Six young dogs were found in a vacant building in the Austin neighborhood early Monday.
Police seized four Pit Bull mixes between 1 and 3-years-old, a 4-month-old Labrador mix and a 2-month-old shepherd mix from a building on West Van Buren Street, after being notified that teens were seen going in and out of the building with the dogs.
The puppies, police said, showed signs of having been used as "bait dogs," with scarring on their faces and chests. Bait dogs are younger or smaller dogs used to train larger dogs to fight.
With the help of the Anti-Cruelty Society, the dogs were removed from the building and transferred to the city's Department of Animal Control. The building was boarded up and gated.
No persons were found inside the building, and no arrests have been made.
Police said it's not unusual for dog fighters to use vacant buildings as their training centers.
