Corrected: AL Man Pleads Guilty to Animal Cruelty

Correction: I misunderstood the article referenced in the post (see below quote) - and subsequently mistitled the original post. The plea was for animal cruelty and resisting arrest, not dogfighting.

Court testimony in the preliminary hearing was that when a dog was purchased undercover Alsabrook bragged on its fighting potential.

The post title has been corrected from "AL Man Pleads Guilty to Dogfighting" to "AL Man Pleads Guilty to Animal Cruelty". For additional background on the case, click here.

Original post:

Initial reports on this case indicated two men charged and 45 dogs seized. Today, there is an update on one of the men and some of the dogs:

William Alsabrook pleaded guilty Tuesday to five counts of cruelty to animals and one count of resisting arrest in a case involving a multi-agency investigation of his Newell dog breeding operation.

Mr. Alsabrook got 30 days community service, some fines, and surrendered his 25 dogs along with everything else seized in the raid (except his guns - he gets those back):

The fate of the dogs in the custody of HSUS is unknown but so far no organization or sanctuary that could house and possibly rehabilitate them has stepped up.

District Judge Patrick Whaley has not yet ruled on how they will be disposed of eventually.

The dogs are believed to have come from dog fighting breeding lines, which greatly affects the possibility of their adoption. Also, they must be kept out of the hands of people who may abuse them.

OK peeps, here are my demands expectations:

• The HSUS had better get their reps into that hearing and plead for the dogs to get fair evaluations by qualified behaviorists and/or rescues with a proven history of rehabbing bust dogs. And when I say "plead", I mean that those reps need to do whatever it takes, just like they did in the Wilkes Co case, to influence the judge. The dogs deserve fair evaluations with due consideration given to the fact that they've been held in (presumably) a shelter environment.
• The HSUS needs to reach out to the Pitbull rescue community (they supposedly know all the "major stakeholders", remember?) in order to spread the word that the dogs are in need of rescue. No waiting for a rescue to "step up" - rescues are often overwhelmed and may not even know about this group of dogs in need. HSUS has the responsibility to put the word out.

This is the first significant test of the new HSUS bust dog policy (still waiting to read details on that). I'll be monitoring developments in the case.

45 Dogs Seized in Randolph Co, AL Dogfighting Bust

The ASPCA, HSUS and AL authorities have arrested 2 men and seized 45 dogs in connection with alleged dogfighting activity in 2 raids in Randolph Co, AL. The ASPCA release has some specific info on the dogs:

“These dogs definitely suffered abuse and inhumane treatment at the hands of dogfighters,” said Dr. Merck, senior director of Veterinary Forensics for the ASPCA. “So far, we’ve seen that one is unable to walk, another that is limping, and many that are injured, some severely. Our hope is that the forensic evidence collected will help us seek justice for all of these animals.”

Dogs were discovered on heavy chains and have scars, untreated injuries and wound patterns indicative of fighting. In addition, controlled substances, illicit drugs and other paraphernalia related to dogfighting have been discovered.

The HSUS release indicates that information received via its own tip line led to the raids. It also states:

The HSUS, according to its policy, will recommend that dogs seized in these raids be evaluated for adoption suitability.

This is significant because it's the first time, to my knowledge, that HSUS is publicly making such a statement in accordance with its new bust dog policy. The specifics of that policy, and what the actual outcome for the dogs seized in this case will be, remain to be seen.