[Purple]

By Maria Papadopoulos, Enterprise staff writer

BROCKTON — Soldier, a hefty brown pit bull, ran up to the spring pole — a device used to strengthen a dog's jaw muscles — sunk his teeth into the rope and swung.

His owner, Rico Carrasquillo, says it's a healthy way to exercise the pit bulls he breeds and sells to the public — but neighbors and animal experts say it's a dangerous way to train an animal.

“I try to get the dog as (physically fit) as I can. Obviously, the dog can't lift weights,” Carrasquillo, 24, said from his sister's Pine Street home Wednesday as several pit bulls barked in cages nearby.

Now, the two sides are expected to state their cases at 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, when Carrasquillo and his sister, Angelica Ortiz, will appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals seeking a kennel license to expand their operation.

City residents with three or more dogs must have a kennel license, according to city ordinance.

The license would allow Carrasquillo and his sister to board and sell pit bulls, which go for as much as $3,000 apiece.

But residents in the Ward 5 neighborhood are fed up with Carrasquillo's dog business, saying it doesn't belong in a residential area.

They are also fearful — that the muscular dogs will escape and hurt someone, that the business will grow and become a bigger nuisance, and that the dogs are being trained for possibly fighting some day.

“It's my daughter's safety and then the safety of those dogs,” said neighbor Kim Tapper, 41. “Any dog in that situation is going to be aggressive.”

Brockton animal control officers gave the siblings a cease-and-desist order in August to stop breeding the dogs because they do not have a kennel license.

Neither the animal officers nor Brockton police have found evidence of dog fighting at the home.

“I want to know where does all this dog fighting (expletive) come from in Brockton,” Carrasquillo said. “Nobody in Brockton fights their dogs. You don't hear that from nowhere. I've never been to a dog fight in my life.”

“We don't agree with what Michael Vick did at all,” said Ortiz, 28, a nurse manager at St. Joseph Manor nursing home.

She was referring to the high-profile case of Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who pleaded guilty in August to federal conspiracy charges related to dog fighting on his property in Virginia. Vick is to be sentenced on the federal charges on Dec. 10.

“It's cruelty. You don't do that,” Ortiz said. “It's like your kid, you don't do that to your kid. You don't put your kids out to fight, why would you do that to dogs?”

Several pit bulls were housed in cages in Ortiz's back yard on Wednesday. The cages were covered with red and green tarps that read, “Pit Bulls — Keep Out.”

The grassless yard contained the cages and two spring poles, one hanging from a tree.

One brown pit bull was chained to a wooden dog house. Another pit bull sat in a kennel inside the kitchen on the first floor of the two-family house.

So far this year, police have responded to Carrasquillo's home 13 times, mostly for complaints about his dogs.

“If we get calls, we investigate it,” Brockton Animal Control Officer Thomas DeChillis said. “We check the dogs over to see if they're marked up and outward indications to see if they've been in a dog fight. ... I don't believe we found any indications that (Carrasquillo's) dogs were involved in a fight.”

The MSPCA has also been to the home, Carrasquillo and DeChillis said.

“They have nothing to say because they know I'm not doing nothing wrong,” Carrasquillo said.

Brian Adams, an MSPCA spokesman, said Wednesday the MSPCA is not currently investigating anyone at that address.

One neighbor said she has seen five to six men go up to the fences and bait the dogs, then laugh.

“It's frightening,” the neighbor said. “It was enough to convince me that it's not for this neighborhood.”

While spring poles are legal for dog owners to use to exercise their dogs, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not advocate using them with pit bulls, said Scott Giacoppo, the agency's deputy director of advocacy.

“One of the reasons why we don't advocate using a spring pole for pit bulls is because if one of those dogs does bite someone, whether it's provoked or unprovoked, justified of unjustified, it will cause a very serious bite,” Giacoppo said.

“We don't like to see that in pit bulls because they already have that negative reputation because people use it for the wrong reason.”

Carrasquillo called the spring pole “really a toy more than a training device” for dogs. He said he also uses a manual treadmill to train his dogs.

“When they get on it, they run at their own pace,” he said.

He said he screens people before selling his dogs, signs contracts with the buyer and has checked up on dogs he has sold “plenty of times.”

He said he has gathered about 50 signatures from people in his neighborhood to allow for his kennel license.

“I'm trying to take these dogs out of the negative limelight that they have so much of,” he said.

If he gets the license, he plans to call his kennel Precious Pits Kennels, named after a dog he had as a youth and “because the pit bulls are really precious.”

Carrasquillo is one of two city residents applying for a kennel license that will be considered at Wednesday's meeting.

Grace Hernandez, of John Berman Drive, is applying for a kennel license. City officials say her nine dogs are mostly chihuahuas and are all spayed and neutered.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/articl...ews/news01.txt

[Michele]

So, you have one guy that has the pit bulls and another woman that has the chihuahuas.

The guy with the pit bull got visits 13 times from AC. The woman with the chihuahua, none. That's crap.

