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By Kevin Cole For Omaha World-Herald
Nebraska Humane Society officials are offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information about a dog fighting ring they believe is operating in the Omaha area.
Authorities on Wednesday seized 13 pit bulls from a rural Douglas County home. The seizure came after a 33-year-old man was sentenced in Douglas County Court to 10 days in jail for animal cruelty and keeping animals without a kennel license.
Mark Langan, the Nebraska Humane Society vice president of field operations, said the dogs were housed in filthy conditions.
He said the presence of the dogs and other information leads investigators to believe that a dog fighting ring is operating in the metropolitan area.
“We have developed information over the past four years that this operation sells dogs to dog fighters,†Langan said. “We want to find those people. That’s why we are offering the reward money.â€
Langan said the dogs that were seized “are in relatively good shape,†and he did not believe any of them would have to be put to sleep. Humane Society veterinarians found only minor illnesses among the dogs, he said.
Pit bulls have been confiscated twice before from the Douglas County property based on conditions of cruelty, Langan said.
It’s a felony in Nebraska to promote dog fights, train dogs for fighting, sell dogs with the knowledge they will be used to fight or to watch dog fights.
The penalty is up to five years in prison.
Anyone with information about dog fighting is asked to call the Humane Society at 402-444-7800, ext. 1.
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