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Rikus was found by PETA field staff in Northampton County, N.C. in June 2006. Rikus and another male pitbull on the property had been fought, and both suffered life-threatening injuries that were left untreated for several days. Photo courtesy of PETA
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When Julie Curtis talks to people about the widespread scourge of dogfighting throughout Washtenaw and Wayne counties, she often is met with blank stares and skepticism.
But ever since the recent prosecution of two local dogfighting operators and breeders, Curtis, a senior animal cruelty investigator, now is gaining more community support in combating dogfighting in the two counties, which she said ranks near the top areas throughout the entire country for animal cruelty and dogfighting.
The prosecutions of Ypsilanti Township resident Ricky Lynch and Belleville resident Michael Alan Dalton represent the first two felony dogfighting prosecutions within the last eight years.
Curtis, who works for the Humane Society of Huron Valley, said bringing the two dogfighters to justice was certainly a win for her investigative team and for HSHV, which dedicated hundreds of man hours to both cases. It also succeeded in shedding light on a far-reaching problem that is often overshadowed because of the underground nature of dogfighting itself.
"(Dogfighting rings) are typically a huge underground network; it's a lot like drug operations," Curtis said. Dogfighting is a felony in 48 states, but considered just a misdemeanor in Idaho and Wyoming.
Dalton was sentenced last year to two years probation and ordered to pay $11,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to four felony dogfighting charges. Lynch, who was recently convicted of felony dogfighting, will face sentencing March 6.
The investigation into Lynch started in early 2007 from an anonymous tip, Curtis said.
The tip that dogfighting was going on at a house in Ypsilanti Township led to a 3-month long undercover investigation. On June 15, the HSHV obtained a search warrant for Lynch's home and conducted two raids
Seventeen pit bulls, including nine bloodied and caged puppies and eight chained-up adult dogs, were seized during the raid. In addition, investigators removed a number of dog-fighting related paraphernalia including training tools such as break sticks (which are used to pry open a pit bull's mouth once it is locked on another animal or object), videos and photographs depicting dogfighting, literature regarding pedigree and breeding information in addition to a number of medical items used to mend wounds such as sutures, staple guns and pain-relieving drugs.
Curtis said the raids opened a Pandora's Box into an underground network of dogfighting in Ypsilanti Township, in which investigators believe Lynch had been involved since the mid-1990s, when he started a dog kennel called "Call Your Bluff Kennels."
During the pre-trial, prosecuting attorneys played a video where Lynch was shown talking about his dog, "Tonka Tank," killing another dog in eight minutes. Curtis said that piece of evidence "pretty much damned him," and Lynch's attorneys convinced him to plead down to four felony counts of dogfighting after originally being charged with nine counts.
Before Lynch was investigated and charged, cruelty investigators scored another hit on the underground world of dogfighting when HSHV investigators nabbed Belleville resident Michael Dalton. Dalton was investigated after a dead dog was found half buried on his property in Ypsilanti Township, along with paraphernalia associated with dogfighting and four other dogs that had been scarred and received wounds consistent with dogfighting.
Curtis said one reason dogfighting rings are so hard to investigate and prosecute is because they are underground and ell organized. Behind dogfighting rings are dedicated people who make up what can almost be considered a subculture of fans and participants of this widespread bloodsport.
"I think that (dog fighting) is everywhere," Curtis said. "It's hard to say why it's here. It's just everywhere. I think a lot of people view it as a sport. I think that it's easy money for the breeders. It's my belief that they have no respect for other living creatures and are happy to make their money off the backs of these poor animals."
Once dogs have been bred and trained to fight, they in the future become a threat and may kill or injure another dog, cat or even human, according to a HSHV press release. The cruel training inflicted upon the animals makes them unpredictable and unsuitable for placement into new homes.
Knowing the exact bloodline of a fighting breed of dog is very important to owners, Curtis said. Dog fighters will typically have a lot of pedigree and breeding information on hand, which was evidenced after retrieving documents from Lynch's home during the June 13 and 15 raids.
"The breeders typically would breed certain bloodlines. The owners want to know exactly what bloodline the dog is from," Curtis said.
All of these elements were found in the evidence seized from Lynch's and Dalton's home, from the pedigree information to training tools used to condition the dogs throughout the first two years.
The cases of Ricky Lynch and Michael Dalton, however, are a small sample of the widespread horror of a growing problem.
Stephanie Bell, senior cruelty investigator with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has a succinct, two-word phrase that describes the reach of dogfighting throughout the country: "Sadly prevalent."
"We have gotten our share of hundreds of complaints of dogfighting in our cruelty division. It is more prevalent than what most people realize, but I think a lot of light was shed on dogfighting when the Michael Vick case broke."
Former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty to felony dogfighting charges and was sentenced to 23 months jail time for his involvement in a national dogfighting ring run out of one of his homes in Smithfield, Va. Vick was involved in an underground breeding site called "Bad Newz Kennels," similar to Lynch and Dalton who both were involved in their own respective dog kennels.
Testimony came out in the much-publicized trial that Vick took part in hangings and shootings of fighting pit bulls who were on the losing end of a match.
The case brought needed attention to an epidemic that is widespread throughout the country, with underground gambling rings and breeders operating in an astounding number of urban areas and rural areas as well, according to Bell.
Bell said the rings are so prevalent and so well organized, that some actually produce their own magazines with such titles as "The Sporting Dog Journal," "American Warrior," and "Pit Bull Chronicle."
