Many years ago, I dated someone who grew up in a rural part of Missouri. We went to visit his mom once and I was lucky enough (cough*notsomuch*cough) to meet his friends. Little did I know that I was soon to be walking into a situation that would give me nightmares for years to come.
We went to visit his friend named Kevin. Kevin seemed a bit “country” in his ways and made fun of me for my education (bachelor’s at the time) and for being a “city girl”. He had no hesitation about his extra-curricular activities (read: drugs), guns all over the house, and drinking daily. This was a normal part of his life apparently. Within minutes of being in his home, I told my ex I wanted to go back to his mom’s house. I even told him I would drive myself and he could find his own way back home. Problem was that I had no idea where I was. I guess I really was a city girl. He was upset that I wanted to leave and wanted to spend time with his friends.
I decided to stay inside because there were quite a few people coming over and I was really uneasy about it. My ex stayed in the house with me as well for part of the evening. Then I heard the most horrible sounds I have ever heard before. I heard dogs fighting. They had a dog fighting ring in their backyard… something I noticed but had no clue that is what it was until it was way too late to get the sounds out of my head.
I started crying and was saying I needed to leave IMMEDIATELY. No, I didn’t want a beer, or pot, or anything else they tried to offer me to calm down. I wanted to leave. Now. The worst thing that I can remember happening in my lifetime happened next. As with any fight, there was a winner and a loser… the loser was nothing to them. Why would they keep a dog that couldn’t do what they wanted? I was hysterical once I realized how they were going to “take care” of the dog. This was the second time in my lifetime that I heard the shot of a gun. This time, I almost was sick. I was told it was for the best of the dog… it was injured. My response was that it would be best for the dog to not be in that situation to begin with. I was ignored.
I ran out of the house and told my ex I was leaving with or without him. I would walk the miles back if I had to. I was not staying another minute in this horrible place. When we got back, I wouldn’t speak to my ex and we drove all the way back home in silence. Once we returned to our hometown, I called the police in their area. They turned a blind eye to what had happened. They wanted a lot more detail than I had available to me. They wanted to know so much that was very obvious they already knew. They didn’t really want to do a damn thing about any of this. I called the Humane Society but could not offer them enough information for them to do anything. My ex was not very helpful in giving me information (leading to the end of our relationship because I couldn’t be with someone that condoned this behavior).
It has been stuck in my heart for years now that this has continued and I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t know what else to do. I have seen the stories of other dog fighting and it always made my heart ache. It is just so sad.
A few days ago, Mike and I were watching TV and I looked up and saw the strangest sight. They were talking about people from “rural” Missouri who were charged and sentenced with dog fighting. I can’t be sure after all this time, but I am feeling pretty confident that I saw the place where all my nightmares started years ago. Could it be that this horrible man is finally getting his punishment for what he has done to these poor dogs? Will I ever be able to get the nightmares to stop?
I hope none of you ever have to hear what I heard that day, many years ago. Please do what you can to stop dog fighting! This is just one site… there are others. These dogs deserve some help… they don’t deserve what is being done to them.
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