Most sheltered in St. Louis area
The hundreds of dogs rescued in one of the largest dog-fighting rings in the U.S. are doing fine.
That's the word from an animal behavior specialist working with the animals, which are mostly pit bulls.
You'll recall about 500 dogs were seized from Missouri, Illinois and five other states earlier this month.
KHQA spoke with Dr. Randall Lockwood.
He couldn't be too specific about the dogs for legal reasons but says only a couple have had to be put down because of disease or injury.
The Humane Society of Missouri is sheltering most of them in the St. Louis area.
The animals had temperament evaluations this past week, and the humane society is calling for help from rescue groups across the country.
Lockwood also helped assess the dogs of football pro Michael Vick.
But he says these dogs don't come with a dowry.
Lockwood said, "Vick had to allegate close to a $1 million for the dogs' long-term care, which made it more attractive for rescue groups. It's unlikely we'll have those kinds of resources available."
The raids resulted in the arrests of 26 men who face federal criminal charges.
One of whom is 38-year-old Michael Morgan from Hannibal, also known as "Missouri Mike."
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA