The Blue Pit

When I was working with the night detective team, they would always want to go to search some of my more active probationers.  This was defined by the odds of finding some sort of illegal activity and therefore some action.  One of my go to guys was Jay.  Jay was a known street gang member who was always up to something.  The problem was, he was good, he rarely had anything at his house.  

One afternoon we went by, unannounced, hoping to find something.  He was cooperative as usual.  He was handcuffed while we searched all over his house.  His bedroom was cluttered with clothes, video games, and boxes and boxes of Nike sneakers.  No weed, no guns.  We were all disappointed.  He had an old sliding closet, when opened, one side was full of more shoe boxes, the other side had a tiny blue pit bull puppy.  He had barley enough room to turn around, and there were turds everywhere.  Because the door was closed all the time, the pup didn’t get any light at all.  Of course I was furious, I went directly in Jay’s face, while his hands were still cuffed and demanded an explanation. 

Pet abuse gets to me.  Of course all abusive crimes are terrible, but there are organizations, support groups, and funding to help fight these crimes.  But pets get it the worst, anyone can have one, and owners can treat them anyway they want.  I found it so upsetting to see a dog living on a concrete slab with four feet of chain to keep him from going anywhere. Permanently.  He never goes for walks, never sleeps inside, and never gets attention unless he barks too much, and then he gets a beating.  I see it all the time and there isn’t much I can do about it. 

“I’m trying to toughen him up, I want to get him fighting when he gets older.” Said Jay with a smirk.

I couldn’t tell if he was trying to get under my skin, so I didn’t allow myself to get more angry.  He knew dog fighting was illegal, but he also knew I couldn’t do anything about him just saying that.  There was no proof of any dog fighting anywhere in the house, other than multiple pictures of gigantic pit bull adults who looked like the Hulk dogs from the 2003 movie.  That was not enough to arrest him.  I called animal control.  Instantly I could hear they were over worked and not interested.  We were in a big city, unless the dog was starving or beaten, they couldn’t take him.  This dog was neither.  The only way we could gain control of the dog was if there was no one there to care for him.  We left the home defeated, no contraband found and everyone was concerned for the blue pit pup.  

The following week, we went back to Jay’s house.  At the very least, we wanted to check on the puppy.  This time we searched the house deeply.  Flipped the mattress, turned the furniture upside down.  We didn’t find anything.  …except… Jay had an old parking ticket.  Maybe it wasn’t paid.  We called and checked; paid in full and on time.  Then I thought of it, one of Jay’s conditions of probation was to report any law enforcement contact within 24 hours.  This was a law enforcement contact.  He didn’t tell me about it.  

“What?!? You’re taking me to jail for that bullshit?” Jay was not happy.  I couldn’t help but grin a little and nod.  It was a chickenshit violation, but still a violation.  

We took him to jail.  He was going to be in for a few weeks before his hearing, he was not issued bail.  Animal control brought the pup to the pound; still not the best place to be but better than a turd filled, dark closet.  After two weeks, Jay never claimed the pup… he might have still been in custody (read between the lines).  The pup was now up for adoption.  One of the officers from the search team claimed him, adopted him, and $35.00 later the pup had a new life.  

A few weeks later Jay had his hearing.  I explained the condition of his home to the judge, the pup in the closet, and his inability to inform me of his parking ticket. The judge appreciated my effort; turns out he was a dog lover too.  Jay was released with time served, but as an additional condition of his probation, he was not to have any pets in his home.  Should I ever find any, it was an automatic arrest, no bail.  For the remainder of his term, Jay did not have any animals when I searched, and I went very often.  

That was 12 years ago.  I recently heard from the officer who adopted the pup.  The dog grew old and passed, with his family around him.  He had some sort of cancer and wasn’t going to make it. They put him down in his home sitting in his dad’s lap.  As tragic as that is, we all know dogs don’t live forever.  He was loved and never saw the inside of the closet again, he had a beautiful backyard, a loving family, and he was always happy.  It’s not how long you live, it’s the miles.