Toledo-area officials say they have taken a bite out of dogfighting, and more crackdowns are on the way.
Among the efforts:Several more Toledoans recently have been charged with dogfighting.
Officials are putting together a video to educate police and the community on how to detect the secretive blood sport.
The Toledo Humane Society is hiring another investigator.
"The idea is to make Lucas County an unfriendly place for dogfighters," Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon says.
The effort, officials say, comes at a critical time: Dogfighting has been increasing locally, and late spring, with its warming temperatures, is always prime dogfighting season.
"But it is tough to combat," Mary Pat Boatfield, humane society executive director, says. "It is very clandestine, very underground. We are really going to rely on the community to assist in this."
In recent days, several Toledoans have been cited:
Brian Burrell, 26, was charged with dogfighting following a March 1 police raid on his home. Officers found several pit bulls and videos of more than a dozen dog fights.
Initially, Burrell was charged with dog-related misdemeanors, but not for dogfighting. He faces a maximum 18 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Alvia McCarver, 36, and Arbie Justice, 27, were charged with dogfighting after police broke up a fight April 3 in a Toledo alley.
"Police got a call that people were fighting dogs, and when they arrived they saw two Chows being fought," Skeldon says. "A whole bunch of people started fleeing, and the cops caught these two guys."
In another case, Mark Overton, 24, was cited on five felony counts for having vicious dogs improperly confined. On March 23, officials confiscated from his home five pit bulls - some of which, police say, were bleeding from fights that day.
Skeldon anticipates more arrests after his office, the police, and the humane society finish the training video.
The video, he says, will show actual dog fights along with pictures of dogfighting exercise equipment, such as treadmills.