JG-TC.com > News > Stewardson man arrested; 23 pit bulls recovered

TODAY'S HEADLINES

SPECIAL SECTION

ONLINE POLL

ONLINE EXTRAS

SITE TOOLS

OTHER LINKS

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, August 21, 2008 9:28 PM CDT
Stewardson man arrested; 23 pit bulls recovered

By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com

STEWARDSON — Scars crisscross the pit bull’s face like stitches on a baseball. A fresh wound, presumably from a recent battle, still seeps near the joint of his left front leg.

His breed has a reputation for ferocity. Put him in an arena with another dog, he becomes a killer.

But when Shelby County Animal Control Officer George Donley enters the dog’s confines at the Shelby County Animal Shelter, the pit bull cowers in the corner with nary a snarl or growl.

This particular little dog just trembles.

“He won’t bite,” Donley says in almost a whisper.

And there will be no new scars. This dog’s fighting days are over.

The observations of a Shelby County deputy earlier this week led to the discovery of almost two dozen thin and battered pit bull terriers, along with an alleged dog-fighting “pit,” at the residence of 34-year-old Matthew Dalton in rural Stewardson.

Dalton was arrested Tuesday without incident. He makes his first court appearance today in Shelbyville and faces five counts of dog fighting, said Shelby County State’s Attorney Allan Lolie.

Investigators on Tuesday also found what they said were nine pounds of cannabis at Dalton’s residence, so he also will be charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver, said Lolie.

All of the dogs seized currently are housed at the animal shelter in Shelbyville.

Lolie said a sheriff’s deputy went to the Dalton residence to serve civil court papers and noticed “various pit bull dogs chained outside there.”

The deputy saw no food or water and, given the number of dogs, he became suspicious, Lolie said. The deputy returned to the property later, accompanied by Donley.

“The animal control officer believed the dogs to be without food or water,” said Lolie, noting that Donley likewise suspected the pit bulls were “probably used for dog fighting.”

Shelby County Judge James Harvey issued a search warrant Tuesday morning, and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Windsor Police Department and Donley searched the residence early Tuesday afternoon.

They found a total of 23 pit bulls, all of them chained, said Donley. “In my eyes, they were all underfed; they didn’t have any food or water,” he said.

In addition to the dogs, Donley said they located what appeared to be a dog fighting arena or “pit.”

“I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and this is the first operation I’ve ever seen like this,” he said.

According to Lolie, deputies also noticed what they believed to be cannabis. They returned to the property with a second search warrant later Tuesday afternoon and seized approximately nine pounds of cannabis, Lolie said.

Dalton was not present during the initial search. When he came home about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dalton was taken into custody, Lolie reported.

“They found items sufficient to make an arrest for dog fighting,” he said.

This marks the first case of alleged dog fighting in Shelby County in recent memory.

Lolie said he has prosecuted no such cases during his eight years as state’s attorney, and he did not recall any similar cases during the previous two administrations.

“You don’t hear of that many arrests for this sort of activity in this region,” Lolie said. “But it’s probably more prevalent than we realize.”

If Dalton is found not guilty, the dogs will be returned to him, according to Lolie. Otherwise, the terriers likely would be put up for adoption or euthanized, he said.

The dogs will remain at the animal shelter in Shelbyville until the court orders differently, Lolie also said.

Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.

Add your comments

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login? (requires cookies)
	Forgot Your Password?

Not already registered?
Then click Here.

Comment policy:

JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.

In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.

We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.

No comment may contain:

* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.

If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.

The Question wrote on Aug 20, 2008 1:15 PM:

" People who dog fight are the lowest variety of scum. "

Equalizer wrote on Aug 20, 2008 3:17 PM:

" The Question wrote on Aug 20, 2008 1:15 PM:
" People who dog fight are the lowest variety of scum. "

If the people were dog fighting, it wouldn't be so bad. The problem is that they use dogs to fight.

Maybe a good solution to this problem is not just to fine people who do that, but to force them to fight each other, and to make monthly payments to someone to adopt and rehabilitate the poor dogs. "

Rotty wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:46 AM:

" This just peeves me off, & makes me sick.

If one were to find out what truely goes on to turn an ordinary dog into a fighting machine, it would peeve you off to the max.

I hope this scumbag gets his, times ten.

Lock him up, & throw away the key!

If this doesn't happen, how ever long he's been in the "alleged" dog-fighting business, & then some, is how long he should be made to work for free, at an Animal Shelter.

