A one-eyed dog seized from the kennel of James Milburn, a pit-bull breeder and dogfighter in southern Illinois.
The grainy footage shows two snarling pit bulls in a dimly lit barn, staring each other down through a haze of cigarette smoke. Walled in by a makeshift ring of 3-foot-high plywood planks, the collarless dogs twitch and wag their tails, expending nervous energy like prizefighters shadowboxing in the ring in the moments before the opening bell.
Both dogs are males and have a tan coats and a white bellies, which makes it difficult to tell them apart. They're about 10 months old — young for fighters. This is their first taste of combat.
Each dog has a handler who grips it by the scruff of the neck and positions it opposite its foe in the corner of the 16-by-16-foot ring. When they're released, the pit bulls collide with a dull thud. One dog lands on its back and the other pounces, grabbing hold with its jaws. The two animals spend the next several minutes growling and panting, locked in a ferocious struggle.
John Bacon, who owns the dog that's on top, bends at the waist and rests his hands on the knees of his baggy overalls, hovering close to the tangle of fur and flesh. He cajoles his pit bull to release its bite and improve its position. The dogs tumble over one another and Bacon jumps out of the way. "There you go!" he shouts. "That's where you want to be!"
The other dog is getting mauled. It emits a piercing squeal, followed by a whimper. Laughter ripples through the crowd. Joseph Addison, a spectator who wears his hair in a jumble of chin-length braids, suggests it's time to stop the match.
"This motherfucker through, man," he says to Bacon. "He's done."
Using a small, wedge-shaped piece of wood called a break stick, Bacon pries open his dog's jaws, releasing its opponent. The animals are separated and taken back to their respective corners to "scratch." If they charge again, the fight continues. If one dog refuses, it will be branded a "cur" — an almost certain death sentence.
At the moment of truth, the vanquished dog cowers while Bacon's dog attacks without hesitation, biting down and thrashing its powerful neck in order to inflict maximum damage. Again the handlers separate the dogs. The fight is over.
Someone in the crowd asks the losing dog's owners what they plan to do with it.
"I'll take 'im home," one says.
"Take him home?" comes the incredulous reply. "Look at this shit! You'll take him home?"
"Yeah," the man repeats, declining the offer to use an impromptu electric chair: an extension cord rigged with alligator clips attached to one end. "I'll take 'im home."
A year and a half later, Bacon describes the scrap in the East St. Louis barn as "just a little wrasslin' match." In dog-fighting parlance it's known as a "roll" — a brief sparring session used to gauge whether a pup has the fighting spirit known simply as "game."
"A contract fight is something you prepare for," Bacon explains. "A roll is just 10, maybe 15 minutes. The dogs ain't gettin' hurt too much."
He's a carpenter by trade, but Bacon knows a lot about dogfighting. Still, there was one thing he didn't know on March 22, 2009.
He was unaware that his dog's opponent, Hammer, was property of the U.S. government.
The dog was purchased, trained and brought to the fight by Terry Mills and Jeff Heath, veteran Missouri State Highway Patrol officers who were conducting an extensive undercover investigation into the secretive and brutal world of organized pit-bull fighting and breeding. Both men wore video- and audio-recording equipment concealed in their clothes.
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Jason - I guess then according to you, if somebody comes into your home, kills you and chops you up its OK? I mean, that's the kind of thinking you've instilled here. Seriously, there are cannibals in the world doing it, so I guess its ok here too, right?
Try to use your brain for a second, if you can. When an animal is used for food, its not usually tortured for hours then left for more hours to live in pain. Hmmm...gee...see the difference yet?
Jason - I guess then according to you, if somebody comes into your home, kills you and chops you up its OK? I mean, that's the kind of thinking you've instilled here. Seriously, there are cannibals in the world doing it, so I guess its ok here too, right? Try to use your brain for a second, if you can. When an animal is used for food, its not usually tortured for hours then left for more hours to live in pain. Hmmm...gee...see the difference yet?
THIS WAS A GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT A BUNCH OF SICK, TWISTED INDIVIDUALS. I AM 60+ AND HAVE OWNED PITS AND AMER BULLDOGS MY WHOLE LIFE. AS STATED IN THE ARTICLE THEY ARE TOTALLY LOYAL AND CRAVE HUMAN INTERACTION. ANYONE WHO WOULD FIGHT OR KILL THEM IS TRULLY A SICK PUPPY. THEY ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED MORE JAIL TIME. AN TO JASON WHO SAYS DOGS ARE JUST PROPERTY; 150 YRS AGO YOU ARE THE TYPE WHO OWNED BLACKS AND HAD THEM PICKING COTTON 18 HRS A DAY. YOU SIR ARE A FOOL AND ALSO A TWISTED INDIVIDUAL!!!
