Saving dogfighting’s victims

For the record, he is animal No. 1157638 at the Pennsylvania SPCA's North Philadelphia shelter, but the staff has dubbed him E.T.

Like the beloved movie alien, the rambunctious but friendly pit bull has a big head and no ears.

Unlike the character, the canine E.T. had his floppy ears sliced off - by Philadelphia dog fighters, probably because they were vulnerable in fights, PSPCA officials say.

E.T. was one of 12 pit bulls discovered in February in an alleged dog-fighting ring in Kensington. On Oct. 16, one of two men arrested at the scene pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty. Barry White, 33, also faces a dog-fighting case in North Carolina.

On Oct. 9, the head of the PSPCA declared that an animal-cruelty "epidemic" was sweeping the city.

In particular, dog fighting and the abuse of pit bulls has become prominent. Along with dogfighting rings, the PSPCA is investigating the dumping of dead pit bulls in Fairmount Park. Last month, 17 live pit bulls were found hoarded in a moving truck in Oxford Circle.

George Bengle, a PSPCA enforcement officer, said dogfighting was "growing by leaps and bounds."

Last year, the nonprofit agency confiscated 42 pit bulls from suspected dogfighters, chief executive officer Howard Nelson said. This year, the PSPCA has impounded 74.

When NFL superstar Michael Vick pleaded guilty in August to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, animal lovers and the general public responded with revulsion.

For "dog men" and other participants, however, the Vick case was an affirmation that dog fighting is "glamorous," Bengle said.

Having a pit bull and fighting it is like "walking around with a gun. It's like a badge of honor," he said.

But for dogs like E.T., it is a life filled with brutal training and vicious maulings in the ring. And not long ago in Philadelphia, even a rescue meant likely death at the city shelter, where pit bulls were routinely euthanized because the breed was regarded as dangerous.

"It's a terrible shame that all the public sees are these punks in the city fighting them," said Michelle Chedeville, a Chester County breeder of pit bulls.

To help turn their image around, Deirdre Geurin of Morrisville, Bucks County, puts out a nonprofit calendar that features pit bulls with pin-up girls - most of the dogs owned by the models.

"They are big, goofy dogs," said Geurin, who promotes the calendar, which benefits pit-bull rescue groups, through www.pinupsforpitbulls.com.

Lindsay Condefer, owner of Chic Petique in Philadelphia and a dog-rescue organizer, said she was hopeful that the Vick case had made more people aware of who was to blame for dogfighting and the pit bull's bad image.

"It's not the dog," she said. "It's the people."

The ancestors of pit bulls were bred in England to fight, but they also were bred to be friendly to their human handlers. Pit bulls were popular as pets in the United States through the early 20th century.

Since they were bred to fight, they have always been part of the dogfighting culture. What has grown in the last two decades is the celebration of dogfighting in urban street culture, and the reputation of pit bulls as the toughest dogs around.

They certainly can be fearsome and deadly, which has prompted breed-specific laws against them in some states. There is no such law in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

The pit bulls in shelters are not just dogs confiscated from dogfighters but also strays or dogs surrendered by owners.

In 2006, the city-contracted shelter run by the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association euthanized 1,222 dogs - of 4,716 total - simply because they were pit bulls or pit-bull mixes, CEO Tara Derby said. The figure is higher when counting treatable and nontreatable medical or behavioral conditions, she said.

This year, as the shelter has implemented dog-behavior evaluations and other measures, the number of pit bulls put down was only 266 through Sept. 30, Derby said.

More pit bulls are being adopted. At the PSPCA and PACCA, prospective owners are screened to see if they can provide an appropriate home for a pit bull.

The dogs are screened, too.

Until March, the PSPCA allowed adoption only of pit-bull mixes and gave some purebreds to rescue groups. But the agency now has an animal behaviorist and a program to rehabilitate fighting dogs. The dogs are cleared for adoption after the criminal cases are resolved.

Not all can be rehabilitated, and some still are euthanized. But, Nelson said, "we're optimistic that this program is going to work."

The criminal case involving E.T. remains active because a codefendant, Joseph Roberts, 45, still faces a trial next month.

The pit bull was rescued when Police Officer Don Murdoch encountered two men with blood on their pants and sneakers on Madison Street. One was White, who pleaded guilty recently.

Murdoch and other officers found pit bulls in White's house on Madison, the backyard, and a minivan. Some were cut and bloodied, while others were emaciated. In a nearby abandoned house, Murdoch found a blood-covered fighting ring.

Investigators confiscated two treadmills, scales, a "break stick" for prying apart fighting dogs, and 12 pit bulls, including E.T.

Typically, fighting dogs spend hours running on a treadmill or treading water in a tank to build up strength and endurance. They also are trained with bait animals, such as smaller dogs or cats.

A cowering E.T. arrived at the PSPCA weighing 44.2 pounds. He had an infection from the improvised ear surgery and suffered from worms, assistant shelter manager Barbara Foley said.

Recently he weighed a healthy 51.4 pounds.

Unlike pit bulls that are aggressive against other animals because of their breeding or training, E.T. is intimidated by other dogs, preferring to stay close to his shelter handlers.

"Maybe they tried to train E.T. as a fighter and it didn't work out," Nelson speculated.

Because of the screening, pit bulls are often adopted by families living outside the city. "They aren't dog-park dogs," Nelson said.

E.T.'s fate is yet to be determined.

"I think E.T. would make a wonderful pet for somebody," Nelson said. "He's a great dog."