If he would mess that up, back to the slammer, Jack! "

The Question wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:06 AM:

" I agree with both Rotty and Equalizer. Dogs are our good and trusting companions, and are incapable of betraying us. They only ask to be loved, and anyone who would take that trust and use it to hurt and torture the animals is particularly hideous kind of monster. "

crazyboutdawgs wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:27 AM:

" This guy - and those like him - make my blood boil. I'm sure my blood pressure is at an unhealthy level right now thinking about how these dogs were treated. I'd love to have just 30 minutes in a private room with this guy --- and guarantee he'd be in a LOT worse shape than the dogs!!!!!
I pray the dogs can be adopted by loving folks and will go on to be loved and cared for. "

voltaire wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:52 AM:

" Equalizer wrote on Aug 20, 2008 3:17 PM:
"make monthly payments to someone to adopt and rehabilitate the poor dogs. "

You cannot rehabilitate dogs that were used in fighting. If you have ever been around these dogs you would realize that it a huge liability to do anything other than euthanize them. It is best for the dog as well as the community. "

Rotty wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:54 AM:

" voltaire wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:52 AM:

"You cannot rehabilitate dogs that were used in fighting. If you have ever been around these dogs you would realize that it a huge liability to do anything other than euthanize them. It is best for the dog as well as the community."

.......

Unfortunitely to say, but voltaire is correct.
Most likely, after the man's court dealings are a done deal, & if he isn't allowed to have the dogs back, & the Animal Shelter is given the full authority to decide their fate, they will most likely be put down.
Sad, but true. "

father bob wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:06 AM:

" i wish i was half the man my dog thinks i am....

what a sad story involving innocent animals and some very sick individuals. "

injustice85 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:19 AM:

" i hope they come down hard on this piece of !@#$ "

someone else wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:32 PM:

" When I saw this story on the news last night, it made me cringe. This is yet another reason why pitbulls have a bad reputation, but it's the people that make them do this that should have a bad name. I have friends that have pitbulls, treat them like family and they have never had a single problem with the dogs being vicious. "

Texas T wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:02 PM:

" At least he is not in Coles County so there is a glimmer of hope that he will be punished. "

the neighbor wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:52 PM:

" This is one of the rare instances when I believe that we are all agreeing on a subject. I have a Pit Bull at home, and she is the kindest, gentlest dog you can imagine. I can hardly stand the thought of anyone making her fight another dog, let alone the things that are done to them make them to get them to fight in the first place. "

father bob wrote on Aug 21, 2008 3:02 PM:

" it's just in some people's nature....

http://tinyurl.com/6nexhq "

The Question wrote on Aug 21, 2008 3:35 PM:

" No disagreements on this thread. "

father bob wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:03 PM:

" sad but true. in western new mexico a ring was going to the animal shelter and claiming "lost dogs" to throw in the pit so their dogs could have a good bloody thrill show for the gamblers before the real dog fights started.

there has been a statewide crackdown on dog fighting and cock fighting. until last year, cockfighting wasn't illegal here. "

medic57 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:32 PM:

" I pray the dogs can be adopted by loving folks and will go on to be loved and cared for. "

Unforntuneatly, they will more than likely all have to be put down. "

Rotty wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:51 PM:

" Interesting vid, fb.
Thanks for posting. "

The Cleveland Steamer wrote on Aug 21, 2008 6:17 PM:

" Sorry to disagree with you all, but I couldn't give a rat's anus about dogfighting. Animals fight each other in the real world. This is just human sanctioned fighting and no worse than any other type of fighting. I hate to be selfish, but what this guy did has no effect on me. "

The Cleveland Steamer wrote on Aug 21, 2008 6:20 PM:

" The question wrote: " People who dog fight are the lowest variety of scum. " ______________ I think this may be an exaggeration. What about people who fight dogs and don't bathe. They're definitely more scummy. Not LMAO. "

Explorer wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:58 PM:

" Rehabilitation is not completely out of the question. I read an article not to long ago about the dogs picked up from Mike Vic's dog fighting ring and many (most even) were able to be either adopted or used in other facets of society (one was in a hospital with cancer patients).

For the most part their aggression is directed towards other dogs, not so much humans and even that can be tuned down when fed and treated properly.

No doubt this will cost an exorbitant amount of money to accomplish, money we as a community do not have, and the best/unfortunate answer is to put them down.

The thing that pisses me off the most is the fact that this just adds to the misinterpretation that pit bulls are by nature mean dogs. Like any powerfully built dog (or anything in this world for that matter) are only "bad" when taught or forced to be that way. "

Mama says wrote on Aug 22, 2008 12:32 AM:

" We had a doberman dumped on us and he would show his teeth, so put on jacket/gloves and near enough leash him n took 2 years before he trusted me. someone had burnt him vet thought lighter fluid and set afire. I salved him and light bandages and had to wear a muzzle for long time. He learned to trust my family, but nobody else and he saved us from home invasion, knocked guy down and by the throat. I said dont move, he gonna snap your headoff.
Two years of training. He became a loving dog but to us or who allowed in.
Words of love to him, a lot of hugging and petting and brushing him, and he even liked taking a bath. He adored grandma and she an invalid but said she felt safe with him on duty. If a man had longhair, not clean, he would growl and I knew some man had been rotten to him. The thing was he never would hurt our cats, other dog, birds, family his whole life. But we never left him alone fully either. "

dogluver4life wrote on Aug 22, 2008 10:56 AM:

