LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)– The Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter seized seven dogs and 12 puppies from a Lansing home after officers found evidence of potential dogfighting.
Heidi Williams from the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter says they believe the puppies were born Wednesday morning, just hours before officers executed a search warrant into the home.
“By all appearances, the owner was taking good care of the dogs so I mean we’re not concerned about abuse or neglect but like I said they were seized as part of an ongoing investigation so we do consider the dogs and the puppies as evidence,” said Williams.
Williams says it started with a complaint about the welfare of the dogs, and that’s when officers looked into the situation further. While 6 News could not be given details of exactly what evidence was taken from the home, Williams says officers look for things such as treadmills, break sticks, etc.
“We take dogfighting very serious in Ingham county and we have a zero-tolerance policy for it, so if we find out about it we will investigate it and we will pursue charges on the people responsible, it’s not cool to do that to dogs they deserve much better,” said Williams.
Williams added that dogfighting situations are rarer than abuse and neglect scenarios, but seizing 19 dogs isn’t that big when it comes to dogfighting.
“This is actually a relatively small number, a lot of times these dogfighting rings, you’re talking 40, 50, 60 animals,” said Williams.
If you have any information on an animal abuse situation, you’re asked to call the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter at 517-676-8370 ex. 1. If you want to stay anonymous, you can call at (517) 676-8376.
