13 Abused Dogs Seized In Deadly Dog Fight Raid

by Patricia Collier

A private home in a small town in Georgia was the setting January 17 for a staged, horrendously cruel dog fight where the winner was to walk away with a $50,000 pot.

Later that evening, the residence at 464 Baker Road in Covington, a town with a little more than 10,000 citizens, also became the stage for a police raid.

The night ended with 123 people being arrested and charged with felony cruelty to animals, dog fighting and commercial gambling.

Inside the house, Newton County sheriff deputies found a bloody and tragic scene, with one dead pit bull terrier lying inside a makeshift ring and another dog so badly wounded he had to be euthanized later by a local veterinarian.

The walls and carpets of the room where the stage was set were soaked in blood.

A total of thirteen pit bulls were seized in the raid. Three of the dogs had been stolen the night of the fight from Newton County Animal Control. One of those dogs was the one deputies found dead when they arrived on the scene.

"That dog was in such poor condition, we had to hand it over to a vet," animal control director Terry Key-Hooson said.

"He said that the wounds that it suffered probably did contribute to its death, but that it was already in bad shape before the fights," he added.

"It's hard to understand any crime, but to see animals used - or I should say misused - for someone's entertainment like this is just pitiful,'' Sheriff Joe Nichols said. "It just tears at your heart."

According to Sgt. Mark Mitchell, officers also found at the scene about a dozen guns, several kilograms of marijuana and cocaine, more than a quarter of a million dollars, and four trophies already engraved with the date of the fight.

"This wasn't a gathering of people who just happened to hear about it and showed up," Mitchell said. "It was well planned."

Mitchell said 66 vehicles were impounded in the raid, some from out of state. Mitchell said one of the cars seized was reported stolen from Macon, Georgia January 19.

The sheriff said the case has generated a lot of calls and he promised law enforcement officials would continue gathering evidence.

"This county is new at investigating these types of dog-fighting cases, so we are treating all information that is provided to us very seriously," Nichols said.

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.