Dog fighting is one of the most heinous forms of animal abuse that still exists in the world. We cannot believe that there still people who are willing to participate in this sad excuse for a “sport”. Is “cultural heritage” really that important or are these people merely looking to excuse their disgusting behavior? We are firmly in the latter category.

In order for dogs to be trained to fight, other dogs have to suffer along with them. These dogs are known as bait dogs and they are used to train the fighters. They are tied down and given zero chance to defend themselves. This is why the owner of the fighting dog will instruct them to attack. We cannot believe how cruel and barbaric people are still willing to be in 2018.

When the bait dogs are no longer useful to the dog fighters, they are typically tossed aside without a worry or a care. Duke is one of these bait dogs and when he was left behind, he had nowhere to go. He was left residing on an old sofa that he had found. Finally, someone noticed that poor Duke had been living on that sofa for some time.

They took a picture of Duke and posted it on Facebook. The public was asked to help him out before it was too late. One of the volunteers from Rescue Dogs Rock NYC saw the picture in the nick of time. Someone was sent to pick up the dog immediately. When he was first found, he did not trust humans at all. He had simply been through too much.

Eventually, they were able to convince Duke to get into their car and go to the vet’s. The emergency vet took a closer look at the dog and found a litany of issues that needed to be taken care of. Duke was covered in fleas, overly dehydrated, anemic and suffering from cataracts. Now that he has gotten the care he needs, he is recovering just fine.

We are glad to see that someone was willing to step up and help out. Duke deserves a second chance and before long, he is going to be adopted. If not for the assistance of helpful volunteers, Duke would have likely been euthanized. It won’t be too long before he finally has the chance to cuddle up on his very own sofa.