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-California, in penal code section 597.5, has enacted
some of the toughest dog fighting laws in the nation.
So if you get caught as a mere spectator just attending a dog
fight, that alone, is a misdemeanor for which you
could go to county jail for up to a year.
But if you're actually training a dog to be in dog
fights, or cause your dog to be in a dog fight, or organize
a dog fight, then you could be charged with a felony and face
up to three years state prison.
Moreover, you could be prosecuted also by the federal
authorities and go to federal prison, as was the case with
the famous NFL quarterback Michael Vick.
-Before he became a symbol of animal cruelty, Michael Vick
was the highest paid player in the league.
And he pulled in tens of millions of dollars in
endorsements.
-Very few people knew what was happening in his
life off the field.
When police raided a farm he owned in rural Virginia in
2007, they uncovered an interstate dog fighting
operation called Bad News Kennels.
-The first day I walked into prison and he slammed that
door I knew the magnitude of the decisions that I had made.
-Now with all the fear and public outcry over dog
fighting, especially after the Michael Vick case, there's a
lot of pressure on police and prosecutors to crack down.
And they have a tendency to arrest everybody who they
think might be involved.
And in the course of that, many innocent people get
caught in that net.
For example, maybe somebody at your house was training a dog
to be a dog fighter.
And the finger got pointed at you just because you live
there, even though you're not the one who was responsible
for the animal.
Or it might be a situation where you're training your dog
to be tough and aggressive and one of your neighbors suspects
that you're training the dog to be in dog fighting and
reports this to the police.
And they arrest you when in reality you were just training
the dog to be a good watchdog and protect the
home and the family.
The good news is that here at Shouse Law Group we've had a
great record of success over the years in defending clients
charged with dog fighting.
And ultimately, helping them to get their charges reduced
or dismissed.