A tire swing hangs in the backyard of a dejected Albion house. The only adornment gracing its overgrown surroundings: a toy that dangles too high for a child’s reach. At the swing’s base rests a wooden platform, another indication that perhaps something is not right with this particular piece of playground equipment—that perhaps this swing is used for a less innocent purpose than evoking smiles from children: dog fighting. Perhaps, but the authorities will never know for sure.

"Witnesses don’t want to get involved," said Mark Robinson, prosecuting attorney of Robinson Law Offices. "No one will step forward."

Any involvement in dog fighting—from actually fighting the animals to simply spectating—is a felony in Michigan, yet this doesn’t stop the severe abuse of animals that occurs only steps away from Albion College’s campus.

Connecting two metropolitan giants—Detroit and Chicago—Interstate 94 bustles with heavy shipping vehicles daily, each truck or van carting its designated goods across the state to Detroit, Jackson, Battle Creek—and, of course, Albion.

Photo Courtesy of Jamie McAloon-Lampman

"It comes along with other illegal activities: gambling, prostitution and drugs," said Bille Wickre, professor of art and member of the Battle Creek Humane Society’s board of trustees. "It’s all along the [Interstate] 94 corridor."

Albion suffers the same problem as its neighboring cities along I-94.

"Public safety is well aware there is a [dog fighting] problem in Albion," said Albion Department of Public Safety Chief Eric Miller, when discussing an incident that occurred about a year ago. "We were called in for domestic violence and were led to where [the owners of the property] had been training dogs [for fighting]."

Miller confirmed that the police found exercise treadmills—a common indication of dog fighting—used to work the dogs and develop their muscles. However, Miller refused to release any further information, as the case is still under investigation.

Trained at informational meetings on the subject of dog fighting, Wickre learned how to recognize dog fighting areas during seminars presented at the humane society.

Signs include not only treadmills, but tires suspended from trees as well. According to Wickre, canines are made to leap up and latch onto the tires, hanging in midair until their mouths can’t support their body weight anymore; this strengthens the jaw muscles, making the canine a stronger fighter.

But these signs, albeit strong indicators, are not always enough to put offenders behind bars. Witnesses hardly ever step forward and the physical signs of dog fighting may disappear, according to both Robinson and Miller.

Cases that depend on the actual dogs as evidence are usually lost as a result of faded bite marks and injuries.

"The dogs do heal," said deputy Michael Vanderbilt, animal control officer for Albion and Battle Creek. "After six months, people will come in [to where the fighting dogs are being held] and see that there are no scars, [concluding] that they can’t be fighting dogs."

But some dogs never recover.

"Dogs have been buried [in Albion] that show the signs of fighting," Robinson said.

Miller denied any knowledge of dog burial sites in Albion.

Dogs aren’t the only animals who suffer in this vicious sport.

Audrey is a 3-year-old calico cat and named after Miss Hepburn herself. While her owner, Rick Crandall, Real Coffee shop owner, gives her free range of the area surrounding Superior Street, he worries about letting her stray.

"There have been a couple of times when I’ve panicked," Crandall said. "Small pets are used as bait [in dog fighting], and I know people have lost their cats before."

Katherine Key, Albion Paint Spot employee and Airedale dog rescuer, also worries about cats like Audrey.

"When people have ‘free kitten’ signs, it’s awful," Key said. "People don’t know [about the possible consequences], so they’re just asking for [the animals to get captured and used as bait]."

But while fighting dogs subject small animals to injury and death prior to a fight, the dogs themselves are not at fault.

Michelle Holmes, Jackson County animal control shelter volunteer and founder of Take Paws, an animal rescue program within Jackson, clarified that most fighting dogs (who are predominately pit bulls) are not "bad" from birth; rather, they are trained to be aggressive.

Breeder Retriever, an informational Web site for dog enthusiasts, recognizes the widespread misconceptions of these "bad dogs" as well.

The description of the American Staffordshire Pit Bull’s (American Pit Bull) temperament reads: "Perhaps no other breed in the world has a reputation as undeserved as does the American Staffordshire Terrier, or pit bull as it is often called colloquially… [The pit bull’s] intelligence, bravery and great desire to please its master make it very easy for unscrupulous owners to instill aggression in the breed."

Breeder Retriever lists the average weight of the pit bull between 57-67 pounds. However, fighting dogs are usually bulked up significantly, according to Holmes.

"Sometimes [heaviness] is genetic," Holmes said. "But when [the dogs are] 80 pounds and walking around with scars, that’s not right."

While such altered features are usually strong indicators of a fighting dog, not much can be done about the dog fighting, according to Miller.

"It’s like drug dealing," Miller said. "It’s not on the street corner—it’s in a garage or a basement."

Even indications of dog fighting do not allow officers to investigate a residence.

"If we see a lot of cars outside a house, we just can’t go in," Miller said.

There are those, however, who know exactly what occurs in those basements.

One city of Albion student, who wished to remain anonymous, knows several dog fighters from town. While he has never seen an organized fight, the student is familiar with the subject.

"I know that when [the owners] get their puppies, they toss [the dogs] around to toughen them up," the student said, describing the treatment he has witnessed in fighters’ homes. "When [the dog] is purchased, their goal is to make it a fighting dog."

As far as the people who train fighting dogs, the student said that "they might be in a lower tax bracket, but it’s not like they need the money."

But as far as what will come of these fighters and dogs remains unknown.

"My understanding is that dog fighting has always been Albion’s dirty little secret," Robinson said. "People know who’s doing it, but they just can’t prove it."

In a recent court case against James Kellay Jr., witness Mike Norrod, third generation pit bull breeder, had knowledge of dog fighting from 30 years ago:

According to Cajun Rules listed on http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm#_edn5, "No sponging shall be allowed, and no towels or anything else taken into the pit by the handlers except a bottle of drink for his dog and a fan to cool him with. The handlers must taste their dogs drink before the referee to show that it contains no poison."