DOG FIGHTING IN URBAN AREAS



Dog Fighting in Urban Areas

Iyanna Warrick

October 14, 2016

Sport and Medical Sciences Academy

Dog Fighting in Urban Areas

Responsibility, obedience, and patience are some of the main things that helps develop a pet’s character. Despite the fact that there are so many animal-lovers out there, the world always seems to find those people that feel no compassion for animals. The people that feel that way are those who do not know any of the traits there are to take care of animals. Dog fighting is a brutal, felonious activity that is essentially fighting to the death or fighting towards severe injuries. This activity consists of two dogs in a ring surrounded by people who invest their money and time to see these two dogs do serious damage to one another or possibly kill each other. Dog fighting is a problem in urban cities due to people using it as an excuse for gambling and entertainment, the world being stereotypical towards specific breeds due to them being involved, and also dogs are being stolen or being bought for cheap, or they are getting mistreated after a loss or failed command.

It is possible for anyone to get intrigued by dogfighting. There isn’t a specific background of people that are involved with it whether it’s owning a fighting dog, or just simply gambling and attending. Bets include cars, property titles, weapons, drugs, jewelry, and other valuables (Gibson, 2005). People will bet anything because they feel like their chances are so high due to the dog’s training and skill. People also make money by studs, which is paying a person with a dog of a different sex to then breed more dogs and make money. Female dogs were often raped, due to owners wanting to constantly breed more dogs. One successful fighter made $100,000 in stud fees in one year (Peta, 2016). Fighters would then take that money and flip it to place bets. Stud fees were important for the fighters because in case something happens to their dog then they have more, also they would take the new pups and sell them to make even more money as well. Audiences contain lawyers, judges, and teachers and other upstanding community leaders drawn in by the excitement and thrill of the fight (ASPCA Professional, 2016). Dogfighting isn’t just an activity that middle-to-lower class people find interest in, but most people think that because professionals make it seem like an easy way to make money because they know how to not get caught. Believe it or not there are a lot of upper class people that find dogfighting fascinating to watch, and they possibly get to make money from it as well if they place the right bets. The problem with people wanting to place bets on this horrific activity can also mentally affect someone due to seeing such vicious sites of animal cruelty.

In the United States, American Pitbull Terriers are consistently categorized negatively. People think because they are big dogs, and they have big teeth that they are vicious. But that is not the case, and it never was. Pitbulls, along with Rottweilers, Bulldogs, and German Shepherds, all fall in the same categories when it comes to most Americans which are “scary, vicious, uncontrollable, and disobedient”. People think this way, but don’t know the actual reality. A dog’s actions are the reflection of how you treat them and regardless of the breed if you are raising a dog in an unsuitable setting, then that can cause them to get out of character and eventually become negative. It takes patience for dogs to understand when something they are doing is good or bad, but eventually they will understand depending how you teach them. This explains why Americans are so stereotypical on such dogs because of how they are portrayed in the media. Pitbulls, along with others are some of the main dogs that are sadly forced to participate in dogfights because they are born to naturally be big dogs, with big teeth. So it turns out to be an easy manipulation with raising them in bad environments, and getting them used to the vicious settings.

Needless to say, it is almost like setting their dog up for failure in a way. Only because as an actual caring dog owner of course you are going to make sure your dog gets all the shots and right foods they need because you want them to stay healthy and live a long life. Then again the dogfighting owners want them to get their shots and get them healthy foods just so those dogs are eligible to fight and essentially get injured or even die. Pitbulls are one of many friendly and obedient types of dogs because they enjoy a humans company and they are quick to teach depending on your patience and tolerance level.

Professional dogfighters are always looking for new dogs just in case on of their current dogs gets too injured to continue, and when they get too injured and can no longer compete then they get mistreated or abandoned. Street fighters can buy fighting dogs for a few hundred dollars or, more commonly, they breed their own or steal them (Gibson, 2005). Professional fighters usually have cash lying around in order to make easy and dirty purchases without getting traced. Fighting dogs are also really hard to trace as well because they rarely get registered due to frequently disappearing.

Gibson’s (2005) discussion stated the following:

The average life span of the fighting dog is very, very short. For most fighters, the dogs are considered disposable, a fact that is painfully obvious when the fights are over and everyone has left the crime scene. Inevitably, the mutilated carcasses of the losers of the evening’s match will be left behind. In the world of urban dogfighting, where an individual’s fighting dog is an extension of his or her own identity, defeat in a fight is unacceptable. A dog that loses a fight also loses a lot of money of money and compromises the reputation of his owner. The end results, if the losing dog survives the fight, is immediate death if he is lucky, or torture and mutilation if the owner is embarrassed or irate. (p. 10)

This quote attempts to show the point of view from a fighters point of view and what they feel like they “have to do” to their dogs in order to show that they mean business. Fighters do not take defeat likely, and they feel embarrassment when they lose so in order to show that they are serious, they kill their dog. If they don’t kill them then they torture them. The dogs fighting nearly to death aren’t enough for the owners, so they turn to different measures. This is a problem because dogs are on this earth to give love to humans, and they deserve to get that back. Dogs have high anxiety, especially when they know that their owner doesn’t care about them, but once they sense that they don’t care then they just stop trying and they don’t obey as heavily as a dog that is loved by their owners.

Essentially, dogfighting is a problem due to certain types of breeds getting out-casted in animal shelters because people are too scared to buy them because of how the world and the media portray them. Also, people are buying dogs for a few hundred dollars only so they can force the dog to fight. Even worse, people are stealing them which show the dogs that their life means nothing to anyone especially when you are putting them in a death-or-death situation. Lastly, people find dogfighting “entertaining” to say the least. Dogs are practically dying slowly from these fights, and they are trained to not back down so even if they are severely injured they are going to keep fighting. Ways we can prevent these issues are, getting the dogs spayed and/or neutered. Getting them neutered can solve a lot of different issues for dogs and for the general public. It saves them from getting certain diseases and also can stop dogs from breeding so many dogs when they don’t even have people to take care of them. Also, make sure a person has a proper license to breed animals and they are breeding for good purposes.

References

ASPCA. (2014). A Closer Look at Dog Fighting: What is Dog Fighting?



ASPCA Professional. (2016) Disaster & Cruelty: Dogfighting FAQ



Gibson, Hanna. (2005) Animal Legal and Historical Center: Detailed Discussion of Dog Fighting



People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). (2016) Dog Fighting



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