It was the largest dog fighting bust in U.S. history.
A year ago, federal agents stormed properties in five states and arrested dozens of people profiting off of the misery of dogs, forced into the fighting ring. 500 dogs were seized.
"We have for years considered it prevalent," says Tom Colvin, Executive Director of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa talking about dog fighting. "Illegal drugs and weapons tend to go along with this as well."
The dog fighters are motivated by money. They call it a blood sport. Others call it barbaric. The profits are derived from stud fees, sale of the dogs, training the dogs even staging the fights.
Fights were captured on undercover video used to convict eight people, five of them Iowans.
Zachary Connelly, Andrew and Jill Makstaller and Kevin and Ryan Tasler plead guilty to Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce to Sponsor a Dog in Animal Fighting.
According to the complaint, the defendants bred and trained Pitbulls for dog fighting, denied the dogs adequate and humane medical treatment and destroyed them by shooting them, throwing them in the river or burning them in a barrel.
The undercover video shows Cris Bottcher, a Missouri dog fighter, using a .22 caliber rifle to shoot a dog that failed to perform in a fight.
The 35 dogs seized in Iowa were taken to the ARL.
Colvin remembers it well, "Many of them had clearly been conditioned to fight. They were lean. Many had cars around the face and the head and the body."
The dogs would spend the next five months at the ARL, as the criminal case made its way through the courts.
"Some were ones you wouldn't want to put people in with who weren't their daily caretakers," says Colvin. "We ended up with one or two caretakers, one in particular, who was able to interact with all of them regularly."
That caretaker is Karen Baumgardner. The staff at the ARL says she has a way with Pitbulls.
"Aw, it's okay," says Baumgardner as she consoles a barking Pitbull being held at the ARL.
When she enters another kennel, the Pitbull inside smothers her with affection.
"Aw, that's quite a bit of smooches," says Baumgarden.
She still thinks about the Pitbulls seized in the fighting ring. How can she forget? She fed them, walked them, she bonded with them.
When asked if she was sad to let them go she responds, "More sad what people turn them into."
"Some of it's genetic," says Robin Abeltins, another ARL caretaker, describing what makes a dog viscous. "But a lot of it's how they're raised and taken care of."
Considering how these dogs were raised, rehabilitation seemed nearly impossible. But the ARL, animal rights advocates, even investigators decided early on to evaluate each dog a huge task considering the number of dogs and their violent history.
Their evaluation progressed slowly. First, caretakers introduced stuffed dogs to the former fighters, followed by other dogs. Colvin says the dogs were also stimulated with toys and challenges.
"I think they got more love and attention here then they did in their entire lifetime," says Abeltins.
In the end, most of the dogs could not forget what they'd been taught, to fight to the death.
"The majority of the dogs had to be put to sleep," says Colvin.
It's not something the ARL took lightly.
"It's very hard with any animal that gets put down," says Abeltins. "I don't see how anyone can find joy out of watching animals fight."
Some dogs did, eventually find joy.
Six of the 35 dogs rescued from Iowa dog fighters were deemed suitable for rehabilitation and adoption.
Four were sent to A Rotta Love, an animal rescue organization in the Minneapolis area.
"We take in dogs that have been abandoned and put them into foster homes," explains its President, Rachel Anderson. "We evaluate their temperament and find them good homes."
A Rotta Love deals specifically with Rottweilers and Pitbulls.
Last fall, the organization contacted dog trainer, Lynn Silvas about a dog named Ernie.
"As far as trainers in the metro area," says Silvas. "I'm kind of the Pitbull lady."
Silvas, already owns two Pitbulls, but she could not say no.
"The moment I saw him I thought oh boy, I've got number three," says Silvas.
Ernie now goes by the name of Monkey. He is believed to be between 16 and 18 months old.
Silvas says she's still trying to figure out his talents, "We know that he adores people. He's one of the most affectionate dogs I've ever had."
Because of his age, Lynn doubts Monkey did time in the fighting ring. The same cannot be said for Maverick.
