BAD RAP to Visit Over 100 Pit Bulls Found Hungry in Oklahoma

The Kay County Sheriff's Department in Oklahoma is holding a Wichita man in jail suspected of neglecting 106 pit bulls on a $250,000 bond.

32-year-old Jerry Southern was arrested after officials found 96 pit bulls in poor health on farm property rented by Southern.

The dogs were discovered by hunters on Dec. 2 southwest of Newkirk.

"Most of the dogs were chained with log chains two to three feet long and 10 dogs were found locked in a barn with no food and water. You could tell they had been there for a long time. They had dug holes with their chains just by walking around," said undersheriff Steve Kelley.

Officials contacted Kay Electric and determined the property was leased by Southern who resides in Wichita, Kan.

"He came down here and told us that he shows and sells the dogs but no one was buying them," said Kelley.

Southern claims the dogs have been eating two or three bags of food a day among them. "That breaks down to a handful per dog," said Kelley.

Kelley said Southern has a lengthy criminal record in Kansas that includes animal cruelty and that Kansas courts had ordered Southern never to be in possession of pit bulls again.

In addition to the 96 pit bulls found in poor health, officials later found 10 puppies in bad shape in a house on the same property.

Kelley and Ponca City veterinarian Seletha Sanders of Westside Animal Clinic were on the property assessing the condition of the other dogs when he heard dogs whining inside the house.

When officials made entry into the house, they found the puppies in bad health locked in kennel crates filled with feces.

One pup expired while officials were on scene.

Officials were able to feed and water the pups.

Sanders summed up the conditions of the dogs the day after she evaluated them.

"They are filthy, breathing and starving," she said. "I have never seen anything of this magnitude."

Sanders said of the 96 dogs looked at only one dog was in normal condition.

"On a scale of one to five, with one being skinny, 98 percent registered a one or less," she said.

Two of the dogs were put down.

"One puppy was so weak it could not stand up to eat," said Sanders.

"Another dog looked like it had been in a fight. I can't say if it was intentional or not, but it's lips were ripped off and its head swollen. It was bad. Two of the dogs showed fearful aggression but most were scared of us because of the isolation they have been subjected to."

Another search of the property resulted in officials locating a device that was made to strap dogs heads down facing each other to teach aggression. The device was made to adjust the distance between two dogs, moving them closer or further apart.

Since the story broke, the sheriff 's office has received donations of dog food, dishes, funds, and straw for the dogs.

This week the county has turned the custody of the dogs over to the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals.

The group BAD RAP from California is expected to visit the dogs this week.

They will determine if they can take any of the dogs to California for rehab.

BAD RAP has gained recognition from the Michael Vick dog fighting case.

Southern will make his first court appearance Dec. 17.www.poncacitynews.com