Bloodsport Bust in Arizona

By Ariana Huemer

©The HSUS

Rescuers at the Tucson bust found over 150 dogs confined in small, chain-link kennels or at the end of heavy chains.

Some ran endlessly around well-worn circular paths—their small worlds circumscribed by the lengths of their heavy chains.

Others leapt maniacally to the tops of their chain-link kennel confines. All were frantic for human attention and seemingly half-mad from their lives of isolation and confinement.

These are the dogs who greeted officials from Pima County Sheriffs Department, The HSUS, and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona during an orchestrated takedown of some of the largest players in the world of underground dogfighting.

Orchestrated Takedown

The Feb. 19 raids were the culmination of a nearly year-long investigation by The HSUS and the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Conducted simultaneously at four Tucson-area locations, they resulted in the arrests of six people, including Mahlon "Pat" Patrick, one of the most notorious figures in dogfighting, whose involvement in the blood sport stretches back to 1968.

Also targeted and arrested during the Tucson raids were Patrick's alleged dogfighting cohort, Emily Dennis, as well as two other big players in professional dogfighting: T.L. Williams and Bobby Smith. All were charged with felony dogfighting and face up to two years in prison and up to $150,000 in fines if convicted.  

©The HSUS

The dogs found during the Tucson raids lived in decrepit conditions and cruel isolation.

With the arrests of these dogfighting kingpins, one of the most important underground dogfighting networks in the U.S. has been effectively dismantled. 

As a supplier of several major fighting-dog bloodlines, Patrick holds a status among professional dogfighters ranking second perhaps only to the infamous Floyd Boudreaux, who currently awaits trial on felony dogfighting charges after a 2005 raid on his Louisiana property put him out of business.

Like Patrick, Williams and Smith have been entrenched in the world of underground dogfighting for decades—breeding pitbulls and operating the second-largest game dog registry in the country, constructed to help dogfighters trace the bloodlines of fighting dogs and turn profits off their breeding. Together, the three men may be responsible for the deaths of countless thousands of dogs during their decades-long reign.

"This was a well-established, organized, criminal enterprise that profited off the blood of innocent dogs," said Chris Schindler, The HSUS' deputy manager of animal fighting law enforcement. "The repercussions this raid will have on the world of underground dogfighting are incalculable."

Extensive Evidence

Aside from the scores of scarred, injured and neglected dogs, Pima County Sheriff's deputies seized mounds of dogfighting documents, dogfighting paraphernalia (including medications, treadmills, "rape stands" for breeding, and breaking sticks to pry apart a dog's clamped-down jaws) and at least 50 guns.

As for the dogs themselves, after a lifetime of isolation interrupted only by periodic, bloody bouts in the fighting pit, most had nothing but affection and sloppy kisses for their rescuers. For these dogs and the countless thousands of others who die for organized dogfighting every year, ensuring a swift and decisive prosecution of their tormentors remains the most important task at hand.

Ariana Huemer is an animal cruelty case manager for The Humane Society of the United States.

 

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