Mass MO Dogfight Raid, In Shadow Of Vick Case

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ACT/ Mass MO Dogfight Raid, In Shadow Of Vick Case KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN 10/26/07: Mass MO Dogfight Raid, In Shadow Of Vick Case KINSHIP CIRCLE ACTION CAMPAIGN http://www.KinshipCircle.org 2 SAMPLE LETTERS IN THIS ALERT: TO: Officials - Fully Penalize Dogfighters TO: Missouri Humane Society - Spare The Dogs PHOTO: Amy McCubbins, at left, joins Patience Scanlon as they take blood from one of 25 pit bulls and a beagle seized from an organized dog fight outside Dudley, Mo. early Sunday. The dogs and other evidence were taken as investigators joined Stoddard County deputies in the morning raid. The dogs were photographed, treated for wounds and vaccinated at the Humane Society's headquarters on Macklind Avenue. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post Dispatch) SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Fighting dogs likely to be killed http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/EBB94F7B41A408BB8625737E00126FEE?OpenDocument Missouri dogfighting raid nets 3 men, 26 dogs http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/26B3799FAD7CC8328625737C000FF232?OpenDocument Humane Society of Missouri seizes 26 dogs from Stoddard County dog fighting situation http://www.hsmo.org/m_animalabuse/stoddard_dog_fighting_10_07.php Dog-fighting suspected, dogs seized http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/327407.html Law enforcement and judicial circuit for Stoddard County http://mova.missouri.org/counties/stoddard.htm Thank you Bridget Soeder, a Kinship Circle board member, for research and phone calling to find contact information for this letter-writing campaign! =========================================================== #1. To Officials In MO Dogfighting Raid Sample letters are prepared to give you ample background on an issue. Try to change some words, pare down letters, and make them your own. **DELETE ALL REFERENCES TO KINSHIP

CIRCLE BEFORE SENDING** =========================================================== Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Briney Welborn P.O. Box 620 * Bloomfield, MO 63825 ph: 573-568-3150 * fax: 573-568-2108 email: paoffice website: http://ago.mo.gov/prosecutors/s.htm Sheriff Carl Hefner Stoddard County Sheriff's Department PO Box 319 * Bloomfield, MO 63825 ph: 573-568-4654, 573-568-4539 * fax: 573-568-3003 email: 890 website: http://ago.mo.gov/policesheriffs/s.htm Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force (SEMO) Missouri State Highway Patrol, Division of Drug and Crime Control 1510 East Elm Street Post Office Box 568 * Jefferson City, MO 65102 ph:

573-751-3452 * fax: 573-526-5577 email: ddccmail website: www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/DDCC/NarcoticsViceUnit/NarcoticsViceUnit.html Missouri State Highway Patrol General Headquarters 1510 E. Elm Street * Jefferson City, MO 65102 ph: 573-751-3313 * email: mshppied website: http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/Root/index.html COPY: Attorney General Jay Nixon Missouri Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court Building 207 W. High St. P.O. Box 899 * Jefferson City, MO 65102 ph: 573-751-3321 * fax: 573-751-0774 email: ag website: http://ago.mo.gov/contactus.htm#header2 Prosecuting Attorney Welborn, Sheriff Hefner, SEMO, and Missouri State Highway Patrol: I wholly commend your

unified effort in the bust of a dogfighting ring outside Dexter in Stoddard County, Missouri. Due to your diligence, 25 pit bulls, one beagle, and assorted dogfighting paraphernalia were confiscated from a barn used by alleged dogfighters Jessey Short, 30, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., Curtis Pickering, 28, of South Fulton, Tenn., and Jamie Sifford, 29, of Dudley, Mo. As typical in raids, investigators found treadmills, vials, syringes, break-sticks to disengage a pit bull's deadly jaw clench, and even documentation of matches, rankings, breeding stock and prizefighters. The accused dogfighters played their dogs in a horse stall covered in blood sodden carpet. According to Tim Rickey, the Humane Society of Missouri's Director of Rescues & Investigations, the volume of seized dogs and fighting gear renders this the largest Missouri raid in the last five years. The dogs' scars, bite wounds and

