With no lips and layers of fighting scars, Dog 118 lapped her tongue across bare teeth at the Humane Society of Missouri.
She’s now called Fay, and she’s a heartbreaking first look at the results of a massive dogfighting ring authorities broke up two months ago.
Fay used to live behind a red trailer with an ominous warning — “What you see here, hear here, stays here” — before Humane Society workers and state and federal investigators swooped in on July 8 to rescue the animals.
The 5-year-old American pit bull terrier was just one of 407 dogs — some of which may yet be adopted or euthanized — seized in raids at sites across Missouri and Illinois, the Humane Society says.
About 100 more were seized in raids in six other states — the largest dogfighting raid and rescue in U.S. history. The Humane Society has another 100 puppies born since the raids.
The raids followed an 18-month investigation and resulted in charges against more than two dozen people in Missouri, Illinois and other states. Tim Rickey, director of the Humane Society’s Animal Cruelty Task Force, said more may be charged.
Four of those charged pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Louis on Monday to dogfighting-related charges and agreed to forfeit the dogs, training equipment and any weapons found.
Teddy “Teddy Bogart” Kiriakidis, 50, Michael “Missouri Mike” Morgan, 38, Robert Hackman, 56, and Ronald Creach, 34, all pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to violate federal animal fighting laws. They joined Jack Ruppel, 35, who pleaded guilty Sept. 4.
Morgan, Hackman and Ruppel also pleaded guilty to an additional animal fighting charge.
With the guilty pleas, all of those indicted in the eastern half of Missouri have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. The men charged in Illinois, western Missouri and other states have pleaded not guilty and await trial.
