The signs are everywhere. 

Heavy logging chains.  Gnawed bicycle tires hanging from trees.  Specially rigged treadmills.  Pit bulls with deep, bloody gouges on their faces, muzzles and forelegs and the damaged spirit reflective of a ritualistic pattern of neglect and abuse.

But when the indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick launched dogfighting into the national spotlight in July, many still wrote the incident off as just another example of celebrity excess or an anomaly occurring only in the rural South. 

Sgt. Eldon Urbikas of the Chicago Police Department’s Animal Crimes Unit said dogfighting – a vicious blood sport pitting dogs against one another in a winner-take-all death match – is far from a new or isolated phenomenon.  It is happening in back alleys, abandoned buildings and isolated backyards all over the country. 

And it is most certainly happening right here in Chicago.

So far this year, the Animal Crimes Unit has logged more than 40 arrests related to dogfighting and recovered more than 120 dogs that were allegedly abused.  Urbikas said most of Chicago's dogfighting activity is centered in the African-American and Latin-American communities on the city's South and West sides.

“People really need to be aware that it’s more than just an aberrant behavior or crime being committed in little pockets around the country,” said Elliott Serrano, community outreach specialist for the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago.  “It is a culture that is slowly being assimilated in all levels of society.”

According to the Washington-based Humane Society of the United States, there are an estimated 40,000 professional dogfighters in the U.S., but the biggest growth area for the sport is amateur street fighting in big cities like Chicago.

The Anti-Cruelty Society recently took an informal survey of students at a local elementary school and found that about one in five children in Chicago has actually attended a dogfight.

Into the pit

From birth fighting dogs are trained to do only one thing – attack and kill other animals. The American pit bull terrier, a strong, determined breed with a high prey drive, has become the animal of choice for dogfighters in recent years. 

Pit bulls are bred by dogfighters for aggression the same way racehorses are bred for speed, said Serrano. Only animals with unusual levels of hostility and consistent success in the ring are being bred. This practice is creating a race of pit bulls with elevated aggression levels toward other animals.

The bloody fights can last for several hours until one or both of the dogs are physically incapable of going on, due, in most cases, to severe blood loss or trauma.  Bloodthirsty crowds cheer on the dogs as they tear at each other, and thousands of dollars can be wagered on the outcome. 

Even the canine winners of dogfights often die from their injuries.  If they do survive, they are patched up to fight again. If their fighting career has been successful enough, they are pulled out of the ring and bred to produce more fighting dogs. 

Because veterinarians are required by law to report suspected dogfighting activity to police,dog handlers often learn rudimentary veterinary techniques to treat their injured dogs.  Dogfighters frequently use staples to close gaping wounds, Serrano said, or pump the dogs full of antibiotics.

If a dog survives after losing a fight, it is generally killed.  In dogfighting culture, there is little use for a dog that won’t or can’t fight.

“They could be tortured – strangled, suffocated, set on fire,” Serrano said.  “Or, in many cases, the dogfighters will say, ‘The dog’s not worth the bullet.’ So they won’t shoot the dog.  A lot of these dogs will be tossed into the garbage and allowed to just bleed to death there.”

The great irony, Serrano said, is that most dogfighters honestly believe they love their dogs. Having grown up in a culture of violence, they believe the dogs are just fulfilling their intended purpose. 

“They’ll actually treat some of these dogs fairly decently,” Serrano said.  “But in the very end, the dog is the one that pays the ultimate price for whatever benefit the owner gets.  So it’s really not a symbiotic relationship.  It’s a parasitic relationship.”

Hitting home

In July, Cook County Police seized 37 dogs, mainly pit bulls, from a barn in South Holland. Officials described it as the largest seizure of fighting dogs in Illinois history. 

According to the police report, the dogs ranged from puppies to adults in top fighting condition. They were kept in small cages stacked three high in a dark corner of the barn.  Unfortunately, this type of cruelty is far from uncommon in the bloody dogfighting industry. 

“It’s really just a life of neglect at the end of a chain until it’s time to be placed in that pit where they either maul or get mauled,” said John Goodwin, the manager of animal fighting issues for the Humane Society.

Fighting dogs undergo conditioning to make them meaner and improve their chances in the ring.  Most animals are kept in filthy cages, fitted with heavy neck chains and offered precious little human contact. 

