After busting a dog fighting ring operating out of a South Side home last week, Cook County sheriff's officials described some of the horrifying details of the investigation on Monday.
"There was no mystery of what was going on down there," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Monday. "There was blood on the floor. There were other indications of fighting as well."
The dogs were found living in deplorable conditions in a home in the 6300 block of South Throop. Some of the dogs, who were groomed to fight, were chained to the walls or locked in crates inside the dark and dirty basement when authorities found them, according to the sheriff's office.
On Friday, the sheriff's office and the Chicago Police Department executed a search warrant in the home after someone tipped off investigators about a dog fighting ring operating out of the first floor apartment. During the search, investigators discovered 13 dogs in the basement and the body of another dog wrapped up and tossed in the backyard.
"There was not water available to the animals. There was no food either," said Michael Kizaric, a Cook County sheriff's investigator. "In some of the dogs' cages there was urine and feces."
Authorities also said they found narcotics that may have been used to prepare the dogs for fighting.
Investigators arrested 57-year-old Larue Jackson and charged him with felonies for dog fighting and failing to care for the animals. He was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
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Dart said this wasn't the first time Jackson had gotten in trouble for dog fighting, so it wasn't a "shocker" that he was behind this operation, too.
The 13 dogs found in the basement have been taken to Chicago's Animal Care and Control facility in the hopes of finding them new homes.
"Our strong hope is that they are going to be given another opportunity other than what they had here," Dart said.
