18 dogs rescued from dog fighting ring in DeKalb County

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — An animal shelter tells Channel 2 Action News they rescued 18 dogs from an alleged dog fighting ring.

Many of the dogs showed the scars of battle and are now in the care of DeKalb Animal Services.

Police described the dog fighting operation as “brutal.”

“It’s horrible. It’s disgusting to see dogs abused by humans, when all they want to do is please you,” said Karen Hirsch from Lifeline Animal Project.

Acting on a tip, DeKalb police said officers searched an Ellenwood home last week and found the dogs tied up in back in deplorable living conditions.

They said there was also evidence of a training operation to turn dogs into fighters.

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“They observed dog fighting paraphernalia, such as treadmills, supplements, amino acid, creatine that humans take as supplements that they give dogs for training purposes,” said DeKalb County Detective Jason Gagnon.

Gagnon told Channel 2’s Tom Regan that while it’s unlikely the dogs were fighting at the location, it was a well-documented operation.

“We also saw a training calendar, weights of dogs, specific things to indicate that they were fighting dogs, a fighting operation,” Gagnon said.

Police arrested a couple living on the property and are planning to make a third arrest.
Taking in these dogs has put a tremendous stress on this shelter. They're already full with nearly 250 dogs.

Some of the rescued dogs may be adoptable, but many more could pose a danger because of the trauma and abuse inflicted on them.

DeKalb animal services is hoping this will encourage more people to adopt or foster all of the dogs in their care.

“So we can make room for the dogs we have to take in,” Hirsch said.

The accused couple face felony cruelty charges

If want to adopt any of these dogs, click here for more information.

Cox Media Group