[dogs barking]
Early July of 2009
The Humane Society of the United States Animal Rescue Team assisted the Humane Society of Missouri
with one of the largest if not the largest dogfighting raid
in US history
on each and every deployment that we go onto responders typically find
a dog that we connect with and whether that dog picks you or you pick him
in this case we named a dog Stallone
because of his personality and the fact that he had just survived a fight
When I saw Stallone's face several things went through my mind
first this was a dog in desperate need
Second off you ask yourself why do people do this to animals
it's cruel it's one of the most horrible things that I've ever seen
I've actually never
seen a dog in that of bad condition
Stallone, however caught me off guard with his injuries
I mean that face just very sweet eyes, tail always wagging
the entire time so there's more than emotional thing to become attached
to that dog
I mean really it's heartbreaking I mean he had such severe injuries to the face
he was just wanted to be held and touched and and was actually very docile
I mean a dog like that he just wants to please his owner
he just unfortunately was bred into a home that instead of facilitating
a companion relationship he was used for
being pitted against other dogs but his condition was you now
grave
I hate to think what he went through
I just can't imagine
he was ripped apart
I mean that type damage would not have happened in just a quick couple minutes I mean
that type the damage was
was probably a longer match half hour plus
it's sick
I don't see how another human could do that
The tail was the only thing that really didn't have any bite marks on it
that poor dog was just wagging away, wagging away
I can't quite wrap my mind around how a dog who has been
that physically and mentally abused
can still curl up in your lap and give you a kiss
even though he doesn't know who I am he was happy we were there
This is most definitely not Stallone's first fight
it was actually kinda hard to tell how significant the wounds were on his face
until we put him under
so we can clean his face and clean all the wounds off
If you looked in Stallone's eyes you could see that he was suffering and all he wanted was
a kind hand, just to be pat or held
you know wagging his tail gently every bit they worked almost around the clock
fighting to save Stallone's life In the end his wounds
were so extensive that we lost him
I mean I believe that Stallone's story should be told I think that it's
something people need to see this is the real face of dogfighting
all he really wanted was for somebody to love him give him a good pet
give him a good home You know dogs like that just want love and attention
I actually have a picture of Stallone up in my cubicle
and when I'm here at the office that is what reminds me every day
that this is why I continue to do this