Blood Sport - The Scourge of Dog Fighting
August 2, 2009
Rob "Dawg" Hugger - San Jose Examiner
It’s one of America’s - and San Jose's - hidden shames: Organized Animal Fighting Rings, where in the name of ‘entertainment,’ animals are placed in a confined arena and coaxed to tear the flesh off another animal, sometimes to the death. The unwitting creatures range from dogs to roosters to even cockroaches.
It's called 'Blood Sport', and one of the most shocking things about this "Sport"? - There's a good chance one of these events has or will be held in your own neighborhood. The depravity of the people who put on these spectacles is unfathomable.
Yet, would they bother with if there wasn’t a willing, and unfortunately, even eager audience to pay to witness such atrocities? The answer should be ‘no.’
I say ‘should be’ because there is an element of our society that uses such “Blood Sport" events to ‘train’ and ‘toughen’ candidates to their cause. What is that cause? Street Gangs; Street gangs whose basic way of existence is the use of force, intimidation and violence to raise money, gain ‘respect’ and a twisted sense of self-worth. Continual exposure to these ruthless activities is intended to desensitize initiates and exisiting members to the cruel acts they will be expected to preform as a gang member.
While it is bad enough that America’s youth fall into the trappings of this way-of-life, it is another matter all together when their pain and misery is inflicted on innocent animals in order for these children of deprived backgrounds to ‘feel good’ about their own existence.
A dog handler in San Jose has decided to step out and address this issue. Kris Crawford attempts to reach out toward local troubled kids in order to keep them from ever joining gangs and entice other already members into restricting gang activities like dog fighting.
Kris uses her own dogs, Pit Bulls, in demonstrations of proper dog handling and care at local schools and juvenile halls. Realizing that most street kids probably wouldn’t bother to attend her “dog shows,” Kris also entices community participation by recruiting “celebrity” bodybuilders, mixed martial artists and break dancers, any type of physical role models these kids tend to idolize, to provide demonstrations and talks.
Whether using demonstrations, public or ‘captive’ juvenile hall talks, promotion of available help lines and guidance groups, or any method she can contrive, Kris’s goal is to stamp out all remnants of the cruel and inhumane blood sport of dog fighting while also attempting to provide a road of salvation for our own local precious youth.
