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Top "Dog Man" Collared



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 9th 04, 09:47 PM
Tee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Top "Dog Man" Collared

More local news on Pit Bulls except this time it includes a high-profile
breeder.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/04...dogfight.shtml

I copied the entire story below because the Post & Courier online requires
you to register with them in order to view stories. Its harmless to do so,
for those who want to read the article there, but I figured many would balk.

--
Tara


Story last updated at 9:33 a.m. Friday, April 9, 2004

Officials say top 'dog man' collared

Charges include animal fighting

BY GLENN SMITH
Of The Post and Courier Staff

Authorities say they have shut down a top figure in the nation's shadowy and
illegal dog-fighting network after seizing dozens of pit bulls, weapons and
other evidence from his Charleston County properties.
David Tant, 56, of North Charles-ton is known internationally for the
champion pit bulls he breeds, dogs that can fetch thousands of dollars each
when sold. He has long been suspected of participating in blood sport
contests as both a judge and the owner of participating dogs, authorities
said.

"For years, he has been what they refer to in the business as a 'dog man,'
the upper echelon of dog fighters," said Steve Stephenson, a Humane Society
investigator and a member of the attorney general's dog-fighting task force.
"He is a recognized referee of dog fights, and he had a grand champion,
which means a dog that won five fights. He's probably made a mint from
selling puppies of that dog."
Word of Tant's alleged involvement in the underground sport had circulated
for years, Stephenson said. But dog fighters remain an elusive bunch who are
adept at covering their tracks and hiding their activities from view, he
said.

Tant's legal problems started Wednesday after a surveyor was shot by a
booby-trap device while working near power lines that run through the
suspect's 11-acre property on County Line Road near Ravenel. When surveyor
Steven Baker tried to get a closer look at the barking dogs he heard, he
struck a 66-foot trip wire and was blasted with birdshot. Investigators say
the device was rigged to keep intruders away from Tant's breeding facility.

When Charleston County sheriff's deputies arrived, they found dozens of pit
bulls scattered about the property. Some were caged and hidden from view by
tall grass; others were in the surrounding woods, tethered to the ground
with heavy chains, deputies said.

Investigators seized 47 dogs, caged treadmills, cattle prods, five more
armed booby traps, assorted shotguns and hunting rifles, a bear trap,
homemade gun silencers and other items, authorities said. Detectives also
searched Tant's home on North Charleston's Dorsey Avenue and found
additional evidence tying him to dog fighting, said sheriff's Capt. Dana
Valentine. She declined to discuss specifics.
Deputies slapped Tant with 68 charges, ranging from animal fighting and
cruelty to assault and battery with intent to kill and possession of
destructive devices. Deputies requested a high bail, saying they have
evidence that Tant has a considerable amount of money and international
connections. Magistrate Jack Guedalia set his bail Thursday at $332,000.

Assisting with the investigation are the dog-fighting task force, the
attorney general's office, the State Law Enforcement Division, and the
federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Tant, a burly man with a head of bushy white hair, appeared at the hearing
in overalls and a T-shirt. He said nothing.

His lawyer, Mike Bosnak, said Tant's property is clearly marked with "No
trespassing" signs, and he had told surveyors the day before that they were
not welcome on his land. Bosnak said Tant had previous problems with thefts
on the property.

Bosnak said it was too early to speak to the merits of the dog-fighting
charges. When asked about his client's alleged status in the dog-fighting
world, he said, "I have no knowledge of that."
"Dog men" are at the top of the dog-fighting hierarchy, participating in
matches in which prize money can run up to $80,000 for a single contest,
Stephenson said. They belong to a loyal, secretive fraternity whose members
can often trace their involvement back for two or more generations, he said.

A small match might draw 10 people, while larger contests host as many as
40. The locations are often kept secret until the last minute. Authorities
planned to raid a match in the Columbia area last weekend, only to find the
location had changed again. One fight that night netted someone a $40,000
prize, said Stephenson, who spoke to informants about the event.
"They are just crafty, and they come up with great ways to hide huge
operations," he said.

The Humane Society estimates 30,000 people across the nation participate in
dog fighting, Stephenson said. South Carolina is a favorite spot because the
state has a great deal of rural space, and breeders here have produced
several winning blood lines, he said.

