.” The exceptions are “any depiction that has serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value.” The problem with the law is that it’s rather subjective, it’s up to the interpretation of the reader to determine if any of the above ‘exceptions’ pertain to Stevens’ video.

The final determination will come from the Supreme Court. Hopefully those reviewing the case will all conclude that dog fighting in Stevens’  video has no merit and is inhumane,  it is used for the sole purpose of financial gain.

* Add some Sparkle to your life, she’s up for adoption.

Since his release he has partnered with the HSUS to help bring national awareness about this sadistic “sport” and bring an end to it.

Here are the details from the Associated Press.

“I got caught up in the culture,” Vick told an audience at the Covenant Baptist Church, per the Associated Press. “I never thought that I would get caught.

“I used poor judgment. I had people around me who didn’t have my best interests at heart,” he said.

“Who knows what could have happened at 3 in the morning when you’re fighting dogs?” he said. “It’s almost like being involved in the streets, dealing drugs, in criminal life.”

I’ve got to tell you,  I’m not hearing a lot of remorse in his statements. Not once does he actually take credit for what he did, he blames it on others and is glad he didn’t get hurt while involved in dog fighting.

Several dozen people showed up to hear him, about half were teens or children.

* Pic courtesy McIsaac/Getty Images

According to the New York Times nine battered dogs, four of them puppies, were removed by the police. During the raid 10 children were at the day care center, which is now shut down.

In the article it doesn’t state what prompted the raid. Whatever the reason, thank goodness it happened, not only for the dogs but also the children.  Keeping malnourished dogs that are being trained to fight near children is just an accident waiting to happen.  The people involved are despicable human beings who have no regard for animals or children.

Three men have been charged, including the day care center operator’s husband, and two more are being sought.

In July I posted about America’s biggest dog fighting ring bust, read more about what happened and the effort needed to bring these people down.

* Bean is an adorable American Pit Bull Terrier who is up for adoption on Dogster’s Adoption Center.