"The Vick case gave the issue the exposure that it needed," Bell said. "People around the country, I don't think, even understood how barbaric and vicious these rings are.
"It also brought to light how profitable and how well organized the operations are. The Vick case really exposed the criminal elements involved with this. I mean we're talking big money here with the gambling aspect and then the breeding of fighting animals, and of course it's all underground and all very much illegal. These operations are well funded, well networked and very well organized."
While more and more activists continue to draw attention to the plight of dog fighting, both Bell and Curtis agree that the Michael Vick case advanced the cause for those working to stop illegal dogfighting rings throughout the country.
"I think the Vick case shed a lot of light on the problem everywhere," Curtis said. "Before it was such an underground thing. But now people are seeing where there might be dogfighting more, and they are calling it in. It's everywhere."
But how prevalent really is dogfighting in Washtenaw County?
"Washtenaw County is riddled with it," Curtis said. "We border the number one county for dogfighting in the state, possibly the country, in Wayne County."
Michigan ranks near the top of states most known for animal cruelty and dogfighting, according to PetAbuse.com, a non-profit organization that tracks animal cruelty cases.
The Web site has information on more than 12,500 cases of animal cruelty throughout the country. Those cases include everything from animal fighting, neglect and abuse (which makes up the largest percentage of cases nationally), hoarding, shooting, burning, stabbing, poisoning and mutilation among other categories.
There are 291 cruelty cases for Michigan that have been tracked and stored in the Web site's Cruelty Database, dating back to 1975. Out of those nearly 300 cases, 43 were dogfighting investigations.
In 2007, there were 61 cases of animal cruelty reported with 10 of those cases being related to animal fighting. And what was the very first case tracked in Michigan from 1975? Seven people from Oakland County charged and convicted of dogfighting.
Despite the prevalence of animal cruelty cases and dogfighting throughout Washtenaw and Wayne counties, local animal control officers have very little to do with most cruelty investigations.
Washtenaw County Animal Control Officer Herb Schroeder has been at his job for more than 10 years. He said that he has only been involved in a handful of dogfighting or cruelty prosecutions, despite his department covering animal control for most of the county, including Saline, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Chelsea and Dexter. He said Pittsfield Township is the only municipality with its own animal control.
"On occasion we have been involved in a few prosecutions," Schroeder said.
"But we mostly take care of all the calls that come into this office. We take care of the quick and easy things like if a dog is left without proper food, water or shelter, or if a horse hasn't been fed properly.
A National Outlook
After serving as senior animal cruelty investigator for PETA for almost five years and being in the animal protection field for more then 12, Stephanie Bell has seen it all.
Bell carries a distinct passion for rooting out and prosecuting dogfighting crimes. She believes committing violent acts on animals is commonly a precursor to committing violent acts against humans.
Over the years, PETA has investigated hundreds of possible dogfighting rings, Bell said, and have come across dozens in 2007 alone.
"We also find a lot of times (dogfighting rings) are often related to other criminal and illicit activities like drugs and weapons running," Bell said. "It is something that brings to the table a lot of different criminal elements. We have often found bags of marijuana packaged for sale, and underground drug labs while raiding different dogfighting operations."
Research also shows people involved in animal abuse are more inclined to perform domestic abuse, and in the most extreme cases lead to murder as in the cases of Jeffery Dahmer, the Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy and others, Bell said.
"It is a very common and well proven link, and that is common in blood sports because people who abuse animals are more inclined to abuse humans," she said.
Pit bulls and other fighting breeds are almost always subject to violence by their handlers when it comes to dogfighting especially if they fall on the losing end of a match. Bell said dogs are often hung, shot, beaten, drowned or electrocuted. She said when it comes to a dogfighting match, there really isn't a winner or loser - the dogs involved are almost always mangled and tortured when it is all said and done.
So how can investigators pinpoint the problem and begin rooting out dogfighting rings across the nation? Bell said that is easier said than done.
"Unfortunately these rings and kennels are incredibly common. They pop up in rural settings, urban settings, everywhere. A lot of the times the operations can look like a normal breeding facility or dog kennel," Bell said. "That, again, just speaks to the fact of how well organized these rings are as well."
And it is the organization and hierarchy that investigators attempt to crack when looking at possible dog-fighting operations. It also is the most difficult aspect of prosecuting dogfighting operations because the rings are clandestine, and rarely produce hard records, Bell said.
Despite bringing in a fairly large profit through illegal gambling, Bell said, investigators have a tough time coming up with hard evidence. Ever since the breaking of the Vick case, however, Bell said she thinks people are becoming more savvy and calls into PETA regarding possible dogfighting tips have increased.
"We probably have seen an uptick in complaints. Local law enforcement are taking complaints more seriously," she said. "In a way (Vick) has been a catalyst to educating the public as to the importance of combating this.
"Because now we know how horrific this thing is, and I think people gained a full understanding of how grizzly and how barbaric these types of blood sports are, and with Vick being a nationally recognized role model to young kids, it sends a terrible message."
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WHAT IS ANIMAL CRUELTY?
Michigan law defines animal cruelty as the following:
Failure to provide an animal with adequate food, water, shelter medical treatment,
Improperly tethering (or chaining) an animal
Abandoning or causing an animal to be abandoned without providing for the animal's adequate care
Cruelly beating, torturing, maiming or killing an animal.
Willfully or negligently allowing an animal unnecessarily
Transporting an animal in a vehicle in a cruel or inhumane manner
Either poisoning or exposing an animal to poison
The cropping of a dog's ears or docking of a dog's tail, unless performed by a licensed veterinarian.
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