"I've heard this is the third best place in the country to fight because
there are just so many champions," he said.
An Internet search uncovered numerous references to Tant on pit bull-related
Web sites from the United States to Serbia. One site featured a prominent
photograph of his grand champion dog, Yellow, and several writers posted
messages praising his dogs. One writer credited Tant with using Yellow to
establish "one of the most influential lines in the history of this breed."
One of Tant's fliers bragged that Yellow had produced nine champions and two
grand champions. He stated that he breeds for "gameness" first when
producing his "show dogs."
"Tant is known to breed good fighting, good game dogs that will not quit in
the pit," Stephenson said.

A puppy from a champion's line can fetch up to $1,500. Two-year-old dogs
with some fighting experience go for up to $2,500, Stephenson said.
This all came as news to Tant's neighbors on Dorsey Avenue, where he lives
in a tidy brick ranch home bordered by a well-trimmed hedge and flowering
azaleas. Neighbors said he was a pleasant man who kept to himself. They had
never even seen a dog at his home.

"I'm shocked by this," said Barbara Yaddow, who lives next door to Tant.
"I'd like to see him come back because he is a good neighbor."
Scott Delles, who lives across the street, said he assumed Tant was retired
and had recently come into some money after seeing him arrive home last
weekend with a new Corvette. Sheriff's deputies seized that car, which they
say was purchased with the proceeds of illegal activities.

For the time being, Tant's dogs are being cared for by the John Ancrum
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SPCA Executive Director
Alan Berger said it is too early to say what will become of the dogs.

Jim Southard, a volunteer veterinarian for the SPCA, said several dogs had
damage to their necks from restraining collars and the heavy chains that
held them. One dog had an open wound on its neck. Others had scarring that
may be indicative of fighting or being poked with cattle prods, he said.

The dogs were apparently left tied up or caged day and night on the County
Line Road property, Southard said.

If Tant posts bail, he will be under house arrest and subject to electronic
monitoring. He also will be prohibited from owning a domestic animal,
Guedalia said.
Guedalia said he was troubled by the potential danger the booby traps and
unsupervised dogs posed to anyone who wandered onto Tant's property.
"I just think it was a very dangerous situation, overall," he said. "I think
it shows a wanton disregard for humans and animals."


  #2  
Old April 9th 04, 10:01 PM
Tee
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Posts: n/a
Default

I'm not sure what the punishment will be for Tant should he be proven guilty
since his operation is so large. However the current state legislation
regards dog fighting as a felony, punishable by 5 years in prison or $5,000
(up to the judge). Its also legally actionable to be found present at a dog
fight, as a spectator.

--
Tara


  #3  
Old April 9th 04, 11:40 PM
culprit
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Tee" wrote in message
...
More local news on Pit Bulls except this time it includes a high-profile
breeder.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/04...dogfight.shtml


thanks for posting this, Tara. i'm always happy to see an old "dog man" go
down.

-kelly


  #4  
Old April 10th 04, 02:32 AM
Tee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"culprit" wrote in message
...

"Tee" wrote in message
...
More local news on Pit Bulls except this time it includes a high-profile
breeder.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/04...dogfight.shtml


thanks for posting this, Tara. i'm always happy to see an old "dog man"

go
down.


I knew of Tant's existence in my county but never put two & two together. I
knew there was a large, highly-sought-after breeder of "extremely game" Pits
& that his name was Tant but didn't realize it was *the* Tant. I should
have. His lines are very sought after around here for gameness and I
suspect they also make up much of the byb population. Last weekend alone
there were 8 ads for Pit Bull puppies in Charleston. Today there were 5
which means tomorrow there'll likely be more. Many of them tend to tout Red
Boy/Jocko & Jeep lines (Yellow is from a Redboy x Jocko breeding IIRC) as
selling points although thankfully I've seen a decrease in using the word(s)
"game" & "EXTREMELY game" in ads.

These lovers of Pit Bulls, the ones loving the history & keeping pit
fighting & dogmen going strong, are not helping the breed much when they
continue with illegal activity & then get busted with hordes of dogs.
Nothing wrong with hordes if you can handle it but it just doesn't look good
when you're a known dogman and have that many dogs on your premises & take
such extreme measures to keep intruders out. I think that trying to cut out
the fighting population factors into BSL sometimes and if these people
aren't more careful, or don't stop (as I'd like to see happen), then my
state may join the BSL bandwagon as a means of trying to stop the "sport" of
dog fighting. That's something I'd like to see *not* happen.

