The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
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Dogfighting Rings Increasing Dramatically In Philly, Says SPCA
Last Edited: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 8:20 PM EST
Created: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 2:56 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA -- More animals are the casualties of a crime that SPCA investigators say is becoming all too frequent these days: dogfighting for money.
Investigators say they have seen a dramatic increase in dogfighting rings over the past six months in Philadelphia.
Officials are breaking up two or three dogfighting rings a week and they're seeing more dogs turned into fighting animals and abused, reported Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser.
“The animal fighting has really escalated in the last six months. We're averaging prob
ably two to three jobs a week," says SPCA investigator George Bengal.
Just this week, Philadelphia police and SPCA investigators took down two dogfighting rings.
The latest one happened Wednesday afternoon when neighbors reported hearing dogs battling it out inside a home on the 2500 block of North Dover Street in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city. When police arrived, they saw the actual fight.
“These dogs are worth a lot of money. They're like a Smarty Jones-type of thing in the upper echelon," says Bengal.
Police charged four men with cruelty to animals. 30-year-old Rodney Harris, who told police he owned the dogs, 30-year-old Robert Ward, 28-year-old Troy Smith and Corrie Johnson. Detectives say none of them are strangers to police. Between them, they have 35 prior arrests.
“They've been arrested for a lot of other criminal activities along with the animals," says Bengal.
Police say the dogfighting rings sometimes go han
d-in-hand with the drug trade. SPCA investigators agree.
“We're finding a lot of other illegal activity; drugs, guns, stolen guns," says Bengal.
Fortunately, SPCA experts say the ring was broken up in time Wednesday. The dogs were rushed to SPCA headquarters and given emergency treatment for their injuries.
“Two of them in particular had some really significant bite wounds. One of them has his whole face torn up and his whole face was swollen. It was hard for it to eat," says Dr. Kim Russell of the SPCA.
Dr. Russell believes the prognosis for the wounded dogs is good. “I think they're going to pull through. I think we got to them in luckily enough time.”�
The SPCA says two of the puppies recovered in the raid died overnight. Experts hope the other dogs will recuperate enough to be adoptable.
Dogfighting Rings Increasing Dramatically In Philly, Says SPCA
Last Edited: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 8:20 PM EST
Created: Thursday, 22 Jan 2009, 2:56 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA -- More animals are the casualties of a crime that SPCA investigators say is becoming all too frequent these days: dogfighting for money.
Investigators say they have seen a dramatic increase in dogfighting rings over the past six months in Philadelphia.
Officials are breaking up two or three dogfighting rings a week and they're seeing more dogs turned into fighting animals and abused, reported Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser.
“The animal fighting has really escalated in the last six months. We're averaging prob
ably two to three jobs a week," says SPCA investigator George Bengal.
Just this week, Philadelphia police and SPCA investigators took down two dogfighting rings.
The latest one happened Wednesday afternoon when neighbors reported hearing dogs battling it out inside a home on the 2500 block of North Dover Street in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city. When police arrived, they saw the actual fight.
“These dogs are worth a lot of money. They're like a Smarty Jones-type of thing in the upper echelon," says Bengal.
Police charged four men with cruelty to animals. 30-year-old Rodney Harris, who told police he owned the dogs, 30-year-old Robert Ward, 28-year-old Troy Smith and Corrie Johnson. Detectives say none of them are strangers to police. Between them, they have 35 prior arrests.
“They've been arrested for a lot of other criminal activities along with the animals," says Bengal.
Police say the dogfighting rings sometimes go han
d-in-hand with the drug trade. SPCA investigators agree.
“We're finding a lot of other illegal activity; drugs, guns, stolen guns," says Bengal.
Fortunately, SPCA experts say the ring was broken up in time Wednesday. The dogs were rushed to SPCA headquarters and given emergency treatment for their injuries.
“Two of them in particular had some really significant bite wounds. One of them has his whole face torn up and his whole face was swollen. It was hard for it to eat," says Dr. Kim Russell of the SPCA.
Dr. Russell believes the prognosis for the wounded dogs is good. “I think they're going to pull through. I think we got to them in luckily enough time.”�
The SPCA says two of the puppies recovered in the raid died overnight. Experts hope the other dogs will recuperate enough to be adoptable.