Cops hope to collar dog-fighting suspect

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Un-fur-givable cruelty
By Laurel J. Sweet | Monday, April 13, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Officials who saved two badly mauled pit bulls from a home-based dog-fighting colosseum in Dorchester described a horrifying scene of bloodshed and cruelty.

“To me, it’s very barbaric and unnecessary. That’s why it’s illegal,” said state police Lt. Alan Borgal, director of welfare and protection at the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

The remains of one pit bull and two live dogs suffering from multiple bite wounds were removed from “filthy, blood- and urine-soaked cages” in the pitch-black basement of 29 Raven St. Saturday after they were discovered by a plumber fixing a furnace, Borgal said.

Borgal is urging anyone who knows about the operation and who may be involved to call District C-11 detectives at 617-343-4330 or law enforcement at the Animal Rescue League: 617-426-9170, ext. 110.

One pit bull was hospitalized in intensive care. Both their futures were uncertain, he said.

“You don’t really know their true demeanor until they’re healthy,” he said. A veterinary pathologist was performing a necropsy on the dead dog.

Cops and the Animal Rescue League executing a search warrant at the triple-decker Saturday night seized a 10-by-20-foot dog-fighting ring made of blood-spattered plywood and rugs, two “staging areas where the dogs would be held prior to entering the fight, several holding cages” and “a blood-soaked, sharpened probing stick,” Boston police spokesman officer Joe Zanoli said.

Zanoli said, “Detectives have been able to link (a) first-floor resident to the basement and charges will be sought against” the 36-year-old. He declined to give the man’s name while charges are still pending.

A “friend” who answered the suspect’s phone yesterday said, “I don’t know about that,” when asked about the dog-fighting allegations.

Borgal said the stick police took from the basement is used to pry the dogs’ jaws off each other.

The basement’s windows were blocked so no one from the street could see in.

“There were efforts to conceal this activity,” Borgal said. “I’m amazed people don’t realize this criminal activity goes on. It’s not something we want in our society.”