East Germantown dogfight ring busted

Three men were arrested and have been charged after officers from the Pennsylvania SPCA cracked down on a dogfighting ring in East Germantown yesterday.

Responding to a call on the animal cruelty hotline, a humane officer found two dead dogs in the yard of the home on Bringhurst Street near Wakefield, said a PSPCA official. Five more injured dogs were found tied up nearby.

One man carrying a dog was arrested after trying to flee from the home, police said. Two other men - one suspected to be the homeowner, the other a dog trainer - were also arrested.

For years, the ring operated out of the East Germantown home, according to a PSPCA official. The dogs were found badly scarred, one with fresh wounds, he said.

In an ironic twist, the bust comes a day before the Eagles are to host a roundtable with local animal-welfare groups in the wake of signing former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who served 18 months in federal prison for running his own dogfighting ring.

The event is scheduled to take place in the South Philly NovaCare building.