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Following a Ritual
The matches themselves normally follow a ritual called Cajun rules. One referee and two handlers are allowed in the ring. On the command "Face your dogs!" handlers turn the animals so their eyes meet, and then release them for combat. Matches go on until one dog dies or quits, usually within an hour. Concession stands sell barbecue, beer and sometimes hard liquor, and illegal drugs are ever present.Few investigators get to witness the fight scene firsthand -- players are too good at covering their tracks. But Eric Sakach got dangerously close to the action while undercover for the Humane Society some years ago.
After working for a while with an informant, Sakach was invited to a match in a remote spot in Arkansas called Marked Tree. As a security precaution, only the promoters knew the exact location until just before the first match. Sakach was told to check into a local motel and wait. Outside, he could see trainers and handlers milling about, exercising their dogs. The next afternoon a pickup truck appeared, circled the motel and then led Sakach and others caravan-style to a farmhouse where he observed owners going in, presumably to review contracts and count money. At dusk he watched as a seemingly endless string of car headlights wound their way up to the farmhouse. "It was like the final scene in Field of Dreams," he recalls.
After a short drive, the caravan arrived at a field with a large metal shed. Several hundred people had jammed the shed by the time the handlers weighed their dogs and washed them as a precaution against poison. Guards patrolled the perimeter. "If anyone sees anybody suspicious," the promoter announced from the ring, "just speak up and we'll take care of them."
Moments later a team of police officers stormed the shed -- uninvited guests of Eric Sakach. Ultimately 250 people were arrested and $500,000 in betting money was seized, along with 69 handguns and stashes of cocaine. At the time, dogfighting was a misdemeanor in Arkansas, and the promoter got off with a fine.
Until recently, dogfighting was a misdemeanor in nearly every state. But now the sport can be prosecuted as a felony in all but four, thanks to the efforts of the Humane Society and the SPCA. Sakach expects that the holdouts -- Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming, West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia -- will join the cause within the next five years. The National Illegal Animal Fighting Task Force, which Sakach helped form, has members from more than 150 local, state and federal agencies.
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