20 Pit Bulls From NY Home Rescued During Dog Fighting Raid, ‘House Of Horrors’ And Emaciated Dogs

The New York Police Department served a search warrant on a home in Queens and found 20 emaciated and scarred pit bulls in the house that was allegedly the site of dog fighting. According to PIX 11, officers of the 113th Precinct, along with the newly formed NYPD Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad and the ASPCA Investigative team, executed a warrant at a residence on 196th Street in Jamaica on Thursday. The dogs were found inside crates and cages at the back of the home.

The police records show that the home was a “house of horrors” for the dogs. Meth and ecstasy were also found on site. Addison Holder, 44, and Keisha Hall, 33, were arrested at the scene and charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty, animal fighting, and criminal possession of a controlled substance. The pair were brother and sister.

The NY Daily News reported that police found five of the dogs “with large, weighted collars around their necks,” and with no food or water nearby, according to court papers. A square pit, a large battery connected to electrical wires, and a gore-smeared treadmill — items often used in dog fighting — were also found in the Jamaica home, officials said. The dogs were left in the garage where there was very little light and neighbors say they sometimes heard the dogs, but never saw them.

The neighbors that NY Daily News spoke with seemed dismayed at the allegations against their neighbors. They said the brother and sister charged with such a heinous crime seemed like “quiet, hard-working people.” Never did they imagine the home was a house of horrors for 20 dogs inside. In fact, none of the neighbors knew that so many dogs were being tortured inside. One shell-shocked neighbor told reporters:

“You heard the dogs, but you never saw them. Twenty dogs… I had no idea.”

Both Holder and Hall are being held on $100,000 bond and are scheduled to appear in court. Meanwhile, the tortured dogs are in the care of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and are currently being treated. The organization plans to care for the dogs and get them in enrichment programs to help reverse the mental effects of the torture and treatment at the hands of Holder and Hall.

The 20 pit bulls will be treated and hopefully placed with forever homes, but what should happen to Holder and Hall? What would be a fitting punishment for the cruelty charges?