Release The Dogs: Creating A Social Remedy to the Dog Fighting Epidemic - Kris Crawford of For Pits Sake
Amanda M. Searle
Spring 2008
Part VI - Conclusion (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
Dog fighting is an underground epidemic that is decaying society on a nationwide level. Dogfights can prompt illegal gambling, insensitivity to animal suffering, possession of illegal firearms, drug use, and even homicide.128 Furthermore, the cycle of violence can be reborn through the eyes of the children who also witness these fights.
The victims, the dogs used in dogfights, often die from blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, infection, and sacrifice. From the backyard to the barnyard, from the city streets to the rural slums, this “blood sport” must be recognized as an ever-present problem that requires immediate attention both from a legislative and community standpoint.
While the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 is a step in the right direction, current state laws must become more uniform in dealing with the penalties assessed to actors in a dog fight. To be an effective deterrence, penalties for dog fighting must be tripled or quadrupled so that dog fighters feel the effects of breaking the law rather than merely receiving a slap on the wrist. But more importantly, emphasis must be placed on police training, community outreach and education, creating safe alternatives, and turning to rehabilitation of the dogs that become the victims of violence. (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
A community that integrates a comprehensive police training program gives officers the tools they need to detect, investigate, and apprehend the actors involved in a dog fight. Further, community outreach sheds a light on the prevalence of dog fighting, arms individuals with the knowledge to identify possible dog fighting activity within their neighborhoods, and smothers the social acceptance of this activity. Safe alternatives such as the Lug Nuts program create other humane means by which dog owners can compete in a humanitarian environment. Finally, placing emphasis on rehabilitation rather than euthanizing the victims of this growing pandemic will release the dogs from their brutal captivity and place them into a nurturing environment where they do not have to live in fear that they will be the next doomed contestant to perish in the pit.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated - Mahatma Gandhi
Footnotes: (Kris Crawford, Kristine Crawford, For Pits Sake)
1 Hanna Gibson, Dog Fighting Detailed Discussion, http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm#taskforce (last visited April 5, 2008)
2 Tom Campbell, Vick Charged in dogfighting: Former Virginia Tech star, three others could each get six years on federal count, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2007, no page available; WLNR 13664524. 3Id.
4 Jamey Medlin, Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior, 56 DePaul L. Rev. 1285 (2007).
5 Mariann Sullivan, The Animal Welfare Act—What’s That, 79-AUG N.Y. St. B.J 17 (2007).
6 The President Signs Landmark Animal Fighting Legislation, The Humane Society of the United States, May 3rd. 2007. http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/cruelty_issues/animal_fighting (last visited April 1, 2008).
7 Id.
8Off The Chain (Allumination FilmWorks 2005).
10 Dog-Fighting Undercover, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6976011.stm (last visited February 21, 2008).
11 Hanna Gibson, Dog Fighting Detailed Discussion, http:// www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm#taskforce (last visited June 17, 2007)
12 Id.
13 Id. at 4.
14 Id.
15 Id.
16 Id. at 4.
17 Safe Humane Chicago, www.dawgsite.org/safe%20Humane%20Chicago%20Overview,%20Sep07.pdf , (last visited March 31, 2008).
18 Safe Humane Chicago, www.dawgsite.org/safe%20Humane%20Chicago%20Overview,%20Sep07.pdf , (last visited March 31, 2008).
19 Id. at 1.
20 Dogfighting in the United States, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting_in_the_United_States (last visited February 12, 2008).
21 Dogfighting in the United States, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting_in_the_United_States (last visited February 12, 2008).
22 Id. at 7
23 Id. at 8.
24 Id.
25 Tom Campbell, Vick Charged with Dogfighting: Former Virginia Tech star, Three Others Could Each get Six Years on Federal Count, 7/18/07, RCHMDTD, 2007 WLNR 13664524.
26 Dogfighting in the United States, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting_in_the_United_States (last visited February 12, 2008).
27 Id. at 9.
28 Joel Ugolini, Even a Violent Game Has Its Limits: A Look at the NFL’s Responsibility For the Behavior of its Players, 39 U. Tol. L. Rev. 41 (2007).
29 Id. at 42.
30 Tom Campbell, Vick Charged with Dogfighting: Former Virginia Tech star, Three Others Could Each get Six Years on Federal Count, 7/18/07, RCHMDTD, 2007 WLNR 13664524.
31 Id. at 3.
32 From Fighters to Friends, Vick’s Pit Bulls Learn New Life, www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/27/vick.dogs.ap/#cnnSTCPhoto (last visited February 12, 2008).
33 Id. at 2.
34 Vick Co-Defendants to Plead Guilty, 8/14/07 KCSTAR C3, 2007 WLNR 15669448.
35 Id. at 2.
36 Id.
37 Id.
38 From Fighters to Friends, Vick’s Pit Bulls Learn New Life, www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/27/vick.dogs.ap/#cnnSTCPhoto (last visited February 12, 2008).
