Pit Bull fighting ring busted in Buffalo

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http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/b ... 21278.html

Tip leads to suspected dog ring
Pit bulls, puppies found on Laurel St.
By Phil Fairbanks
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
October 08, 2009, 6:50 AM / 5 comments

A tip from a private demolition crew led to the discovery Wednesday of a suspected dog fighting ring and more than a dozen pit bulls, many of them puppies.

The dogs were taken into custody after Buffalo animal control officers raided several houses on Laurel Street, a residential neighborhood on Buffalo’s East Side.

“Some of the dogs had marks from the fighting,” said Paul Sullivan, the city’s director of sanitation.

Sullivan said the dogs were discovered after employees of a housing demolition company working in the neighborhood reported seeing suspicious behavior, including people with dogs coming in and out of the houses.

He said workers also reported hearing loud cheers coming from the houses, an indication dog fighting may have occurred at the scene.

“By the time we got there, there was no fighting going on,” Sullivan said.

One city official described the condition the dogs were kept in at the houses as deplorable but indicated there was no other evidence of dog fighting at the scene.

What animal control officers found, he said, were about 10 adult pit bulls and six to eight puppies.

No arrests were made Wednesday, but Sullivan said the city will continue to investigate the matter.

Police often say that identifying dog-fighting rings and prosecuting the people involved in them can be difficult because of their secretive nature.

pfairbanks@buffnews.com