CA: KTLA SPECIAL REPORT: Dog Fighting Exposed

KTLA SPECIAL REPORT: Dog Fighting Exposed
Officers say telltale signs of dog fighting include crudely cropped ears and suspicious scars.

Watch Lu Parker's report

KTLA News
4:52 a.m. PDT, October 29, 2010

LOS ANGELES -- The barbaric practice of fighting dogs -- for blood sport and big money -- refuses to disappear.

The problem gained national attention when professional football player, Michael Vick was sent to prison for his involvement in dog fighting and a recent report shows the abuse is widespread here in Southern California.

According to L.A. County animal control officer Annette Ramirez, "Dog fighting is one of our number one crimes."

Video of underground dog fighting -- where dogs are pitted against one another and fight 'til their death -- can be found online.

Some dogs that make it out alive end up at local animal shelters and officers say the scars from dog fighting are apparent.

Officers say telltale signs of dog fighting include crudely cropped ears and suspicious scars.

Ramirez explains why owners do it saying, "dog fighters are motivated by several things -- for one, it's easy to make a quick buck off your dog -- costing you nothing to have your dog go fight, and it makes money for you. A lot of dog fighters think that their dogs have to prove their macho-ness, and they put their dog to fight another dog to show they're this big bad man when in reality it just shows they can hurt an innocent animal."

John Goodwin of the Humane Society of the US says, "there are certainly some hard core people, committed to setting dogs against one another, so they can destroy each other. So society needs to remain vigilant if we're going to stamp this out."

Some of the paraphernalia confiscated by the agency includes "macho" spike collars, heavy chains to restrain the dogs and so-called "breaking sticks" used by the fighting dogs' owners to "to push the tip into the roof of the dog's mouth to make them release their bite so they can separate the dogs," says Goodwin.

While authorities continue to chase the problem, Ramirez says they want your help, "dog fighting is just so underground, hidden that we highly rely on public to let us know what's going on out there so we can investigate them. Call 1-877-NO2FITE, FITE -- It's a tip line, you can remain anonymous but there is a $5,000 reward for the arrest or conviction of someone involved in dog fighting."

Dog Fighting: Underground Dog Fighting Exposed, Lu Parker Investigates - ktla.com