GRIFFIN, Ga. — A convicted drug dealer out of Griffin, Ga., who fraudulently received federal pandemic relief money, was sentenced to two years of federal prison for promoting dogfighting.
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Norman Dixson, 35, bred dogs for the purpose of dogfighting, using treadmills and other devices to condition them to fight from birth.
According to videos and photos from Dixson’s Facebook and iCloud accounts, he marketed puppies for dogfighting.
Additionally, his dogs were subjected to inhuman conditions, spending much of their lives on heavy chains in makeshift pens or overcrowded crates, surrounded by waste.
Dixson had videos of numerous dog fights, showing dogs seriously injured, dead or dying. Some dogs were shown hanging by their necks from leashes suggesting they had been strangled.
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, dog fights often last hours, with the dogs suffering puncture wounds, lacerations, blood loss and broken bones. To avoid detection of illegal dogfighting, the dogs are not taken to professional veterinarians, but instead suffer through bootleg treatment. Dogs who lose or refuse to fight are often brutally killed.
During the dogfighting ventures, Dixson fraudulently used taxpayer money to fund his lifestyle, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he received more than $170,000 in Paycheck Protection Program and Unemployment Insurance funds by lying to government agencies.
Dixson plead guilty and was convicted of one count of sponsoring and exhibiting a dog in an animal fighting venture.
In addition to two years in federal prison, Dixson was sentenced to three years of supervised release in which he is barred from owning dogs. Dixson was also ordered to pay $171,069 in restitution.
“Dixson exploited federal relief programs while breeding, training, and abusing dogs in horrific conditions for his barbaric entertainment and monetary gain,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Dogfighting has no place in civilized society. Depraved individuals who abuse animals for profit should take notice: we will aggressively prosecute these offenses and ensure the perpetrators are sent to prison.”
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