scratchin dog
05-01-2008, 06:51 PM
More than 100 dogs involved in an alleged dog fighting ring back in February will be put down Thursday.
The dogs, mostly pit bulls, were picked up after four homes were raided in Pima County.
Six people are still facing dog fighting and animal cruelty charges in connection with those raids. The suspects include Mahlon Patrick, who's believed to be one of the top fight-dog breeders in the country.
Patrick along with some of the owners had until Wednesday to hire their own vets to examine the dogs for evidence they can use in their court cases next month. So, at midnight on Wednesday, that hold period will expire and Thursday morning the dogs are expected to be put down.
Jose Ocano, a technician at Pima Animal Care say it's hard knowing the end is near.
"You start getting attached to them. You start learning their personalities," Ocano said.
Only 17 out of 147 of these dogs were taken by rescue groups.
Kim Janes, a spokesperson for P.A.C says the rest are considered too dangerous.
"Unfortunately the rest of them will have to be humanly euthanized because of their fighting nature. And they've demonstrated that here with their kennel mates and their kennel neighbors," Janes said.
So for months, they knew most of these dogs would likely be euthanized. However, that didn't change anything.
"We still medicate them everyday. We still give them toys to play with. We still show them love because their lives for that day and that moment, it's important to me and to a lot of the staff here that they at least get that while they're here," Ocano said.
Because for some of these dogs, he knows they possibly lived a past where they were forced to fight, forced to breed and neglected.
"Sometimes it's more humane for them to be put to sleep then to be in really bad situations." Ocano said. "It stops now, with these dogs, it stops now," he added.
All six of those suspects will be in court May 5th.
The dogs, mostly pit bulls, were picked up after four homes were raided in Pima County.
Six people are still facing dog fighting and animal cruelty charges in connection with those raids. The suspects include Mahlon Patrick, who's believed to be one of the top fight-dog breeders in the country.
Patrick along with some of the owners had until Wednesday to hire their own vets to examine the dogs for evidence they can use in their court cases next month. So, at midnight on Wednesday, that hold period will expire and Thursday morning the dogs are expected to be put down.
Jose Ocano, a technician at Pima Animal Care say it's hard knowing the end is near.
"You start getting attached to them. You start learning their personalities," Ocano said.
Only 17 out of 147 of these dogs were taken by rescue groups.
Kim Janes, a spokesperson for P.A.C says the rest are considered too dangerous.
"Unfortunately the rest of them will have to be humanly euthanized because of their fighting nature. And they've demonstrated that here with their kennel mates and their kennel neighbors," Janes said.
So for months, they knew most of these dogs would likely be euthanized. However, that didn't change anything.
"We still medicate them everyday. We still give them toys to play with. We still show them love because their lives for that day and that moment, it's important to me and to a lot of the staff here that they at least get that while they're here," Ocano said.
Because for some of these dogs, he knows they possibly lived a past where they were forced to fight, forced to breed and neglected.
"Sometimes it's more humane for them to be put to sleep then to be in really bad situations." Ocano said. "It stops now, with these dogs, it stops now," he added.
All six of those suspects will be in court May 5th.