Pit bulls taken during Cleveland dogfighting raid adjust to new lives

ELYRIA, Ohio - The 27 dogs confiscated during a dogfighting raid on Cleveland’s east side continue to adjust to their new lives.

On Dec. 22, Cleveland police took the pit bulls from Collin Rand Jr.’s house on East 91st Street. Officers described the conditions as “horrific,” and most of the animals were covered in cuts and scars.

Three of the dogs were taken in by Multiple Breed Rescue, founded by Amy Hunt. Now, Freedom, Blossom and Cleveland are in foster homes, getting much-needed medical care and lots of love. Lauren Jacenty with Multiple Breeds Rescue said the dogs show no signs of aggression towards people or other dogs. They are coming out of their shells and getting along great with their foster families, Jacenty said.

Cleveland’s foster mom calls him a smarty-pants, who pretends he has to go “potty” in order to get a treat.

“He was so fascinated with the store. He went into the Dogloos, climbed onto beds, stopped to greet everyone,” said Cleveland’s foster mom. “He even kind of had a little therapy session. We met a man whose dog had passed away a month ago. He talked to Cleveland about his dog, and cried and laughed. Cleveland just gazed up at him while he talked. It was beautiful.”

Jacenty said the group started a fundraiser to help cover vet bills and put the pets through training.

Recently, another rescue group, Rowdy to the Rescue, discovered that two of the pit bulls they took in from the raid suffer from a tick-borne illness.

“The difficulty with this is that the treatment is very expensive,” said Chris Hughes with Rowdy to the Rescue. “It’s $500 for the shot. Then you need to do multiple blood work to test because it’s an illness that’s difficult to show up.”

To make a donation to help the dogs go to multiplebreedrescue.chipin.com/former-bait-dogs-cgc-training-and-vet-bills or friendsofclevelandkennel.com/hopefor27.html

Rand has been charged with dogfighting and multiple drug-related charges. He pleaded not guilty and is out on bond.