From The Chicago Suntimes


September 23, 2009

STNGwire

Cook County Sheriff’s police have arrested three people allegedly involved in a dogfighting ring based at a home that also serves as a daycare facility in west suburban Maywood.

The sheriff’s department Animal Crimes Unit found a dog with its eye ripped out, a dog with a leg twisted backward and a dog with its lower extremities nearly ripped off during a Tuesday raid, according to a release. Nine dogs were undergoing surgery and rehabilitation Wednesday.


The gruesome scene at three Maywood homes was made even more harrowing by the presence of a licensed daycare operation, Sheriff Tom Dart said in the release. Charges are pending against the three alleged ringleaders, one of whom is related to the daycare operator.

“Kids were playing on a swing set just 10 feet away from a vicious fighting dog and blood-stained floors,” Dart said.

The daycare operator insisted she was not involved in dogfighting and maintained children were never near the dogs or fighting equipment.

When police arrived at the daycare home on the 2100 block of South Third Avenue, there were 10 children being watched. In a garage behind the house, police found a very aggressive pit bull, blood on the floor and bloodstains along the sides of a car. Also in the garage were syringes, medication, bite sticks and harnesses used in dogfights, the release said.

The chest of the dog was shredded from a recent fight and its penis was bitten almost completely off, the release said.

Investigators learned the dogs used in the operation were housed at nearby on the 2020 block of South Sixth Avenue, home to an ex-convict who charged $60 a month for dogs to be kept there.

Martez Anderson, 38, was released from prison on a drug conviction in 2006 and cited Tuesday for being a felon in possession of an un-neutered or unspayed dog, according to the release.

In the garage at Anderson’s home, police found an 18-month-old pit bull with three 4-week-old puppies. All were kept in a wire cage soaked in feces and urine, with no signs of food or water, the release said. All were severely emaciated and police believe the puppies were already being used in fights, possibly as “bait dogs.” One puppy had its left eye ripped out and had several puncture wounds to the face.

In a shed behind that garage, a 1-year-old pit bull was found extremely scarred with its leg turned completely backward. In a crate behind that shed, police found another pit bull that could barely stand, the release said.

As police searched the property, they noticed a large opening in a fence separating Anderson’s yard from a neighbor’s. In the neighbor’s yard, police saw a badly injured pit bull tied to a logging chain. The dog had fresh fighting wounds, possibly from a fight this week, according to the release.

The owner of that house on the 2020 block of South Sixth Avenue consented to a search of his home. In a dilapidated garage, police found a treadmill that had been altered specifically to train dogs to fight. Police also found another malnourished puppy locked in that garage.

“What was done to these dogs is inexcusable,” Dart said. “This was done in the name of gambling and greed and no area seems to be immune from its influence -- we see it in rural farm areas and inner cities. Unfortunately, we’re also seeing more and more kids exposed to this kind of lifestyle.”

Earlier this year, Dart championed a state law that requires cross-reporting between the Department of Children and Family Services and animal investigators. It mandates DCFS investigators alert authorities to suspected animal abuse, and that animal investigators notify DCFS of suspected child abuse or endangerment, according to the release.

All dogs rescued in the raid were taken to the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge.




This dog was among those rescued from an alleged dog-fighting operation involving three Maywood homes, including one that also served as a daycare business.

WTF!

People do not have a conscience.

at a friggin daycare? what in the world is wrong with these mofos?





And they had children near this madness. I think it would have been only a matter of time before one of the dogs got loose and attacked a child.

and that's not all

Claims of rape at care homes

Vulnerable women in state-monitored care homes are reportedly being raped and are trading sex for cigarettes and money in cases that highlight years of neglect and inaction by the Victorian government, according to its own watchdog.

The Public Advocate, Colleen Pearce, told The Age newspaper on Wednesday Victorians would feel "ashamed" if they visited some government-monitored private nursing homes.

"We have left vulnerable Victorians without support. It is a shameful situation," said Ms Pearce, who was appointed in 2007 to protect the rights of the disabled and vulnerable.

Ms Pearce said she had decided to speak out to highlight years of government inaction over reports from Office of the Public Advocate monitors about conditions facing mentally ill, disabled and elderly residents of state-supported accommodation.

She said there was particular concern about women in so-called supported residential services.

"When you have got women who need to get basic necessities, they will often provide sexual favours to get them and then feel really abused by that.

"It is not uncommon for us to hear about women either trading cigarettes for sex or else being raped."

Ms Pearce accused the Department of Human Services of failing to adequately monitor the treatment of supported accommodation residents and of failing to prosecute facility owners who abused or neglected them.

I"ve heard of elderly women in nursing homes being beaten and raped but wtf, trading sex favors for cigarettes and daily necessities? that shit sounds crazy. Um,,,I assume these are male care givers so maybe getting rid of them and hiring capable female nurses at a decent wage might put and end to this madness.