Suspected Dog Fighting Ring Busted

July 26, 2007 (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police have broken up a suspected dog fighting ring.

One of the four pit bulls police suspect was subjected to staged fights has scars and puncture wounds. Police found other dogs with similar injuries.

"I'm a dog owner. I have two myself, so it touches home. To me a dog is a family member, so it is a disturbing thought," said Lt. Stephen Biello.

Biello said investigators stumbled onto the dog fighting operation on Wednesday. A bench warrant unit was serving scofflaw warrants at a home on the 14-hundred block of South 24th street.

"In the process of clearing the house for anyone who may pose a threat or may be a threat, they went down to the basement and stumbled upon what appeared to be a dog fighting ring," said Biello.

Police also found cages. Above the basement door, it reads Welcome to Go Hard Kennels. Neighbors would not talk on camera, but say they'd often hear dog fights, and smell a tremendous foul odor emanating from it. One neighbor tells Action News, there are several homes in the surrounding area that stage dog fights.

"These types of incidents are so clandestine that unless somebody turns us onto a further investigation, it's tough to get into," said Tara Derby of the Philadelphia Animal Control and Care Association. "It's been driven underground for some time and now we're seeing that it still is an issue."

Derby says in most cases dogs involved in fighting cannot be adopted so these dogs will be euthanized.

"It's a heinous, heinous crime. It's something that unfortunately we are seeing in the public right now as coming back to the forefront," she said.

The suspects Frederick Daniels, Arron Brown and Ishaq Ibrahim are now charged with felony animal cruelty and conspiracy charges.

(Copyright 2007 by Action News and 6abc. All Rights Reserved.)

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