If the guys neighbors would try to educate themselves maybe they would not be "fearful". Or better yet, maybe this guy should educate the neighbors about how wonderful these dogs really are.

[Noelle's Mom]

Originally Posted by Purple Several pit bulls were housed in cages in Ortiz's back yard on Wednesday. The cages were covered with red and green tarps that read, “Pit Bulls — Keep Out.” The grassless yard contained the cages and two spring poles, one hanging from a tree. One brown pit bull was chained to a wooden dog house. Another pit bull sat in a kennel inside the kitchen on the first floor of the two-family house. http://www.enterprisenews.com/articl...ews/news01.txt

I do see a problem with this. These dogs should NOT be kept chained in a yard or locked in a kennel. They are meant to be a part of the family, not a decoration. The "grassless yard" just sounds boring and depressing.

[bahamutt99]

Yep. Some folks exercising their dogs on a springpole. Sounds like high crime to me. I'm sure I'm going to have to deal with that some day. Although before I get any more dogs than I have now, there will be an 8' fence around my yard. I've had it up to my ample ass with busybodies.

Noelle's mom, anybody who keeps multiple Pit Bulls has a responsibility to keep them safely separated. I don't think it specified how many dogs these folks have, but its enough. My dogs all get along at this point, and they are still separated. I use crates. Someday, I will be able to build dog runs and allow them to have more yard time, which I think they really need to have. Its not depressing or boring for the dog when done properly. And as for grassless... well, lets just say that the people I know who are really into the dogs hardly remember what grass looks like. LOL

[debo-dumbo-ears]

The problem I see w/ this "breeder" is that they don't mention anything about showing or competing w/ their dogs. The only activity they mention is working the dogs to get them "physically fit," which I read as "beefed up." I don't get the impression that they are fighting their dogs, but that they are operating a business to make money. They aren't the worst out there, but if they are truly doing it just for love of the breed, they could re-direct their energies to rescuing dogs instead of adding more to the overpopulation.

I have no problem whatsoever w/ truly responsible breeders, breeding for the betterment of the breed. But I think those kind of breeders are somewhat rare. There are many more like those mentioned in this article that are just doing it for a number of reasons that all add up to "cuz I want to." My impression of bahamutt is that she is one of those truly responsible ones, so I'm not trying to bash her at all!

JMHO's

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Noelle's Mom I do see a problem with this. These dogs should NOT be kept chained in a yard or locked in a kennel. They are meant to be a part of the family, not a decoration. The "grassless yard" just sounds boring and depressing.

I believe there's a debate thread regarding this topic in the General forum under 'debates'

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/showthread.php?t=930

[bahamutt99]

Debo, I agree with you that they don't seem like very reputable breeders. However, that is only of consequence to us in the breed community. Whether or not someone competes or health-tests their dogs isn't going to make one iota of difference to the general public, and they are the ones protesting the kennel. Protesting because they've seen dogs playing on a springpole, and seen people "baiting" the dogs, whatever that means. I'm thinking of this from the perspective of being a neighbor, rather than an APBT enthusiast. Admittedly, there is a whole different area of discussion when it comes to the ethics of these people.

And I'm not a breeder at this point. I probably never will be one of those breeders who sells dogs to the public. That would just be too much worry for me.

[EDOGZ818]

From what I've just read 13 visits + 0 charges = Harassment.

[debo-dumbo-ears]

Lindsay - I see your point of view & you're absolutely right. I saw nothing in the article that pointed to any kind of abuse or neglect. The public does need to know that these are high energy dogs & responsible owner will work their dog one way or another. They're still a byb in my book, but I understand that is not illegal.
And, I've perused your website; I know that you're not actively breeding. I have a lot of respect for you in all that you do to preserve the breed & advocate for it.

Originally Posted by bahamutt99 Debo, I agree with you that they don't seem like very reputable breeders. However, that is only of consequence to us in the breed community. Whether or not someone competes or health-tests their dogs isn't going to make one iota of difference to the general public, and they are the ones protesting the kennel. Protesting because they've seen dogs playing on a springpole, and seen people "baiting" the dogs, whatever that means. I'm thinking of this from the perspective of being a neighbor, rather than an APBT enthusiast. Admittedly, there is a whole different area of discussion when it comes to the ethics of these people. And I'm not a breeder at this point. I probably never will be one of those breeders who sells dogs to the public. That would just be too much worry for me.

[annji]

13 visits...0 charges...no mention of neglect...HMMM. I'm thinking I'd be one upset neighbor! Perhaps he should start walking his dogs, leashed of course, everday so that ALL of his neighbors can meet him and his dogs. Get the idea? I've done it since mine was just 3 months old. She still pulls like crazy on a leash when she sees kids, but now everyone loves that happy bully girl!

[bahamutt99]

Originally Posted by debo-dumbo-ears And, I've perused your website; I know that you're not actively breeding. I have a lot of respect for you in all that you do to preserve the breed & advocate for it.

Thank you. I try to do right by the dogs.