Pet Rescue Art:  Dog Fighting Sucks…what is wrong with Kentucky?

I live just 20 minutes north of Lexington, KY.  Lexington is the horse capital of the world.  In my county and several of the counties surrounding us…horses are a focal point of community life.  The barns built for horses here are nicer than most folks houses.  There is a retirement home for race horses a few minutes from my house…some of these horses have earned upwards of $90 million dollars in their life time.  The horse is sacred here.

For the most part everyone I meet here is also a dog lover.  Just about everyone has a dog or two.  Hunting dogs are everywhere here…for the most part the hunting dogs live productive lives as working dogs here…the bond between the hunter and his dog something to respect.  The local humane societies are well supported…and there are numerous smaller fringe rescue groups as well.  But there is also a dark underworld for animals here that few folks want to talk about.

Kentucky has the worst laws in the nation for protecting animals…dead last…they are in fact a disgrace.  Because of the pathetic laws the abuse and neglect of animals (especially dogs) goes on publicly and is never punished.  Sure, folks can (and will) call and report the abuse they see…but there is often little the authorities can do…dogs are left to suffer out in the open for everyone to see.  There are no laws here to fit the crimes of cruelty to animals here…it is a sad, sad state of affairs.

Kentucky is also the ONLY state in the nation that does not consider raising dogs for the purpose of fighting a felony…literally the only state in the nation!  Why is it so important to classify raising dogs for fighting as a felony you might ask?  Because this is the only way to stop dog fighting.  It is very rare that the authorities will catch dog fights “in theater”…their world is too secretive.  The only way to stop dog fighting, that every other state in the union has already figured out, is to bust the creeps for raising fighting dogs in the first place.  In Kentucky…raising fighting dogs goes on right out in the open.  Kentucky is in fact a safe haven for dog fighting.

We also must not be naive about the world of dog fighting…its not just about cruelty to animals…its about drugs and violence against humans too.  These are dark hearted people with no regard for life…not a dog’s life…not my life…not your your life.

The Louisville Humane Society recently stated that 80% of the dogs they in take are pit bulls or pit mixes…80%….and most of them come in with wounds and scars reminiscent of dog fighting.  We also have another problem here in Kentucky…dog fighters need bait…animals that they can use to teach their fighting dogs to kill…we therefore have an epidemic of stolen family dogs.  It’s sickening…but if your dog goes missing here…we want to hope for the best but we are in fact forced to at least entertain the idea that the very worst of fates has befallen our dogs.

There is a group here; Kentucky Coalition to End Dog Fighting, that has been tirelessly working to get laws passed to make raising fighting dogs a felony.  But alas…there are legislators standing in the way…many of them.  They “kill the bills” to protect the dogs by adding abortion amendments, ag gag amendments and other amendments that have nothing to do with dog fighting.  Its disgusting but these politicians are elected (over and over) and have been getting away with this for years.  There is still a chance that a bill will pass this month where anti-dog fighting language will itself be an amendment…we can hope and pray that it passes.  If it doesn’t I hope for public outrage against these legislators standing in the way…but I doubt it.

I have no desire to opine about corrupt politicians and their role in the suffering of animals here in Kentucky..most thinking people know that the role of “career politician” has simply become a euphemism for corruption…removing all “career politicians” with term limits is the only answer to cleansing our corrupt government.

I do think it is worth reflecting on the state of a society that passively stands by in the face of cruelty.  Basic kindness to animals should be easy…and it should be a key measure by which we judge our communities.  Abominations such as dog fighting (any kind of animal fighting) are a blight…a dark spiritual sickness that every single civilized person should be unwilling to tolerate in any form.  Here though…there is an entire segment of society accepts things like dog fighting and cock fighting as part of their “culture”.  Whenever there is actually a raid of a dog fighting ring or cock fighting ring here there is a hardcore group of people that are outraged by the intrusion of government on this pillar of their history and culture…literally they identify things like cock fighting as “part of their culture and heritage”.

This is a picture my husband took in eastern, Kentucky (click on it and enlarge it).  If you don’t know what you are looking it…the barrels are for fighting roosters.  Roosters are tied to these barrels (which are their homes) until they are taken to the ring to fight.  This picture was taken “in town”…it wasn’t hidden from civil society…these fighting roosters were being raised right out in the open for all to see…everyone driving by knows what the fate of these roosters will be…and nothing can be done for them.

Where I personally struggle the most with issues like cruelty to animals is NOT in pondering “how could they?”…”how could anyone be so cruel?”…I don’t wonder that at all…I know exactly how individual people can be so cruel…they are spiritually sick…in many cases spiritually bankrupt.

What I do struggle with is how can everyone else stand by and do nothing…how can we have a such a high level of “dis-interest” in ending cruel practices going on in our own communities…Most of us would never consider engaging in the world of dog fighting or cock fighting ..but at least in Kentucky…the voting population repeated elects legislators who refuse to put a legal end to it.  This is a dark blemish on our society…we (Kentuckians) must end it…we (Kentuckians) cannot stand by in disgust and judgment rather we must be the voices for these animals.  We have to do something about it…the animals can not put an end to dog fighting…but we can.

It appears there is one last chance for Kentuckians to speak up and encourage our legislators to finally do the right thing and stop dog fighting.  There is a bill that has passed the Senate…was amended in the house and now must pass the Senate with the amendments again.  It is SB143 and it has the anti-dog fighting provision as an amendment.  Will you make the phone call?  Call your state senator (800-372-7181)…call the Senate leadership…ask them to support SB143 and to take a stand against dog fighting.  If you don’t know who your Senator is…click on the link here Kentucky Coalition to End Dog Fighting…and they have details and links to find your Senators and details about the bill.   Like their page on Facebook if you want to follow this more closely…the phone calls matter THIS WEEK!!!!!  I will be making the phone calls this week…will you?

Rescue On!

Nancy