THIS WAS A GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT A BUNCH OF SICK, TWISTED INDIVIDUALS. I AM 60+ AND HAVE OWNED PITS AND AMER BULLDOGS MY WHOLE LIFE. AS STATED IN THE ARTICLE THEY ARE TOTALLY LOYAL AND CRAVE HUMAN INTERACTION. ANYONE WHO WOULD FIGHT OR KILL THEM IS TRULLY A SICK PUPPY. THEY ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED MORE JAIL TIME. AN TO JASON WHO SAYS DOGS ARE JUST PROPERTY; 150 YRS AGO YOU ARE THE TYPE WHO OWNED BLACKS AND HAD THEM PICKING COTTON 18 HRS A DAY. YOU SIR ARE A FOOL AND ALSO A TWISTED INDIVIDUAL!!!
I think this is all so ridiculous. Leaving aside the concept that somehow it's ok for the government to break the same law it prosecutes you for (the analogy of an undercover "john" actually having sex with a prostitute in order to convict him/her is apt), a dog is PROPERTY.
It is not a person. You can do whatever the hell you want with your property. If you want to shoot it or cook it or fight it, it's yours. No one else should get a say.
However, if animals AREN'T property, and have "rights", then we should immediately ban all hunting and all consumption of animals for food.
The biggest joke in the world is that it's ok to kill animals and eat them if it is done 'humanely' but somehow dogfighting and cockfighting are cruel and inhumane.
There is no logic to the current system. Either animals are property, or they aren't. They can't be both. It doesn't matter if you think dogfighting is awful, or terrible, or that these people should be 'strung up' next to Michael Vick. It shouldn't be YOUR decision.
I think this is all so ridiculous. Leaving aside the concept that somehow it's ok for the government to break the same law it prosecutes you for (the analogy of an undercover "john" actually having sex with a prostitute in order to convict him/her is apt), a dog is PROPERTY. It is not a person. You can do whatever the hell you want with your property. If you want to shoot it or cook it or fight it, it's yours. No one else should get a say. However, if animals AREN'T property, and have "rights", then we should immediately ban all hunting and all consumption of animals for food. The biggest joke in the world is that it's ok to kill animals and eat them if it is done 'humanely' but somehow dogfighting and cockfighting are cruel and inhumane. There is no logic to the current system. Either animals are property, or they aren't. They can't be both. It doesn't matter if you think dogfighting is awful, or terrible, or that these people should be 'strung up' next to Michael Vick. It shouldn't be YOUR decision.
these people should be put in the ring with these dogs they train to fight and let the dogs tear the shit out of them. there is no punshiment that is harsh enough for them. may be make them ware something on there body that says they are animal abusers.
these people should be put in the ring with these dogs they train to fight and let the dogs tear the shit out of them. there is no punshiment that is harsh enough for them. may be make them ware something on there body that says they are animal abusers.
As the owner of 2 Pits i'm grateful that they are trying to stop the fighting,but on the other hand these 2 cops put their dog through hell training it to fight. Now there is only one thing left for this dog ,putting it down,it can never be trusted around another dog.My Pits love playing with other dogs and being the neighborhood clowns.
As the owner of 2 Pits i'm grateful that they are trying to stop the fighting,but on the other hand these 2 cops put their dog through hell training it to fight. Now there is only one thing left for this dog ,putting it down,it can never be trusted around another dog.My Pits love playing with other dogs and being the neighborhood clowns.
I can't imagine why these people are ever allowed to have a dog, ever again. I believe their should be a national registry, similar to the sex offender registry for these people. Their homes should get random searches for defenseless creatures they could potentially harm, they should have to notify their neighbors. I also think that they should have to go through dog rehabilitation training in prison to learn empathy.
I can't imagine why these people are ever allowed to have a dog, ever again. I believe their should be a national registry, similar to the sex offender registry for these people. Their homes should get random searches for defenseless creatures they could potentially harm, they should have to notify their neighbors. I also think that they should have to go through dog rehabilitation training in prison to learn empathy.
I cannot imagine a bad enough punishment for these people. I say we group them with pedophiles and castrate the lot of em. Who needs them to re-produce?
I cannot imagine a bad enough punishment for these people. I say we group them with pedophiles and castrate the lot of em. Who needs them to re-produce?
Our law enforcement needs to do more of this type of investigating and the funds should come from fines from those who are convicted.
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