" Some people are just sick!!!I wont even go into what should be done to this dirtbag!
And to "The Cleveland Steamer" if you dont give a "rats anus" why even bother posting on here??!! "

injustice85 wrote on Aug 22, 2008 11:36 AM:

" thats nice cleveland steamer then why even post, it is called organized dog fighting and these dogs kill each other and what not, humans don't intend on killing in fights, if you don't even give a crap why even post lol, this guy needs thrown in a cage and tortured and harassed into being cold blooded "

The Question wrote on Aug 22, 2008 3:32 PM:

" Steamer, try studying something we humans call "morality" and "ethics." You badly need a crash course. "

farmwife wrote on Aug 22, 2008 4:24 PM:

" Some of the dogs could be rehabilitated. I have seen it in several cases and these "types" of dogs become the greatest companion ever because they truely just want to be loved and taken care of. I know a little doggie personally who would flatten to the floor like a pancake when any man would walk in the room. It took 4 years but now this dog will great you with the wag of his tail and kisses and he lives with 4 other dogs and does them no harm! He cuddles with the smaller dogs and allows the oldest to lay his head on his back. This man who committed this crime should be chained to a tree and left to rot! "

lojack wrote on Aug 22, 2008 4:59 PM:

" Some of these dogs could most definitley be rehabilitated. My family welcomed a pitbull into our home almost 10 years ago who was rescued from a fighting ring near Peoria. We were very hesitant to do so until we met him. He was a "bait dog". Which means, he had not a mean bone in his body which made him easy prey for the viscious Alph males to practice their fighting tactics on. He is now 13 years old and we have three kids who will be devistated when he goes to the big kennel in the sky. Please don't give up on all of these dogs. Have them carefully evaluated before putting them down. Pitbull Terriers are wonderful and loyal animals. "

The Dude wrote on Aug 22, 2008 5:46 PM:

" Two things.

True most dogs obtained from fighting rings are euthanized. But it is not necassarily a death sentence. Like someone said earlier, check out Animal Planet this Sunday night to see a special on the Michael Vick dogs, and how some of them have been rehabilitated and adopted.

Secondly, dogs do not fight in the "real world" I believe there is no such thing as a wild dog. Dogs have been evolutionized to be human companions and now lack characteristics to survive in the wild. Dogs are pets. Same with cats. "House" cats are breeds of felines that no longer have the wild instincts such as cougars, bobcats, tigers, lions, etc. And the fact that millions of house cats roam the streets withouth being spayed or nuetered, to reporoduce over and over again is sickening as well. Humans have to realize that as we begin to overpopulate the world, we make it harder for animals to survive alone in the wild. And as we take more and more animals and make them our pets, we dumb down those species and make it harder for them to survive in the wild. Which makes it our responsibility to take care of them. And not starve and abuse them and put them in a fighting ring to viciously rip eachother apart. "

goodluckchuck wrote on Aug 22, 2008 9:57 PM:

" Texas T wrote:"At least he is not in Coles County so there is a glimmer of hope that he will be punished. "

Ain't that the truth. If this guy was a friend of that chick in Coles County S.A. office that gets her friends tickets wrote off, he would be a happy man I'm sure. "

das wrote on Aug 22, 2008 10:37 PM:

" This man should be locked away for life. "

The Dude wrote on Aug 23, 2008 7:55 AM:

" Also,

When it comes to rehabilitating these dogs, it all depends on the financial resources of the shelter. When raiding a dog fighting ring, it sometimes doubles or triples the population of the shelter. Unfortunately most shelters around here lack those financial resources needed to attempt to rehab the dogs. "

lojack wrote on Aug 23, 2008 1:48 PM:

" The Dude is exactly correct. That is why the County Board must vote to increase the monetary compensation that the cities will pay for animal control. I do feel that the county animal shelter is the most underfunded department. If it wasn't for the good hearted people who helped with all of Dr. Rose's neglected horses, the county would never have been able to take on the case and hopefull put that slime ball in jail. "

Tree Hugger wrote on Aug 23, 2008 9:05 PM:

" To Cleveland Steamer - How heartless could one person be? Hunger, domestic abuse, child abuse, poverty, ect don't directly affect you either so do you not care about these issues either? It is a proven fact that animal abuse leads to other types of abuse and crime because it is all about the abusers ability to control someone/something with fear and physical harm. "

Tree Hugger wrote on Aug 25, 2008 8:37 AM:

" Did anyone see the Michael Vick special last night on Animal Planet? I haven't watched it yet. I recorded it and will watch it tonight. "

dogluver4life wrote on Aug 25, 2008 1:18 PM:

" To Tree Hugger, I watched it, I thought it was a very good program.
It really shows these dogs can be rehabilitated. "