Calgary on alert for dog-fighting rings

A spike in online ads for "bully" dogs — described as fearless, aggressive monsters — coupled with canines turning up with strange scars and missing ears, has animal welfare officials fearing underground dogfighting rings in the Calgary area.

In the past six months, the Calgary Humane Society has seen at least three large dogs surrendered to the shelter with unexplained injuries, including a pit bull with a massive cut to her face and such serious injuries to one eye that it had to be removed.

"They have scratches and bites and scrapes and they come in looking a little rough," Desiree Arsenault, a spokeswoman for the humane society, said Thursday.

"At the very least they’ve been in a dogfight and it’s possible they have been involved in illegal dogfighting."

While no dogfighting rings have been discovered within the city, Calgary’s bylaw boss says he’s received several tips in the past six months that there is one operating on the southern edge of the city.

If that’s the case, it won’t be long before the underground rings — where dogs fight other dogs for "sport" in front of spectators, pop up at other locations, said Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services.

"We need to get on this because it’s only a matter of time before they try to set up a ring for their filthy activities here in the city," he said.

Arsenault and Bruce say the proliferation of online ads in which Alberta breeders describe the dogs as Xtreme, ferocious, monstrous, aggressive and with champion blood lines is proof these large breed dogs such as pit bulls, mastiffs and a popular guard dog breed called cane corso are being bred to fight.

"Whenever we see an ad advertising how big the dog’s head is, that is fight lingo," said Bruce.

"The bigger the head, the bigger the jaw, so the more powerful the dog’s going to be and ultimately be a better fighter."

The humane society is reportedly working with the local online advertising website Kijiji to scrutinize and remove ads that contain "red flag words."

"When there’s a suspicion that we’re dealing with such ads where a poster might be trading a dog for the purpose of fighting, we’re going to take down the ad," Christian Jasserand, head of Kijiji’s customer support, told the National Post.

Bruce and Arsenault say it’s also possible the dogs being bred in Alberta are being shipped to fight in the U.S.