Controversy on What to do with Confiscated Dogs

[RealPitBull]

Controversy on What to do with Confiscated Dogs

www.wbtv.com/news/topstories/18459639.html

Local animal shelters tell us they have too many pit bulls. The dogs are coming in after police busted several alleged dog fighting rings.

Caldwell County has 80 pit bulls, all taken from a property owned by Rockey Sigmon and his wife Jennifer.

About the same time that house was busted up, Gaston County seized six pit bulls from this guy Rico Pagan.

All three face animal cruelty charges and as WBTV's Michael Handy reports, a real controversy is brewing over what to do with the dogs.
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It is hard for any animal lover to see a dog that's so scared he spends all his time hiding in the corner.

But that is the reality for one of the six pit bulls at Gaston County's Animal shelter. This particular dog is facing an almost certain death.

"I can't even go in there without busting out crying," said Shani Patterson who runs a pit bull rescue group. The problem is that right now all her foster homes are completely full.

"We can only take as many as we can take so at this point we're just really really looking for fosters," she said.

Perhaps the reason it's so hard to find foster homes is because of the way we have seen some of these dogs go on a rampage and viciously attack innocent people.

"It almost killed her, a few more seconds and it would've killed her," said Joe Mazza, who took several pictures of the severe injuries left on his 26-year-old daughter after a dog attacked her.

"It looks like somebody took a chainsaw to her," he said.

Mazza's now a strong supporter of euthanizing any pit bull that's known to be aggressive. He said, "Just a few seconds, this dog had just torn her to ribbons, it was just unbelievable."

Across the nation, these are by far one of the most controversial pets. In fact, several cities have even passed laws completely banning anyone from owning a pit bull.

"It happens to be there's a lot of myth that are involved with these dogs unfortunately," Patterson said, "Mouse, he was actually in a breeding mill... and they bread these dogs specifically to fight."

Patterson added, "After two weeks of being at my house and realizing how much love he was getting... he totally changed. I mean he's a different dog now, he's the sweetest thing."

You've now heard two very different stories and seen two drastically different pictures of the same breed of dog.

As police continue to bust up more of these alleged dog-fighting rings, you can bet the debate over what to do with pit bulls will continue, as well.

The owner of the six pit bulls taken in Gaston County is now out of jail and trying to re-claim his dogs.

Animal Control says he is not allowed to have them unless he is cleared of all criminal charges.

Story Created: May 1, 2008 at 4:44 PM EDT

Story Updated: May 1, 2008 at 5:29 PM EDT

[bullymommy25]

I've seen and heard of ex-fighting pits being WONDERFUL. What we desperately need is a sanctuary of some sort for these dogs to attempt to recover from their life of abuse! Then and only then, after a long time spent rehabilitating, can a dog be evaluated.

You don't take a child who was abused and forced into crime, which makes them have dangerous tendancies, and lethally inject them. You put them into counselling and a safe environment for them to recover, and then see what is salvagable as far as a future.
It would be the compassionate, ethical thing to do to have behaviorists and sympathetic workers running a sanctuary where dogs can be able to recover physically then emotionally, develop trust for humans, and then after time be tested as far as whether or not they can be adoptable or whether they can continue their life at a safe place.
Until we can do this for the dogs that we humans have damaged so severely, we are NOTHING as a species. No one can tell me that any living creature cannot be worked with into having a quality of life and loving bond with SOMEONE, I only believe that we are unwilling to spend the time and to achieve this.
And the heavy fines which are leveed against the criminals can be used, rather than going into court fees and "safe neighborhood" funds, can be spend to directly help the victims: the dogs!