York County Police Bust Dog Fighting Ring, Rescue Five Dogs In ‘Near-Death’ Condition

Officials from York County, South Carolina, have busted an active dog-fighting ring at an area near Lincoln Forest Drive and, in the process, managed to rescue five dogs. All the five dogs are pit bulls, and were found in very poor living conditions. According to a report by the Fox Carolina, all the five dogs were found to be severely dehydrated and hungry. Three people were arrested in connection with the dog-fighting ring bust.

According to Trent Faris, an official from the York County Sheriff’s Office, four of the five dogs were found to be 12 percent dehydrated — which according to him happens to be close to “near death” conditions.

According to WCNC News, the dog-fighting ring was busted after a deputy made an unscheduled visit to the location after someone had called in and reported about a car placed on cinder blocks blocking the road. The deputy, in trying to locate the owner of the car, looked for people nearby. He noticed a house nearby and after hearing unusual noises coming in from there, decided to investigate. He walked around the back of the home and saw that a dog fighting match was in progress.

Before he busted the gang, he called in for backup. After backup policemen arrived in a few minutes, the team raided the entire place and managed to arrest the people who were in charge of the place. The three individuals who have been arrested in connection with the dog fighting case are James Willie Rhodes, Johnny Fred Moore, and Charlina Mae McKinney. While Rhodes and Moore were charged on suspicion of running the dog fighting ring, Charlina was charged with giving false information to the police.

As of now, all the three individuals who have been nabbed are being held at the York County Detention Center. Officials, however, are on the lookout for a fourth individual that they say is also involved in the case and managed to escape from the scene. They have not named this fourth individual as of now. The K-9 unit at York County Sheriff’s Office is trying to track down the fourth individual.

Meanwhile, Animal Control authorities have assumed custody of the five dogs rescued from the dog fighting ring. Describing the condition of the dogs, Trent Faris said the following.

“The two dogs in the fight had broken teeth and deep penetrating bite marks and old bite marks which all were consistent with dog fighting.”

He added that one of the dogs was so weak, it was unable to stand on its own and had to be carried away.

Meanwhile, officials at the York County Animal Service have said that it is too early to out the dogs through a behavioral assessment test. They have also confirmed that there are no plans to euthanize the animals rescued from the dog fighting ring.

“The dogs have grown up on chains and would need to be placed with an experienced rescue group once they recover from their injuries… Right now the Vet at York County Animal Control is concentrating on their recovery.”

[Image via York County Sheriff’s Office]