MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Neighbors in Arlington are horrified after finding dead dogs along their roads. They think people are using them in dog fights in the rural community and ditching the bodies.
On Tuesday, one neighbor came across a dead puppy’s head hanging out of a trash bag alongside Deadfall Road.
“My granddaughter was very upset when she saw it,” she said.
The neighbor said this is the fourth dead dog she’s recently heard about that they think is tied to dog fighting. They’ve found ones with burn marks, gunshot wounds and more.
“I rescued one on Gotley,” the neighbor said. “She was almost dead. She was a bait dog. Her ears were chewed up. We took her to the vet. She had bird shot on her legs where they shot her, and we got her now and she’s beautiful and happy.”
While we were on Deadfall Road, we also noticed what appeared to be a dog’s jawbone.
“It needs to stop.”
We tried to see how this latest puppy died but stopped after seeing a pool of blood in the bag with her.
“If it was someone’s pet, they wouldn’t have done this. They would’ve buried it. They wouldn’t have dumped it.”
She thinks the puppy was used as bait in a dog fight and deputies say it’s not the first call of its kind they’ve gotten from neighbors.
“They say they hear it; they hear the dogs barking and people yelling and stuff,” said Earle Farrell, spokesperson for SCSO. “They call the Sheriff’s Office and they all scatter before we get here.”
He says detectives are working to get to the bottom of it, noting dog fighting isn’t only illegal but also cruel.
Sheriff’s deputies say if you ever see something suspicious like this, you should always call it in and you can remain anonymous. Even small tips can be helpful.