39 Id.
40 Id.
41 Id. at 2.
42 Id.
43 Id.
44 Id. at 3.
45 Id.
46 Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007, The United States House of Representatives, March 26,2007, www.govtrack.us/congress/record/xpd?id=110-h20070326-24 (last visited February 21, 2008).
47 Id. at 3.
48 The President Signs Landmark Animal Fighting Legislation, www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/cruelty_issues/animal_fighting (last visited February 21, 2008).
49 Id. at 2.
50 Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007, The United States House of Representative, March 26,2007, www.govtrack.us/congress/record/xpd?id=110-h20070326-24 . (last visited February 21, 2008).
51 Id.
52 President Signs Landmark Animal Fighting Legislation, www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/cruelty_issues/animal_fighting (last visited February 21, 2008).
53 Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act Approved by Congress, www. upconline. org/cockfighting/041107hr137.html (last visited March 31, 2008).
54 Id. at 2.
55 www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/new_senate_bill_takes_aim_at.html . (last visited February 21, 2008).
56 www.hsus.org (last visited April 8, 2008).
57 Id.
58 Id.
59 Id.
60 Dr. Dieter Fleig, History of Fighting Dogs, www.animalliberation.com (last visited February 21, 2008).
61 Id.
62 Id.
63 Id.
64 Id.
66 Cal. Penal Code §597.5 (2007).
67 Id.
68 Cal.Bus.& Prof.Code § 4830.5 (2007).
69 Id.
70 Cal. Penal Code § 599aa (2007).
71 Id.
72 Yearly Animal Abuse Report, www.petabuse.com/pages/cruelty_database/statistics/yearly_animal_abuse_report (last visited March 31, 2008)
73 Id.
74 Id.
75 Id. at 2.
76 Id.
77 Id.
78 Id.
79 Id.
80 N.R.S. § 574.070 (2007)
81 N.R.S. § 193.130 (d) (2007)
82 Id.
83 Yearly Animal Abuse Report, www.petabuse. com/pages/cruelty_database/statistics/yearly_animal_abuse_report (last visited March 31, 2008).
84 Jamey Medlin, Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior, 56 DePaul L. Rev.
1285 (2007).
85 Breed Specific Legislation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/breed-specific_legislation (last visited February 26, 2008).
86 Id. at 2.
87 Jamey Medlin, Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior, 56 DePaul L. Rev. 1285 (2007).
88 Id. at 1289.
89 Id.
90 Denver, Colo., City Council Bill No. 434.
91 http://www.happypitbull.com/myths.htm#10 (last visited February 26th, 2008).
92 Breed Specific Legislation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/breed-specific_legislation (last visited February 26, 2008).
93 Id. at 2.
94 Id.
95 Clements v. Flashing, 457 U.S. 957, 963, 102 S.Ct. 2836, 73 L.Ed.2d 508; Fabrey v. McDonald Village Police Dept. (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 351, 354, 639 N.E.2d 31 (1982).
96 Id. at 963.
97 Stave v. Thompkins, 75 Ohio St.2d 558, 664 N.E.2d 926 (1996).
98 Chief Justice Moyer distinguished this case from Cowan where dogs were determined to be vicious under R.C. 955.11 because they had injured a person and the dog warden used a unilateral classification of the dogs as vicious where as here the ‘vicious dogs’ at issue were classified as pit bulls under the third subsection of R.C. 955.11.
99 See generally Toledo v. Tellings, 871 N.E.2d 1152 (Ohio, 2007)
100 Breed Specific Legislation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/breed-specific_legislation (last visited February 26, 2008).
101 www.hsus.org (Last visited Feburary 26th, 2008).
102 Atlanta, Chicago Taking the Bite out of Dogfighting, www.hsus.org/acf/news/dogfighting_rewards_011708.html (last visited February 26 2008).
103 Id.
104 Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Police may get Animal abuse Training, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 10 2007.
105 Id.
106 Jacob Silverman, How Dog Fighting Works, www.people.howstuffworks.com/dogfighting6.htm (last visited March 31, 2008).
107 Chicago Communities Rise Up against Dog Fighting!, www.dawgsite.org (last visited February 8, 2008).
108 Id.
109 Id.
110 Id.
111 Id.
112 http://www.dawgsite.org/successes.html (last visited April 5, 2008).
113 Id.
114 Id.
115 Training Wheels Urban Solutions Lug-Nuts Program, www.suesternberg.com/03programs/04lugnuts.html (last visited February 8, 2008).
116 Id.
117 Id.
118 Id. at 2.
119 Id.
120 Id.
121 U.S. Dog-Fighting Rings Stealing Pets for “Bait,” www.news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0218_040218_dogfighting_2.html , (last visited March 31, 2008).
122 www.pbrsd.com/about/ (last visited February 11, 2008).
123 www.pbrsd.com/about/team.htm (last visited February 11, 2008).
124 Id.
125 www.pbrsd.com/adoptables/shelters.htm (last visited February 11, 2008).
126 Id.
127 Id.
128 Dogfighting Fact Sheet, www.hsus.org.afc/fighting/dogfight/dogfighting_fact_sheet.html (last visited April , 2008).
