Thursday, January 27, 2022

Dog Fighting is Evil!

My soon-to-be-book, First Realm, a prequel to my previously published Realms of the Cat is the adventures of a young TB (Toe Biter). Part of it was written almost thirty years ago, but despite how humorous kittens are as they grow up, readers like adventure as well.  

What adventures could a young black kitten have besides catching bugs and getting slobbered on by a big red dog (no, not Clifford)? Especially if that kitten lived in a house in the country where nothing happened? Then I remembered reading about a secretive activity occurring near where we lived--something I found out was, unfortunately, quite prevalent. 

That something is dog fighting.   


When I wrote the draft of the story, incorporating the older kitten scenes into the adventure, I didn't know a lot about dog fighting. I basically wrote a story of a big dog and his doggy friend who are kidnapped by dog fighters, and their kitty pal who leaps into the fray to save them. Then I added some wild critters to help the trio get away. 

Grubbs


All I knew was that I hated the idea of animals being forced to fight each other. Now that I have done some research, I loathe it. Here are some statistics supporting my loathing.

1. It is estimate there are at least 16,000 dogs that die each year from this 'sport.'
2. Fighting dogs are raised under cruel circumstances to be aggressive and strong. They are chained, beaten, starved to make them more suitable for the fighting pits. 
3. Less aggressive animals are used as bait animals. The fighting animals practice attacking, injuring, or killing these bait animals. 
4. Other crimes often accompany dog fighting. Gambling, drugs, guns. Dog fighting is considered a gateway crime. It is also illegal in all fifty states. 
5. A single fight can last for more than two hours. 
6. More than 50% of police officers have encountered dog fighting in their careers. 
7. As many as 500 animals can be seized in a single raid. Rehabilitating is often extremely difficult or impossible. 



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