"He was involved in some fighting," says his new owner, Mike Sweeney, also a dog trainer. "He does have combat scars. I've seen worse so I would think he was either used as bait, which was getting another dog hyped up, and also as stock."
Sweeney admits, Maverick was not his first choice for a family pet.
"He'd shut down," recalls Sweeney. "He was a fear dog. Who knows what happened to him, but a lot of his behavior was driven out of fear."
In addition to psychological needs, Maverick also had some health problems. Poor living conditions contributed to skin and intestinal ailments.
Sweeney says 9 foot, hundred pound logging chain was used to restrain Maverick. He ate and drank from old oil drain pans.
Sweeney says there's not telling what he was fed.
"It's not uncommon for them to feed them whatever they have and often times that's what lost in the ring. It's a very sad situation."
But after fostering Maverick for a few weeks, Sweeney and his wife Sue could not give him up. He is now part of their family.
Just as Josie is part of Sara Nick's family.
"We fell in love with her," says Nick.
They adopted her in February. Since then, Josie has received her Canine Good Citizenship Certificate and is training to become a therapy dog.
In a twist of fate, Josie will be helping people who have been mistreated.
"She'll actually be working with underprivileged teenagers who are residing in a shelter because they've been taken out of their home for abuse and neglect," says Nick.
It's hard for some to fathom. Dogs, once part of a fighting ring, Pitbulls in particular, becoming loving family pets.
These trainers say it's a testament to the rehabilitation process and the breed.
"The biggest thing we had to do was introduce them to the world," says Anderson. "You know, you'd turn on a ceiling fan and they'd drop because they'd never seen a ceiling fan before."
Other than that, Anderson says the dogs simply needed to learn some manners and receive some love.
"Really one of the nice things about Pitbulls, they tend to be really in tune to their humans. They're very big pleasing dogs, very trainable."
Those same characteristics make the Pitbull the breed of choice among people who fight dogs. The dogs fight, to the death, for their owners, who then profit from the sacrifice.
Silvas notes, while six dogs found loving home, hundreds did not.
"Ultimately, the dogs were the victims."
A year ago, federal agents stormed properties in five states and arrested dozens of people profiting off of the misery of dogs, forced into the fighting ring. 500 dogs were seized.
"We have for years considered it prevalent," says Tom Colvin, Executive Director of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa talking about dog fighting. "Illegal drugs and weapons tend to go along with this as well."
The dog fighters are motivated by money. They call it a blood sport. Others call it barbaric. The profits are derived from stud fees, sale of the dogs, training the dogs even staging the fights.
Fights were captured on undercover video used to convict eight people, five of them Iowans.
Zachary Connelly, Andrew and Jill Makstaller and Kevin and Ryan Tasler plead guilty to Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce to Sponsor a Dog in Animal Fighting.
According to the complaint, the defendants bred and trained Pitbulls for dog fighting, denied the dogs adequate and humane medical treatment and destroyed them by shooting them, throwing them in the river or burning them in a barrel.
The undercover video shows Cris Bottcher, a Missouri dog fighter, using a .22 caliber rifle to shoot a dog that failed to perform in a fight.
The 35 dogs seized in Iowa were taken to the ARL.
Colvin remembers it well, "Many of them had clearly been conditioned to fight. They were lean. Many had cars around the face and the head and the body."
The dogs would spend the next five months at the ARL, as the criminal case made its way through the courts.
"Some were ones you wouldn't want to put people in with who weren't their daily caretakers," says Colvin. "We ended up with one or two caretakers, one in particular, who was able to interact with all of them regularly."
That caretaker is Karen Baumgardner. The staff at the ARL says she has a way with Pitbulls.
"Aw, it's okay," says Baumgardner as she consoles a barking Pitbull being held at the ARL.
When she enters another kennel, the Pitbull inside smothers her with affection.
"Aw, that's quite a bit of smooches," says Baumgarden.
She still thinks about the Pitbulls seized in the fighting ring. How can she forget? She fed them, walked them, she bonded with them.
When asked if she was sad to let them go she responds, "More sad what people turn them into."
