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Introduction
Every year about 6.5 million pets are abused and put into shelters nationwide. In the website aspca.org the text said that “Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.” In this essay I will talk about one of the many types of animal abuse, “dogfighting”. I will also be talking about how to stop dogfighting, and how to spot dogfighting.

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Dogfighting
Dogfighting is when dogs fight in a 14-20 ft pit. The dogs are put on steroids to increase muscle mass and aggressiveness. When the dogs are born, their owners cut off their ears and tail to limit the places where the other dog can grab when they grow up and fight. Fighting can involve lots of blood and broken bones. When the fighting ends the owner will usually kill the looser  if they are really injured. When the dog isn't fighting they are kept on a short chain to avoid interaction with other dogs.

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How to Spot Dogfighting
You can spot if a animal has been abused if they are limping  and can’t walk, or if they are underweight with their bones showing. You can also spot it if they have bruises and scratches all over them, or if you notice that they’re always on a chain and have little room to move. It can be a sign of abuse if the animal is left in the hot or cold temperatures all day. A animal can be abused if you notice the animal is barking for hours non stop, or if you notice the owner stops visiting the house and there is still an animal inside the house.

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How to Help Stop Dogfighting
You can help stop dogfighting if you think an animal is being abused but if you're not sure get a closer look at it. When you're sure it is dogfighting or abuse, report it to local authorities and if you don’t know any local authorities contact 4-1-1, which gives you information on where to go or who to call if an animal is being abused. When you are reporting it to your local authorities or the police  you should include where it is happening, when it happened, what did the owner do that made you think it is animal abuse, who did it, all the details on what happened, and you can try to get some pictures or videos on your phone.

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Conclusion
Even though dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states it still happens in all of them. In the text above I talked about dogfighting being one of the worst types of animal abuse. The best way to help these dogs is by paying attention of how animals act and their body conditions. The best thing to do is to report any signs of dogfighting to any local authorities or animal control. In the text above I stated that when a dog looses or is badly injured during dogfighting they kill the dog, and this is still going on throughout the United States of America even though it is illegal in all 50 states. That is why it is important to try to change the way people think about dogfighting, it is animal abuse not a sport.

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Two dogs fighting for their lives

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Be responsible and say something if you notice animal abuse

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If you see an animal being abused say something