Dogfight Club

"¿Estamos listos?" he asked. (Are we ready?)

Tat nodded and the old man opened the door for us. I noticed that he was looking closely at me, but Cas waved him off and the old man relaxed. Inside the building was the pit. They had brought bleachers to set up for better viewing. The pit was about fifteen or eighteen feet wide with walls about three feet high. The floor was covered with carpet.

"What's with that?" I asked Cas.

"Easier and quicker cleanup," he said. Wait 'til you see the mess."

"Can't wait," I replied.

---

The owner of the opposing dog was already there. He was waiting to wash "Vader," Tat's dog (to make sure no blinding or debilitating substances had been smeared on his coat). Once inside, Tat picked up the dog and held him in his arms like a baby. He put him down and held him as the other guy rolled up his sleeves -- to show that he had no trick substances stashed -- and began to wash Vader with warm, soapy water. The dog held still. He had been trained to hold just like show dogs are to let judges inspect them. After the washing, Cas picked up Vader and took him outside the pit area. Then the opposing dog was brought in to be washed by Tat. The dogs have to be brought in separately in order to avoid a spontaneous fight. When both were washed, they were weighed, once again at separate times. The scales they use are made for "Pulling Pits." That is, pit bulls trained for pulling competitions in the same way that weightlifters train. The dogs, according to their body weight, pull a series of weights in order to see which one is strongest. Pulling competitions are perfectly legal. Pulling pit bulls are much larger than fighting pit bulls. Dogmen, however, use these special scales to weigh in for a fight. The scales sort of look like grocery produce scales. The owner slips a harness beneath the dog's legs and it hangs freely. A 50-pound weight is used to balance the scale. Vader tipped in at 37 pounds.

I could see the old man letting people in. They were hell on checking guns at the door. Nobody entered with a piece. There are such large amounts of cash around that it has to be that way. The old man was collecting an admission fee of $50 from each spectator. I had slipped in free because I'd come to the fight as a friend of the "kennel." The term means the physical place for breeding, raising, and training the dogs as well as "the circle" of dogfighters. There was a brief lapse as Tat and the rival owner produced their share of the purse -- $5000 each. They gave the money to the "referee" and his people. The referee must be agreed upon by both owners. He is generally a well-respected dogman. The ref earns $100 for the match and usually receives a tip from the winning kennel. But referees do it for their reputations more than the money.

Tat was fighting Vader for his reputation and for the money. He is a former U.S. Olympic Team alternate in judo, and a third-degree judo black belt. From his demeanor, about the best way to describe him would be: "If you're going to do something, do it right." His dog had been in the "keep" for fifteen weeks prior to the match. It seemed like a safe bet, and besides, it would have been impolite to take the other side. For gambling purposes, Vader would simply be referred to as "Brown Dog" because of his brindle coloring. His opponent would just be faded as "White Dog."

The training required for a dogfight could be compared to the training boxers go through. There is a regimented program, a performance-enhancing diet, a daily workout, and health items such as vitamin B12. Training a pit bull to fight is more about conditioning than either strength or blood lust. In that regard, most dogmen run their dogs every day on a "treadmill." That is, the dog is running in a sort of cage, but he is chasing after a live animal, a raccoon, say, which doesn't fear him -- also in a cage and on another treadmill just ahead of him. A proper "keep" will involve daily rubdowns for the dog; extreme hygiene of the ears, nose, and feet; constant examination of the stool; the monitoring of protein levels; and the regulation of salt intake (for blood coagulation).