Little Gators Foster is just a love machine, dispensing kisses nonstop to Rachel Hawke, director of operations for the Unconditional Love Foundation (or anybody else within reach of his tongue). Gator Fosters is the hope of the future for Rachel, and the rest of the people in Delaware County, Indiana, determined to stop dogfighting. This is one pit bull puppy being who will never be trained to fight other dogs for sick people’s “entertainment.”
The Unconditional Love Foundation (ULF) is working with the Muncie-Delaware County Dogfighting Task Force on a community awareness campaign about the problem, using posters and postcards.
“The message is important and straightforward. We're looking for information about animal fighting and we're willing to pay for it. Up to a $2,500 reward is possible if the animal fighting tip leads to an arrest and conviction,” said Jill Dolon, president of ULF and also the animal control officer for Delaware County. Our slogan is ‘We’re Looking for a Fight.’”
Jill felt compelled to start the dogfighting task force because of the pervasive problem of dogfighting in her county. She and other animal welfare people in the county were tired of seeing the steady parade of wounded pit bulls coming into the shelters. Then the horrific discovery of the body of a badly mauled pit bull by the Muncie Sanitation Department became the tipping point. The poor dog was what is known as a “bait dog” used to train other dogs to fight.
“As the saying goes, turn something negative into something positive. People really became aware of dogfighting here. They were really were outraged and wanted to do something about it. A couple of weeks after this dog was found we had our first meeting.
“I asked the county commissioners what they thought about putting a task force together and they were behind it 100 percent. So then I approached the City of Muncie and they were supportive as well. We knew it would be better to work together rather than separately because we are now all sharing our information, whether it’s a person’s name; where we found a dog; vacant houses/buildings; or other pertinent information.”
The dogfighting task is made up of animal-control officers and veterinarians with representation from the prosecutors office, state, county and city police. Jill and Karen Gibson, Muncie Animal Shelter Superintendent co-chair the task force.
“While the task force's mission is to investigate and ultimately eradicate dogfighting in Delaware County, we will also work with the prosecutors office to prosecute animal-related crimes in addition to the weapons, drugs, gambling, money laundering and gang-related offenses that often accompany the dogfighting scene.
“Dog fighting is a menace to our community at every level. Animal-fighting events are riddled with drugs, gambling and illegal weapons. Children often witness the training and even the fighting of animals, fostering in them a passion for violence, a frightening disregard for other living beings and lack of respect for the law.
“The dogs themselves are dangerous members of the community. They have been bred for many generations to be dangerously aggressive. The presence of fighting dogs in a community increases the risk of attacks not only on other animals but also on people.
“Children are especially at risk; a fighting dog may not be able to distinguish them from another animal. Bloodlines of dogs bred specifically for fighting may make their way into the genetic makeup of companion animal populations, increasing the chance of a human injury or fatality,” Jill said.
Jill said education is the key to ending this horrific so-called sport.
“People need to know what to look for and where to report their suspicions. The Humane Society of the United States has a video, some great posters, brochures and information on their website. There are also some great videos. There is the documentary called “Out of the Pit: Dog Fighting in Chicago,” Sierra Cleveland who worked for the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society produced it and is great about letting anyone air it. The Humane Society at Lollypop Farms produced ‘Contest With No Winners.” Ron Barber from In the Line of Duty has a great training tape for law enforcement agencies called ‘Pit Bulls and Dogfighting.”
And Pit Bull Rescue Central has information on proactive steps being taken across the country.
Task force co-chair Karen Gibson said, “While dogfighting is usually at the center of other crimes, our focusing on dogfighting is part of a broader effort to resolve the culture of violence in our community. We want people to know violence towards animals and humans will not be tolerated in our community. The collaboration between the agencies involved is a win-win situation, the lives of both animals and citizens in our community will improve.”
For more information about the Muncie-Delaware County Dogfighting Task Force contact Jill at stopdogfighting@aol.com.
Article by Barbara Williamson.
