Daisy’s Journey of Independence

“I want to thank everyone for being here on such short notice. We got this intel just a short while ago and we need to act fast if we want to finally get these guys” explained Sargent Johnson briefing the Sheriff’s Animal Control Division. 

“As you know we have been tracking this particular fighting ring for quite some time so this intel is coming at a good time and I want this take down to go without a hitch.” Johnson continued

“The sheriff’s deputies and swat will be leading this bust I want a few of us with them to secure to fighting dogs. Lopez, Mitchell, Cantrell, and Jordan I want you with the first wave get to the ring as quickly as you can and secure the dogs non-lethal. Understood?” Johnson asked

“Yes sir” the four men replied. 

Sargent Johnson continued to explain his strategy. “The rest of you I want to surround the back portion of the property, recovery all the dogs bait and breeders. Be aware there may be German Shepherds patrolling the property. Do not harm use as much force without becoming lethal.” he ended emotionally. Sargent Adam Johnson is a dog lover and a good cop which made him an excellent choice as commander of the sheriff’s department animal control.  He loves Pitbulls and hates the fact they are so abused and mistreated and made to fight, therefore he does everything he can to raid the fights and he has a lot of support from with the sheriffs department including Sheriff James Vine himself, as well as the swat commander Steve Jarrod. Both men being present for the this meeting. 

Sheriff Vine took over saying “We also have a number of volunteers standing by to help with the intake of dogs with quite a few rescues being ready. We have pitbull rescues as well German Shepherd rescues. Also we have Dr Natali and Dr Richard on stand by in a motor home for any type of medical needed.”

“Too many dog bodies have washing up lately from the river, everyone in this room knows this is unacceptable. We will not tolerate dog fighting in our town. We need to end this now!” Sargent Johnson concluded explosively with the audience standing and applauding. 

This was a room of animal/dog lovers and any type of abuse within this small town will not be tolerated hence the large number of volunteers for this operation and rescues from neighboring counties. 

A convoy of police cars, vans, varying sized motor homes and trailers descended upon Elm St and Oak Ln where an abandoned house stood on a large parcel of land which had a separate garage of to one side. There was also a fenced area that was believed to house breeder dogs and babies as well as the German Shepherd sentries. 

The convoy stopped 2 blocks away from their target. Lights out all men and volunteers dressed in black. Everyone knew their assignments and proceeded accordingly. 

Guns locked and loaded flashlight off but ready. 

This deal was going down in a single file rows each went where they were supposed to go silently and invisibly. The place was surrounded.  Due to the chilly night everyone’s breathe was like ghosts in the dark. 

“Go go” was the command in the earbuds of all involved.  Silently they descended upon the house those with cameras capturing the violence  and abuse of the dogs and the gambling of the spectators. 

A lot of arrests were made. The fighting dogs were subdued with no incident. The animal control officers along with the volunteers were able to confiscate the Pitbull dogs in kennels and cages along with any babies. The dogs housed outside were shivering in their filthy cages from the cold of the evening and fright. Drs’ Natali Ramos and John Richards checked out each dog in their cages to make sure they were good to be transported. Any dog questionable was taken to the mobile vet unit for further checking out. 

The whole event went very smoothly. Quite a bit of arrests were made big county people were caught red handed, they were cuffed, and taken in. This was a good night. No dog was harmed nor was any human harmed in any transaction. 

Once all guilty parties were arrested and in custody then the evaluation of the dogs can start. The dogs currently in the fight ring were of course evaluated first and surprisingly they were no threat to anyone and allowed the officers to lead them to where they needed to go. 

All in all 22 dogs were confiscated that were Pitbulls and 5 German Shepherd. The German Shepherd rescue claimed all 5 of the German Shepherds with the understanding these dogs were evidence. Photographs were taken before, during and after in case of trial. All the dogs were documented and trace evidence collected then they were all examined by the vets. 

To say the night was long was an exaggeration. The operation started at 10 pm the night before. The initial raid was over in less than 15 minutes. The evidence collecting and statements stilling going on and it’s 3 pm the next day. Thank god for the volunteers keeping the dogs happy and hydrated also the vets for nipping any issues in the bud. The dogs are doing good in this scenario but what is their fate?

Really ultimately they are evidence in an ongoing investigation. You can’t lock them up in an evidence room now can you. All the volunteers were gracious and they took all the Pitbulls in. God bless them. A dog behaviorist from a local dog club came a helped each volunteer. 

Everyone that is fostering a dog is dedicated to changing their lives helping them to become happy and healthy dogs. Also once this case is settled they will be adopting the dogs they are fostering. If by a long shot chance in hell the judge decides to give these dogs back to the previous scumbag owner we all made a pack to refuse to give these dog back. 

My foster dog actually chose me. She was huddled in the back of a filthy cage and would growl when anyone tried to get her. I just grabbed her out of the cage without incident. I wrapped her in a towel she was dingy and gray and loaded with fleas. I immediately took to her to the vets office we’re all the dogs were being taken. Once there she got a quick check over then a bath to get rid of all the fleas. She turned out to be a beautiful white 4 month old female with the sweetest hazel eyes. I immediately fell in love with her. I named her Daisy. She was underweight and had a couple patches of mange and she was treated for worms. She came home with me that day.  As the days turned into weeks and then months I delighted watching this sweet girl slowly become more confident and less fearful of everything. She loves to learn new stuff and has excelled in all her training classes. She has gone through a destructive phase that we weathered and I thanked God when that ended. She shows me daily how happy she to be free from the hell that was her first four months of life.

One year later

Everyone who has taken a dog from that raid has kept in touch and trained together in the local dog club which set up special classes in order to help us train and properly socialize these dogs, which helped these dogs transition to great companion dogs. 

Allowing them to gain total independence.