"Some of it's genetic," says Robin Abeltins, another ARL caretaker, describing what makes a dog viscous. "But a lot of it's how they're raised and taken care of."
Considering how these dogs were raised, rehabilitation seemed nearly impossible. But the ARL, animal rights advocates, even investigators decided early on to evaluate each dog a huge task considering the number of dogs and their violent history.
Their evaluation progressed slowly. First, caretakers introduced stuffed dogs to the former fighters, followed by other dogs. Colvin says the dogs were also stimulated with toys and challenges.
"I think they got more love and attention here then they did in their entire lifetime," says Abeltins.
In the end, most of the dogs could not forget what they'd been taught, to fight to the death.
"The majority of the dogs had to be put to sleep," says Colvin.
It's not something the ARL took lightly.
"It's very hard with any animal that gets put down," says Abeltins. "I don't see how anyone can find joy out of watching animals fight."
Some dogs did, eventually find joy.
Six of the 35 dogs rescued from Iowa dog fighters were deemed suitable for rehabilitation and adoption.
Four were sent to A Rotta Love, an animal rescue organization in the Minneapolis area.
"We take in dogs that have been abandoned and put them into foster homes," explains its President, Rachel Anderson. "We evaluate their temperament and find them good homes."
A Rotta Love deals specifically with Rottweilers and Pitbulls.
Last fall, the organization contacted dog trainer, Lynn Silvas about a dog named Ernie.
"As far as trainers in the metro area," says Silvas. "I'm kind of the Pitbull lady."
Silvas, already owns two Pitbulls, but she could not say no.
"The moment I saw him I thought oh boy, I've got number three," says Silvas.
Ernie now goes by the name of Monkey. He is believed to be between 16 and 18 months old.
Silvas says she's still trying to figure out his talents, "We know that he adores people. He's one of the most affectionate dogs I've ever had."
Because of his age, Lynn doubts Monkey did time in the fighting ring. The same cannot be said for Maverick.
"He was involved in some fighting," says his new owner, Mike Sweeney, also a dog trainer. "He does have combat scars. I've seen worse so I would think he was either used as bait, which was getting another dog hyped up, and also as stock."
Sweeney admits, Maverick was not his first choice for a family pet.
"He'd shut down," recalls Sweeney. "He was a fear dog. Who knows what happened to him, but a lot of his behavior was driven out of fear."
In addition to psychological needs, Maverick also had some health problems. Poor living conditions contributed to skin and intestinal ailments.
Sweeney says 9 foot, hundred pound logging chain was used to restrain Maverick. He ate and drank from old oil drain pans.
Sweeney says there's not telling what he was fed.
"It's not uncommon for them to feed them whatever they have and often times that's what lost in the ring. It's a very sad situation."
But after fostering Maverick for a few weeks, Sweeney and his wife Sue could not give him up. He is now part of their family.
Just as Josie is part of Sara Nick's family.
"We fell in love with her," says Nick.
They adopted her in February. Since then, Josie has received her Canine Good Citizenship Certificate and is training to become a therapy dog.
In a twist of fate, Josie will be helping people who have been mistreated.
"She'll actually be working with underprivileged teenagers who are residing in a shelter because they've been taken out of their home for abuse and neglect," says Nick.
It's hard for some to fathom. Dogs, once part of a fighting ring, Pitbulls in particular, becoming loving family pets.
These trainers say it's a testament to the rehabilitation process and the breed.
"The biggest thing we had to do was introduce them to the world," says Anderson. "You know, you'd turn on a ceiling fan and they'd drop because they'd never seen a ceiling fan before."
Other than that, Anderson says the dogs simply needed to learn some manners and receive some love.
"Really one of the nice things about Pitbulls, they tend to be really in tune to their humans. They're very big pleasing dogs, very trainable."
Those same characteristics make the Pitbull the breed of choice among people who fight dogs. The dogs fight, to the death, for their owners, who then profit from the sacrifice.
Silvas notes, while six dogs found loving home, hundreds did not.
"Ultimately, the dogs were the victims."