--
Tara


  #5  
Old April 10th 04, 03:00 AM
culprit
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Tee" wrote in message
...

These lovers of Pit Bulls, the ones loving the history & keeping pit
fighting & dogmen going strong, are not helping the breed much when they
continue with illegal activity & then get busted with hordes of dogs.
Nothing wrong with hordes if you can handle it but it just doesn't look

good
when you're a known dogman and have that many dogs on your premises & take
such extreme measures to keep intruders out. I think that trying to cut

out
the fighting population factors into BSL sometimes and if these people
aren't more careful, or don't stop (as I'd like to see happen), then my
state may join the BSL bandwagon as a means of trying to stop the "sport"

of
dog fighting. That's something I'd like to see *not* happen.


there are a few cities in my state with BSL due to trying to stop
dogfighting (and the drug trafficking that seems to go with it). but
somehow i doubt it works. dogfighting is already illegal, so they obviously
don't care about the law. i somehow doubt that banning the dogs would
accomplish much either. it's kind of like gun control. you have to enforce
the laws you already have, making more laws isn't going to change anything.

i hope some of the dogs are able to be rehomed.

-kelly


  #6  
Old April 10th 04, 03:07 AM
Tee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"culprit" wrote in message
...

"Tee" wrote in message
...

These lovers of Pit Bulls, the ones loving the history & keeping pit
fighting & dogmen going strong, are not helping the breed much when they
continue with illegal activity & then get busted with hordes of dogs.
Nothing wrong with hordes if you can handle it but it just doesn't look

good
when you're a known dogman and have that many dogs on your premises &

take
such extreme measures to keep intruders out. I think that trying to cut

out
the fighting population factors into BSL sometimes and if these people
aren't more careful, or don't stop (as I'd like to see happen), then my
state may join the BSL bandwagon as a means of trying to stop the

"sport"
of
dog fighting. That's something I'd like to see *not* happen.


there are a few cities in my state with BSL due to trying to stop
dogfighting (and the drug trafficking that seems to go with it). but
somehow i doubt it works. dogfighting is already illegal, so they

obviously
don't care about the law. i somehow doubt that banning the dogs would
accomplish much either. it's kind of like gun control. you have to

enforce
the laws you already have, making more laws isn't going to change

anything.

i hope some of the dogs are able to be rehomed.


I think it depends. If they aren't safe to have in the shelter then they
obviously can't go to the shelter. There's so many of them too. I'm hoping
some are co-owned and can be moved to the other owners. Finding a Pit Bull
rescue in NC or SC is close to impossible and the couple of people who
advertise doing it are always unable to take in more dogs. The JASPCA won't
euthanize just because they're Pit Bulls nor will they make up excuses to
euth. However these dogs may not be considered adoptable if they've had the
ir fight drives honed and received little human socialization (hard to
imagine they did if the article is correct in describing how they were
kept).

The shelter is a good one, well run, clean with fairly knowledgable people.
The vet that gave a statement in the article, Dr. Southard, is the vet who
did Pebbles' ACL surgery last year. So they have competent veterinary staff
there as well (even though he's a private vet). In the end though, I think
that unless a bunch of rescues come in from other states, these dogs will
have nowhere to go. There just aren't 30+ *good* no-current-pets homes in
this county looking to adopt Pit Bulls. Particularly ones reputed to have a
honed fight drive. Feel free to pass this on to your contacts so that other
states' rescue can be made aware of the upcoming, potential situation for
these dogs. It was posted to the SC list and if I don't see it on the NC
one then I'll cross it to there.

--
Tara


  #7  
Old April 10th 04, 08:03 PM
jav
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Don't you think that, if some of these dogs were co-owned, the other owners
would be participants in illegal activity? I don't think putting dogs in
that kind of environment again is a good idea. And if they are co-owned,
you can bet the authorities will find out who the co-owners are and they
will be under surveillance. What a sad mess. jav
"Tee" wrote in message
...
"culprit" wrote in message
...

"Tee" wrote in message
...