lacerated ears are testimony to their lives of coerced violence and abuse. In the aftermath of Michael Vick's high profile case, an informed public wants penalties commensurate with the brutal crime of dogfighting. Short, Pickering, and Sifford are booked on charges of dogfighting, a felony in Missouri. I urge the Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney to take a no-lenience stance on dogfighting and animal cruelty. Please seek maximum incarceration and fines. In addition, the offenders should be barred from possessing, merchandising, or living alongside animals in any context. More illicit activity is certain to emerge. Animal fighting is commonly associated with illegal gambling, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, money laundering, and acts of human violence. Please charge Short, Pickering, and Sifford accordingly, as any new evidence unfolds. Furthermore, I am concerned about the beagle also found

during the raid. Dogfighters routinely use "bait" animals to arouse aggression in pit bulls. Small dogs, cats, rabbits or chickens may be strung to poles and twirled like toys until a fight dog fatally mauls them. For a practice fight, or "roll," handlers mismatch a submissive animal with an aggressor. Dogfighters often steal companion animals to use for bait. I encourage authorities to investigate the origin and purpose of any small animals uncovered on the premises. Please keep me informed of progress in this disturbing case. One Atlanta Falcons quarterback forever changed public awareness about suspected dogfighting activities. I implore law enforcers and litigators to investigate and penalize animal fighters to the full extent of the law. Thank you, =========================================================== #2. To Humane Society Of Missouri Sample letters are prepared to give you ample background on an issue. Try to change some words, pare down letters, and make them your own. **DELETE ALL REFERENCES TO KINSHIP CIRCLE BEFORE SENDING** =========================================================== Humane Society of Missouri Headquarters 1201 Macklind Ave. * St. Louis, MO 63110 general ph: 314-647-8800 * general fax: 314-647-4317 general email: info SOURCE: http://www.hsmo.org/m_aboutus/contactus.php HSOM Rescues And Investigations Department: 314-647-4400 For questions concerning this dogfighting rescue, call: 314-802-5712 web email (copy/paste long link into your browser): http://hsmo.convio.net/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS & SURVEY_ID=1403 & JServSessionIda012=pqwxgz88w1.app11d Tim Rickey, Director of Rescues and Investigations ph: 314-951-1518 * fax: 314-802-5700 * NO EMAIL Kyle Held, Statewide Investigator with HSMO ph: 314-647-8800 ext. 607 * NO FAX OR EMAIL Christine, Supervisor Of Statewide Investigations ph: 314-951-1514 * LAST NAME, FAX, EMAIL would not be released Humane Society of Missouri, Rescues and Investigations Department: Thank you for your participation in the recent dogfighting bust outside Dexter in Stoddard County, Missouri. Due to the statewide effort, 25 pit bulls, one beagle, and assorted dogfighting paraphernalia were confiscated from a barn used by

alleged dogfighters Jessey Short, 30, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., Curtis Pickering, 28, of South Fulton, Tenn., and Jamie Sifford, 29, of Dudley, Mo. As typical in raids, investigators found treadmills, vials, syringes, break-sticks to disengage a pit bull's deadly jaw clench, and even documentation of matches, rankings, breeding stock and prizefighters. The accused dogfighters played their dogs in a horse stall covered in blood sodden carpet. The dogs' scars, bite wounds and lacerated ears are testimony to their lives of coerced violence and abuse. Now that these unfortunate dogs find themselves "property" of the courts and under your care, I respectfully ask the Humane Society of Missouri (HSOM) to evaluate them for placement in credible sanctuaries experienced with pit bulls. I am disturbed by comments in the press about inevitable euthanasia. Clearly, fight dogs are not "pets-of-the-week" suitable for

typical adoption. However, they deserve some human kindness and a safe place. I sincerely hope HSOM exhausts all possibility to afford them this chance. "We owe them a little extra patience," concurs Randall Lockwood, the senior vice president whose expert opinion helped spare all but one of 49 pit bulls seized in the Michael Vick dogfighting case. Please seek input from national groups such as Best Friends Animal Society in Utah, along with Missouri groups like Pit Bull Rescue Central, that have hands-on knowledge about former fighting dogs. There can be salvation for some, if not all of these dogs. Please update me about efforts to determine their fate. Thank you, *************************************************************************************************** *************************************************************************************************** Kinship Circle is a nonprofit organization serving the animal advocacy community. Donations fund the literature, website, research/campaigns, educational outreach, and animal disaster aid networking -- that let YOU take action for animals. Your support keeps our voice for animals alive! DONATE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/ Action Campaigns I Literature I Voice For Animals nonprofit advocacy: anti-cruelty letter

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