Bad: Earlier this month, Metro police in Nashville arrested six people in connection with a drug trafficking investigation. While raiding the home of Michael A. Davis, one of the six charged, police discovered dozens of chained pitbull type dogs in the yard. Some of the dogs were emaciated and others had open wounds (photos of the dogs here). In addition, police found items often associated with dogfighting including canine treadmills, syringes, and a rape rack. WSMV reports that 38 dogs were transferred to the Nashville pound last Tuesday as a result of the raid.
Worse: The night of the seizure, five of the “rescued” dogs, all of whom were apparently unsupervised, were involved in a fight which erupted after two of them got loose. One dog was killed, another was seriously injured and the other three sustained minor injuries. After the needless death and suffering on the rescuers’ (non-existent) watch, officials decided it might be a good idea to supervise the dogs 24 hours a day.
Worst: After the seizure, the county “discovered” that people had been begging the Nashville pound to help the dogs chained at the Davis home for years. As far back as 2010 and as recently as 2013, citizens had been reporting that Davis’s dogs were being neglected and possibly used for fighting. The county was “concerned with the lack of documentation of these complaints” and will investigate itself in the matter. In the meantime, two of the pound’s ACOs are being paid to not work during the investigation.
It sounds as if these dogs could have been rescued – for real, not the fake kind where they end up dead and injured the night they get “saved” – years ago if the Nashville pound had been doing its job. Unfortunately, Nashville has long considered its “job” to be killing and if the dogs had been rescued in response to the previous complaints, they likely would have been killed under Nashville’s only recently modified Kill Them All pitbull policy. Tragically, this way too late botched rescue is probably the best these abuse victims could hope for in Nashville.
(Thanks Karen and Clarice for the links.)
yikes.. a “rape rack”? wow a breeding stand is a tool .. that is all..have you ever seen a breeding stand being used properly? It is a boon to both dog and bitch and human supervising the breeding ( and all breedings should be supervised) using the term “rape rack” is incorrect and inflammatory. . Just as collars and leashes can be improperly used.. so can a breeding rack.. but if used property they are a useful tool no more no less. please do not buy into the animal rights hype
Something tells me that dog fighters use a breeding stand as a rape rack, not a “boon to both dog and bitch”. After all, these are the sort of people who will yank a bitch’s teeth out with pliers (and no sedatives) just so she doesn’t bite the dog forced on her (and laugh as dogs fight to the death).
And no, I’ve never seen a breeding stand used properly. Unless you’re referring to the genetic mess that is English Bulldogs who need “assistance” in mating. But that’s another blog entirely.
It’s a tool that AFAIK is used to restrain a female so that a male can penetrate her, regardless of whether she wants to be penetrated by that particular male, which is, y’know, rape. Am I missing something? What is its “proper” use?
What’s it gonna take for State leaders and law enforcement to get serious about the abuse animals suffer? They just don’t care and they better start doing their jobs!
Well, Nashville, you should receive the MAS (Memphis Animal Shelter) Shame Award!
Nashville, you’d better wake up and do something about your shelter, management and employees now or they will continue to be an embarrassment to your heartbroken taxpayers! Hopefully your taxpayers will take a strong stand and demand change & your leaders (if better than Memphis) will hear them & comply!
If I were the DA, Grand Jury & Nashville Police – I’d be asking serious & legal questions as to why the shelter employees & management didn’t forward the neighbors’ numerous requests for rescue for the obvious dog fighting victims!
Be careful Nashville leaders & taxpayers, if you do not handle this issue properly you risk becoming like Memphis – and as a memphian I assure you don’t want that to happen! The pet lovers, pet owners and taxpayers have lost any pride, trust and respect we had for our mayor, leaders and all involved in the MAS continuous, outrageous behavior & cover ups!
I suggest you follow the money & take a stand! Rise above Memphis, don’t sink to the Memphis level!!
Oh good, they’re investigating themselves. I feel so much better about the years of unchecked abuse, now.
Is anyone with authority in Tennessee doing anything about the horrors these animals endure? I’m so sorry that no one listened to the concerned neighbors about what this POS was doing to/with his dogs.
As far as the rape stand – well, when a female does not want to be mated and is forced to, then, far as I’m concerned, that is rape. And, clearly, this POS is not interested in breeding for anything other than profit and to further his dog fighting endeavors.
To me any form of torture to a human or animal, in opinion, is domestic terrorism and should be treated accordingly.
This is not the America our grandparents and great grandparents worked so hard for. It feels like we are turning into a 3rd world country in parts. There is a torturous money hungry culture that has flooded our country and is far from being a true American.
From the history of MAS Employees dare I say that the accidental un-confinement of the dogs and the fight that in- sued was more for the entertainment employees .
THE EMPLOYEES CAN GO TO HELL! THEY NEED TO BE FIRED NOW!
Is that where I can get paid to not work?