These lovers of Pit Bulls, the ones loving the history & keeping pit
fighting & dogmen going strong, are not helping the breed much when

they
continue with illegal activity & then get busted with hordes of dogs.
Nothing wrong with hordes if you can handle it but it just doesn't

look
good
when you're a known dogman and have that many dogs on your premises &

take
such extreme measures to keep intruders out. I think that trying to

cut
out
the fighting population factors into BSL sometimes and if these people
aren't more careful, or don't stop (as I'd like to see happen), then

my
state may join the BSL bandwagon as a means of trying to stop the

"sport"
of
dog fighting. That's something I'd like to see *not* happen.


there are a few cities in my state with BSL due to trying to stop
dogfighting (and the drug trafficking that seems to go with it). but
somehow i doubt it works. dogfighting is already illegal, so they

obviously
don't care about the law. i somehow doubt that banning the dogs would
accomplish much either. it's kind of like gun control. you have to

enforce
the laws you already have, making more laws isn't going to change

anything.

i hope some of the dogs are able to be rehomed.


I think it depends. If they aren't safe to have in the shelter then they
obviously can't go to the shelter. There's so many of them too. I'm

hoping
some are co-owned and can be moved to the other owners. Finding a Pit

Bull
rescue in NC or SC is close to impossible and the couple of people who
advertise doing it are always unable to take in more dogs. The JASPCA

won't
euthanize just because they're Pit Bulls nor will they make up excuses to
euth. However these dogs may not be considered adoptable if they've had

the
ir fight drives honed and received little human socialization (hard to
imagine they did if the article is correct in describing how they were
kept).

The shelter is a good one, well run, clean with fairly knowledgable

people.
The vet that gave a statement in the article, Dr. Southard, is the vet who
did Pebbles' ACL surgery last year. So they have competent veterinary

staff
there as well (even though he's a private vet). In the end though, I

think
that unless a bunch of rescues come in from other states, these dogs will
have nowhere to go. There just aren't 30+ *good* no-current-pets homes in
this county looking to adopt Pit Bulls. Particularly ones reputed to have

a
honed fight drive. Feel free to pass this on to your contacts so that

other
states' rescue can be made aware of the upcoming, potential situation for
these dogs. It was posted to the SC list and if I don't see it on the NC
one then I'll cross it to there.

--
Tara




  #8  
Old April 15th 04, 03:26 AM
Tee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"jav" wrote in message
...
Don't you think that, if some of these dogs were co-owned, the other

owners
would be participants in illegal activity? I don't think putting dogs in
that kind of environment again is a good idea. And if they are co-owned,
you can bet the authorities will find out who the co-owners are and they
will be under surveillance. What a sad mess. jav


Probably but if they're co-owned then that'll complicate matters legally
which was my primary point. Secondly, while the other owners may also
engage in dog-fighting, they would refrain from fighting those particular
dogs if they have common sense. Having one of them turn up on the internet
as a champion, or grand champion, in a year or two will certainly bring the
police down on them. On the other hand, the co-owners, if they exist, are
probably not likely to speak up and claim the dogs because it'll bring
unwanted attention to them.

By the way, the latest news is that there's still no decision from a judge
on awarding custody to the county. They are still the legal property of
Tant at this time. Plans are, should the county gain custody, to euthanize
the adults due to liability risks being too high. They can't guarantee that
any home they, or any rescue, puts those dogs in will not be stupid and
allow the dogs to escape, turn them into a shelter in another county/state,
or eventually bring a new dog into the home. Basically it boils down to no
one having much faith in the general public's ability to be responsible pet
owners on this level and they've got reason to feel that way.

The puppies will not be euthanized. I don't know what is constituting a
puppy right now, whether its just the obvious "puppies" or if they include
dogs under 1 year of age. There's a huge waiting list for those pups
(actually a waiting list for Pit puppies in general) so they won't be going
to rescue. They will be placed through the shelter, into pre-screened homes
(that will include a homevisit I believe), plus agree to periodic follow-ups
on how the pups are doing. They will be made to work with a behaviorist who
has agreed to do the work pro-bono (from what I've heard) and will be made
to obedience train the dogs (to a basic level) as part of the adoption
contract. There will also be a mandatory return clause which prohibits the
people from being able to have the dogs living anywhere other than with the
adopters.


--
Tara


 




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