Child Brings Home Dogfight Photos

A child in Tennessee brought home grisly photos of a dogfighting training session. Apparently, one of the kids brought the telling snapshots to school and traded them with other kids.
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Schoolgirl brought home photos of pit bulls charging tethered cat
Police suspect link to dog fighting

Grisly photos taken home by a student at Nashville's Cumberland Elementary earlier this week are believed to be linked to local dog-fighting operations, authorities said.

The photos, which the young student traded for baseball cards, show pit bulls attacking a cat, which is hanging from a metal clothesline pole, Metro Animal Control officials said yesterday.

''They show what appears to be a dog-training situation,'' said Animal Control Director Judy Ladebauche.

A man stands in the foreground of the pictures observing the dogs, while in the background a woman and child can be seen, she said.

The Cumberland Elementary student's mother found the photos among the student's belongings and brought them to the attention of the school and then to Animal Control officials, Ladebauche said.

The investigation into their origin continues.

''If one child traded them for baseball cards, it's possible another child did also,'' she said.

Dog fighting, which is often associated with gambling and drugs, is gaining in popularity in Nashville, Ladebauche said.

''While we don't think it's terribly well-organized, we want to prevent it from becoming that way,'' she said.

The photos have not been directly linked to other recent dog-fighting cases, she said.

Last week police and Animal Control investigators seized 16 pit bulls from two Nashville homes. Treadmills, medications and other materials possibly related to dog fighting also were recovered.

Felmon G. Gardner, 32, of South 13th Street was arrested last Wednesday and charged with dog fighting and animal cruelty related to 12 of those dogs, some of which showed fighting wounds, police said.

Gardner is free after posting $7,500 bail Oct. 29.
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new (and old) ways for animal abuse and horror to be shown and taught to the young that is it acceptable. i shudder for the future generations as paths are continued towards continued violence.