Tio Hardiman, an animal advocate who grew up around dogfighting in Chicago’s Henry Horner project, said dogfighters routinely beat their dogs or deprive them of food.  Some owners even feed their dogs gunpowder or dead bees with the stingers still attached to help ensure their aggression. 

“Sometimes the dogs become desensitized to the pain because they’ve already been brutalized by their masters,” Hardiman said.  “By the time they get into a fight, they’re used to pain.”

Dogs are also trained physically for the rigors of the ring.  Many dogfighters put their dogs on specially modified treadmills or force them to hang by their teeth from suspended bicycle tires for hours to build their strength.  Often, they start their dogs fighting against smaller, so-called bait animals like rabbits or cats that are either stolen from backyards or claimed from newspaper advertisements offering free pets to good homes. 

“Some of these amateur dogfighters will just abuse these pit bulls in hopes that making them mean will make them better fighters,” Goodwin said.  “That doesn’t make them better fighters.  What it does do is destroy their natural inclination to love human beings, and that can lead to tragic, tragic events.” 

Noting the growing popularity of dogfighting, Goodwin estimated that 15 years ago, only two to three percent of the dogs coming into animal shelters nationally were pit bulls.  Now that number is closer to 30 percent. In some urban areas, it can reach 70 percent. 

“The pit bull is probably the most abused breed of dog in the world,” Goodwin said.  “And it’s a shame because the pit bull is also, contrary to stereotype, one of the most human-friendly dogs.”

Laying down the law

Though dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states – and a felony in 48 – it has still managed to thrive all over the U.S.  Professional dogfighting is a big business, and gambling has become an integral part of it.  A top-level professional fight can draw hundreds of spectators and offer a six-figure purse. 

“It generates a lot of money gambling-wise,” said Officer Felipe Reyes of the Animal Crimes Unit.  “For a professional type match, it can go up to tens, hundreds of thousands.  I mean, if you think about Michael Vick, how much money would he be betting on this?” (Vick could be liable for up to $1 million in damages for his dogfighting activity.)

According to Sgt. Urbikas, the majority of Chicago's dogfighting is of the amateur street-fighting variety, where wagers can range from a pair of gym shoes to several thousand dollars.

But the most alarming aspect of dogfighting might be its link to other criminal activity.  A three-year study by Sgt. Brian Degenhardt of the Chicago Police Department found that there is a “startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses toward human victims.” 

Of the 332 offenders reviewed in the study, 70 percent of those arrested for animal crimes have also had prior felony arrests on battery, weapons or drug charges. 

In recent years, the Chicago Police Department has taken a more proactive approach to animal crimes in general and dogfighting in particular.  The Animal Crimes Unit now has nine full-time officers trained to recognize and handle animal crimes.  In October the department was recognized by the Humane Society of the United States and the National District Attorneys Association for its work against dogfighting in Chicago. 

But arresting dogfighters can still be incredibly difficult, said Urbikas, because it is near impossible to prove that they intend to fight their animals. Unless officers walk in on a match in progress, they often have more success charging offenders with lesser crimes.

“We have a lot more luck charging with abuse and neglect than we do with dogfighting,” Urbikas said.  “That’s our best tool.  It’s easiest to prove in most situations.”

Illinois passed more stringent laws against animal fighting in 2007. According to Goodwin of the Humane Society, the wide-spread publicity over the Vick case and the ensuing public outrage is forcing policymakers to respond to dogfighting. This week Michael Vick turned himself over to U.S. marshals to begin serving a prison term of as-yet unspecified length.  Also, an Alabama judge handed down a 102-year sentence to a convicted dogfighter. 

Goodwin said the best way stop the brutal practice is to report any sign of dogfighting to police and ensure that city officials and law enforcement officials make it a priority. The Humane Society is also starting a reward program that offers up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an animal fighter.

“I think that the Vick indictment and resulting publicity has caused a temporary decline in dogfighting,” Goodwin said.  “I think we can make that decline permanent if enough pressure continues to be applied.  The opportunity is there to make permanent inroads against the dogfighters, but it’s an opportunity that can be easily squandered if it is not handled both with tender care and also a sense of urgency and aggressive prosecutions.”