Pit Fighting Operation Busted

Sheriff's deputies found 136 malnourished dogs on the property of a Mulberry man Thursday, along with evidence that the dogs had been abused and trained to fight.

What deputies did not find anywhere on the property was a single morsel of dog food, Polk County Sheriff's Capt. Dennis Russell said. Many of the dogs, which were confined in cages or chained to stakes, did not have water available to them either.

An initial check of the dogs found 13 in such bad shape that they will be euthanized and that most of the dogs were pit bulls, sheriff's officials said.

Hewitt Grant, 38, of 2335 Pump Road, was charged with one felony count of maintaining and owning equipment and dogs for baiting or fighting and 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. A veterinarian was on the property Thursday night checking the animals one by one, and more charges could be filed, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said.

Grant was using what the Sheriff's Office called "cat mills" to train the dogs to be aggressive, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The cat mills are devices in which a live animal is placed just out of reach of a chained dog to train the dog to be aggressive. Two cat mills with the remains of small animals were found on the property, deputies said.

This sick jerk needs hard time in jail… for about 10 years.