The Face of Dogfighting

Meet Marley.

Marley is thought to be a former bait dog, meaning he was used to test other dogs' fighting instincts.

Marley's Story

Marley was dumped at a veterinary clinic in rural Canada on Christmas Eve 2008, after supposedly being hit by a snow plow. The vets who attended to him recognized that his massive injuries — not to mention the numerous lesions all over his body and dog teeth marks in his flesh — were all signs of dogfighting injuries. When the local Animal Control investigated the site of the alleged accident, there was no evidence of recent snow plow traffic.

Marley was not the victim of a snow plow accident. Marley was the victim of egregious animal cruelty.

The vet clinic, recognizing his sweet temperament despite unspeakable victimization, provided Marley with thousands of dollars of free care. They also kept him for three months while the extensive injuries to the side of his face and his back leg healed. Respect-a-Bull, a volunteer-run rescue group in British Columbia, Canada, took Marley with open arms.

Marley's Bright Future

Marley was eventually adopted by his foster mom, who reports he adores belly rubs. He has since passed his Canine Good Neighbour Test (Canada's version of the Canine Good Citizen Test), is a Certified Therapy Dog, and is also an ambassador during BC SPCA's summer camp program.

Add poster child to Marley's growing resume. Literally. You may have seen Marley's face on a poster for the new online course developed by the ASPCA for animal welfare and law enforcement professionals, Combating Dogfighting.

Helping Dogs Like Marley: Combating Dogfighting

Marley is one victim. He lucked into a happy ending. Countless other dogfighting victims are waiting for help. Over one thousand dogfighting arrests were made in the United States between 2003 and 2008 — infamously including Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels. In 2009 dogfighting became a felony in all 50 states. During the largest federal crackdown on dog fighting in U.S. history, more than 400 dogs were rescued during an eight-state raid in 2009. The number of animal victims, living and dead, is impossible to calculate.

One way you can help these dogs is to take our free online course, Combating Dogfighting. The self-paced course, developed by Randy Lockwood, PhD, and Stacy Wolf, Esq., of the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Division, runs less than two hours and has two parts:

• Part One, Understanding Dogfighting, contains a comprehensive overview of dogfighting in the United States.
• Part Two, Investigating and Responding to Dogfighting, contains information and resources to help you properly investigate and strategically respond to dogfighting.

You can see a preview of the course or enroll in the full course.

Photos courtesy of Respect A Bull, Leslie Hallberg & Michelle Godecke