9781422285121

Doing Research The cops were skeptical . Then they did their research and were shocked at what they found. Dogfighting was big business. A dog owner could win as much as $10,000 for a fight. Some charged between $500 and $1,500 to train other dogs. Message boards on the Internet gave dog-fighting tips and the best way to treat injured animals. The cops later talked to the informant (a per- son who provides information to the police) and learned that southeast Texas was ground zero for dogfighting. From the inner cities to small towns, people held dogfights in abandoned buildings, parking lots, and even on street corners. The officers learned dogfighting

The officers found the dogs kept in terrible and unhealthy conditions in small, cramped crates like these.

was more widespread than they had expected. It involved people from oth- er states and Mexico. Many were older men who had been involved for years. Younger people, mostly in poor neigh- borhoods where drugs and gangs ruled the day, also were participating.

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